Man who loves to see red

After 17 years with the government,Akhtar now plans to take voluntary retirement in a couple of years and move to Paris to promote his work. He also plans to write a book on Kerala.

Earlier this week,Akhtar donated 20 of his infra-red photographs of Islamic monuments in Delhi to Indian Islamic Cultural Centre. “I find IICC the best place to preserve my works,through which I want to convey the message of conservation of national heritage,” he says.

When asked about his enthusiasm for infra-red photography,generally less preferred,Akhtar says,“Infra-red photography is as old as any other photography. In an era when technology outsmarts aesthetics of the photographer,I still believe that there are some works where old-school photography can outride modern camera techniques. Like my works for my book Forgotten Delhi. I wanted my pictures to highlight the historical perspective of these monuments and showcase them as everlasting.”

“Infra-red photography was the best means to convey that feeling to the viewers,” he adds,disclosing the difficulties with infra-red photography,such as the problem with the source of light and difference in focus and aperture from those in normal cameras. So it requires more time and effort to get a better picture.

Akhtar has showcased his photographs in 13 solo exhibitions so far.

People in India are not really familiar with ‘in-camera effects’ obtained with an infra-red camera which has an infra-red sensitive film and a filter that blocks all visible light other than infra-red. The images are either in black and white or false colour,which makes them look fiery. The dreamy or gory effect in images is called the ‘Wood Effect’ after Robert W Wood,a pioneer in infra-red photography.

A sociology graduate from JNU,Akhtar is married to his collegemate Sasmita Sarangi,who now runs an advertising agency as well as publishes all his books.

Being an enthusiastic traveller and a solo biker,Akhtar likes landscape as well as fashion and glamour photography. His photographs showcase a splendid assortment of cultures from remote corners — from Kailash Manasarovar to Lakshadweep.