Candid Camera

Unusual things are transformed into things of beauty once the lens of Dilip Bhatia’s camera is focused on them. The harsh landscape of Ladakh becomes a many-textured carpet,while the portrait of a beggar at a busy traffic junction,becomes a study of the human condition. The photographer,who was recently declared the Photographer of the Year at the PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris (2011),a major honour in the world of photography,puts it down to being committed to finding the candid moments that transform a photograph into a work of art. “At a time when everyone is armed with a camera,you have to keep your eyes open to catch those moments which will make your work stand out,” he says.

The project that won Bhatia the PX3 award is one he did for the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Worli,Mumbai. “I was roped in to take pictures for their catalogues,and I decided to enter that in the competition. The beauty of these pictures is that they’re all so positive. Off-hand,you wouldn’t expect such joyful photographs to come out of such a place,but once you step in,you can’t help but feel your heart lifted. It’s that spirit that I tried to capture in my work,” he says. A look at the grinning children in the pictures,and it’s clear that Bhatia has succeeded.

This year is doubly special because the photographer has also been selected as one of the finalists for Hasselblad’s master of photography 2010 for his work on Ladakh. “This is the first time that an Indian photographer has been selected for working on an Indian landscape,” says the-50-year-old,“Most photographers,Indians as well as outsiders,tend to shoot Indian culture — it’s colours,rituals,clothes. Hardly anyone shoots the lovely Indian landscape.”

Bhatia,who set up his D Studio and Gallery in Mumbai 16 years ago,gets nostalgic when talking about the days of film photography. “These days,it’s all digital,so you have instant results. But there’s a certain pleasure in film photography,which cannot be replicated,” he says.