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Dinesh Khanna Photography – Telling Stories in Color

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Dinesh worked variously as a Calculator Salesman, Garments Quality Checker and a Busboy in an Upper Eastside Bar in New York in his early years. This rather confused career path was due to his teenage belief that if he followed in his Photographer Father’s footsteps he would be yet another victim of the Indian caste system. This rebellion further led him to a 12 year long career as a Client Servicing Executive in Advertising where he finally achieved ‘burn-out’ at the ripe old age of 33 years and which left him with a burning desire to become a Professional Photographer.

So in 1990 he finally succumbed to what can probably be blamed on genetic coding – the desire to make images – both as a means of making a living and as a form of creative expression. The last 18 years have seen him involved in creating images for Advertising, Editorial and Corporate clients, specifically in the area of Food, Still-life, People and Interiors.

Also a body of Personal Work which has been exhibited in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, London, Edinburgh, San Francisco and New York. His latest Exhibition was “Tirtha – a Spiritual Journey” in December 07 in New Delhi. Besides this he has done 2 Pictorial Books – “Bazaar” and “Living Faith” – which were a result of over a decade of traveling through the traditional markets and religious centres of India. 18 years into the journey Photography is not just a profession and a passion but his means of understanding and feeling the world and life around him.

Besides continuing to do commercial assignments for International Magazines, Advertising Agencies and Corporates, Dinesh is also currently working on 3 Projects, which are very close to his heart, on “Benaras – Everyday in Eternity”, “Earning Dignity – from Art, Craft and Trade” and “Telling Stories – London, Paris & New York”.

Dinesh’s feelings about Colour: “Color is almost a language in India. It’s in food, clothes, on walls, in architecture. Color is such an integral part of life that to take it away would be killing a part of the story. As a photographer, I find color challenging. Black-and-white photography is almost easier as it makes the image alien to the way the mind sees things. Color is always around us. To transcend that, to show reality the way it is, and yet, have an interesting composition or an interesting moment is far more challenging.“

Tengku Bahar – Photographer and Photo Editor

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Tengku Bahar, known by his peers as Badris, is a New Delhi-based photographer and photo editor. Time, Newsweek, Le Monde, International Herald Tribune, the New York Times and the Washington Post have published his images.

Following his Visual Anthropology degree from the University of Virginia (USA), Badris photographed for newspapers in Virginia and Texas before pursuing personal projects in northern India.

He covered the December 2004 tsunami in his home country Malaysia for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and a year later was promoted to chief photographer in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

He currently edits on the AFP South Asia Photo Desk, overseeing production from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives.

Sanjay Austa Photography – Diverse Hues

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Sanjay Austa studied English literature in college and started out as a journalist without a clear writing mandate. So he got an opportunity to cover a range of issues (and non-issues) ranging from socialite evenings to socially and culturally relevant stories.  He wrote about politicians and prostitutes. About writers and vamps. Good samaritans and criminals. About triumphs and failures and joys and tragedies.

The switch to photography was gradual. His photographs and his choice of subjects however reflect his journalistic pedigree. His first assignment took him on an adventurous two-month expedition to Kanchenjunga, where unshaved and unbathed for that duration, he documented the Indian Army’s climb to the summit. Since then he dabbled in all forms of photography. But he reserves a special liking for photo-essays on different human-interest issues. These are published regularly in the Indian and the International Media. His photo-essay on the 1984 anti-Sikh Delhi riots was exhibited in California by various human rights groups. More recently he has done four picture books on four different Indian Monuments for Penguin Books.

Ted Nelson Photography – A visual journey that started 20 years back

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Photographer Ted Nelson’s visual journey started in New York. With over 20 years in still and motion picture photography, Ted now spends a lot of time teaching photography as well.

In his own words: I can’t imagine doing anything else that would provide the satisfaction I receive from sharing y work with others, opening windows that helps enrich their lives and appreciation for the intrinsic value of wild things and wild places.

Students often ask me what the ‘perfect picture’ is and that is simple: The perfect picture is the one that drives you to make another one. Each image should be seen as a stepping stone to the next. That is the philosophy that drives my creative vision.

Rupinder Khullar – Capturing India

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Rupinder Khullar has been clicking pictures with his prized Nikon ever since he was a teenager. Living amidst the scenic beauty of Uttaranchal’s capital Dehradun, he inherited this passion from his hobbyist photographer father, whom he often accompanied on his travels in the hills.

A leading travel photographer for four decades, Rupinder Khullar has captured India’s art, architecture, cities, religions, people and natural wonders. His arresting and wide ranging body of travel photography has been published in many books and publications. Among them 1001 Images of Taj Mahal – A Great Wonder of the World, Splendours of Rajasthan, Enchanting India, Flowering trees, Shrubs and Climbers of India, Kashmir: A Pageant of Seasons, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, Divine Love-Images of Inner Joy: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sri Harimandar Sahib have been widely appreciated. He currently resides in New Delhi, with his family.

Prarthana Modi – The “Indecisive Moment”

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Creativity can be described as the ability to see the extraordinary in ordinary situations. This power of observation takes photography one-step ahead of the decisive moment. It is not always about the perfect moment; rather it is about leaving scope to the imagination of the viewer and giving photography an edge as an art form by going more towards the abstract and the unseen. This approach to photography is called the “Indecisive Moment”. Prarthana uses this indirect approach to shoot her images. They are moments that are abstract, that have something to narrate, and some thing to contemplate over. “The Indecisive Moment” is a glimpse of the world as Prarthana sees it. The images show a sense of freedom in her approach towards the subjects. They are bereft of any pressure from the outside world, be it in technique or in composition.

Prarthana Modi is a photographer based in New Delhi, India. She studied management and systems design after which she worked in the telecommunications industry for ten years before giving it up to pursue photography. She started with foundation courses in photography from St. Martins School of Art and Design, London and then went on to study at The School of Black & White Photography, London. However, she is mostly self-taught and self-motivated. Prarthana captures all her images on black & white film and all the prints are hand printed on bromide.

Ixint – Shooting wildlife on the brink of extinction

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Ixint Studios specializes in nature, wildlife and travel photography from around the world. Paul Ixint, the creative force behind the studio is an avid nature lover and a wildlife photographer. Paul has travelled worldwide to capture images of wildlife that are on the brink of extinction. He hopes that his images will spread the message of conservation as well as a love for all living creatures on earth.