Nathaniel Majaw connects with creative Instagrammers of the city ahead of World Photography Day
PHOTOGRAPHS CAPTIVATE me. Whether it’s a photo of a burnt-out electrical wire or even 128 selfies; photographs never fail to tell me something about the photographer or what is being photographed.
Yup, photography has truly come a long way since its invention in the early 1800s. Whether you agree or disagree with me, today’s smart phones is making everyone a photographer and I feel that the digital revolution of photography did not come about with the advent of DSLRs but with a tiny program, or ‘app’ if you may, that can be installed on your smart phone – Instagram.
Instagram is a mobile photo sharing social network service that allows users to instantly share photos on the internet. What makes Instagram unique is that this social network service is purely photo based. So for a visual maker, an image lover, a photographer, this is the app to have. Unlike Facebook, where we are flooded with not only photos but also game requests, app requests, videos, spam shares, polls, very personal status updates, website links, more videos, event invites, gigantic comment box debates, ‘like’ requests and so on; Instagram is far simpler. Images only. It’s this simplicity that makes over 150 million users like it so much.
When I first started using Instagram, I was amazed that there were quite a few people from Shillong sharing spectacular images. From filmmakers to schoolteachers, I found fellow town folk Instagrammers telling their stories through their images. I cannot help but mention my favorite Instagrammers. Hopefully, you recognize some of them.
Josiah Lyngwa (duhheh) describes himself as a ‘saint and a sinner’ and has a photo series on Instagram called ‘boredom’. From what I can see, they are photographs of objects from around his house. However, they are anything but boring. Clocks, showers, wires, switches – that’s ‘duhheh’s Instagram feed. A movie buff, Nipasa Pradhan’s (nipasspradhan) photos always tell a story and like Josiah’s work, photography of what we may think as mundane may not necessarily be mundane. Josiah and Nipasa’s works are unique because they render unfamiliarity to familiar objects. Instagram has also come in handy for local entrepreneur Deime Banda (deimebanda) of ‘Lapongnai’, who sells do-it-yourself jewellery. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill instagram feed, Banda’s photography of her products definitely seems like a free but great business strategy.
Ankush Saikia (ankushsaikia), an award winning author (Jet City Woman, Spotting Veron and Other Stories, and The Girl from Nongrim Hills) is also an avid Instagrammer from Shillong. Instagram, says Ankush Saikia “allows you to connect with people with similar interests from all over, or with just a small group of friends. There’s far less drama on IG (Instagram) than on FB (Facebook)”. His IG photographs I can say are always a perfect blend of a traveler’s and local’s perspective. You would expect long descriptions below a writer’s photograph – not this instagrammer. He lets his photos speak.
An alumnus of Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Co-director of the regional film ‘Ka Lad’, Gautam Syiem (gautam_syiem) from Mawroh, speaks volumes through his photographs. His photographs always seem to capture the essence of the place he travels to but I must say, the most captivating of them, are the ones of Shillong.
Arridapha Shullai (rida209), a mom of two children, is an IG fanatic from Shillong. “Instagram allows me to exhibit my work of art on a universal canvas, in which people get to critically appreciate, therefore educating me about areas that need improvement also encouraging me to put up more of my work” says Shullai. Although she describes herself as an amateur in photography, her 272 photographs definitely do not spell out ‘amateur’. Arridapha Shullai’s scenic landscapes, sunsets and portraits are always ‘postcard perfect’. ‘rida209’ is a must to follow if you are a local instagrammer. The last among my favourites is Embor Sayo (emborsayo). He is a master of the ‘closeup’. His works really reinforce the fact that photography is more of an art than a craft. Like Master Yoda from Star Wars would say, “Follow emborsayo you must.”
This is a good time indeed for photography. Taking and sharing a photograph has never been easier. So on this World Photography Day (August 19), point your camera phone at someone or something; click, share and join the community of image lovers – photographers.
(Nathaniel Majaw, an Instagrammer himself, is an assistant professor at the Mass Media Department, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, where he teaches Visual Communication)