Workshop with Anna Fox -3rd Sept'12

Beyond the assignment, that I earlier mentioned, it was the workshop with Anna Fox that kept me occupied.

Briefly, the workshop was the summary about the technicality of photography to the context of one's work to all the intricacies involved behind publishing a photo.

What Anna has introduced to us is to look at how photographers work and how to finish a project. Starting from looking through the lens to analyzing and sorting, then weaving a narrative to finally getting them printed. Looking at her enthusiasm she would have got us to do an exhibition and funding for a large scale project had she stayed longer.

Personally I had stopped photography 2 years back when my digi camera stopped working. Looking back at it now, I think it has helped me get over the phase where the compositions were very regular with the same angle and not much thought behind the content. I was focusing more on the visual aspect, which I think is in a way good. But after picking up the aesthetics, it is also essential to think about the context and its relation to us. I was earlier more interested in colours and a certain way of looking at things. Also I never really worked hard enough to go beyond the obvious, meaning I use to visit the Old Delhi as it offered me people who were already used to being photographed.

For the first time I have actually started to ask people before shooting them. I think it is also ethical given the fact that these people might never even get to see their own photographs again. So before taking a shot I ask for their permission and after a shot I choose to show them. But what I am interested is to see them in their environment. And I am sure that there would be so many other ways to explore, so I can’t wait to grab my camera and go. 

I think photography has a certain advantage that no other medium offers. It is spontaneous. Even the idea of staging has some degree of spontaneity to it. My interest lies in interacting environment, and photography might be something that will help approach my practice. At least to the extent I have explored, it has brought certain subjects, its relation to the surrounding and a way to look and ponder at. With naked eyes we often tend to miss out the details. So even if we look from different angles, we don’t question what is it that we are ‘seeing’ and why. Camera acts as a space that lets us the time to delve.