KOCHI: The light rays shining through cracks on an eggshell — the surreal picture titled New Life captured by scientist-turned food photographer Thushara Kambil, takes a meticulous look into the beauty of life. The Thalassery native, who is settled in the capital city, won Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2022 (Gulf region) for New Life. Though she came third at the coveted Pink Lady Food Photographer of the year awards instituted by The Food Awards company, it was a huge recognition for the self-taught photographer who captured her award-winning photo using a smartphone.
The award is given to amateur and professional photographers for excellence in food photography. Thushara’s work was selected from among 90,000 entries received from 100 countries across the globe. Having been active in food photography since 2020, Thushara turned a new leaf in life when she embraced a career in photography. She says there is no guideline for success.
“I was a scientist in the medical field. During Covid, I had an epiphany that my passion is photography and this promted me to quit my job. All I had then was a smartphone, Redmi Note 8 Pro, with which I experimented with light and shades. I was in Dubai last year when I captured New Life using my phone as part of a food photography collaboration with my friend. It was a boiled egg with cracks which shimmered when sunlight kissed it. I took its photo for fun and edited the egg photo using Light Room on my phone. It is then that I came to know about the contest and applied,” she says.
Though accidental, the decision ended up with her winning the award and consequently winning many more commissioned works in photography, whch helped her establish her career. For her, the award was a confidence booster and awareness that photography is self-taught and all you need is a knack for creativity and ability to observe. Much like the title, New Life, the photo has a special place in Thushara’s life. The meaning of her creation as she says is ‘how food touches every aspect of life’. For me, the egg represents a new leaf of life which, for me, is trying out my new passion in my early 30s. It was taken at the time of the pandemic and I would like to interpret the light gleaming from cracks as a representation of hope for a new life in Covid times. I have been passionate about food since a young age and love to explore the beauty of it through the camera lens,” adds Thushara who is also a mother of a 5 year-old.
Her new job is also an answer to those who wish to start photography. More than going behind and waiting to get expensive gear, one can start exploring it using their smartphones as they are equipped with good image quality, she says. “It is the basic tool to understand the light angles and frames before shifting to a DSLR. Nowadays smartphones have great image capturing features which is the best tool to start the basics of photography. I also plan to publish food photography tutorials through my social media page as many young and interested have been enquiring about it. I will share the techniques and my way of learning the art with them,” says Thushara who is also into food videography.
Photos including Thusahara’s that won the Pink Lady recognitions will be exhibited at The Royal Photographic Society, one of the world’s oldest photographic societies, in Bristol, England from November 20 to December 12.
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