CHENNAI : On exhibit at the gallery of Lalit Kala Akademi, recently, 250 photographs by 86 members of the Photographic Society of Madras were on display at ‘Confluence 2018’. Lined in two rows, the collection ranged from wildlife, landscape, temple art, travel, and people, to street photography. While the members are amateur photographers from all walks of life; their work, each one unique in its composition, was nothing short of professional.
The collection included birds, in hues of blue, an angry red, taking off for a flight, catching a shrimp; a fine morning in Tenkasi where a farmer goes about his daily work; tigers stopping at a pond for a water break; and other moments that caught a subject in action. Each photographer’s style was distinct, and B Ramana Kumar, past president of the society, explained, “There was a transparent selection process by which every member’s most interesting work was selected. Some have three or four of their photographs on display too.”
Members of the society meet once every month to review each other’s work and discuss themes, lighting, and composition. Swaminathan N, president of the society, explained that light is the most important tool. Referring to a photograph of a wildcat, taken from the eye-level, set in a misty background, he said, “Nature photography requires patience, and is unpredictable; a photographer’s talent is in capturing the right amount of light, to make an ordinary scene interesting.”
One of Swaminathan’s photographs captured an unusual view of Manhattan. It was taken from Brooklyn bridge and had piers projecting from the sea in the foreground, and high-rise buildings in the background. “This was during sunset, the spongy effect of the sea, is due to a slow shutter speed,” he explained.
The collection included portrait shots that experimented with shadows and a few others with interesting juxtapositions. One such photograph titled ‘Dancer Abhinaya to the Legend’, by Vijayamurthy Sadagopalan, captured a young Bharatanatyam dancer dancing in front of MS Subbulakshmi’s poster — making it seem like she was dancing to the legend’s live music.