Another insurance guy who ‘shoots’

When asked how he manages to get time to pursue photography despite his day job as an insurance official,Sinha,with a candid smile,says,“It is government service which is supposed to be a ‘carefree’ job. The advantage for me is that I can pursue photography without jeopardising it. So even though my passion and primary profession are different,I’ve managed to remain committed to both.”

“Painting with photography” is how Sinha’s pieces can be described as done aptly by a critic. The ease with which a few bricks or some green leaves or a tree’s bark get transformed into eye-soothing art works,reflects the quality of this self-taught photographer’s works. “I don’t think about a particular meaning or significance when I take a picture. It totally depends on the moment. I either overexpose or underexpose which makes known things look unknown and mysterious,” the photographer,a native of Gosaba in the Sunderbans,says.

The photographs have not been named,as Sinha pointed out,intentionally to keep it open for interpretation for the patrons.

An alumnus of St Lawrence High School and St Xavier’s College,Kolkata,Sinha has dedicated part of the exhibition to Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali,with eight pictures having graphic work of excerpts from the Nobel-winning poetry collection.

“The first camera my father bought me was an AGFA 200,the first 35mm format film camera in the fixed focus range. It cost Rs 350 in the year 1984. I did manipulation on it and was able to take even macro close-ups. By the time I completed my higher secondary,I was serious about getting admitted to an art college. Unfortunately,I could not get admission. But I never left the battleground. I was determined to establish myself in the fine art world. Slowly I shifted from drawing to collage,then collage to designing and photography. And throughout these years I have been preparing myself in mastering the form and composition. With photography I have always tried to walk in the off route,working with abstract forms. Because somewhere I could relate with that form with élan,this could also be the reason why I like poetry over prose,” Sinha,who has taken all his snaps with compact digital camera Nikon Coolpix P5100 and DSLR Nikon D3100,both borrowed from friends,and one film camera Pentax P30t,an uncle’s present,says.

“Though I work with photography,I have never been too rigid with the make or quality of the camera. I feel,what stands out at the end and what lasts,is the composition,the spirit and warmth of the photograph,and never ever the technical superiority,” the insurance man and father of a 14-year-old boy says.