“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever. It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”-Aaron Siskind
“I have always been fascinated by artistic and beautiful things, I automatically get attracted to Art itself”, says the very flawless artist and photographer Abhraneel Malakar. He never attended any professional photography classes but he always upgraded his skills with his zeal to learn new techniques. Day by day he kept going and now he is a rising name in the Photography World !
Let’s explore the beautiful journey of this amazingly talented Photographer
Could you tell us bit about your Educational background?
I have done my M.tech from NIT Silchar in Power Systems. Well I know it sounds quite boring but trust me it was not. Haha (laughs), since then YouTube was my favorite teacher and it helped me to learn photography every day.
Did you go to any school of photography or received any formal training?
No,I did not take up any professional course in photography, but I have studied a lot about it. There is almost everything available on YouTube or any other web content for that matter. I have gone through thousands of them or may be more. Learning is the only possible way to make you a better photographer every day. There are many paid tutorials too, which are very effective and also helped me a lot.
When was your first exposure to photography? Who were your main early influences?
I still remember the day when I bought my first camera Kodak KB10 and I was in class 10th then. I became interested in photography when I found my own sketching was inadequate. There are many people in the list but I will be mentioning a few of them, whom I will follow for the rest of my life and they are Benjamin Von Wong, Sails Chong and Bella Kotak.
From when and why did you start considering yourself as a photographer?
I don’t exactly remember the date but in my initial days, I could feel that my photos were crap. I had to improve and learning was the only way. I feel to become a complete photographer you need to be technically sound with camera as well as post processing.
Do you consider photography as passion or a profession? Or a profession out of passion?
This is my passion and well it’s a part of my profession as well. We all know that the camera equipments are so expensive and if I need to buy them I have to learn how to earn from them as well. To be very honest, I believe in investing my time in things from where I can learn and earn as well.
How did this act as a turning point in your life?
My main interest is painting. I used to put my imagination in canvas by not using a paint brush but with a camera. It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary. All this varied and extensive learning happened to be the early point in my life.
What is the most important, challenging and interesting part about choosing your subject?
The most important is the story and the feel of the picture. You need to do everything to get the perfect feel of the photograph. Using proper light setup or a perfect post processing is the only the helping factor which makes the photograph picture perfect.
What type of cameras do you shoot with? What is your favorite photography accessory other than the camera?
I shoot with NIKON full frame DSLRS. Lenses are most important to me. Obviously my mobile phone is the next favorite photography accessory. Most of the time I carry a mobile or a gorilla-pod in my bag.
Do you have a team? What kind of shoots are you and your team into?
Yes I have A team- “Memories Forever”. We provide wedding photography services. I have started with nothing but now I can proudly say that I have a team of 20 people who are successfully supporting me in my business. I do a lot of Concept Photography. I do shoot albums with stories and concepts. A few Photo Stories that I have shot are: Maa, Angel’s Story, Anomaly, Kolkata-Unseen Diaries, Shades of Colours, The bonding between Man and Nature, Natures of Freedom, Lost and a few more.
So you have come across a lot of hurdles to come to the place where you are today. What were the struggles that you have come across and how have you overcome them? How do you feel today after overcoming them?
Everyone has to struggle in their initial days and I am not an exception obviously. It was really tough for me to manage my office and photography side by side. I have to work more than 14 hours (including 8-9 hours in office) during that initial learning phase. Even there was hardly any support from my family and I know most of my beginner photographer friends are facing same issue. But I have a small advice, never give up on your dreams as this is the most important thing. Well after certain time my family started to support me.
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Please share some of your achievements with us for our readers to get inspired !
It’s a bit embarrassing to share my own achievements. Definitely, there are few which are special to me like when I won CIP Top Indian Photographer Award in 2016. It is special because the top 10 finalist were facing each other in a live event in Kerala and the task was to make a photo story within 3 days. It was an awesome experience with awesome people which involved traveling, trekking in jungle meeting tribal people and then doing the task.
What has been the most memorable project and why? What has been your favorite image that you have shot?
For me each and every shoot is special in its own way. From every project I learn new things but still there are always few series which become more special. I worked on a project called “Samuprna”, it was memorable because I discovered my own unique outdoor lighting technique. No specific favorite image as such. There are many and I will be sharing them with you.
What would be your dream project ?
I want to work with Von Wong and I also anddream to compete in Bron Color Gen NEXT.
What advice do you have for somebody who wants to pursue photography and for those who would like to choose a path of passion rather than convention ?
Photography gives you the opportunity to use your sensibility and everything you are, to say something about and be part of the world around you. In this way, you might discover who you are, and with a little luck, you might discover something much larger than yourself. So, never stop dreaming. In my initial days I reached many renowned photographers for technical help but truly speaking very few of them helped me. Self-learning is the best way. Trust me if your dream is not letting you sleep then utilize the time you are awake. Start digging the mystical world of photography and I bet you will be amazed everyday.
Check out his Instagram Handle /https://www.instagram.com/abhraneel_malakar/