CHENNAI: For most, Napier Bridge is just a scenic route connecting the city to the waves of Marina Beach. But there’s more to this iconic structure. TEDxNapier Bridge, connects old and new and is committed to bridging ideas and people.
On Sunday, TEDxNapier Bridge Salon took a different route — into the world of photography, proving once again that this platform is about sparking curiosity and redefining the way we see the world.
With the theme ‘InFocus: Ways of Seeing’, the salon gathered photography enthusiasts and those simply curious about the art form to experience how a single captured moment can hold multiple stories. The event was for anyone who wanted to learn how to look beyond the surface, beyond the frame.
The first speaker to take the stage was Dr AV Arun, an orthodontist by day and a Guinness World Record holder by night. The proud owner of a collection of 5,000 film cameras recounted, “Dentistry is my profession, and collecting cameras is my passion. This passion is what makes your life worthwhile, something that gives you happiness.” His interest in cameras sparked in 1997, and a vast collection began to form. Dr Arun recalled how, in the early days, he built a network of friends, camera shop owners, and even garbage pickers who would alert him to vintage finds in exchange for a small fee.
When asked about his most valuable camera, Arun didn’t hesitate. With a grin, he shared the story of a boy from Mysuru who offered him a camera from a demolished palace attic. “It had two to three millimetres of dust on it, but underneath, there was a 6-ft-tall, 200-kg camera made to order for the Maharaja of Mysore.
It took six people and a lorry to bring it to me!” As he held the audience in awe, Dr Arun showed off a few cameras from his collection, including a four-lens Polaroid camera that could instantly produce four passport-sized photos and a Russian panoramic camera designed to capture a 160-degree view without distortion.
Following him was visual artist Krithika Sriram, whose ethereal pamphlets were passed around the room, creating a sense of calm. She asked the audience to sit in silence and let the images sink in before she began. Krithika’s journey into photography started with her training as an architect, but it was her exploration of identity politics that shaped her unique work. “I began working with gender issues. Photography became a tool for me to explore the intersections of personal history and identity,” she shared.
Her work delves into caste, gender, and society — powerful topics that have shaped her visual narratives. In discussing her choice of materials, she described how historical processes and naturally occurring pigments played into her pieces. “I want to bring attention to the female body because it’s so central to caste oppression,” she said.
The audience explored more rare cameras, including one from World War II. The event resumed with a TED Talk video from Erin Sullivan. The audience was then invited to share their own stories, some choosing not to photograph meaningful experiences in favour of being fully present.
Srivatsan Sankaran brought a powerful story of resilience and representation to the stage. As a travel photographer and educator for the deaf, Srivatsan’s journey has been fraught with challenges. “Attending a call and talking to a client was the biggest challenge for me,” he confessed. But through photography, he has found a way to connect with the world, creating platforms like the Madras Photo Bloggers Foundation to uplift deaf artists. He spoke passionately about the importance of accessibility, advocating for spaces that welcome people with disabilities.
One of the standout speakers was Jaisingh Nageswaran, a self-taught photographer and filmmaker, whose work explores childhood memories and the legacy of his Dalit family. He closed the event with a deeply personal reflection on photography’s role in his life. “Isolation isn’t new to me,” he said. His 2020 project, ‘I Feel Like a Fish’, combined archival images with new ones to tell a story of struggle and resilience across four generations of his family. “The tool and technique don’t matter — it’s how we use them,” he said, drawing parallels between photography and art forms like painting and sculpture, where the message is often conveyed indirectly.
Throughout the evening, an ASL interpreter was present, ensuring that the dialogue and ideas shared were accessible to all attendees, creating an inclusive atmosphere for everyone gathered. The event concluded with a montage of photos and videos submitted by the audience, which they captured through their own lenses and uploaded via a QR code. As people mingled and shared their thoughts on photography’s power it was evident that the art of seeing isn’t just about the images we capture, but about the stories we uncover along the way.