Photography is beautiful. You can capture every moment of your existence and reminisce those moments for the rest of your lives. Even today when we see our childhood photos or photos of loved ones, there’s a sentimental longing that cannot be expressed in words. It surely is a way of ‘feeling, touching and loving’ as Aaron Siskind said.
Today, when we celebrate the soulful art of photography, Mr Purushottam Diwakar, a talented Photo Journalist at India Today, shares with us his experiences and opinions on being a lensman. He is one of the oldest photo journalists in the city of Jaipur and truly passionate for what he does. Let’s see what Jaipur Beat discovered while interviewing him.
Q1. From roll cameras to digital cameras, how has photography evolved?
“Earlier, of course, it used to take time to develop pictures in colour labs. It was a long and hectic process. With digital cameras taking over, photography has revolutionised, in a good way. Gladly, photo journalists can look at the pictures instantly without having to sit in a colour lab for hours. Moreover, they can edit the pictures on computers which make the whole concept beneficial.”
Q2. Considering how easy photography has become with digitisation and the fact that you can take hundreds of shots in one go, do you think the photo journalists these days do not understand how its important?
“No, I disagree! An experienced photographer would never look for short cuts and take the digitisation for granted. Casually clicking hundreds of pictures and not analysing the scenery has its own disadvantages. Firstly, nobody can overlook the storage problem that can be caused by clicking so many pictures. Secondly, nobody has the time to select that one good picture out of hundred pictures. Most importantly, these days, photo journalists are supposed to immediately send pictures to journalists for news. Hence there is no scope for short cuts.”
Q3. What is your opinion on staged photography?
“Those who perform staged photography are the reason why India currently stands on 136th position in photography out of 180 countries. Honestly, I feel ashamed to say that my profession is not doing well. I believe the sole reason for India’s such position is malpractices like staged photography, and not lack of technology or money, as some people might think. You cannot force a kid to cry or artificially design a photograph. With such large viewership and amazing talents in the country, such ethical misconducts are a disgrace.”
Q4. With mobile phones cameras’ resolution rising constantly, in future is it possible for mobile phones to completely replace cameras?
“I don’t think so. Surely there are times when we use mobile phones for capturing some shots, but this does not mean they can do the job of a camera. Experts would always stick to cameras, no matter what! I believe such a day would never come.”
Well this was surely enlightening. Our experience with Mr Purushottsam was a memorable one. We hope you too enjoyed it.
Jaipur Beat wishes you a very Happy Photography Day! 😀
Like and share, if you too love photography!!!!!
Content credit: Neha Mantri
Jaipur Beat 