Category archive

photography - page 3

The humbleness in photography is becoming undone

in photography by
© Shaun La
Still-Life, Harlem. Photographed on 135 film

As a professional photographer, there has been numerous social occasions, where people would pull out their physical photo-albums & show to me, their physical photographic prints. Some were 4×6 or 5×10 photographic prints breathing behind plastic covers with air coming through the slots where the presenter would slide out their photograph to place into my hands as an invitation to a closer examination. Usually, they would vocally explain to me, “I am not a professional photographer but I love photography.” These people who decided to share their photographic eye with me, held onto the passion of Photography, because I could sense it. I would listen as they retort to me, the learning experiences that came with their first camera. These stories would sprout into how they took a photography class, workshop, had so much fun in a darkroom, but somehow decided to venture into a career that did not stipulate them being a professional photographer; however, they still found the enjoyment in being able to pull out their film cameras during a family event or a free weekend that had them leaving a major city for a mini-vacation on the countryside, fresh air greeting their peace of mind & an Eye feeling the urge to do some Photography.

Progressively in this 21st century, we are a high-speed visual society. Every story is followed up with a “did you take a picture of it?,” “send me that picture, right now,” as soon as the photograph is taken. Behind the scenes photographs are no longer tucked into a drawer to be met later on down the years, but instantly offered to the world, at times, overshadowing the final photographs that erupted from the photography session. Professional photographers are on the side of a river in a society where the ground level is falling deeper & deeper into the shorelines, swarmed by an ocean of photographers who are fashionably drowning out the term “professional.”

Shaun La
Central Park. Photographed on 135 film

The Materials that comes with Seeing:

Candid photography is one of the earliest forms of photography that has ever met the invention of the camera apparatus in the mid 1800’s. Even if the people in the photographs appeared blurry, ghostly, due to shutter-speed issues going through experimental measures. During that time, Photography still rose up to becoming embraced by the scientist, painter, or teacher who did not see a studio element as a ground for their income to be constructed on top of.

We as a society have always had a craving to enjoy the photograph, painting, drawing & its visual dominance; we as a society will always remember to look at the photograph, despite our modern habit of wanting to take photographs more than taking the time out to look at them. Therefore, we cannot battle against knowing that a camera does exist in many shapes & sizes.

Shaun La
Portrait of the Author Shannon Holmes (B-More Careful). Photographed on 135 film

Portrait of the Author Shannon Holmes (B-More Careful). Photographed on 135 film.

However, there is a lost sincerity in Photography, today. Everyone having access to a camera is not necessarily the problem. It would seem like everyone not having a clear motive for holding a camera would be the first stage of problematic frustrations opening up this lost sincerity in Photography. The opportunist can become a photographer overnight & more than ever in the concise history of Photography, the professional photographer is asked to scratch off a photography session because a client’s cousin owns a camera–giving the opportunity to capture moments to a societal habit that balances out saving money in the long run. A long run that belittles photographs undying visual  effectiveness, as time ascends.

Photographic prints are produced on a massive scale, giving the photographer, a pennies on the dollar disparity to their hard work. Therefore, even the photographic print is met with a bargain in the print collecting world; thus, showing that Photography is a disposable entity that starts from the hiring of a photographer to the final outcome—where the photographic print is a tangible reward hassled down to a cheap product.

Shaun La
Midtown Manhattan. Photographed on 135 film

Patterns can stretch the Pace:

I do not want to stand in the center of civilization’s Parade on Photography & throw the fun off by playing a serious tune by pointing to digital photography being the culprit to the need for speed that overflows this visual medium, which contains Photography. Actually, as a professional photographer who works on film only, I think differently when it comes down to pointing the finger at the digital format increasing our greedy outtake & intake with photographs, manipulating us into high-speed visual stalkers. It is not the impulsing intentions of digital photography that makes the spirit of seeing the moment, cocky & impatient.

We as breathing humans made our own pace outdo the practical speed; we made the digital revolution rush us, the digital revolution does not require us to rush (at least from my outsider’s position that is looking in, as a film photographer). Today’s time explains that photographers & their worthiness are defined by how many followers, Likes, shares, & photography driven magazines, popular blogs & social-media websites dedicating a small “too cool” room to their favorite photographer of the famous clan who will spill their self-absorbed philosophies into the Universe with the rewards becoming about achieving even more Likes, shares & a welcome mat to a collection of new followers who will worship their photographic work—rarely, do these famous photographers residing in the center of the spotlight open up their fame to include the world of Photography being bigger than their own self-absorbed philosophies; thus teaching the world about Photography, overall & not just about their own photographic work.

Shaun La
Harlem, New York. Photographed on 135 film.

Fading away are the experiences where I met fellow photographers who did not need the Internet’s compass to find their way to the significance inside of their own work; they were not professionals in the sense that a business made them an economic factor in society, nor did they ask the world to define them as competitors to an unseen Eye Crown worn by famous photographers who have castles on various lands of social-media throughout the Internet. They did not bow down to gallery curators who could hang their work on white walls with high-brow summaries under the framed photographic prints, merging with recessed lighting coming from the ceilings.

Lights of popularity showing the world, the hype behind knowing the right people in the commercial industry of Photography. These photographers who are not professionally connected but humbled with a profound appreciation for this medium found Photography to mean something to their own conscience, their families & friends. It was about their Eye being a member of the unofficial title that still has an undefined branch to its essential meaning: the Photographer. Now, this essential meaning may be hanging out with a pretentious layer that is the new photographer’s motive in a world where one photograph can make you famous on a viral scale. Such a scale kind of collapses down on the candid photographer, or the uncle or aunt who has a camera around their neck.

Shaun la
Occupation Wall Street. Photographed on 135 film.

Let us not forget about the humbleness:

Again, most of these presenters whose visual, frozen moments via photography, resting in their photo-albums, would say to me, “I am not a professional photographer, but I love photography.” I would listen & think to myself, “you are a photographer.” The humbleness in this medium may be dimming away from a society that has the aspirations for Internet fame, influencing so many people to overlook their own potential, because they want to fit into the merits of being a well-known photographer—which at times, could be slightly different than a photographer with good or great photographic work.

Shaun La
Harlem, 125th & Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. Photographed on medium-format film, 120.

Yet, the talented & gifted photographers who are behind their good or great photographs might be the quiet ones hidden from popularity, where you will actually have to share some time, sit down on a couch & turn the pages in order to truly see that Photography is for every one who can agree to the willingness that it takes to truly free up your mind, heart, emotions & thoughts, all for the blessing to completely see Moments reliving themselves–this is a mandate that is impartial to the professional, novice, or hobbyist.

Enjoy Photography.

Words & Photography by: Shaun La.

Shaun La is a photographer & writer. Starting off with the medium of photography at the age of 18 (20 years ago) with a Minolta Hi-Matic & 135 film, the desire to see the moment became a way to envision the possibilities in wanting to be a timer awaiting to see if he could photograph more moments. His photography extends into fashion, street, photojournalism, landscape, still-life & candid realities—still utilizing film cameras only, 135 & medium-format film. As a writer, he has penned numerous essays on various topics, which has been published by the Amsterdam News, the Baltimore Sun, Afro-Punk, Camera Obscura & other media outlets. Currently he is working on his book, “The Perpetual Intellectual View Called Photography: Essays,” & putting together the building blocks for an exhibition on his photography. Please feel free to take the time out to see more of his work & writings, which can be viewed here at his official website: http://www.shaunarts.com/writings Official website: http://www.shaunarts.com

Minimalism in Street Photography

in APF award/Best of street photography/photography/Street Photography by
© Ricardo Leung‎

We at the APF magazine street photography group ran a week long contest on the theme “Minimalism”. Members were asked to post Street photographs keeping the theme in mind.

Theme was open to interpretation to let members come up with their own definitions and views. 3,872 photographs were submitted for the theme and after going through all of these, curators have selected the following 29 top photographs.

Stay tuned, the winner will be announced on 25th July, 2016.

© Achim Katzberg‎
© Achim Katzberg‎
© Yoriyas Yassine Alaoui Ismaili‎
© Yoriyas Yassine Alaoui Ismaili‎
© Jagadeesh Posni‎
© Jagadeesh Posni‎
© Mizan Rahman‎
© Mizan Rahman‎
© Eric Kogan‎
© Eric Kogan‎
© Alex Liverani‎
© Alex Liverani‎
© Swapnil Jedhe‎
© Swapnil Jedhe‎
© Arth Figueroa Jumagdao‎
© Arth Figueroa Jumagdao‎
© Rudy Boyer‎
© Rudy Boyer‎
© Ricardo Leung‎
© Ricardo Leung‎
© Frankie Casillo‎
© Frankie Casillo‎
© Mirko Fambrini‎
© Mirko Fambrini‎
© Kob Obob‎
© Kob Obob‎
© Stefano Lista‎
© Stefano Lista‎
© Jad Jadsada‎
© Jad Jadsada‎
© Gaurav Khedekar‎
© Gaurav Khedekar‎
© Forrest Walker
© Forrest Walker
© Achim Katzberg‎
© Achim Katzberg‎
© Jad Jadsada‎
© Jad Jadsada‎
© Jad Jadsada‎
© Jad Jadsada‎
© Ashok Verma‎
© Ashok Verma‎
© Michele Liberti‎
© Michele Liberti‎
© Swapnil Jedhe‎
© Swapnil Jedhe‎
© Md Enamul Kabir‎
© Md Enamul Kabir‎
© Md Enamul Kabir‎
© Md Enamul Kabir‎
© Faisal Bin Rahman Shuvo‎
© Faisal Bin Rahman Shuvo‎
© Nilesh Mazumdar‎
© Nilesh Mazumdar‎
© Swapnil Jedhe‎
© Swapnil Jedhe‎
© Sreeranj Sreedhar‎
© Sreeranj Sreedhar‎

Join our group Here

APF Visual Story telling workshop, Singapore 26th-28th Aug

in APF workshop/photography/Street Photography by
Singapore street photography workshop

APF is organising a 3 day intensive workshop which is tailor made to cater to needs of anyone who wishes to train their eyes to find order in chaos on the streets of Singapore. Street photography is very rewarding but at the same time, one of the hardest genres to master. Our workshop would help ease the anxiety next time you hit the streets, would help solve the puzzle of composing compelling images in split seconds and most importantly it would help you to see.

The workshop is being held by Vineet and Rohit Vohra, Fujifilm X photographers.

© Rohit Vohra
© Rohit Vohra
Vineet & Rohit would also guide you through their signature – Gestalt Vision, widely applied in their images, which basically involves an attempt to organize visual elements into groups or unified whole by applying principles of composition.

Each day will include shooting and theoretical session on all you need to know about street photography, dos and don’ts, ways to overcome the fear of getting close, detailed look into various composition aspects and the common mistakes while composing, understanding layering in photography, Gestalt vision and its application in photography, developing ones own style, understanding peripheral vision, ways to see and treat light, video documentary of how their images are made as they shoot and how they fine tune their vision and more.

Members will walk with the mentors on the streets of Singapore. We will walk through China town, Little India and the group will have a chance to turn their freshly acquired theoretical knowledge into practice, with theme in hand to create and execute through the walk. The mentors will accompany students while shooting, observe them at work and give instant feedback and suggestions when required. Students will also have a chance to observe the mentors at work, learn their tricks and techniques. Students will not only hunt for decisive moments like Henri Cartier-Bresson but also get close to people and photograph them. Mentors will help the participants share and select their top images for review and critiques. Mentors will also talk about the art of story telling. How to write stories and photo essays, followed by a lecture on importance of shooting personal projects and how it benefits in a long run.

This workshop is limited to 15-18 participants,

During this intensive 3-day workshop we will focus on the following topics:

–       Street photography

–       The light and how to handle it

–       Composition – from simple to multi-layered

–       Telling a story with your photographs

–       Working on projects

–       Developing personal style

© Vineet Vohra
© Vineet Vohra

There are no pre-requisites for attending this workshop. The workshop will be best suited for photographers who have some understanding of how to operate their camera, edit their photos, have some experience in photography and want to take their skills to the next level. However, inexperienced photographers are also welcome.

Students need to bring the following to the workshop:

–       A digital camera with a fixed wide angle lens preferably (a 35mm focal length lens would be best). You are most welcome to get your Long telephoto lenses and zooms for your personal work.

–       A laptop with software to edit/tone your images

–       A notebook to take down notes during the workshop

apf singapore workshop
© Rohit Vohra

WORKSHOP FEE

 $  250

REGISTRATION

To sign up for the workshop please email us at contact@artphotofeature.com or you can pay directly here

After registering we will send you an email regarding the deposit and payment options. To secure a spot in the workshop you must send the full deposit.

Charges are for the workshop only. The participants are responsible for travel, visa, accommodation and local transport costs. Staying in Singapore is fairly reasonable and starts from under Rs 1000 ($20) a night. If you want any assistance regarding your accommodation in Singapore, you can email Mehar at contact@artphotofeature.com.

To find out more about APF workshops, you can visit
http://www.artphotofeature.com/apf-magazine-street-photography-workshop-bangkok-6th-8th-june-2014/

© Vineet Vohra
© Vineet Vohra

VENUE :

TBC

About the Mentors

Vineet Vohra

Born in Delhi/India, Vineet did masters in fine arts from the prestigious college of arts. He is a self-taught photographer and street photography is a passion that he follows like a discipline.

Vineet started shooting as a wild life photographer for two years and then switched on to street in 2001, it instantly became his passion.Vineet considers street photography a journey that he travels everyday. He believes in learning and unlearning and thrives to improve with each shot. Life in general which is so unexpected, he tries to be as honest through his lens as he can. His main focus is on how to make ordinary moments look extraordinary.

Currently Vineet presents workshops globally and has judged MSPF ( Miami street photography festival ), currently judging San Fransisco street photography festival and conducting a seminar and a workshop in SF. His works and stories have been published on various prestigious magazines all over the world including National Geographic. He is part of the famous collective www.streetcollective.com which comprises of only 8 members from the world and a part of APF collective which has 20 members.

In 2015 he was placed 5th in the top 20 most influential street photographers.
http://www.streethunters.net/blog/2015/04/08/20-most-influential-street-photographers-2015/

In 2016 has is placed 3rd in the top most influential street photographers.

http://www.streethunters.net/blog/2016/05/27/the-20-most-influential-street-photographers-for-2016/

His portfolio : http://www.vineettvohra.com/

He is an Official Fuji X Photographer

Other publishes :

Leica Blog : http://blog.leica-camera.com/2016/05/13/otherwise-quaint-town/
http://121clicks.com/tutorials/getting-layers-right-street-photography-vineet-vohra
http://www.thestreetcollective.com/vineet-vohra
http://m.yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/240352/#/photos/
http://121clicks.com/photo-stories/terminal-street-photography-essay-by-vineet-vohra

Rohit Vohra

Rohit Vohra is a street/ travel photographer, educator and Co-founder/ Editor in Chief of APF Magazine. In a search for methods to read the city, his photographs are often about contact with humans and basic living elements. He received his BFA from College of Arts, Delhi in the year 1997 and has been photographing for over 12 years.

He is one of Asia’s most prominent street photographers, He is a member of APF Collective. His works have appeared in numerous Newspapers/ Magazines all over the world.

Among other commercial work, which includes product and fashion, he personally likes street photography because of the uncertainty, the challenge, the joy of capturing that perfect moment, perfect in terms of light, texture, and elements all perfectly in place.
For him street photography is one of the purest forms of photography. He says, “It is also one of the most difficult forms of photography. It’s difficult because we usually don’t have much control over the environment, well at least as much as we might like.”
His portfolio

http://www.rohitvohra.com/

He is an Official Fuji X photographer.

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/rohit_apf/

In 2015 he was placed in the top 20 most influential street photographers.
http://www.streethunters.net/blog/2015/04/08/20-most-influential-street-photographers-2015/

Some of his interviews
http://121clicks.com/showcases/rohit-vohra-a-passionate-street-photographer-from-delhi-india
An Interview with Eric Kim
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/11/20/reading-the-visual-layers-of-new-delhi-rohit-vohra/

Latest Articles (March-April 2016) for Huffingtonpost

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/rohit-vohra/a-window-into-hong-kong_b_9667366.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/rohit-vohra/grandiose-of-calcutta_b_9475426.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/rohit-vohra/lathmaar-holi-behind-the-_b_9529950.html

At Bored Panda

http://www.boredpanda.com/120-hours-in-hong-kong-photographer-comes-back-with-this/

He is on the judging panel of some of the top Photography awards in the world. Including IPA, MIFA, Photogravphy Grant etc.

http://www.photoawards.com/rohit-vohra/
http://grant.photogrvphy.com/page/jury
http://www.urban.dotart.it/jury.html
http://streetfoto.org/contest-judges/
http://www.moscowfotoawards.com/jury.html

25 Top street photographs from April and May

in Best of street photography/photography/Street Photography by
© Marek Lapis‎

Every once in a while, at the end of the day, when you are most exhausted and feel like giving up, a dash of light, an unexpected gesture, a riot of color or something plain ironic, suddenly reveals itself and if you are attentive enough you press the shutter just in time to catch that beautiful arrangement that happens just for you.

“Street Photography”

Here we present the top 25 photographs posted in the APF group in the month of April and May 2016. Sit back and enjoy.

© Orna Naor‎
© Orna Naor‎
© Eric Kogan‎
© Eric Kogan‎
© Pierre Belhassen‎
© Pierre Belhassen‎
© Gurunathan Ramakrishnan‎
© Gurunathan Ramakrishnan‎
© Orna Naor‎
© Orna Naor‎
© Sarasij Dasgupta‎
© Sarasij Dasgupta‎
© Veronica Gera‎
© Veronica Gera‎
© Shuvro Bappy‎
© Shuvro Bappy‎
© Corneliu Sarion‎
© Corneliu Sarion‎
© Antonio E. Ojeda‎
© Antonio E. Ojeda‎
© Refat Siddique‎
© Refat Siddique‎
© Ayanava Sil‎
© Ayanava Sil‎
© Marek Lapis‎
© Marek Lapis‎
© Antonio E. Ojeda‎
© Antonio E. Ojeda‎
© Michele Liberti‎
© Michele Liberti‎
© Ilan Burla
© Ilan Burla
© Boris de Flash
© Boris de Flash
© Drew Hopper
© Drew Hopper
© Skander Khlif
© Skander Khlif
© Ilan Ben Yehuda
© Ilan Ben Yehuda
© Ariel Pascua
© Ariel Pascua
© David Mar Quinto
© David Mar Quinto
© Giorgio Scalici
© Giorgio Scalici
© Skyid J. Wang
© Skyid J. Wang
© Muhammad Imam Hasan
© Muhammad Imam Hasan

Like the selection, do leave us a note. If you have any of your works you would like to share with us, join the group Here and enjoy the ride.

Kumbh, the Art of story telling workshop. 6th-8th May 2016

in APF workshop/photography by

Simhasth Kumbh Mahaparv” is one of the four “Kumbh Melas” celebrated by largest spiritual gathering on Planet Earth. Simhasth Kumbh Mahaparv is rejoiced by holy dip in the sacred river Kshipra in ancient and religious city Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh).Simhasth Kumbh Maha Parva is based on the celestial line-up of Planets and the Signs of the Zodiac, which occurs every 12 years.

Kumbh” in its literal English translation means “Pot”, which emerged from “Samudra Manthan”(Churning of the Ocean) between Gods and Devils. The term ‘Mela‘ signifies’Fair‘.

This time Simhasth Kumbh Mahaparv is going to take place from April 22nd to May 21st 2016(in Sanskrit Chaitra Shukla Purnima – Vaishakha Shukla Purnima, Vikram Samvat 2073). The holy dip in river Kshipra is taken on the auspicious day at a defined time at which it is believed that ‘Nectar’ from ‘Kumbh’ was dropped in the pious river. It is believed that taking a dip in river Kshipra on this ocassion purifies the soul and overcomes all the sins.

Text credit Simhasth Ujjain. 

APF is organising a 3 day intensive workshop which is tailor made to cater to needs of anyone who wishes to train their eyes to find order in chaos of this years Kumbh Mela held in Ujjain. Street photography is very rewarding but at the same time, one of the hardest genres to master. Our workshop would help ease the anxiety next time you hit the streets, would help solve the puzzle of composing compelling images in split seconds and most importantly it would help you to see.

Allahabad Kumbh 2013
Allahabad Kumbh 2013

Rohit & Vineet would also guide you through their signature – Gestalt Vision, widely applied in their images, which basically involves an attempt to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes by applying certain principles of composition.

Each day will include shooting and theoretical session on all you need to know about street and travel photography, dos and don’ts, ways to overcome the fear of getting close, detailed look into various composition aspects and the common mistakes while composing, understanding layering in photography, Gestalt vision and its application in photography, developing ones own style, understanding peripheral vision, ways to see and treat light, video documentary of how their images are made as they shoot and how they fine tune their vision and more.

Allahabad Kumbh 2013
Allahabad Kumbh 2013

Members will walk with the mentors on the streets of Ujjain. The group will have a chance to turn their freshly acquired theoretical knowledge into practice, with theme in hand to create and execute through the walk. The mentors will accompany students while shooting, observe them at work and give instant feedback and suggestions when required. Students will also have a chance to observe the mentors at work, learn their tricks and techniques. Students will not only hunt for decisive moments like Henri Cartier-Bresson but also get close to people and photograph them.

Allahabad Kumbh 2013
Allahabad Kumbh 2013

A make shift classroom will help the participants share and select their top images for review and critiques.
Mentors will talk about the art of story telling. How to write stories and photo essays, followed by a lecture on importance of shooting personal projects and how it benefits in a long run.

This workshop is limited to 8-10 participants,

During this intensive 3-day workshop we will focus on the following topics:

–       The aspects of Travel/ Street photography

–       The light and how to handle it

–       Composition – from simple to multi-layered

–       Telling a story with your photographs

–       Working on projects

–       Developing personal style

There are no pre-requisites for attending this workshop. The workshop will be best suited for photographers who have some understanding of how to operate their camera, edit their photos, have some experience in photography and want to take their skills to the next level. However, inexperienced photographers are also welcome.

Students need to bring the following to the workshop:

–       A digital camera with a fixed wide angle lens preferably (a 35mm focal length lens would be best). You are most welcome to get your Long telephoto lenses and zooms for your personal work.

–       A laptop with software to edit/tone your images

–       A notebook to take down notes during the workshop

WORKSHOP FEE

 $  250

REGISTRATION

To sign up for the workshop please email us at contact@artphotofeature.com

After registering we will send you an email regarding the deposit and payment options. To secure a spot in the workshop you must send the full deposit.

Workshop is non refundable. In case of cancelation, the workshop money can be used for future workshops.

Charges are for the workshop only. The participants are responsible for travel, visa, accommodation and local transport costs. Staying in Ujjain is fairly reasonable and starts from under Rs 1000 ($20) a night. If you want any assistance regarding your accommodation in Ujjain, you can email Mehar at contact@artphotofeature.com.

Here are some recommendations

http://ujjainkumbhmela.com/kumbhmelapackages.php

http://www.yogalife.co.in/accommodation/ (Mentors are staying here)

Rooms will run out, so book ASAP.

Nearest airport to Ujjain is Indore (53 K.m.).

There are regular trains from other major cities of the country to Ujjain. Ujjain is also well connected with major cities through Bus service.

To find out more about APF workshops, you can visit
http://www.artphotofeature.com/apf-magazine-street-photography-workshop-bangkok-6th-8th-june-2014/

Rohit Vohra 

Rohit Vohra is a street/ travel photographer, educator and Co-founder/ Editor in Chief of APF Magazine. In a search for methods to read the city, his photographs are often about contact with humans and basic living elements. He received his BFA from College of Arts, Delhi in the year 1997 and has been photographing for over 12 years.

He is one of Asia’s most prominent street photographers, He is a member of APF Collective. His works have appeared in numerous Newspapers/ Magazines all over the world.

Among other commercial work, which includes product and fashion, he personally likes street photography because of the uncertainty, the challenge, the joy of capturing that perfect moment, perfect in terms of light, texture, and elements all perfectly in place.
For him street photography is one of the purest forms of photography. He says, “It is also one of the most difficult forms of photography. It’s difficult because we usually don’t have much control over the environment, well at least as much as we might like.”
His portfolio

http://www.rohitvohra.com/
In 2015 he was placed in the top 20 most influential street photographers.
http://www.streethunters.net/blog/2015/04/08/20-most-influential-street-photographers-2015/

Some of his interviews
http://121clicks.com/showcases/rohit-vohra-a-passionate-street-photographer-from-delhi-india
An Interview with Eric Kim
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/11/20/reading-the-visual-layers-of-new-delhi-rohit-vohra/

Latest Articles (March 2016) for Huffingtonpost

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/rohit-vohra/grandiose-of-calcutta_b_9475426.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/rohit-vohra/lathmaar-holi-behind-the-_b_9529950.html
He is on the judging panel of some of the top Photography awards in the world. Including IPA, MIFA, Photogravphy Grant etc.

http://www.photoawards.com/rohit-vohra/
http://grant.photogrvphy.com/page/jury
http://www.urban.dotart.it/jury.html
http://streetfoto.org/contest-judges/
http://www.moscowfotoawards.com/jury.html

Vineet Vohra

Born in Delhi/India, Vineet did masters in fine arts from the prestigious college of arts. He is a self-taught photographer and street photography is a passion that he follows like a discipline.

Vineet started shooting as a wild life photographer for two years and then switched on to street in 2001, it instantly became his passion.Vineet considers street photography a journey that he travels everyday. He believes in learning and unlearning and thrives to improve with each shot. Life in general which is so unexpected, he tries to be as honest through his lens as he can. His main focus is on how to make ordinary moments look extraordinary.

In 2011, he formed APF (artphotofeature.com) along with his brother, Rohit Vohra, who is also a street photographer. APF is born from an education imperative, it’s an evolving magazine to recognise fresh talent. The intent is to provide a platform for emerging photographers, artists and designers to showcase their works, works that are not necessarily commercial, to create opportunities and open new doors. The subjects explored are broad, in terms of concepts, styles and techniques. Intent is to explore the limits and possibilities.

Currently Vineet presents workshops globally and has judged MSPF ( Miami street photography festival ), currently judging San Fransisco street photography festival and conducting a seminar and a workshop in SF. His works and stories have been published on various prestigious magazines all over the world including National Geographic. He is part of the famous collective www.streetcollective.com which comprises of only 8 members from the world and a part of APF collective which has 20 members.

His portfolio : http://www.vineettvohra.com/

Other publishes :
http://121clicks.com/tutorials/getting-layers-right-street-photography-vineet-vohra
http://www.thestreetcollective.com/vineet-vohra
http://m.yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/240352/#/photos/
http://121clicks.com/photo-stories/terminal-street-photography-essay-by-vineet-vohra

The Photograph is Important, Palpable

in photography by
© Shaun La

The Photograph is youthful when it is plastered down & next to the history of music, literature, dancing, acting, painting & sculpture. It is still growing in its own world. Floating into a galaxy that supports instant viewing, a criterion for many photographers, & a crowded place of competitiveness where the photographer want to come out as the photographer whose photographic works has the most attention. 

As often as we as a society had to listen to this century old statement, “Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words,” the reality that goes with the theory in numbers, can be a down payment of words, tucked into such advice. At the time of stating this in 1911, editor of a newspaper, Tess Flanders is credited with being the first to express such a sentiment. It might have been a great way to push societies, who were accepting the medium of photography along with its around 84 years old age, into seeing the larger picture—at least when you look at it from an investor’s standpoint. A photograph can be a hundred thousand words or just one complete word that is heavy with emotions. When the onlooker peels back the layers in a moment—the quietness that finds a straight line in their pace of thoughts is remarkably a form of self-actualization. We can see so much in just one photograph. Untie this “so much” & from here, you can understand the high-tech options with huge storage spaces in digital photography. This can be a host to hundreds & thousands of photographs. A collection of photographs from one photographer can be worth millions of words. 

© Shaun La
© Shaun La

The photograph is still important, regardless of the storage options that we greet in our high-tech world. In 1963. Robert Jackson who has a serious Eye, photographed a black-&-white moment that is accurately titled, “The Murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.” At least 15 men are present in this photograph’s frame. Some are wearing formal hats & suits. A reporter holding a microphone & wearing a trench coat can be viewed on the photograph’s far right, right next to a man with one hand on his cigar & his other hand, reaching out to try & stop Jack Ruby from his mission to kill Lee. Even the cop wearing his decorated hat, in the background has a look of surprise, matching the man on Lee Harvey’s right hand side. Lee is wearing a sweater & dress shirt under it. His mouth is open, his face takes on the suffering emotion as he physically feels the firepower from a firearm. The entire frame of this photograph appears to be a dress rehearsal. However, it is the reality of the suspected murderer of President Kennedy being murdered by a man who died without leaving any clarity to why he killed Lee? In addition to these chain of events, the murdering of President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, & Jack Ruby has touched on unresolved motives, all of which has been moved into collusion filled conjectures. Robert’s photograph, “The Murder of Lee Harvey Oswald” is a testament to the unresolved. The looks on these men faces are quiet, lost, surprised, & detached. This photograph is important enough to rationalize what happened, what was frozen to be restudied by the present, as well as by future civilizations. Robert’s Nikon S 3 photographed a past. His photograph became a rewind button with the moment being a palpable object. 

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, Roy DeCarava, Diane Arbus, Man Ray, Tina Modotti, Don McCullin, Bill Brandt, Margaret Bourke-White, Sam Abell, Edward Weston, Nadar, Eve Arnold, Letizia Battaglia, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Lee Miller, & this list could go & on. It is a list of photographers who dived into this medium called photography & came up for air with moments that were important, palpable. One moment, one photograph, one chief importance that has more or less, met the abandoning ways from a present society that can feast off of so much photography. This kind of abandonment can cause good & great photography to be missed in a modern whirlwind of visual images being tossed into the Internet.

Photography wears the age of 190 plus years very well. Just take a look at its layers. The Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Calotype, Tintype & all of the other types that moved throughout the mid & late 1800’s, to the photographic prints produced from paper & film photography formats that came in 110, 117, 120, 220, 135, 4×5, 5×7, & 8×10. These types & formats opened the doors to the 20th Century to be visually diverse, outside of solely embracing drawings, sculptures & paintings. Photography has been proffering its power to be respected as a medium, ever since its started to see the first cue of success, going back to when Nicéphore Niépce & Louis Daugerre were figuring out what a box, a lens, a metal plate, light & some chemicals could do for the benefits of finding the latent image.

As we ruffle through seeing so many photographs in a present form. It would not be uncommon to come into a realization that we can mistreat the photograph as being unimportant; we can advance to the next photograph without thinking twice about the beauty, harshness, wars, peace, celebrations, deaths, rebirths, hypocritical actions, questions, answers, lack of compassion, silence, humane moments that outlines a desire for a societal “right now fix” to see a visual, because I am bored kind of luxury. 

The unencumbered completeness in defining photography is one of appearance— it is a visual to be seen, felt, & elevated into being indispensable. This has to be a consistent reminder on the sleeves of society, finding the force of collecting the subjectivity & objectivity in believing in the moment. It is a photographic sight; it is photography, one photograph at a time—which is more important than any impulse to drink up instant gratification in order to power up the speedy boost that can drive the onlooker of a photograph through a rush of time. We can actually see ourselves. Please do not blink, take your precious time & enter into one photograph as if you are making one stride with the exact moment that you are exploring with open eyes.

Shaun La is a photographer & writer. Starting off with the medium of photography at the age of 18 (20 years ago) with a Minolta Hi-Matic & 135 film, the desire to see the moment became a way to envision the possibilities in wanting to be a timer awaiting to see if he could photograph more moments. His photography extends into fashion, street, photojournalism, landscape, still-life & candid realities—still utilizing film cameras only, 135 & medium-format film. As a writer, he has penned numerous essays on various topics, which has been published by the Amsterdam News, the Baltimore Sun, Afro-Punk, Camera Obscura & other media outlets. Currently he is working on his book, “The Perpetual Intellectual View Called Photography: Essays,” & putting together the building blocks for an exhibition on his photography. 

Please take the time out to see more of his work & writings, which can be viewed here: http://www.shaunarts.com

Go to Top