CHENNAI: Passionate about capturing rural lifestyle, indigenous culture and heritage, and rare or unfamiliar festivals, Srivatsan Sankaran quit his engineering job in 2013 and decided to travel across the country to pursue his passion. This self-taught photographer is the founder of Madras Photo Bloggers group.
“I captured the colours of haldi (turmeric) festival of the shepherd community. It is celebrated at Pattan Kodoli village of Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. During the annual festival celebrations, people throng the temple, splash colours in different directions, enter a trance mode through dance performances, and intensely chant mantras. These places and festivals surprised me. In the first visit, I just mentally prepare myself. I click photographs only during the second visit. Barsana Holi, Theyyam Festival in Kerala and Kumbh Mela are few interesting experiences where I found compassion,” shares Srivatsan.
He admires the works of Indian photographer Raghu Rai and American photographer Mccurry for documenting unfamiliar faces. Srivatsan has changed four cameras since 1999 — Konica pop, Canon 550 D, Canon 6D and Canon 5D Mark 4. But, his goal remains to capture the essence of the subject by flipping perspectives.
Discussing the rise in smartphone photography and the selfie addiction among millennials, Srivatsan says, “When we started Madras Photo Bloggers in 2016, people clicked pictures with their DSLR cameras. Now, most of them use smartphones and tag themselves as Instagram photographers. Instagram, as a platform, has got nothing to do with photography. It’s a mere window to showcase the work. Popularity and likes might get you happiness and recognition but the motivation to perform better comes only when you attend workshops of veterans specialising in different types of photography. Narrowing down your themes is important. My pictures may not be beautiful but they have a story to tell. ”
When it comes to drawing a line between retaining the original image and adding effects, Srivatsan believes that exposure matters. “Around 800 pictures are easily shot at a stretch. Every picture has to be observed for its specific style before finalising on one. Nowadays, people manipulate photos which tampers the pictures. However, constant touch with social media experts help me be updated with trends and tools of digital marketing.”
Talking about plagiarism and attributing credits to photographers, he says, “It cannot be completely avoided. Preserving metadata helps as these data provide information about other data regarding a specific photograph. Copyrights and watermarks are common methods to preserve credits. You can also register with One Person Company. This firm helps identify your brand as a separate one among the others and help retain your photographs. I never upload my pictures on the web until they get published.” He won Shoot The Frame award in 2012, and is one of the top 10 2013 Tamron winners. His travelogues have been published in more than 20 magazines.
Srivatsan plans to continue documenting his journeys on Travel Tales and organise tours to develop his photo tour company Colors & Trails. “Photography is about delayed gratification. It took two years for my work to get recognised. Patience and hope are your constant friends,” he says.