While a group of photographers stood clicking pictures of a grand scenery at the Grand Tetons, landscape photographer Kamal Chilaka was busy looking at a lone tree on the other side. At that moment, a ray of light through the cloudy sky hit the tree, illuminating it. The light lasted for just three minutes but Chilaka was quick to capture it with his camera. That still and many more were part of a show held at the Art Houz recently.
“I feel it within me. Every shot is an intuition but to be able to convey what your heart is telling at that moment without thinking too much, requires the proper skills,” says Chilaka.
Though Kamal had no professional training, his passion and continuous efforts right from the time he was a child have got him to capture masterpieces. Kamal, now a 40-year-old, has turned a full-time photographer. He did so in 2014 but had started collecting his work from 2012. His first photography trip was to Nepal in 2001 and his first exhibition from pictures shot in Scandinavia was in October 2014.
“I have travelled to many places in South India, Nepal and the Himalayas too. My trip to Yellowstone was in my mind for seven years and I finally made it,” said Kamal, who will be travelling to Ladakh next month and then follow it up with a trip to New Zealand in December.
Chilaka shared his photography quests with CE, “I stood outside at a temperature below zero degree for hours to get the perfect shot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Spring is all about cherry blossoms, but it rained so much that for days I was unable to capture them. However, instead, I got a small collection of rainy days where I shot different coloured umbrellas sheltering different people,” he added. Finally, Kamal did witness the cherry blossoms and needless to say, captured it on his camera.
Every photograph has a story to tell. Kamal pointed out to a photograph, a shot of heavy snow.
“It looks like it is winter right? But it was actually spring. One day, when I woke up by eight in the morning, a mountain pass at Yellowstone was covered in snow and by noon it was all gone and back to being green and lush.”
According to Kamal, to come up with brilliance, you got to do a lot of research, brace for any kind of weather, always listen to your heart and keep your eyes open for unpredictable shots. Out of the 2,000-odd pictures he captured, Kamal selected his 50 best ones and showcased them in Coimbatore and at Art Houz in Chennai. He is to showcase them in Bengaluru this week. On August 17, his show will again be back in Chennai at Eyemage Gallery,5th floor, Gama Block, Alpha City, Navalur, OMR.
The phs range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 25,000. For more details, contact 9840380320.