Two weeks ago, a group of Mumbai press photographers decided to help 40 underprivileged children across the city see Mumbai in their own way.
“Earlier we used to take photos on our mobiles, but they were not very good,” said Rahim Maqbool, a 16-year-old participant from Geeta Nagar in South Mumbai. “But when we started using the professional cameras, we began to see the difference.”
These were not professional cameras, but basic entry-level ones provided by Nikon.
The programme, called Kaun Banega Press Photographer?, involved four-hour sessions across two weekends by seven top photojournalists. The photographers spent the first weekend with children in their own communities. On the third day, they went to areas near their homes and on the last, all groups met at the Borivali National Park.
“We thought of teaching them a skill that we already had,” said Dinesh Krishnan, the photo editor who compiled the final images in the project, which was organised by the Press Club, Mumbai. “But we were sure we did not want to teach them too much. Everyone has a native vision and we did not want to interfere with that.”
The mentors, Bipin Kokate, Rizwan Mithawala, Sakshi Kapoor, Sanjay Hadkar, Sudharak Olwe, Suresh KK and Uma Kadam, each worked with six or seven children. They gave only minimal advice to the children and instead encouraged them to explore their surroundings on their own.
The children would not have had more than an hour and a half each with the camera across the four-day workshop, but they took to it naturally.
Their rapport comes across visibly in several of the photographs on display. “When we went around Geeta Nagar, a lot of people told us not to take their photos,” added Rahul Adsul, who is in the 9th standard. “But a lot of people also started to pose for us and asked if their photos would appear in the media.”
Kaun Banega Press Photographer? will be on display at the Mumbai Press Club until October 8.
“Earlier we used to take photos on our mobiles, but they were not very good,” said Rahim Maqbool, a 16-year-old participant from Geeta Nagar in South Mumbai. “But when we started using the professional cameras, we began to see the difference.”
These were not professional cameras, but basic entry-level ones provided by Nikon.
The programme, called Kaun Banega Press Photographer?, involved four-hour sessions across two weekends by seven top photojournalists. The photographers spent the first weekend with children in their own communities. On the third day, they went to areas near their homes and on the last, all groups met at the Borivali National Park.
“We thought of teaching them a skill that we already had,” said Dinesh Krishnan, the photo editor who compiled the final images in the project, which was organised by the Press Club, Mumbai. “But we were sure we did not want to teach them too much. Everyone has a native vision and we did not want to interfere with that.”
The mentors, Bipin Kokate, Rizwan Mithawala, Sakshi Kapoor, Sanjay Hadkar, Sudharak Olwe, Suresh KK and Uma Kadam, each worked with six or seven children. They gave only minimal advice to the children and instead encouraged them to explore their surroundings on their own.
The children would not have had more than an hour and a half each with the camera across the four-day workshop, but they took to it naturally.
Their rapport comes across visibly in several of the photographs on display. “When we went around Geeta Nagar, a lot of people told us not to take their photos,” added Rahul Adsul, who is in the 9th standard. “But a lot of people also started to pose for us and asked if their photos would appear in the media.”
Komal Nayker, Geetha Nagar
Nehal, Salaam Balak Trust
Rahul Shah, Sangharsh Nagar
Rahul Adsul, Geeta Nagar
Shreenath, Sangharsh Nagar
Shubnam, Salaam Balak Trust
Suman Dhar, Salaam Balak Trust
Vaibhav More, Sangharsh Nagar
Kaun Banega Press Photographer? will be on display at the Mumbai Press Club until October 8.
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