Ace photographers of Bangalore have written some interesting books on photography - coffee table books, wildlife diaries and chronicles and even memoirs.
T S Satyan’s memoirs, “Alive and clicking” (Penguin 2005), takes the reader through the dusty paths of Mysore of the 1930s and 40s, Bangalore and other parts of India and abroad, recording a photographer’s extraordinary life and times. His other books include Exploring Karnataka, German vignettes, Hampi - the fabled capital of the Vijayanagar Empire, In love with life - a journey through life in photographs and Kalakke Kannadi, his memoirs in Kannada.
“Sunlight and shadows - an Indian wildlife photographers diary” (1983) by M Y Ghorpade has a foreword by Indira Gandhi. It has monochrome photographs taken in Sandur, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Kanha, Gir, Kaziranga, Sawai Madhopur, Bandhavgarh and Bharatpur. Vintage vignettes, of an elephant with a mischievous glint in his eyes, a brave boar beset by wild dogs, a tigress with her kill, give us a rare glimpse into the captivating wolf of India’s jungles and their inhabitants. Interspersed with the pictures are anecdotes culled from Ghorpade’s diaries. The vivid accounts of his idyllic childhood at Sandur spent amidst nature, of evening drives on hilltops abounding with chowsinghas, wild boars and panthers, and of his forays into various sanctuaries make for a great read.
“Line of Light” (2003) subtitled, “The command to look” is a coffee-table book of photographs by C Rajagopal. The ace photographer exhibits his very individualistic style, where a bright line of light directs the viewer's eye to the subject of the photograph. Rajagopal, in a collection of 91 sepia-toned monochrome masterpieces, reveals the beauty of light and the light reveals the beauty of simple subjects.
Other books include Photographing wildlife in India is a guide to beginners in wildlife photography by TNA Perumal.
Encounter in forest - an anthology of photographs of wildlife of Karnataka by wild life photographers of Karnataka by TNA Perumal and M N Jayakumar, Wildlife in India by C R Ram and E Hanumantha Rao and Photography in Kannada by Dr D V Rao.
MP