Capturing the wilds on lens
|
New Delhi sees an interesting exhibition of wildlife photography.
|
JUNGLE JACK A work of Rajput at the exhibition.
Even though art galleries in New Delhi often host photography shows, they catch little attention. Unless of course the man to display his craft happens to be a Raghu Rai. In its effort to bring photography under the collective umbrella of art, WWF has put up an exhibition of photography titled `Amazing Photographs'. This exhibition features 15 photographers from across India, including Raghu Rai, Jagdeep Rajput, Nanak Dhingra, Vivek R. Sinha, APS Bindra, Rishi Bajpayee, Mohit Midha, Kaku Bhai and others. The exhibition has been mounted to spread awareness about conservation of environment. The funds generated through the sale of the photographs would be used for improving the same.
The exhibition, an interesting mix of black-and-white and coloured pictures, is all about people and wildlife. While Raghu Rai has clicked black-and-white people-oriented pictures from Rajasthan, Nanak Dhingra and Jagdeep Rajput have taken pictures from Corbett Park, Bharatpur, Madhavgarh, Ranthambore and so on. And Mohit Midha's pictures are from across the country.
Jagdeep Rajput, a banker by profession, whose pictures include bar-headed geese also known as Rajhans besides signage from Bharatpur and landscapes from Corbett Park, throws some light on wildlife photography today.
No gain
"I been doing wildlife photography for 16 years. India has 400 to 500 such photographers. Most of them are from Bangalore. Northern India got these photographers only when these shutterbugs from the South spread their wings. But unfortunately, wildlife photography hasn't picked up in India as such. We also don't have a proper platform to exhibit our works. Moreover, this is an expensive and time-consuming hobby for which no newspaper or magazine in India pays well. Foreign magazines pay somewhere between 50 and 4000 dollars per picture depending upon its use and space.
In India, it ranges between Rs.200 and 10000. Some newspapers even bargain on it. They say you either take a credit line or Rs.100!"
Rajput's photographs have been published in prestigious magazines like Sinra from Japan, National Geographic Traveller and BBC Wild Life, etc. The exhibition mounted at Open Palm Court in India Habitat Centre is on view till July 31.
RS
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
