Budding photographers turn buddy photographers at Mumbai’s camera clubs, says Rachel Lopez.
Every Sunday at 7am or some equally ungodly hour, members of the Mumbai Weekend Shoot meet to spend the morning taking pictures when they could have been asleep. They do this voluntarily, some coming from as far away as Nerul for gatherings in Colaba’s Sagar Upavan, Mahim Nature Park or Elephanta Caves, and tend to linger long after the last shots have been taken.
At 427 members and 24 meets since the club was initiated last September, the MWS is probably the city’s largest and most active photo group. But it’s by no means the only way for enthusiasts to indulge their hobby and hone their skills outside of a photography class. Camera buffs across Mumbai, from cellphone camera users to tripod-toting professionals, are using photo-sharing sites like Flickr to seek out fellow hobbyists in the city.
“I’m not the kind of person who will wake up and travel across the city to shoot alone,” said Riddhi Rathi, a software engineer when she’s not moderating the MWS group on Flickr. “But when I know that I’ll be out with people, I’m so excited. I hardly sleep the previous night.” Fellow moderator and human resources professional Paromita Deb Areng stays up late too. She’s usually fiddling with photo-manipulation software or fashioning home-made reflectors for her group to practise portraiture. “I just wanted to shoot with people who shoot,” she said. “The criticism comes from those who were actually there with you.”
It’s this kind of sharing of opinion that’s making photography as much a social exercise as a creative one. Queries are addressed during meets. Members are encouraged to upload their best shot and discussion forums make it mandatory for a photographer to comment on someone else’s work before the favour can be reciprocated. Ramesh Kumar, who manages the Fotography & Fun Club, explains that sharing tips with peers is more exciting than taking instructions from an expert. “Sometimes, even a novice has a point of view,” he said. “This way you develop your skills at your own pace.”
The pace was manic at the Mumbai Photo Marathon in April 2007. Advertising executive Kapil Bhatia and his friend Nirav Mehta decided that the city needed a photo-walk on the lines of those held in Germany and the US. Twenty-five photographers made their way from Juhu to Dadar’s flower market, Siddhivinayak Temple, Haji Ali, Fountain and Kala Ghoda before winding up at the Gateway of India, taking pictures along the way. “We started off with a big blooper,” Bhatia recalled. “We decided to shoot sunrise at Juhu Beach, but once we reached Vile Parle we were like, ‘Where the fuck is the sun?’ Nobody figured that it doesn’t rise in the west.” The rest of the trip passed without more embarrassment, prompting Bhatia and Mehta plan to host another marathon after this year’s monsoon.
If you can’t wait that long, Shirish Barodia’s Photography Club of Mumbai lets you hang out with people who have taken formal lessons and are willing to share what they’ve learnt. Barodia’s course teaches the principles of light and optics, the merits and limitations of different types of equipment and how to use pictures to tell a story.
“Nobody comes to these clubs to be the next Atul Kasbekar,” said Bhatia and members indeed find that clubs have sharpened their skills without them paying a course fee. Deb Areng, whose intoxicated friends have told her they looked at life in slow shutter speed, notices details herself. Kumar speaks of symmetry, capturing expressions and reading more into a picture and Rathi finds that the meets let her see parts of the city she’d have otherwise missed.
“Plus, you don’t get ripped off,” said Bhatia. “People give you tips on whether you should wait for the lens prices to fall and who has the best deals on camera equipment.”
That friendships develop alongside pictures is a bonus. “I’d never have time to meet friends before,” said Deb Areng. “Now I have 20 buddies.” Rathi agreed, “You can grow into a photographer. But you can’t grow into a friend.”
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