Born in Kolkata, I am a daydreamer who often got pulled up for doodling on notebooks and anything unwarranted. I am an ardent voyeurist since my childhood and see forms in the abstracts. I was lucky that my parents encouraged me to be what I am today.

MY HUMBLE SUBMISSION:

Hello to every soul who knows me or not. Right at the outset, let me be very humble and state that I am not sure if I should be featured as a maestro in street photography in the true sense of the term. I had never won any major national or international awards so far worth a mention solely because I do not take part in them; not because I look down upon any of them, but I am in the pursuit of my own goal. But that goal remains elusive for the fact that I rarely like my pictures the very next day I shot.

I’ve been invited to share my views on street photography and the way I follow my genre.

This forum has already showcased many maestros in the past, and I’ve read all of them. Their works are rich, inspiring, and thought-provoking. Therefore, I am not really going to burden you all with more dopes and hacks on the same.

Today’s street photographers are living in a digital society in which ideas and images move with increasing fluidity across national and cultural boundaries. Our tools are mutating quickly, promising even faster, cleaner, brighter, and affordable images. Mobile phones have become cameras, desktop printers have morphed into mini printing labs, ad high-definition screens threaten to dislodge the venerable prints from the gallery walls. We all take pictures; that’s just what we do now. In this deluge of images, we are still waiting patiently in the corner of the street with our cameras. These are not easy times for street photographers. Tightened privacy laws, pandemic, and fear of terrorism has created an environment in which to stare, pry, listen or eavesdrop is increasingly to invite suspicion.

So, what should you do to pursue your passion? At a time when staged narratives and rendered images are popular, you should be excited by the fact that life offers situations far stranger and more unique than anything you can set up. If you are brave and initiated, pick up any camera you have. You’ve to plot your journey. How do you avoid replication of space, time and moment? You can be in the same space and event, yet different by being in a different time altogether. Often it happens we end up clicking similar images of a place or event, year after year, but we can avoid this if we choose a different time.

Here’s how I solved the same issue by visiting my favourite locations at night.

I am forever chasing light. The light that turns the ordinary into magical, and noir or darkness complements light the most. There lie the magic and mysticism of the unexplored world. Pick up your flashgun, charge your batteries, and lark in the darkness of the back alleys of your city. Your images will suddenly start looking fresh and different from whatever you’ve clicked so far. A word of caution, it’s worth a try, but don’t blame me for the intoxicating world of shadow chasing and neon trances. If it’s too blinding, you can always bask in the sun later.

HERE’S WHAT I CARRY FOR THE NIGHT:

A light sling bag with small towels to wrap my camera, lens and flash gun separately. One small bottle of water, backup batteries, flash trigger, spare memory cards and ID cards for sure. A poncho or umbrella if it’s raining. Last but not least, I carry a blank and open mind before I venture out.

My city of Kolkata at night offers immense opportunity to capture and experiment. I am not getting prescriptive as to where you guys need to visit. Visit all those locations you’ve been to but at night. You need to learn the tricks of using a flash in sync with your camera first. I am hoping that most of you are aware of that, but if you are not, I can share my knowledge at a different time occasion.

The best time is to shoot is at dusk, when you get the skylight of a setting sun along with the camera flash as light sources. Remember, your camera exposure factor has to sync with the flash synchronization point. The camera will register the environmental light while the flash will pop out the foreground subject/subjects to pop out. 

DISPEL DOUBTS: 

Some may differ with me on the usage of flash for street photography. I would only counter them by saying that in street photography you can stay discreet till the time you pull your shutter. The flash will only reveal you along with the shutter, but then again, you got your moment, isn’t it?

EXPERIMENTS WITH FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY AT NIGHT:

On camera fill-in flash, off-camera fill-in flash, Usage of coloured gel, slow shutter sync flash, High-speed flash, usage of multi-flash in street photography. It’s an endless list and ways to create your very own signature.

MY STATEMENT:

Photography is a voyeuristic medium. While it is important to stay discreet, I won’t mind taking my subjects by surprise.See you guys on the other side of this article (Streets of Kolkata at night).