Imtiaz Ali, known for his directorial prowess with films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar, and Highway, has also ventured into the world of photography. Besides his recent foray into production for OTT shows like Dr. Arora and She, Imtiaz had also taken on the role of a judge in a photography-based reality show. What many may not realize is that Imtiaz is a talented photographer himself, a passion he doesn’t often indulge in due to his role as a film director.

In a conversation with News18, Imtiaz confessed his deep fondness for photography but lamented the limited opportunities he gets to pursue it while directing films.He explained that having a skilled photographer in his cinematography team, operating alongside him, often demotivates him from engaging in still photography. He admitted that the majority of his personal photographs are taken using his phone camera and typically capture food, places and faces.
Imtiaz expressed regret about not fully pursuing his passion for photography but he remains hopeful that one day he’ll have the chance to dedicate more time to it. One constant theme in his movies is the city of Delhi, which holds a special place in his heart due to the time he spent there. He believes there’s still much of Delhi left unexplored and sees the city as an endless source of visual storytelling possibilities, brimming with drama.
Currently, Imtiaz is preparing for his upcoming project, a biopic on Amar Singh Chamkila, featuring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in lead roles. Both actors have also lent their voices to the film’s soundtrack. The movie is set for a direct-to-digital release.

New Delhi: A photography exhibition opening on October 2 in Delhi explores the curious histories behind the most iconic photographs of M.K. Gandhi. Titled ‘The Light Has Gone Out — Photography and Gandhi’s Assassination’, the exhibition is a culmination of 20 years of research by co-curator Ram Rahman.

The project features unpublished photos by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, rare photos from Cartier-Bresson’s original Magnum press prints, writings from Nayantara Sahgal and newspaper clippings on Gandhi’s assassination.

Rahman’s interest in this project sparked years ago when he found the Life magazine issue on Gandhi’s assassination — a multipage tribute with the famous photo of Gandhi and his spinning wheel by Margaret Bourke-White featured at the top.

He then became fascinated by the history uncovered by former journalist and historian Claude Cookman, who researched the professional relationship between Bourke-White and Cartier-Bresson, their varying approaches and their challenges while photographing Gandhi.

In his exhibition, Rahman will use Cookman’s research to tell the stories that happened behind the photos. These stories explain how Bourke-White’s use of flash stopped her from getting the perfect photo at Gandhi’s death and the real story behind Cartier-Bresson’s famous photo of the cremation grounds during Gandhi’s funeral.

To build on the photos themselves, co-curator and art historian Saarthak Singh compiled newspapers and archived texts for the project.

“We’re putting up lots of newspapers from that time in different languages — English, Hindi, Urdu — which covered that moment of the killing,” Rahman said. “So, it’s a way of looking back at a key moment in our history, but through a different lens.”

After years of research, Rahman and his team chose to release the exhibition now given current attitudes toward Gandhi’s assassination. In the past few years, Gandhi’s assassination has become a polarising historical event, with some Hindu nationalists praising Nathuram Godse and NCERT deleting texts relating to the assassination in school textbooks.

“It’s a way of reminding people of who killed Gandhi and why, because history is being re-written, re-interpreted in a very shallow manner,” Rahman said. “And we thought that this is a good way of bringing some kind of memory, particularly to the younger generation, which doesn’t know a lot of this history.”

‘The Light Has Gone Out — Photography and Gandhi’s Assassination’ will be open to the public from October 2 to October 21 at Jawahar Bhawan in Delhi. Rahman said he has designed it as a travelling exhibition and hopes it can be displayed in other parts of the country going forward.

Yasmeen Saadi is an intern at The Wire.

When Steven Llorca takes a photo, he’s looking for spaces or structures that are iconic, well-composed or interestingly juxtaposed. When he takes a photo, he’s looking to capture a scene with the most appealing light and atmosphere. When he takes a photo, he could be in one place for just a moment or for hours, depending on the scene’s conditions. For Llorca, this is the process that fine art photography requires, and based on the resulting images, it really seems to be working for him.

Before he was a fine art photographer, Llorca worked predominantly in commercial publishing as an art director utilizing graphic design and, later, photography in his work. He worked on a variety of projects focused on such subjects as sports cars and commercial products.

In the early ’00s, Llorca moved to Tennessee and began pursuing fine art photography several years later. His interest in photography — and art in general — began long before his professional career did.

In middle and high school, Llorca’s art teachers, the Carters (a married couple), helped foster his interest in art. He took all the available art classes his schools provided, and once he outgrew the introductory skills these classes taught, Mrs. Carter provided him with more advanced materials to further develop his abilities.

“The thing that really drew me to [art] was the freedom I had to invent things in my head and imagine and observe and juxtapose what I saw with what I wanted to think about,” Llorca says.

Llorca’s initial interest in photography came from the process of darkroom development, he says. His brother worked in a darkroom at Six Flags, where he would develop photos of park visitors and put them into souvenir keychains. Llorca found his brother’s stories of the darkroom interesting, but his own work in a darkroom wouldn’t come until his time in art school when he took an introduction to photography class.

    “Debutts Trainyard” by photographer Steven Llorca
  

In the class, Llorca had the chance to make a pinhole camera, put film in it and learn how to use the darkroom to develop the film. The darkroom process — the use of chemicals, machines and other materials and factors — to develop film hearkened back to Llorca’s early days with art, he says.

“There’s a certain romance to that darkroom process, and in many ways, it was like doodling and drawing,” he says. “There was a lot of experimentation and being playful and studying something like, ‘Would this be better this way, or would it be better that way?'”

Llorca developed his photography skills during his time working in the corporate world by offering to shoot smaller-budget projects or learning different techniques and methods from the photographers on bigger-budget projects. Once he transitioned into fine art photography, he found greater creative freedom as an artist.

As a fine art photographer, Llorca says, you are your own client and must decide how you want to use elements in a scene to portray your artistic vision.

Llorca says that he takes inspiration from art history to inform his photography. For example, the Hudson River School of American landscape painters inspires his use of light and atmosphere to evoke emotion. He also achieves this evocation from his use of movement through long-exposure techniques that blur objects in motion.

“I want there to be some type of response,” Llorca says of his photography. “My goal is to create one that is positive, uplifting and represents some sort of intangible [feeling and connection].”

    “Lake with Chair at Sunset” by photographer Steven Llorca
  

While he’s had the opportunity to travel to several other countries for his photography, Llorca is able to find inspiration and create beautiful images right here in Chattanooga. He says that he wants people to have an emotional connection to his photos, but he also wants his photos of Chattanooga to help people relive memories and feelings they have towards places around the city, such as the Walnut Street Bridge or the Tennessee River.

For those interested in pursuing photography, Llorca advises not getting hung up on the right equipment to use and instead using what is readily available, such as a smartphone. Sometimes, he says, having limitations is unlimiting, as it requires you to be more creative and find your own solutions.

“A lot of times, you’ve just got to pick something and go with it and not be afraid to be wrong,” Llorca says. “Then go ask yourself, ‘Why was I wrong?’ and move forward, fix it, experiment.”

To see more of Llorca’s work, visit him in-person most Sundays at the Chattanooga Market or online at stevenllorca.com.

    Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Photographer Steven Llorca talks to Chattanooga resident Justus McMillan about his photos at his booth at the Chattanooga Market.
  

For almost 60 years, the Natural History Museum in London has organized the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, rewarding the best nature photographs selected by an international jury.
Here are 10 of the most beautiful images selected from 50,000 photos presented in the competition, from 30 countries.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy

The portfolio of the 100 winning photos of the competition will be found in an exceptional book to be published in October by Biotope editions.

Sale price: €34
ISBN: 978-2-36662-307-9
Format: 25 x 25 cm – 160 pages
Publication: October 2023
Available in bookstores and on
www.leclub-biotope.com

This is part two of a two part series on rediscovering your photography mojo. You can find part one, from last week, here. 

6 Follow your instincts

Most of us have experienced the sense of knowing things before we know them, even if we can’t explain how.

I firmly believe in following my instincts, not only as a photographer but also throughout life. It’s how we experience life and it can aid in breaking creative ruts as an artist, but how you may ask? Whenever you feel an inclination of inspiration, or have an idea, pause and then follow your gut while the inspiration is fresh.

It can be extremely difficult to rekindle that spark once the moment has passed, and it’s almost always impossible to conjure up on command, so listen to the voice inside and pursue the moments and ideas whenever they arise.

You never know what it may become if you don’t at least give it a shot. 

7 Take from your mistakes

One of my favourite quotes belongs to Raymond Carver, who once said, “You’ve got to work with your mistakes until they look intended.” This quote is very fitting for anyone looking to succeed in photography.

We all make mistakes whether we are open about it or not. No one is perfect and this is exactly why we should acknowledge all those imperfections. It’s only through insisting and pretending that the errors are intentional that you can make real, unintentional masterpieces.

A good practice is to try shooting a roll of film, which is intentionally about mistakes.

Give it a shot, review each frame and see where you went wrong, but also see how and why some of those mistakes work.

8 Allow yourself space 

Most of my strongest images are taken when I am in the right frame of mind for making pictures. Typically, this occurs when the situation is unplanned, spontaneous and free to uncertainty. The forest itself gives me time and space for unexpected and introspective thinking.

I feel safe in being alone in nature, allowing for both intimate and personal behaviour to take place, which is when I tend to produce my best work. A good practice is to go somewhere you feel at ease, somewhere quiet and private. Only photograph when you feel the timing or moment is right.

Don’t force yourself to take the image if you don’t feel it. By doing this experiment you’ll realise the importance of being in the moment, and not just firing off shots until you feel like you’ve got the shot. It’s an inspiring sensation when the camera becomes an extension of yourself, and it’ll teach you a lot about yourself too.

9 Play with different gear/techniques

Sometimes mixing things up with the gear we use can have a dramatic impact on our approach and motivation with creativity. For example, maybe you regularly shoot portraits using only natural light, so perhaps you could try adding flash to give a different quality of light.

10 Set goals

One of the most common struggles for photographers, especially those who do it full time is figuring out what to do with your precious time.

Having specific goals is a great way for productivity and clarity as well as for staying motivated and inspired.

The key is to set realistic goals that are achievable on a day-to-day basis. Take a moment to think about what exactly you want to achieve, write a list and then slowly work your way through them.

It could be as simple as taking daily photos at the same location or route that you travel each day, or maybe you want to make a photobook, so set aside a few hours each day to shoot specifically for the book project. Goals will help keep you focused and motivated to create new work.