Punjab

The best click: ‘Know your environment well before you shoot it’

Speakers at Pakistan Photographic Conference stress importance of access and cultural immersion

Our Correspondent July 26, 2015

PHOTO: EXPRESS

LAHORE:

It is important for photographers to explore their environment, photographer Razaq Vance said at the Pakistan Photographic Conference, organised by the Punjab Press Council’s photographers’ wing, on Sunday.

Vance said most photographers believed that they needed a different landscape to take an extraordinary picture. However, being familiar with the environment, understanding light and activity at various times of the day or year was central in a photographer’s efforts to take strong pictures, he said.

MR Owaisi, for example, won the Pride of Performance taking pictures based largely on Jhelum River, he said. Owaisi lived next to River Jhelum and knew his subject closely.

Photographer Umair Ghani, who was discussing photography of various cultures, also stressed the importance of knowing the environment. He said an important aspect of the environment was the area’s culture.

“Cultures are shy and cannot be accessed by sheer volume or power,” he said.

Ghani said visiting an area for a few days and taking pictures only presented an outsider’s perspective, which, in the long run, could be detrimental to the photographer’s work since it did not represent the culture accurately. He said to take good photographs, it was important to know the culture by spending time in the area. “Working with someone from the area can help you understand it or create a level of trust with people in that area.”

Walled City of Lahore Authority Director General Kamran Lashari said photography was an important medium of promoting culture. He said in this regard, the Walled City had always presented an interesting subject for photographers. He said the WCLA had organised Wekh Lahore to assign guides to photographers who would help them take pictures in the area.

Other photographers speaking at the event included M Asif Sherazi and Awais Ali Sheikh who spoke about photographing wildlife and birds in particular. Abrar Cheema discussed various concepts of photography. They all stressed the importance of hard work and creating access in an area, without upsetting regular activity. Also present at the occasion were photojournalists Ahmed Naulakha, Ali Jageer Naqvi , Azhar Jaffery and Yameen Ahmed Siddique, Pakistan Photography Society President Masood Ahmed and photographer Samiur Rehman.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2015.