By the Shores of the Arabian Sea

Juhu Beach - a beach on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai for the uninitiated. It is a very special place to visit. On any given day, at any given time as a resident of the city, an outsider, a photographer or just a plain observer it never fails to exhilarate your senses. To me this beach is an ever unfolding story, in fact a multitude of stories. Too much verbiage to describe it however cannot compensate for the experience of being there! Hence I’ll let the photos talk.

These are some of the images I captured on a nice warm Sunday. Make up your own story.

Local or Global?

A never ending debate in my work is whether local or global narratives supercede each other. Are all humans and societies fundamentally similar? Or are they all fundamentally different?

On the face of it, there is no way that any culture, society or person can be quite like any other, since their present condition results from the impact of untold millions of purely local and subjective factors. On the other hand, there is no denying the fundamental similarities either (genetically, all humans on the planet are virtually identical).

I love photographing street signs - after all, they are symbols designed to distill a complex idea into as simple and universal a representation as possible. Here, I have used a collection of pictures of street signs to reflect on the conundrum of local and global.

A photo of a photo is a photo

This week I had an exhibition of a few of my paintings, some of which included ink jet photo transfers. These works give me an opportunity to combine two of my major interests-photography and painting. Whether this mixed medium proves to be successful or not remains to be seen.

This gave me an idea, if I am transferring the photos onto paintings, why not transfer photos themselves onto blank boards? This would present the photograph in a different way. As an art gallery owner recently told me, any amount of manipulation, be it digital or darkroom, should be taken advantage of, as it is the final product that really matters.

For me, these works are an extension of this concept. What tends to happen is that some of the image doesn't get transferred onto the board, and you are left with what I think is more vintage look, as if it has faded or been neglected over time. The photographs here are taken of the final works, hence the title. This series reflects three different doors, taken in three different places around the world, each opening a new possibility.

Successive Frame Capture

IVV's wedding in Gujarat in December '07 was a time when I first toyed around with successive frame capturing to create something close to an animation on an SLR. It is arguably pointless to create "videos" using an SLR, sort of like trying to blow bubbles out of chewing gum. For that there's bubble gum. I think you know where I'm going with this. At the time, I didn't have a camcorder and it was the novelty of the option that I attempted to explore.

"Buddy, if you're coming then come........"

Churchgate Station in South Bombay is not a place for the faint-hearted. Particularly at crush hour. I couldn't afford any bodily damage, to the camera i.e. and went there at an off-peak hour, if such a concept even exists with regards to Churchgate. As a friend common to the authors of this blog once very eloquently stated when a determination to go watch a movie near Churchgate was to be made "Buddy, if you're coming then come, otherwise don't come!" On a side note, the friend now is the proud father of a little baby girl. She decided come into this world! Almost like this Andheri local pictured here. Came fast!

A Quick One While He's Away

The inherent paradox of work-related travel is that it involves interesting destinations, but leaves no time for exploration. On such trips, I usually go alone and travel light - this means leaving the photography equipment at home, since it is certain to not be used. Recently, work took me to Savannah, Georgia. I took a (decent) point-and-shoot along. During the trip, I found a few moments to walk around a few sections of this old Southern town. Time and equipment restrictions meant I could not wait for light, angles, composition or any of the things needed for 'good' photography.

I found this oddly liberating. It eliminated regrets about not capturing or about messing up the perfect shot, because there was no perfect shot to be had! Since I was reduced to being a 'tourist', I sank my teeth into the role and tried to take "I was here" pictures, but as artistically/tastefully as was possible.

The pictures here are my favorites from the trip. By no means my best or most thoughtful work - this was the 'fast-food' equivalent of photography.

But then, even the finest gourmet loves the occassional cheeseburger...

Lloyd Rees got it right...

"A city is the greatest work of art possible", he said.

The beauty of the city is fundamentally experiential. Here, the attempt is to capture to some extent, the city experience. I am constantly struck by how one city can remind me strongly of another - and often, for the subtlest of reasons.

This series is a compilation of pictures taken over 3 years, in five cities separated by both geography and culture. Each picture is subtly or overtly connected to at least one other (though details may require viewing the images in original size by clicking). An example - the street car wires in San Francisco evoke the wire web above Bombay. Another example - Rectangular highrises dominate cities across 3 continents, and though they are often drab concrete towers, when seen from a distance, from nearby, or up close (in New York, Hong Kong and Sydney) they become the iconic image of the city. There are several other connections...and they are the reason Lloyd Rees was right!

San Francisco: Market street on a chilly spring night

Hong Kong: Central

New York: the BQE heading toward La Guardia

Sydney: the CBD.

Bombay: Fort Market on a weekday afternoon

Breukelen Bridge

I have walked the streets by the Brooklyn Bridge many a times. There has never been a time if I am carrying a camera I have not taken a shot of this monument. But most of the times I have failed to transcend that feeling of awe and excitement in my pictures. The picture does not speak my emotions. It’s a total failure.

Most of my Brooklyn Bridge pictures were probably taken because I had a digital camera, or just because it was ‘BROOKLYN BRIDGE’. So after going through my whole collection of these unemotional drab pictures I realized what was missing in it. All my shots were untimely.

I realized the only time I actually experienced the grandeur of this monument was when I caught the first glimpse of the bridge. These are some of those images.

Architectural Sensibilities.....

Architecture is a profession that uniquely straddles the line between being an art and a science, in more or less the same measure. Good architecture encapsulates the aspirations of a people at various intersecting levels of culture, society, politics, technology and more. Effective architectural photography, therefore, albeit less challenging, to me presents an opportunity to document the design narrative and offer some insight into the dialogue between the architect and prevalent societal demands.

Good Morning, Durham

Durham, North Carolina is a place of intrigue. Revitalized and vibrant, though often misunderstood, and at times misrepresented, this is a legacy of its long and colourful history. Recently, Durham has seen much change, a revamped downtown, wonderful tree-lined neighbourhoods, a budding art scene, and some great restaurants. Still present are signs of urban decay. Could these be waiting for the next cycle of renewal?

Urban decay and renewal for me are both a part of a cyclical process. Each dependent on the other, this is a theme that I explore using both photography and painting. Last weekend, I went out looking out for more spaces revolving around this theme, focusing on the city of Durham. I convinced a good friend who recently moved to downtown Durham to show me around at the unearthly time of 6 am (which is seriously early for me, amazing what the promise of good coffee can get people to do), in a bid to catch some of the good early morning light. This post highlights some of these efforts.

For me, the intent is to capture the decaying, broken down aspect from a point of view that accentuates their unusual beauty and abstract qualities. These spaces add to the complex character of that city. While some would say that such images only serve to highlight the negativity associated with Durham, the opposite line of reasoning would be to consider the potential of re-growth. The unused train lines could be interpreted as a sense of direction, movement, or even the reconstruction of the Durham Amtrak station in the last year. Broken down windows, rusted walls and decaying doors may convey desolation, or could point to the re-emergence of a new downtown. For me, the intent is always to locate and present the imprint of people on this space over time.

A sum of its parts…or maybe more.

Lensored is about many things: photography, art, narrative, society, image, psychology, architecture…but mostly it is about photography. It is about photography by four (at least for now) individuals who have much in common, and just as much that is not in common. The four of us know each other well, but the only thing that binds ALL of our personal narratives is the city of Mumbai, where each of us grew up. None of us lives there anymore, but you cannot spend 2 decades in a city without it becoming integral to you, your thinking and your approach to life. Lensored will probably reflect all of this.

None of us is a professional photographer, but we love the art form. Photography has different meanings for each of us, and so, we all approach it differently. Someone may focus on technique, others on art, and some on composition and yet others on photographic narrative. We love photography because it may be the only art form that allows for all of this simultaneously without requiring much training or background or scholarship. There are no rules to our photography, and so, there are no rules on Lensored.

Though this is a collective effort, we will function as individuals, and we will be fans and critics of each others' work. We intend to use this as a forum to display our work and to be a little creative…and if we find an audience along the way…well…terrific!

For now, it is pointless to say more, since we have no idea how Lensored will evolve from here on, but it will make interesting viewing.

As for who we are...

Aditya S. (a.k.a. Aditya Shringarpure) is an engineer by trade and an up-and-coming artist. He lives in Raleigh, NC. His approach to photography is centered around his approach to art i.e. color, composition, conceptual elements and use of space matter to him.

Aditya K. (a.k.a. Bolshoi the Boxer) is an architect by trade. A fan of design, especially in architecture, and reverent toward the master architects, his photography is eclectic and often experimental both in form and concept. He lives in Brooklyn, NY

Bhumi S. (a.k.a. Bhumi) is an architect by trade and an almost-professional photographer. Technique is important to her - she is unnaturally patient with her photography, and her images reflect the effort (by seeming completely effortless). She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Ipsit V. (a.k.a IVV) is a psychiatrist by trade. His approach to photography is based on the experiential aspect and focuses on narrative threads, meaning and interpretation of images. He lives in San Diego, CA