- W. Eugene Smith
Spiti Rendezvous
Multiple Reflections
01 - 03 September 2010 at India Habitat Center, New Delhi
06 - 22 September 2010 at Indipix Gallery, New Delhi
This group photography show displays the visual impact that Spiti, Himachal
Pradesh, has had on the serious photographers that participated in the Landscape
Photography workshop organized in July 2010 by PHOTOSENSITIVE. The images are an
artistic exploration of the topography, inhabitants and the culture of this desolate yet
beautiful region.
Though more can be said to elaborate upon the experience of the photographers, it
is the intention here to allow the visual to be stronger than the written word.
Presented below, however, are statements from the participating artists. These give
a fair idea of the impact Spiti has had on each individual.
AMITA VIKRAM PRATAP
When I went for this Photo Tour, I was a novice at photography. I didn't know what
would I come back with. For the first two days I couldn't even hold the camera
properly and went to my teachers whining I can't SEE anything.
Then Spiti took me in her lap and its beauty started unfolding in front of me. Every
image that I captured was as if it was ‘readymade’, inviting me to – ‘come and shoot’.
Each of my photographs is a labor of love, for with each click I was learning
something new. Every image has a story to tell. How many clicks did it take me to
get it right? How many times did I run to my teachers to ask 'Have I got it now?' And
how agonized my fellow photographers would have been at my incessant
questioning…I click what I SEE, without changing the original beauty of the objects in front of me.
Of all the works that you see here, the girl in red is my favorite. We had stopped at a
village to witness a celebration. Standing in the midst of the crowd, she was totally
oblivious of her surroundings…looking up at the sky in amazement, waiting for her
mother to get her something to eat from the feast. How fresh the unconditioned child
can be echoed through the mind…
ARVINDER SINGH
"This adventure, that was supposed to be a dedicated photography trip throughout,
was for me anything but that in the first half...I spent most of that time trying to make
sense of the very unusual wet and rainy weather...after all Spiti – the Middle Land –
is a high altitude desert. It was also a time to purge a lot of what I was carrying from
my everyday routine.
Overall a very intense experience, I was completely overwhelmed and humbled by
the forces of nature. The one thought that consistently ran through my mind was the
complete insignificance of “me” and a life lesson, if there is one, that it becomes
easier to deal with any situation that life will present to you if you stay positive,
flexible and simply “go with the flow”!
In spite of all the physical and emotional challenges, I did capture some visual
moments that I would like to share...as my vision.
These are images that reflect my experience there and I hope whoever pauses to
look at them and the entire collection here will take some time off to do some
reflection of their own. "
DARILANG MARY RYMBAI
I have always had the penchant for beauty, appreciating the visual, absorbing the
sensory and internalizing the experience. Amazed by the transient beauty that
surrounds me, I’ve always wanted to immortalize the experience of that moment.
Photography as a medium has helped me immensely in pulling out that one perfect
slice of time that I wanted to preserve and sometimes share. Through the lens the
world takes on another dimension altogether. Chaos can be turned to order, the
entire world enclosed in a dewdrop, the part becomes more significant than the
whole.
Spiti exposed me to the raw splendor of the Himalayas with every waking moment
beckoning to be captured. The drifting clouds, the hairpin bends, and the suddenly
revealing vistas both elevated and subdued me. The change in me is permanent.
JATIN KALSI
Spiti Rendezvous - Multiple Reflections is a stepping-stone in bringing my dreams to
fruition. A dream to follow my passion. A dream to travel and see India, something
that I had never gotten down to doing, until now. A dream to be recognized as a
photographer.
The smiling girl on her way to school in Kaza, the lamas doing their ritual worship in
form of a graceful and elegant dance at Key Gompa, the sun finally showing up at
Key Gompa after 4 days of continuous rain are all a reminder of the 10 most amazing
days of my life. The trek to Spiti was my first serious attempt at trekking ever. With
my camera I have tried to capture and bring back memories of an awesome place.
Memories of friendly people, of amazing friends some new some old, of fights both
friendly and serious, of trying to scare each other with fabricated ghost stories, of
landslides, of freezing cold nights, of experiencing fresh snow for the first time, of
fighting over Maggi noodles, and of loads of crazy fun we all had in this trip.
Memories that make me look forward to the next trip.
Photography has been a passion for me, a first love if you must say. It all started
years back when my grand father gifted me the Agfa Click IV. I have trained as a
Mechanical Engineer and am currently looking after my family business. All these
years of photographing as a hobbyist, I have lately been working on developing
photography as a parallel career and trying to create a balance between my passion
and the family business.
LUBNA SEN
As it has been said - In life, if you do not define the moment, the moment will define
you. Photography to me is like defining the moment - freezing a part of my
experience, to be shared with others and to be cherished forever. I owe it to
Photosensitive for my transformation from someone who just clicked pictures to
someone who now uses the camera for artistic expression.
The trip to Spiti made me realize how insignificant we are in front of Mother Nature.
We got to experience - her wicked humor as she poured continuously while we
waited patiently for that perfect picture in sun light, her wrath when the landslides
disrupted our travel plans, her beauty when she finally decided that the Sun should
shine, and her charm when we discovered Kunzum La in snow.
The Spiti trip was truly a Rendezvous – like a beautiful date with a wild mysterious
woman whom you are allowed to admire but not allowed to conquer. The memories
of the date however, remain with you forever.
MOKSH KRISHNAN
The confusions of growing up are often difficult to sort through. In my head,
photography, somehow always managed to rise above all the other options. What
started as a hobby has taken firm root and I intend to pursue photography as a
profession or rather a way of life. I am currently studying in high school.
The recent trip to Spiti brought about a drastic change in my approach, be it the light
or the composition. Being in the midst of nature in its element has made me question
by notions and has firmed my belief that I shall be a student all my life, refining my
craft, learning the art and developing the eye...
SAARTHAK AURORA
A huge admirer of nature, I'm someone who derives great joy from capturing and
relishing images of the world around me. Photography started for me three years
ago, with my first camera being my first cell phone, a tool I made the most of over the
one-year that it was functional. Now, it’s been almost two years that I've been using a
DSLR. Two years over which the skill, knowledge and passion have only grown
deeper. Extremely eager to learn, I'm still discovering new tricks and techniques
every time I pick up the camera.
The trek to Spiti Valley was a challenging one, especially with the weather conditions
being hostile to photography over the first few days. Our constant prayers to the
weather Gods were answered as we started seeing more of the sun as the days
passed. With the light of the Sun, beautiful landscapes revealed themselves, and
beautiful people of the land stepped out of hiding. Their facial features were different,
and so was their skin. For a year, I had been looking forward to an opportunity to
shoot portraits since it was something I hadn't taken a shot at yet. Needless to say, I
pounced at this one, and thus, portraits dominated my body of work on this trek.
A third year student of Communication design, all of 19, I love shooting graphic
abstracts and surrealistic images using unusual angles and longer exposures,
besides spontaneous portraits.
SHIPRA SINGH
The mountains revealed to me a truth that connects the soul of the individual to the
soul of our environment. A silence with which every hill whispers its essence to the
keen and listening mind. In a world where the gulf between the self and the
surrounding is increasingly widening, the mountains taught me unity within and in
relation to my surroundings – No matter how complete I felt within myself, there was
something looming large and majestic from a distance which made me feel humble,
insignificant and thirsting for more - I bow down to it's silence and supremeness.
SHUBHRA CHATURVEDI
Legendary American photographer Ansel Adams once said there are always two people in every picture - the photographer and the viewer. I wasn’t born a photographer. I am an artist and photographer by passion, enough passion to make
me quit a cushy corporate job and go behind the lens and in front of the canvas. The
idea is to tell stories, stories born from an attempt to visualize how a particular sight
and feeling will appear on print and canvas. I work with intuition…and a lot of
practice.
It is this passion and intuition that makes me a regular on Photosensitive-treks. Each
year the locales have been the similar, yet strikingly different and each year I am a
fresh student. Every trek to the mountains becomes an exploration, returning with
unique images and insights.
Nature with all its beauty and ruggedness poses challenges. Camping means
hardships, cold and wind chill, wet shoes and altitude sickness etc but it also means
a soothing balm. Meeting locals, bonding with fellow artists and photographers,
admiring the ever-changing beauty of the region, in totality these experiences are
strangely peaceful. Actually, peacefully numb.
As a photographer, I believe in seeing things in a different light. These distant outdoor workshops have fueled and taught me exactly that, that life can be seen in a
different hue each time. Another insight from these explorations has been that a true
art need not be explained, nor contained in words, each time it needs to be felt from
within.
SHWETA PODDAR
My interest in photography began in 2002, while I was studying fine arts & design. In
2008, I did a photography workshop with Photosensitive. To me, photography means
traveling to places I would never think of going otherwise.
SPITI has been one such experience for me this year. An extraordinary photographic
journey filled with magic, craziness, and lots of rain, landslides, some snow and very
little sunshine! I enjoy capturing the vastness of landscapes, as well as the macro
detail in things around me. This exhibition has given me an opportunity to showcase
these aspects of photography.
VIBHOR TANEJA
Me and my lens, both, are driven by curiosity and dwell on voyeur. The need to analyze things from various perspectives is what gives me my dose of adrenaline
and the desire to capture an image seeps in once I have conceived the result in my
mind. At times this is instantaneous for me but then there are moments when the
subject is intriguing enough to keep you in awe and hold you till the final moment of a
frantic surrender.
My journey as a photographer so far has been challenging, rejuvenating
and exhilarating. Spiti was an experience that has had a great impact on me and I
am only awestruck by the power nature has displayed on this expedition. Hope you
enjoy the show.