Better PhotograPhy aPril 201554
Finding Something Out of Nothing
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
F
or a serious photographer, the shooting process
often revolves around the proverbial ‘moment’.
In the process of doing so, one ends up looking for,
and looking at certain kinds of subjects and actions.
It is a difficult, but rewarding approach and I constantly
strive to do the same, but recently, I have also been
attracted to a certain kind of stillness and silence, one
that is almost devoid of any momentousness.
It’s strange to explain this in words, but then, some
photos just cannot be described. Maybe, that is what is
intriguing about them. There may be nothing happening
in the frame, no action as one may expect, and yet, whatone sees becomes a photograph that is able to trace the
visual notes of one’s roznaama, or daily diary. In a strange
way, it is about finding something within nothingness.
I’m not talking about the kind of banality that is there
in photos shot by casual cameraphone users. After all,
the most common use of cellphone photography is to
upload visual status updates on social media. But if one
combines this seemingly casual device with the rigour of
serious photography, there is magic waiting to be found,
all around. There are plenty of tiny, unnoticed elements
within the mundane goings-on of life. An open mind,
a curious eye and an alert response are all we need...Amit MehraAmit Mehra