Piu Chowdhury discusses her passion for the art of photography. 

What inspired you to go for photography?

I would have never imagined myself holding a camera in my hand and clicking pictures, that too keeping so many details in my head. But I always wanted to do something that I could have never imagined to do. My sister, who is my main inspiration for my journey of photography, somehow understood that even though I did not know the technicalities of photography, I had a passion to see pictures and images from different angles and create stories out of it. She inspired me to join a photography class and I learnt the basics of photography at “Pathshala South Asian Media Institute”. And this whole journey turned out to be an inspiring journey of exploring the unknown places in my mind. It was as if I unlocked a part of my mind which always wanted to hold a camera and create stories and capture the moments, like poetry captured words.

How do you manage study, work and passion all together?

It was a little difficult to manage study, work and passion all together. With the passing time, I have tried to maintain a balance so that one does not get hampered by the other. My first priority has always been my studies. So I try to finish my work within time so that I can use the rest of the time to study. My passion is something that always resides in me and I try to take out sometime in the middle for it. Throughout the semester, I focus on my studies and my work, and after that, I let my passion capture time and moments. I travel, I click pictures, I write, I read; I live…

Please tell about a moment of one of your memorable shots.

One of my memorable shots would definitely be a picture that I took while one of our outdoor classes at ‘Pathshala’. We were asked to click 3 pictures based on some themes. One of the themes was light. We did not have enough sunlight that day, as it was a bit cloudy. We were trying to find sources of light and some of us had already clicked pictures of sunlight and shades of sunlight, and there I was, still searching for a light that would touch my heart. Finally, I found the light of my picture in a yellow bulb of a glass box that contained Fuchka. Yes! I finally found it! I clicked the picture without even thinking how others will see it. But that light was speaking through the picture. I thought, “Sometimes, in absence of light, we get lost and busy in trying to find it in the usual places. Maybe we can find it at the strangest, simplest and the most overlooked places. We just have to look for it.” During the review class I was relaxed as I knew my picture would not really appeal to anyone, but to my utter surprise, the teacher liked the picture and said it was one of the best pictures. I was praised for the unusual outlook that I had. And it was that picture, that moment, that light, which inspired me and made me realize that I need to keep capturing the ‘unusual’. I need to keep believing in what I see through my lens and what I capture through the lens.

Ever faced obstacles to pursue this hobby?

I have not faced any difficulties till now. But this journey is going to be long, so if I face any obstacles in future, I will try not to let that come in between my hobby. Till then I’ll go places, travel and find the moments and sometimes let the moments find me.

Any advice to fellow emerging photographers?

I am still learning myself, so I can only motivate the fellow emerging photographers. One thing that I always keep telling myself is that my picture will become a moment, a story, only when the camera becomes a medium to capture the storm that goes in my mind when I see something amazing and finally that storm rests in the serene silence of the story of the photograph.  So, when I take the camera in my hands, I wait, I observe, I check all the technicalities according to the place and light and then, the instant when a brilliant moment comes to my eyes, I capture that in my dream catcher.

If it was not photography, what else your passion would be?

Apart from photography, I have a passion for writing poems. But I want to pursue both of my hobbies. After all, both of them tell stories, don’t they? One captures moments with words and another with pictures!

Do you plan to want to take you passion to a professional level?

I would definitely want to take my passion to a professional level. Till then, I will take one step at a time and keep searching for ‘unusual’; keep searching for stories with my dream catcher.