CHENNAI: I am not a full-time photographer. I am a software professional who pursues photography in my free time. I would rather define myself as a serious amateur photographer,” smiles VJ Rithwik when asked about the time he spends on photography. “It is something that can never be taught, but can be learned,” claims Rithwik, who was first introduced to photography when his mother gifted him a 35 mm point- and-shoot film camera when he was 12.
“My first camera is the one which my mother gave me when I was in Class 7. It was a 35 mm film point-and-shoot camera which I still preserve in my dry box. I bought my first DSLR Nikon D40 during my visit to Europe in 2007. I started photography after I shifted to Chennai the same year,” he recalls.
Rithwik believes that photography as a profession is very lucrative, and that there is always good demand for creative photographers in the market. “If one is good at creative ideas and is willing to adapt, learn and change with time as technology changes, there is always a market for the photographer. Being a core photographer is one part. Professionals can also earn a good income by conducting workshops and teaching during their lean period,” he says.
His main genre is nature and landscape photography. Being a 10-year-old amateur in the ‘load n click’ world, his thirst for blending light and colour is everlasting. He believes nature inspires him to compose creativity into his frames. “I would like to quote the words of one of the contemporary masters, nature photographer Jim Brandenburg here ‘Serendipity is a wonderful word in the English language. It means happy coincidence, or a lucky, unexpected moment. This is essential to photography, but not without preparation’. I have experienced this hardly two or three times in the past decade and the outcome is a magnum opus that goes into your portfolio. I still believe my best image is yet to come as this is my guiding light and hope to continue doing photography,” says Rithwik.
This exhibition is the confluence of three ideas by three photographers. J Ramanan, a senior photographer and mentor for this exhibition, Narasimhan and Rithwik. Why did he choose light and colour as his theme? “Through this theme, I am trying to connect the thoughts of painters like Claude Monet who is considered as the father of modern French impressionistic movement. I am trying to extend the impressionistic approach to more modern contemporary landscape photography using the relevant technology tools available in this day,” explains Rithwik.
The exhibition starts today at Lalita Kala Akademi. For details, call 9566017276
Beyond the concepts
VJ Rithwik believes that ‘Rule of thirds’ is a very subjective photography rule. According to him,sometimes breaking the rule of thirds can give a unique frame and a masterpiece. His biggest dream is to travel to the North Pole and photograph the Northern Lights from Scandinivian countries.