On a clear,sunny morning,Chandigarhs Sukhna Lake is a picture-perfect sight,with the suns rays lending varied hues to its waters. Its been many a photographers muse and clicked to perfection by a few. Yet,Karan Gupta captures the placid waters of the Sukhna with an angle thats unique,so much so that you wonder about the location of the shot. Photography is all about a unique angle,one that captures a place in a new light and gives the viewer an insight to the composition, says Karan Gupta. Photographs of Sukhna and a few others find space in Guptas first photography exhibition titled My 36,000 Words. An engineering student,Gupta is an avid traveller and has been pursuing photography for many years now. The idea,he says,is to capture the perfect moment. Therefore,I feel it is not compulsory to have an expensive camera to be a good photographer, says Gupta,who has taken these 36 photographs with a simple digital camera. Gupta believes that travelling is the best way to discover,be fascinated and to get varied experiences. He adds that each of the photographs exhibited has a unique story regarding the way it was taken. While some of them intend to draw attention to a different way of looking at ordinary things,others are simply scenes that Gupta has encountered and found captivating. A few of the pictures have been specifically set up in order to explore new areas of interest like reflections (Illumination) and long exposure shots to generate illusions (Drunken Hallucinations). Water,be it the sea,beaches or lakes all of them find way into the pictures,sans people. Bonjour Pondicherry captures a cart standing solitary on the beach. The sea during sunrise is a pretty sight with some flaming orange shades,Four Men in a Boat shows the silhouettes of men on the vast expanse of water,while a man sitting on an edge of the boat in the middle of the sea makes for a reflective picture. Auto Perspective shows the madness of a city from inside an auto,while Fountainhead is a subtle reflection depicting heads of empty taps. Gupta agrees that he enjoys creating compositions with objects rather than people. He says. Not everyone has patience for us photographers and I like to see things people dont see. The exhibition is on at Alliance Francaise,Sector 36 till June 22.
