[Reader-list] I asked, "What is your name?"

[shveta at sarai.net]

Dear All,

What kind of a world does a photographer in a photo studio create for
himself?

This is Prem Studio in Daryaganj (Delhi), for anyone who wants a story for
next time they pass by it!

An enjoyable interview by Babli Rai, researcher-practitioner at the LNJP
Cybermohalla Lab.

This text is from the CM Broadsheet 03, which engages with the
technological universe in the localities (LNJP, Dakshinpuri, Nangla
Maanchi).

(The CM Broadsheet is a quarterly publication in Hindi. Editors: Lakhmi
Kohli, Yashoda Singh, Suraj Rai, Love Anand)

Translation by "Frank Huzoor" (frankhuzur at rediffmail.com) and Shveta.

For more texts, see http://www.sarai.kit/wiki/index.php/CM_Translation

best
shveta

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I asked, “What is your name?”

He replied, “Subhash Kumar”.

I thought your name was Pankaj. That's the name on the board, and I
assumed you were Pankaj.

Subhash (laughing): No, it isn't. Pankaj, in fact, is the name of studio
owner. I only work here.

I: You are a photographer. You take photographs. Can I speak with you a
little bit about photos?

Subhash (running his hand through his thick, dark hair): Oh yes, go
ahead and ask me whatever you want.

I: Well, I get myself photographed, I also click photographs myself and
am also a collector of photos. It's something I enjoy. This is your
work. What is your perspective on photography?

Subhash (one hand in his jeans' pocket, a smile on his lips) I don't
really know how to answer that.

He became quiet for a while. Then he said, "Whenever I get ready to take
someone's photo, my only desire is to produce good quality work. I want
to make a photo look like what the person who is getting the photo taken
wants it to be.

I wanted to prod him more on this, but I wasn’t sure if he would like
it. So I decided to ask a different question.

I: How do you take a picture?

Just then, there was a knock on the door and it opened.

"Yaar, give me the photographs if you want me to deliver them! I'm on my
way to Dariyaganj."

An young man of about eighteen to twenty, was standing at the door.

Subhash: Hold on, let me get them out.

Opening the cupboard, Subhash handed over a paper bag, presumably
containing the photographs, to the young man. Then he turned to us.

Subhash: See, taking a photo is quite a simple job. Just ‘click’ the
camera, and a photograph is produced. However, the face of the person
whose photo has to be taken is important. Keeping the face in mind, we
adjust the lighting in the studio, and figure out the distance at which
the camera should be positioned. (He was gesturing with his hands to
create a virtual impression of holding a camera, as if to explain his
technique better.)

I: Where did you learn the art of photography?

At this moment, a woman walked in through the studio door.

Subhash: Yes, how can I help you?

The woman: I want to see him

Subhash: He is not around at the moment. Come back at 5:00 [in the evening].

The woman left.

I took this time as a chance to ask my colleague, who had come with me,
whether my question made any sense, but she didn't get time to respond.

Subhash: I wasn't trained at any institute. I'm a self-taught
photographer. I've learned the tricks of the trade through observation
and practice.

I thought to myself, "Even this question won't lead to anything
interesting! The obvious line of questions following this will be, why
did you take to photography, what was the idea behind that and who
motivated you." This didn’t excite me and I didn’t ask them. I thought a
little and then continued:

I: I've often seen that if someone is not able to strike a right pose,
you suggest some styles. How do you suggest a particular pose for
someone? Is it just by looking at the face, or do you think about a
relation between the angle at which you would like to take the photo,
how close or how far you would like to take the photo from?

Subhash (Breaking into laughter): Yaar, your question are always very
serious and I have to beat my brain to answer them! In a way, striking a
pose is also an art. Before suggesting a pose to someone, I think about
whether it will suit, and if it will look good on the person whose photo
I am going to take. For instance, sitting in a very simple posture is
also a sort of style.

(You have probably guaged from how he addresses us as "yaar" constantly,
that he is what is known as a pucca Delhiite, and somewhere between 25
and 30 years of age.)

I: What do you do if even after elaborately instructing someone, there
is no positive result?
(I thought to myself, "This is not a good question! It's too similar to
and close to the one before.")

Subhash: Just because someone fails time and time again, it doesn't mean
one should stop trying! Rehearsing so many poses together builds some
kind of a rapport between the customer and me. It's a good thing. It
also prompts the customer to visit us again!

I: Do you also make fun of them with others, later?

Subhash (Laughing): Oh yes. Sometimes when the customer is gone, I
narrate his repeated failure to everybody and we all laugh over it. This
is our job, yaar.

I thought, "This man with a serious face has a funny side to him!" I
relaxed now, and felt encouraged to ask him some friendly questions.

I: What kind of photographs do you like for decorating your studio? Do
you only use photos you have taken, or do you use other kinds of photos
to make your studio more attractive?

Subhash (He was looking out of the studio now): Not a single photograph
on these walls has been taken by me. As such, we don’t have a tradition
of embellishing our studio interiors with our own photographs. People
object to such publci display of their images. All these photos have
been bought from the market. Well, if you have no objection to my
putting up your photographs in the studio, I could do that.

I (Two vehicles passing by caught both our attention simultaneously): Do
you take pictures out of your choice?

Subhash: No, I haven’t clicked any image of my choice. I just do it the
way people want me to. People visit us to get a photo of their choice.
This includes photos of their teeth, eyes, nose and parts of the mouth
where they experience trouble so that they can submit it to their doctor.

I: But, there is provision of X-rays for all these body parts.

Subhash: No, getting phots taken is therapeutic. So, we do therapy as well!

I: So many people come here. Does someone attract you? For instance,
someone with beautiful eyes or a lovely smile? Or for that matter,
someone who moves his or her hands in interesting ways? Do you ever feel
tempted to click only beautiful eyes in different ways? Have you ever
experienced such moments?

Subhash (laughing): A lot of such faces visit us and sometimes someone's
laughter and how they look when they laugh stays with us for a long
time. For instance, there is a girl with greenish blue eyes who is quite
a regular visitor to our studio. I am so enamoured with her eyes that I
keep asking her if she will allow me to shoot only her eyes from
different angles. But she doesn't like this idea. I can't do it against
her will.

I: Any other face or some gestures, which interest you a great deal? So
much so that they haunt you even during sleeping and you don’t hesitate
to share it with your friends, family and near and dear ones?

Subhash (running his hand through his hair): See, people come to the
studio dressed for the occassion of getting a photograph taken. Then our
challenge is to get them to understand if the pose they want to be
photographed in is suitable for them or not. Sometimes it's really
difficult to get them to change their mind; and we have to make sure
they stay in a good mood when there photograph is being taken. It can
get a little difficult. Then there are some people who come to get
photogrpahs taken for a special someone. All these things become etched
in our minds, but we can't keep thinking about them.

I quickly recaped all the questions I had asked till now, and thought
about what more I would like to ask him.

I: Ok, tell me how do you manage those photos in which someone stands
touching the top of the Qutab Minar or the minaret of the Taj Mahal?

Subhash: This is a good question to ask me. That is 'trick photography'.

I: What do you mean by 'trick'?

It seemed to me he expected some more questions relating to the skill of
photography, and that I hadn't quite managed to ask him these till now.
Maybe he'll find this question apt.

Subhash picked up a black bag in his left hand.

Subhash: Trick photography means bringing something close after taking
it far away through photography. (As he said this, he moved his right
hand, first close to the bag, then away from it.)It creates the illusion
of something being smaller than it is in this way. It's just a question
of perception, trick of the camera and the skill of the photographer.

I: Are you also into doing 'trick photography'?

Subhash: I can do it. But we don't do trick photography in the studio.
We don't even get any customers requesting such photography.

I: Nowadays, a lot of tricks are done with photography. For instance,
morphing makes it possible to juxtapose an image of girl with that of a
boy. How are such types of photographs produced?

Subhash (Now sitting on a stool): All these photographs are produced
digitally. Digital camera technology allows a lot of changes after the
photograph is taken. I work with a bromide film camera, which doesn’t
allow me such changes. But still, its possible to make changes later on,
by digitising the photograph. But changes like these are easily
recognisable. That's why people still believe more in cameras which
produce bromide print images. They believe those images are more "original".

I: Do you also do morphing?

Subhash: No, what does one gain fro it? Anyway, we are hard pressed with
time for such frivolities, as we have a large number of customers.

I: Do people visit your studio for developing such images?

Subhash: So far, I am yet to receive any such visitor in this area.
Sometimes we do talk over these things with friends. However, I have
never done something like that.

I: But my colleagues and I are very comfortable playing with images on
the computer. We find taking a face from one photo and then placing it
somewhere else very enjoyable.

Subhash (Laughing): But it's very easy to identify such pictures,
irrespective of how uch skill you have. I could make out something like
that immediately. (Laughs again) After all, this is my world.

I: How is it possible to get oneself photographed alongside a hero or
heroine?

Subhash: This is quite a common photo, and it is called 'Murti Kala'
(Statue Art). Just get yourself shot standing beside a cut-out of a film
star. I think if photo is appealing, it should really be attributed to
the cut-out, rather than the person in it! Such photographs were sucha
rage with people till recently, especially during the Dussehra fair or
Eid festivities. We would often set up our stall in such fairs. Now
everyone understands the trick and nobody's interested in it at all.

I: How are such photos which appear on fresh album releases like Dil
Wali or Panwali Dil created?

Subhash: All these are digital images. In fact, the stylish marriage
albums are produced using digital technique these-a-days.

I: Well, when someone comes to you to learn the tricks of photography,
what is your first question?

Subhash: I can share my photographic skill with anyone without posing
any question before him or her. After all, I don’t believe in taking an
interview before having shared anything myself!

I: Well, what is your opinion about the current crop of aspiring
photographers?

Subhash: Nowadays, people are learning photography using digital
cameras. Anyone can learn photography now. Once they have the skill,
they opt to make it a means for earning livelihood. On the other hand,
quite a lot of people are passionate about photography, and some learn
it as a hobby. As for the earning potential of photography, there are so
many options in the market, and anyone can easily land with a good job...

This happened to be our final question. We said goodbye and headed back
to the lab.

     
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