A click apart

Martin Parr once said that ‘photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work’. Even though one would have access to a camera and can click a picture of what is in front of them, only a true photographer can see beyond what is shown and tell a story with it.

On this ‘World Photography Day’, photographers are proud to showcase their pictures to the world through social media and other platforms. Many are planning  trips to places and capture something spectacular.

Arjun Thomas, a toy photographer, is making a trip to Kumarakom, Kerala to shoot the backwaters. He says, “I want to capture the sunrise and watch the world wake up. The villages around the backwaters are absolutely beautiful and the paddy fields will be glistening to the morning light. I also want to capture children and elders taking a dip in the warm water and watch them get busy with their day.”

His idea of photography is to keep it simple and tell a story with it. “One of my favourite pictures so far is what I shot during my trip to Kasol in Himachal Pradesh. I found a 75-year-old shepherd who was very happy to be with his sheep.  The picture not only shows his happy face but also his life and the struggles that he has had to go through over the years,” he shares.

Like Arjun, Jidhu MG, another photographer, is also excited to spend the day making new memories with his camera. His favourite picture is the one which he shot in Marottichal Waterfalls in Thrissur, Kerala. He says, “I had done a shoot with a ‘Jungle Book’ theme with a friend of mine. It is absolutely amazing because of the location, the colours and the story that it tells in one shot. I have named this picture ‘the man cub’.”

To honour the day, he will be spending it with his young cousins who will go around the city with him for some fun photoshoots. “I am yet to decide what I want to capture, but I know it’ll be a fun one,” he says.

While photographers usually aim to tell a story with their pictures, very often they are also inspired by the things that they see around them. For travel photographer Hari Menon, it was the passion of Abhishek, a 17-year-old, that has inspired him to work harder.

He says, “I was doing a photography workshop in Goa where Abhishek was one of the participants. What made him special as compared to all the others was that he didn’t have one hand and the other had only three fingers. Even though he was struggling to hold the camera, he took some mesmerising pictures. That day, I realised one thing — words may just remain ornamental but certain actions touch our hearts.” Hari says that Abhishek will remain an inspiration not just to him but also for other photography enthusiasts.

When many photographers are heading out with their cameras, Sumit Kumar is hoping to display his photographs in an open exhibition to showcase some of his ‘black and white’ collections. However, his all-time favourite picture is the one he shot of a couple at Lalbagh. He says, “It is a silhouette candid shot of a couple spending time at the park. It has a bit of everything to give it that romantic feel and it’ll always remain special to me.”

Like these photographers, many others in the city are also hoping to make an impact with their photography. After all, every photograph taken is a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.