The hunter, the cook, and the photographer

Ask someone to list three art forms and the answer will invariably include at least two of the following: Painting, Dance and Music. Of course, world cinema may scrape in alongside sculpture and literature. But the likes of Hollywood blockbusters, graphic art and graffiti are left by the wayside, as is photography.
When photojournalism emerged in the late 1920s it was broadly defined as a spontaneous and topical photographic narrative of human events. Over the decades the narrative flowed, almost to a standstill as motion picture grabbed the baton and sprinted to the finish line. Then, in the 1950s, photographers looked to the fine arts for inspiration and found it in composition, lighting, and of course emotion. These so-called value adds were leapt upon by newspaper editors, and the photojournalism as you know it today, was born
The 50s and 60s was also the golden age of Indian photojournalism. The greats like the TS Satyan, N Thyagarajan, Kishore Parek, S Paul and Raghu Rai, to name a few, brought images that melded informative content with emotional impact, even as they stuck to the journalistic values their artists embodied. These ethics held pride of place over aesthetics.
These great photojournalists put the use of perspective into practice. They gave their photographs a makeover using lighting, new angles, off-center frames, and had their subjects look away from the camera, rather than staring into it like they would in a rogues’ gallery. These greats also raised the bar for all the photojournalists that were to follow.
Photography and its informed criticism is still a nascent discipline. Technological advancements have meant that the study of photography has become a lifelong venture, rather than one that can be mastered in just a few years.
Museums and art galleries in this country have yet to recognize, and give prominence to the works of Indian photography and photojournalism masters. Unfortunately, in India we only tend to recognise the rich talent our country had, has, and will have, only after critics from the West have discovered them.
Like the father of modern photojournalism Henri Cartier-Bresson once said, “Actually, I'm not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I'm not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren't cooks.”

It’s time photography is recognised as a fine art in India

It was a field day for members of the Photojournalists Association of Bangalore (PJAB) at the Chitrakala Parishath where more than 120 photographs representing the many facets of human and animal life were displayed. One thing that struck me while looking at the photographs was how digital cameras have harmed the art of photojournalism. When I started my career with a leading national English daily in the late 80s, I was handed an Orwo, and Agfa-based black and white film by my senior Sarangapani, who asked me to cover 10 assignments, and to get the best pictures within the limited 36 frames.Well, more often than not, I landed up with some good pictures, but on some days, I failed miserably. In the old days, one could not preview images, like one can with the current digital cameras. Hence photographers were not sure if they had that 'page one' image until the film was processed.

'Only when the Indian government recognises professional photography as fine art, will the community get the respect they have been denied thus far'

But today, one has the ability to preview, edit and colour correct their images, which makes the present day fotog shoot first and decide later. The last and most important point I would like to make (and its one that I have beaten on about over the years) is that professional photography be recognised as a fine art. One may ask why? Why not! When countries from the US, to the UK and the Far East have accepted professional photography as a fine art form, why hasn't the Indian government done so? Only when the Indian government recognises professional photography as fine art, will the community get the respect that is due to it, and which they have been denied thus far. It is this community that has produced greats like S Paul, N Thiagarajan, Kishore Parekh, SN Sinha, Raghu Rai, Prashant Panjiar, Pablo Bartholomew, Sondeep Shankar and Hoshi Jal, to name but a few, who set the standard for younger fotogs to follow.

Photo Editor’s Verdict
I have visited and organised many a photo exhibition, but this one, organised by my old friend and president of PJAB, Mohammed Asad and his team, needed to be more assertive when it came to the selection of images for the final display. What a visitor to such an exhibition requires is that the exhibition should be short in viewing, but long in memory. That's something this exhibition lacks. But in the end it offers the public a glimpse into the art of the photojournalist, and that’s what matters most