Born and brought up in the 'happy' place of Bhutan, Andr Jeanpierre Fanthome hadn't dreamt of a career in photography. His affair with the camera started only when he held one in his hands while in college. His keen eye for beauty and passion for all-things-photographic soon saw him scale great heights as a photographer with a special focus on architecture, interiors and industrial photography. Today, he is known as the subcontinent's leading architecture photographer. He is also the youngest of three photographers to have received the National Academy Award for Visual Art by the National Lalitkala Academy.
Excerpts from an interview:
When did you realise your interest in photography?
My interest in photography must have started even before going to school, with the several copies of National Geographic that Dad would get from the library, but it was never so clear to me till I actually got a hold of a camera while in college.
How did you get started in photography?
On a borrowed camera that did not even have a light meter, and a roll of film. Once the results came back from the lab, that was it... I finally found something I was good at!
Who were your early influences?
I don't think there are any photographers I can single out. Prints and art that interested me nudged me from time to time to try out new things. Although most of my early work was just experimentation, the aim was to try everything possible because with each new challenge was loads of excitement. If at all I could name an artist who has inspired me, it would be Salvador Dali.
What about architecture, interiors & industrial photography interests you?
Like many children, I was always in awe of JCBs, roadrollers, dumper trucks, and quite frankly, I haven't really grown up. Architecture and industrial photography allow me to indulge in this worship even today. I even get to keep up my tree-climbing skills! Good design and engineering does something to me. A cantilevered platform, the manner in which an architect balances the load of slab, the functioning of an oil refinery, watching machinery that bores tunnels several kilometers inside the earth, all of this excites me, and photography is the passport that allows me to experience all of this.
Which is more challenging - shooting interiors or exteriors?
Everything depends on the design and the environment that surround it. Often we have buildings in constricted spaces; in Delhi, we have to deal with the weather that's not very conducive; then there are times when the designers give me a store with glass everywhere - each has its own challenges.
What's the most significant change you've observed in your chosen field during your career?
Thanks to the internet and changing technology, today you don't have to be someone's something to get a break. So yes, on one hand, the space has opened up in a big way and given many who don't have god-mothers and god-fathers a more level playing field to compete and explore the medium.
However, the impatience that we see all around us that craves instant gratification has, I feel, made us think less when we shoot. Earlier, I felt that we would see/think first and then shoot, but now the trend is to shoot first and think later.
What special skills would you need to be a successful photographer?
That's a really tough one to answer because the definition of success is different to different people. Mine being, getting to shoot what you love; getting a chance to watch and observe that which you would with/without a camera. Figure out who you are and what you love, and the rest will come to you.
What's the kind of research that goes into your assignments?
We do basic checks of weather, sunrise, sunset etc for all our shoots, but in addition, we spend a fair amount of time understanding what we are shooting. It's the thinking behind the design that drives us. We do our best to become a part of the design team.
The transition from film to digital - when did it happen for you?
In 2005, I think. After saving up for a while and adding EOS1v (Canon's best film camera) to the collection, I realised that the future was digital! Luckily, the camera still works, so I don't feel that bad anymore.
How do you feel about it?
Mixed feelings... miss the dark room, miss the suspense, miss the euphoria of getting it right after the wait, but again, digital allows you to do so much more.
Your most memorable assignment?
Shooting for the Presidential Retreats of India, a book commissioned by Rashtrapati Bhavan. We had the opportunity to shoot the interiors, architecture, even wildlife, and then the
president himself.
Your experience working on the same...
The project was filled with variety and excitement. Since we mostly shoot architecture, the
challenge of taking the presidential portrait was the high point, and then to see it in the
corridors of Rashtrapati Bhavan was quite an experience.
What is your dream project?
Earlier, it was to shoot in Antarctica; right now it's a bird book we are working on. Next, I don't really know... dream keeps changing.
What was your very first camera?
A Zenith 122 with a 50 mm lens, a camera that didn't have a light meter!
What is the gear you use now?
I am a loyal Canon user, the gear we shoot on starts from 16 mm, all the way to 600 mm lenses. Prime and TSE lenses are my favourites.
Your experience of winning the Lalitkala Akademi National Award for Visual Art...
The National Academy Award came at a particularly difficult time in my life -
I was literally just getting back on my feet after a spinal surgery. Given that the likes of M F Hussain were some of the earlier awardees, it took a while to sink in. Photographers aren't really considered 'artistes' - only three of us have received the award, so to be amongst painters and sculptors, that too at such an early stage in my career, was quite a feeling and did wonders to my self-confidence.
The inspiration for your works?
That's a tough one! Algae in a drain inspire me one moment, at the other, it may be a Shikra devouring another bird, or the moving shadows on a building... the list is endless. Most often, though, it is to see or imagine something with my eyes closed and then capture the same visual with my camera. So, often, it's looking beyond the obvious, finding beauty in the mundane. Actually, it's just a love story: I fall in love with what I am shooting and the process involved in creating the images.
Your tips for an aspiring photographer...
Get to know yourself and only shoot what you are in love with.