MEdia Coverage

CAPTURING THE MOMENT Iqbal's work in the advertising world

It's not the fluffy white clouds, gushing waterfalls or snow-capped mountains that capture your attention. But a blade of grass, merely three centimetres long, that looks like a green-coloured missile. Next in line to intrigue you is an anthill that looks like four men huddling against the backdrop of a blue sky.

Ever imagined that mundane things like these could look so fascinating on screen? Students who came out of a seminar on creative photography organised by the School of Communication, Dr. GRD College of Science, will agree.

It was a perfect treat for all those interested in photography — an art which is all about being in love with Nature and taking in the sights of daily life as they unfurl before you, granting you a myriad images to click and keep forever.

For someone interested in photography, anything can be made a subject, said Iqbal. K. Mohammed of the Light and Life Academy, Udhagamandalam, who conducted the seminar.

One need not go in search of exotic locations to take good pictures

A visit to one's own backyard is enough to spot excellent frames. For instance, an inconspicuous leaf lying on the ground, a casual footprint on the sand or even a bark of a tree could make for an enchanting photograph.

Read the subject

"It is how you treat the subject that makes all the difference," he said. That does not mean you need to possess expensive cameras. If you have a sense of the subject, the end product will be good, Iqbal assured the students.

Peppered with nuggets of information for aspiring photographers, the seminar discussed the variety of options open to students who have a creative bend of mind. "Imagination is the key word. You can take a picture of a flower as you see it. But see what it turns out to be when you look at it from a honeybee's perspective. That is the magic of creative photography." However, this requires a lot of patience, he said.

You may have to wait for hours on end to capture a momentary streak of lightning on film. It also requires the photographer to have a keen eye for detail.

Even though professional photography is still not very specialised in India, it throws open innumerable opportunities for those who wish to make it a career, said Iqbal. Night photography and underwater photography are relatively less explored fields in India.

In most of the Western countries, photographers are highly specific in their work. For instance, there are some who take photographs of only babies under the age of three, some who click only pictures of clouds and the like, he added.

- ANASUYA MENON

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