|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2110 |
 |
 |
|
 |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
This eMagazine is available online at smileartbeats.com. Udayan is a mentor for this magazine. This issue published an article on 50mm Lens that Udayan written originally for fotoflock.com. It is also published on their website [Link: goo.gl/t2whMx]. This issue also featured Udayan’s interview & that is also published on their website at goo.gl/dMfBBe. The interview shared as best articles for the week on Paper.li weekly edition. You can see it here at goo.gl/0UeR4n
Interview:
WHEN DID YOU START YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY? WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INTO IT?
I started photography when I was 13 years old. I remember seeing someone take pictures using a camera and I was fascinated with how one could capture the vivid world with it, freeze moments in time and show people what my perspective was when I looked at the world. I persuaded my father to buy me my first camera, a Canon AE-1 Program at that time costing a princely sum of fifty four thousand rupees way back in 1992. That’s when my journey with photography began.
HOW DID YOU LEARN THIS ART? DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR?
I learnt photography mostly on my own initiative by studying books on photography and seeing master photographer’s works. However, as you know, no education is complete, especially this kind of an art without a mentor or guru. My mentor has been a senior from the same school I studied in, Joydeep Choudhury. He has been guiding me on the aesthetic and technical sides of photography for a very long time and I consider him to be my guru.
WHO/WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST INSPIRATION?
My inspiration comes from a quote.
“Get up and set shoulder to the wheel “ How long is this life for? As you have come into this world, leave a mark behind. Otherwise, what is the difference between you and the trees and stones? They too come into existence, decay and die” - Swami Vivekananda.
This is what inspires me to do everything I do. I want to leave a mark behind when I leave this world. Through my work, I want to create a legacy so when I die, my children can be proud of something I left them.
WHAT ARE THE HURDLES YOU HAVE FACED IN THE JOURNEY OF YOUR PASSION?
When I started photography, the people surrounding me had no exposure to the world of photography as I came from a small town. I also did not have easy access to resources that could aid my understanding of photography and its various aspects. At that time, neither Facebook nor the internet existed either. So I got no guidance on what to do after I click a photograph. This is something I had to learn the hard way.
ANYBODY WHO IS GIVING YOU THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF SUPPORT?
There are three pillars that fuel (-ed) my passion.
My father who gave me my first camera. He did not limit my want for the hardships he faced. At that time, he was going through financial hardship at work and had to support three growing children at the same time. Under these trying times, he gave me fifty four thousand rupees, his entire savings, to buy a camera. It was 1992 when I was a young 13 year old boy, when 54,000 rupees was a huge sum of money and photography or the camera was not considered a worthwhile investment. Many people called him crazy to give me the highly expensive highly professional camera as I was so small. But he never let all this come in the way. He helped me dream big.
My mother for keeping my passion alive by supplying an unending stream of money to buy film rolls, developing them and printing them. Every third day, I would need almost 500 rupees for all this. I must admit, she was not always eager to support this expensive demand I had and I needed to literally fall on my knees and beg her for the money. Sometimes, I had to plan ahead so I could catch her in her best mood, do something sweet for her like compliment her or take her blessings early in the morning just as she was going to work or score well in my exams so I could trick her into giving me the money I needed.
My wife for supporting me in everything I do. As lovers, she walked home with me to save the money we needed for the bus so I could buy a roll of film, wait for hours together holding my heavy camera bag while I took off to click a picture, chat up with strangers so she could coax them to allow me to click photographs, pose in the weirdest of manners in public for me and so much more. After our marriage, she supported my decision to quit my job so I could pursue my passion knowing fully well that I would not possibly be able to earn anything for years together until I was able to establish a market for my work. Till date, I spend all my earning to fuel my interests around photography and she is still married to me!
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT YOU LIKE AND POSSESS (IF IT IS A PHOTOGRAPHER)
I am a Canon fan and have been one since I began photography. I have listed everything that I have used that helped me take photographs on my website. You can see it here at www.udayansankarpal.com or see the list directly at http://goo.gl/wEu7y4.
DETAILS OF THE GALLERY / STUDIO OWNED (PHOTOGRAPHERS/PAINTERS)
I do not have a studio. I have a dedicated room for photography at home that houses everything I own on photography, from stamps to movies on photography, books, my precious collection of prints of other photographers, archival documents that are a part of an initiative I started called Archive of Photography Exhibition (www.exhibition.net.in), etc. Many photographers who have visited my house, especially my room, have said that this room is a “mini paradise for photography enthusiasts”. Entry is by invitation only. I am so possessive about my things in this room that even my wife takes permission before entering the room.
WHO IS/ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST/ARTISTS?
There are plenty of people who I follow and whose work I admire. The list is endless and features buddying photographers, contemporaries and great masters in photography. Hence, naming a few will not do justice.
WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?
I do not have a particular goal in photography. I take photographs because I enjoy it. It’s not just taking photographs that I enjoy, I enjoy everything related to photography. It’s my world, the world I choose to live in. I want to be able to make a worthwhile contribution to this world that I love so much.
WHAT ARE YOUR LIKES AND DISLIKES?
I like everything in photography. There is nothing that I dislike in photography.
WHAT ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE TO THE AMATEURS WHO ARE BEGINNING THEIR JOURNEY IN THIS FIELD?
Use the social media to get exposure and build connections. But be careful of its negative impact as well. Don’t end up being only a Facebook photographer. Most of the photographs we see on Facebook are meaningless, in the sense that they do not hold much photographic value.
Everyone will give you the advice that to learn photography, you need to see as many photographs as possible. This advice, while is completely true, loses meaning when you solely depend on Facebook to see photographs. It’s better to learn from photographs printed in books or from photographer’s websites directly. Any photographer clicks millions of photographs, especially in this digital age. But all of them are not good even if it’s a great master like Raghu Rai or Steve McCurry’s clicks. For example, I take many photographs. A very small percentage of photographs I take are good. But I share all photographs on Facebook. When I add photographs to my website or when I make a book with my photographs, I am careful to add only good photographs there. That means, if you follow me on Facebook, you will see a few good photographs with lots of not so good photographs. If you try to learn from the images I post on Facebook, you may pick up incorrect things from them. Instead, if you look at my website or at my book, you will find carefully curated photographs that are of good quality and learning from these will be more productive. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
