SHILLONG: “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence,” American photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams had said.
The Arts and Culture Department’s ‘Framing Stories’ is aiming to encourage more people to express emotions and tell stories through photography. The workshop-cum-exhibition will witness trained professional photographers impart training to budding shutterbugs in the State.
Speaking to reporters, Elyon Elmer Blah, one of the resource persons in the category of landscape photography said, “Photography is not just a professional career but it can help bring social change by highlighting stories that people should know.”
“The workshop is a great opportunity for everybody from amateurs to professionals to actually come and learn, to connect and understand each other .There is a growing need to understand the art of photography as Shillong or Meghalaya as a whole has a lot to offer in terms of photography,” he added.
Blah observed that the workshop will be a great opportunity for photographers to learn and promote their region. “It is a great starting point for us to grow as a community here,” he said, adding, “People here have great love for nature, arts or art forms that express creativity, so I think photography is an amazing technology we now have that has further enhanced our creativity.”
When asked whether photography can be a taken up as a career, he said, “With the slowing down of the economy and severe unemployment crisis, photography in a way does not have any restrictions because the demand for photography, whether professional or wedding, food or architectural photography etc and many other aspects of photography, people can come here and start a business of their own. They can find a niche where they can make money out of it because photography does not rely on external sources but on a person’s creativity.” However, talking about the trend of youngsters taking up government jobs under pressure from parents, Blah said the market for photographers is big and photography, “if taken seriously by those who are really passionate about it”, can help them change their minds about conventional jobs.
Photography has long been looked as a career path that few would tread. Blah brushed aside all negative notions and said, “A photographer has an immense impact on the tourism of the local area, people are visual creatures. Photography is an effective form of promoting tourism. We can put up a photo on a Facebook page, people can like it or share it. There can be revenue generation from tourism.”
When asked about the shortcomings of professional photography, he said, “Professional photography in Shillong is still new. The biggest hurdle is to get people understand how important this field is. Families may say that photography as a profession may not work out and it is not going to give one a job and to find a government job instead, which can be discouraging for some.”
Earlier, speaking at the function, Arts and Culture Minister R.V Lyngdoh said, “A picture speaks a thousand words. This workshop will be a platform for photographers, both amateurs and professionals, to interact with each other and showcase their talent.” The workshop will include training on photography basics, portrait photography, landscape photography, fashion photography, entrepreneurship and marketing.
