Film photography has enjoyed a notable resurgence in the last few years, and while it can offer an enjoyable and different experience over digital, it is not without its drawbacks. The cost is the most commonly cited con to the format, but there is something arguably more crucial to consider. This excellent video essay discusses the issue and what you should consider before you pick up your film camera.

Coming to you from James Popsys, this insightful video essay discusses the importance of thinking twice before you rely on film for images you only get one shot at. I think Popsys makes an important point here. We often talk about the importance of redundancy in the form of dual card slots, and we take it for granted that we can check images on the back of our camera immediately. Of course, with film, you do not get either of those safety nets. Thus, if you are in a situation when you might not get a second chance (a wedding or a trip), it is worth considering if digital would be a better choice. If I am on a trip, I’ll typically bring a film camera with me, but I’ll also back it up by taking a digital shot whenever I use it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Popsys.

As we commemorate World Photography Day on August 19, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images taken by The Hindu’s photographers

Photo:
K.R. Deepak

The photograph clicked by K.R. Deepak, Chief News Photographer, The Hindu, won the first prize in a contest organised by A.P. Photo Journalists Association on August 17, 2023, as part of the World Photography Day celebrations in Vijayawada.

Photo:
B. Jothi Ramalingam

Cadets march as rose pedals are showered around them by a helicopter during the Passing Out Parade and Pipping ceremony at Officer Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai, on August 24, 2023.

Photo:
B. Jothi Ramalingam

Ripon Building, home of the Greater Chennai Corporation, was lit up for the seventh Asian Hockey Championship on August 9.

Photo:
Thulasi Kakkat

In this picture, a Theyyam artist named Galinchan trudges along the lanes of Madikai village calling on the households under its divine jurisdiction.

Photo:
G. Moorthy

After a scorching afternoon, a sudden shower surprises residents of Madurai on July 9.

Photo:
V. Raju

The photograph clicked by V. Raju, Special News Photographer, The Hindu, won a consolation prize in a contest organised by A.P. Photo Journalists Association as part of the World Photography Day celebrations in Vijayawada on August 17.

Photo:
R.V. Moorthy

Flood-affected people wait for food as they are shifted under a flyover from the banks of the Yamuna river at Mayur Vihar area, in New Delhi.,

Photo:
L. Balachandar

Marine police rescue ten Sri Lankan Tamils, including children, who landed at the first islet off Danushkodi seeking livelihood in Tamil Nadu, on May 6.

Photo:
M. Periasamy

A flock of black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) at Krishnampathy tank that is filled with plastic waste, in Coimbatore.

Photo:
G. Ramakrishna

Muslims gather at the Edigha Chilkalguda to offer prayers on the occasion of Id-Ul-Adha in Secunderabad on June 29.

Photo:
K.R. Deepak

The photograph won the second prize in the National Photo Contest-2023 organised by The Photography Academy of India on August 17, in collaboration with India International Photographic Council as a part of the World Photography Day celebrations in Vijayawada.

Photo:
Nagara Gopal

Osman Nagar, Habeeb Colony and Saif Colony-2 in Jalpally municipality on the outskirts of Hyderabad are completely under water on July 27, following night-long heavy rains.

Photo:
K. Bhagya Prakash

An ambulance lies overturned by the side of NICE road in Bengaluru after it lost control, on July 28.

Photo:
K.V.S. Giri

Residents of Pamula Lanka, an island village, commute using a boat on July 29 as the road leading to their village is submerged following release of flood water into Krishna river.

Photo:
Nagara Gopal

Preparations for Ganesh Chathurthi festivities begin a month in advance, as huge Plaster of Paris idols are given finishing touches at Mangalghat in Hyderabad on August 5.

Photo:
Ritu Raj Konwar

A group of boys take a minute to drink in the pristine air above the paddy fields on the outskirts of Imphal, Manipur, on July 30.

Photo:
Nagara Gopal

The hillock at Kokapet SEZ, where HMDA earned more than ₹100 crore per acre, is being pounded to dust to give rise to multi-storeyed structures on the outer periphery of Hyderabad’s capital region on August 9.

Photo:
A.M. Faruqui

Artists from Rajasthan perform the ‘Kalbelia’ dance during the National Folk and Tribal Art Festival ‘Utkarsh’ at Ravindra Bhawan in Bhopal.

Photo:
Nissar Ahmad

A view of the historical Jamia Masjid and Hari Parbat fort in Srinagar.

Photo:
Kommuri Srinivas

The picture clicked by Kommuri Srinivas, Photographer, The Hindu, won a consolation prize in ‘Photojournalism’ category of a contest organised by A.P. Photo Journalists Association as a part of the World Photography Day celebrations in Vijayawada.

Today – August 19 – is World Photography Day, marked around the globe as a celebration of the photograph and its history.

The date recognises the invention of the ‘Daguerrotype’ – the first publicly available photographic process – which was gifted to the world on August 19, 1839.

World Photography Day has been celebrated on the day since Indian photographer OP Sharma came up with the idea, with the first marked in 1991.

To mark this year’s World Photography Day, we asked our three official club photographers – Gemma Thomas, Rob Stead and Lloyd Jones – to select their five favourite photographs from their time shooting the Red Dragons.

Check out their favourite photos below…

ROB STEAD: The shot that caused a stir with Sheffield United. This has to be my favourite of last season. When the players ran over to my lens, I was thinking to myself, “I better not mess this up!” Thankfully the photo developed well! Who knew the drama that was about to unfold across the footballing world…

GEMMA THOMAS: What an incredible moment this was for me personally. Standing on the grass at the Snapdragon Stadium, capturing a flyover, above the squad in the setting San Diego sun. A real “pinch me” moment.

This is the start of my fourth season with the club, and to think back of the images I have captured in the past three seasons, my mind struggles to comprehend the things that I have done, and the places I have been. Standing taking this image, shows me how far I have come, and I cannot wait to capture what happens next for all the Wrexham AFC fans around the world!

LLOYD JONES: My Dad & Taid in Wembley. This was one of the last photos I took of my Taid before he sadly passed a few months later that year. I edited the photo way before we knew he was ill so proudly already had this image printed in a frame and just sums up my whole thoughts of Wrexham around my Dad & Taid.

GEMMA THOMAS: The release of emotion! This moment was when we all believed and felt that what we had waited so long for, was now within touching distance. The pure emotion captured in a single photo. The hard work and dedication locked into one image. I love this photo; it sums up how everyone in the stadium felt that day. The Red Dragons roar again!

LLOYD JONES: The fact I get the opportunity to photograph the club I love just means I am able to point towards the crowd as much as I can do. Football without the fans is nothing and I love to capture the passion from our fans week in week out, the passion shows in every game whether it be joy or pain, it’s why we all love this game.

ROB STEAD: After seeing images come through from fans in the US of the new billboards advertising season two of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, it knocked me back a little to think that an image I took is currently being displayed across Los Angeles. It’s far away from snapping the mystery that was Gime Touré at Lex. Photographing at the club is an experience that I am extremely honoured to be a part of.

ROB STEAD: The whole occasion was special from the off. A new stadium, a new away day for me and a packed crowd behind the goal with nothing to lose, and against higher opposition! Top that off with a 12th minute goal from Dalby that got the stadium rocking! The passion in this photo is what everyone was feeling at that moment.

LLOYD JONES: These were always the first thing I could see on the way to the games as a young fan; they are iconic as they are, or were, but again fond memories to keep.

GEMMA THOMAS: What can I say about this image other than wow! At the end of what was Rob and Ryan’s first ever day at the club I captured this moment. A moment between our chairmen, on the turf of the Cae Ras, lit up by our famous floodlights. Still to this day I look at this photo and can’t believe I am responsible for it. A magical day for our co-chairmen but one that I too will never forget!

LLOYD JONES: As a young lad my Dad and Taid used to take me to the games in the early 2000s where we would stand on the Kop so I have very fond childhood memories from here, which is why this photo means a lot to me and shows the history of the Club.

GEMMA THOMAS: What a magical moment for these girls! I have been lucky over the past few seasons to have worked with them and to see them lift the trophy that day brought tears to my eyes. I could not have been any prouder of them.

To see them fight for what they all deserved was incredible to watch over the course of last season. Looking ahead to this season, I for one cannot wait to see how they get on in the Genero Adran Premier!

ROB STEAD: The technical quality of the photo isn’t the greatest but the moment will be frozen in time. In what was a season defining game filled with goals and drama, it was a 97th minute stop by Ben Foster that took the headlines.

GEMMA THOMAS: This photo captures what for so long we all had hoped we would achieve. Being able to photograph our local lad, raised above the Wrexham fans that had dreamed about this moment for so long was something special for me to photograph. Being able to capture a moment in time that so many Wrexham fans will look back on in the years to come is a mind-boggling thing to think of.

LLOYD JONES: Love capturing the action especially the celebration photos (when I remember not to celebrate myself!)

ROB STEAD: Not content with just billboards across the pond, now large-scale murals too! 🤯 What an honour to have a photo referenced by the fantastically creative Liam Stokes-Massey (Pencilcraftsman).

Your memory might fade away, but pictures stay intact forever. Photographs not only remind you of the past, but they also have the ability to embody a range of emotions and feelings. World Photography Day is observed every year on August 19. The day is dedicated to celebrating the art of clicking pictures. People also pay homage to the pioneers of photography who inspired the world to take up this skill as well as acknowledge the contributions of great photographers. Photography has played a significant role in capturing events of the past for future generations to acknowledge. 

History and Significance of World Photography Day? 

The art or skill of photography has become only better with time. In 1837, two Frenchmen named Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre invented the first-ever photographic process, also called Daguerreotype. The French Academy of Sciences officially announced the invention on January 19, 1837. It is believed that the French government purchased the patent, 10 days after the announcement. Notably, the government did not copyright the patent, instead, they gave it to the world as a gift on August 19. Following this, the day is observed as the World Photography Day.

Though the French laid the foundation, the photography process was simplified in 1839 by William Henry Fox Talabot in the UK. He invented a versatile photographic process using paper-based salt prints. It emerged as a tough competition to the metal-based daguerreotype.

From being a hobby to a full-fledged profession for many – it has come a long way. Photography isn’t just technology but a medium of expression that says a thousand words through a picture. People celebrated World Photography Day to address the true potential of this art and spread awareness about it. 

Aug 19, 2023 02:10 PM IST

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On World Photography Day,observed on August 19, here’s pointing the lens towards some NCR-based shutterbugs who are creating captivating compositions that challenge conventional norms.

On World Photography Day, today, here’s turning the lens towards some NCR-based photographers who are clicking captivating frames to shatter conventional norms. From whispering the tale of women’s mental well-being to painting emotions in pixels, daring to unmask taboos, and spotlighting menstruation and hygiene struggles — every click of theirs is an attempt to capture narratives that demand attention, through a canvas where compositions speak louder than words.

The sanity of survival

Cheena Kapoor, a Delhi-based photographer chose to capture the Forgotten Daughters in the female ward at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), in the Capital. The place houses about 80 women with mental health problems. “Mental illness is not the only war the women fight here. It’s also the stigma of social acceptance and gender discrimination, which is a major cause of their trauma,” shares Kapoor, who has been practising her hand at the lens since eight years. She adds, “The male ward is always filled with anxious faces of family members waiting for the sons to return home while the daughters have been easily forgotten because most of them have faced one trauma or the other to be stuck in the mental health situation they are in, after which even their families do not wish to acknowledge their existence. The dilemma of hope in these women is what has been captured in the photo series.”

Love without limitations

“When I was chasing my dream to become a doctor, photography simply happened to me and that too wedding photography. The way emotions unfold at an Indian wedding is phenomenal,” says Sumit Verma, a Noida-based photographer breaking the stigma around weddings of couples from the LGBTQ+ community by offering them free photoshoots of their weddings and union ceremony. Verma, who started clicking pictures via his father’s camera since he was 10 years old, shares, “I had witnessed how hotels and resorts tend to deny bookings for same sex marriages, which is why I wanted to work for their inclusivity in the society. By focusing on LGBTQ+ couples, I aim to create a platform that acknowledges and validates their relationships, showing that they are just as significant and beautiful as any other couple because as per my belief, love comes with no boundaries, and such is the story of the same-sex couples who I’ve clicked.”

Good stains on the frames

“I believe it was important for a man to represent menstrual hygiene and talk about menstruation in some way because its not only a ‘women’ probably. The word menstruation itself has the word men in it, which is I felt it was important to educate people about it,” says Niraj Gera, a Delhi-based photographer who has been sensitising the society towards the stigmas associated with menstruation hygiene through his docu-series, Sacred Stains. “It wasn’t easy to capture the pictures in this series because even today, women in the rural parts of Delhi and other places are not very comfortable talking about menstruation with a man. This is why, for some photos I had to pose with the sanitary pad to make them know how it’s okay to touch the pad, even for a man, and they need to befriend it for their own betterment,” shares Gera, who’s been clicking pictures since 13 years.

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• ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  

  Manvi Singh

  Manvi Singh writes on art, culture and campus, for the daily Entertainment & Lifestyle supplement, HT City.

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