Better PhotograPhy march 201570
On Slowing Down...
Constantly balancing the worlds of commercial and documentary photography, Amit describes himself saying, “I’m like an octopus who likes to deal with different things
at the same time. You can call me a schizophrenic photographer.” The moments in this monthly diary are excerpts from his ongoing work titled ‘Roznaama’.Cellphone Diaries
L
ast month, I deleted the Facebook app from my
phone and decided to use it only when I’m sitting
on a desktop. Technology tends to make slaves of
us and it gets tempting to keep scrolling through the News
Feed. Instead of checking it incessantly, I decided to push
myself to look for images, and shoot.
Earlier, we would send our friends a picture postcard
to tell them about our travels. Facebook and Instagram
uploads are the new picture postcards. But there is a fine
line between putting up a casual picture as a status update
and showcasing one’s serious photography. After all,
every image uploaded is a statement of who we are, andcan change the way our vision is perceived. One has
to consider flow of thought, context and relevance.
Like this image, which I shot and uploaded last spring in
Kashmir, and I am using it for this diary now that spring
has returned. Also, if one plans to publish the photos in
a book, a magazine or an exhibition, how much of the
work should one expose? For me, it’s like playing a tough
game of cards, in deciding what images to reveal, when,
and which ones to hold back. Social media is an incredible
platform to discover and share new photos, but at a time
when photography seems to be in a hurry, it’s probably
best to slow down.Amit Mehra70Amit Mehra