1. Did you study photography formally in a college or university?
I had been using a SLR since my teens as my father had a Nikkormat with a 35mm lens. It used to have a fantastic meter and my early learnings about the basics of exposure were all on that.
While in college, I was part of the Photo Society (which didn’t do much really, at least while I was around). I essentially had joined because I wanted to use the darkroom. However, once I realized that the darkroom wasn’t very functional, I started a darkroom with two friends in our rented flat near college. I must admit we didn’t get very far but spent many nights figuring out chemicals and basic b/w printing. That experimenting came in handy when I printed all the images myself that were shown at FotoFest, Houston in 2018.
In retrospect, I wasn’t a very diligent student of photography, so the few photography books that made their way to me were by accident rather than from my seeking them out. A family friend who used to be a friend of Raghubir Singh had his entire collection of books, which I would pour through when I went over.
Making images for myself, and then learning how to make images for publishing, gave me the technical skills and, slowly, an aesthetic as well. At times that aesthetic has been a reaction to the things I learnt ‘on the job’ or to how images are used in the media.
2. Do you think it is important to receive formal training in photography?
Yes and No.
I think a formal education allows for a more structured approach. For those who are not very proactive, like me, a classroom setup is helpful. Others, who have a clearer idea of what they want to do, may not need it as much. Formal education and institutions also help place young practitioners straight into existing networks through events, exhibitions, talks, internships etc.
Learning on the job possibly teaches you a whole different set of skills. Real world situations, how to engage with people as people, not just subjects; working with small or big teams; hierarchies within offices; egos – big and small; deadlines; ethical conundrums; ideological / political differences etc. Dealing with these sorts of issues can’t be taught in any classroom and sometimes are as crucial in making work as skill and training.
In many ways, I think having access to a good library and reading widely are more important than any formal training. A bachelor’s degree in a social science goes a long way, maybe even further than a specific arts / photo degree, and I think is, in many ways, crucial in helping (me) reach an aesthetic that I am comfortable with. One, which is in a sense, a result of lived experience more than any formal study.
In my case, I had thought of applying to Speos (France), but at that point in 2000, I didn’t really know anyone else who had been there; and there weren’t that many people running off to become photographers, plus it was an expensive course and no real scholarships seemed to be available. So, I took the internship route instead.
Having said all this, I have reservations about both routes.
3. If you were to design a photography program for young Indian photographers, what would it look like? Would it be a degree course? Workshop format? Mentorship?
I think it would be a combination of courses in history, writing, workshops with photographers, designers, printers etc, as well and some form of work experience / mentorship.
4. After completing your bachelor’s degree from St. Stephens College, how did you get into photography and land up with a job at the India Today magazine?
While I was in college, I applied for a small travel grant that was offered to second year students during the summer break. I proposed to follow a route, following places the anthropologist Verrier Elwin had traveled through and make pictures. I was lucky to get the grant, which enabled me to travel in Arunachal Pradesh for a few weeks. While there, I happened to meet people who needed some images taken for a travel company they were starting and, as it turned out, that was my first assignment. I was tasked with making pictures of wild horses which I found out are incredibly shy creatures. The only lens I had was a 35mm manual focus. I think I got a few frames that were in focus and close enough but all in all they were, not surprisingly, disastrous images. I remember I even got chased by one of the horses. What I really wanted was an excuse to travel and see the world and photography seemed like one way to do that. It also didn’t hurt that I enjoyed making pictures while being slightly invisible behind the camera.
Soon after graduating from college, a friend, who is now a successful chef and restaurateur, Manu Chandra wanted to write a cookbook and had the interest of a publisher who was willing to pay for the photography. Along with another friend, Priyanka Dasgupta, who is now an artist, we decided to take it on and in the process also teach ourselves a bit about how to photograph food. We did a reasonable job, I think, though I also realized that food / studio work wasn’t for me.
I worked as a freelance contributor for the Hindustan Times for a month or two, making pictures for their city supplements for a few months. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do either, and then I heard about a new afternoon paper being launched by the India Today Group.
The team at Today was a small one, and we did a huge variety of assignments through the day, each day. After the initial year or so, Bandeep Singh our photo editor left the daily working of the paper to the photographers and returned to the main magazine (India Today). This meant we were left mostly free to organize and assign assignments, photograph, edit and make sure things went on page. For all of us in the department it was the first proper job, and I think that for all of us it was a good learning experience in how newspapers run. Personally, it also gave me a lot of important skills in working with big teams and crazy deadlines.
I spent just over three years at the newspaper before moving to the main magazine, India Today.
5. Who or what has inspired you to pursue photography and/or continues to do so?
I think what struck me early on was how photography was a way to see the world and be financially independent. I got lucky with a few early assignments while still in college and soon after. The freedom that it allowed me was something that I enjoyed. Of course, ideas about how an image can be powerful and change prevailing discourse and possibly affect change were inspiring, but initially I was more taken by the worlds a camera seemed to open up to me.
6. Is there a book, an exhibition or a body of work that has really impressed you and maybe even influenced your work / life?
I’m impressed by a lot of work, made by the masters as well as from what I see almost everyday. I’m not sure to what extent those works influence my own; I would be inclined to think not much, not consciously at least.
7. Do your projects typically run in parallel, or do you focus on one project at a time? Do you have multiple projects going on concurrently, or one followed by the next?
I’m too disorganized to actually manage and finish projects fast enough. So yes, I do end up working on multiple projects simultaneously.
8. You have worked as a staff photographer for a leading media house, as a photo editor and currently as an independent photographer. Which gives you the most satisfaction and why?
It seems to me that the world over editors and photographers have their own career paths and to be a photo editor you needn’t have been a photographer, definitely not a successful one. In India, most photo editors are first photographers who rise through the ranks based on their photography skills, and then the job profile changes to one of an administrator, editor, and sometimes photographer. The only way to get a better salary as an employed photojournalist is to rise through the ranks and become editor, which has always seemed absurd to me since the skills required to be a good photographer or editor are not necessarily the same.
I can only think of Caravan at the moment that has a photo editor who is not a ‘career’ photographer. So, to answer the question, in my case I much prefer making pictures and not being an editor; but given the way things are structured, that becomes difficult to stick to. Ideally, these would be considered two different career paths with equal opportunities in terms of prospect.
9. Given the fact that a zillion images are produced and circulated on a daily basis, in your opinion, what is the place for serious reportage and journalistic images?
The plethora of images constantly bombarding us from every direction doesn’t change the place of serious reportage for me. I understand that it is increasingly difficult to get us to focus attention on serious things – competing with viral content is challenging.
Evolving newer ways of communicating the stories and issues around us is important, of course. It may also be equally important to think of ways of imparting a visual literacy of some kind. We need schools / colleges to be involved so that some basic education and tools can be created to help us understand how images are used (and abused) around us and in many cases, against us.
10. Digital technology has changed photography drastically over the last few years. Did you initially embrace the changes or resist them? Do you believe the changes have been good for the medium or not? Why?
I started using digital cameras only when I was employed. My office had some of the early variants and they were fun to use. I was always open to technological advances, as I really hadn’t spent that much time / experience using film while working. I would say, I was more than open to the change and still am!
I don’t think these changes can be categorized as good or bad. In my opinion, both media have their own specific place and use.
When working on ideas and projects that require a slower approach, using film has its benefits. Personally, I find the ability to see images I have made instantly, sometimes puts blinders on me; I get fixated on something in particular that I want to ‘fix’ or get ‘perfect,’ but in the process, I end up blocking myself to other things happening around me. Film allows a photographer to spend time on a frame / an idea and then move on.
Having said that, at the same time, the freedom to shoot without wasting or running out of film allows one to take creative chances and explore more and different ways of making images that one may not normally attempt with film, for instance low-light photography.
11. When you put together a series of images, please share your processes while you are creating the narrative of the story.
Most of my work is for magazines and newspapers and my edits usually have to fit a very tight space. My process for those stories is very different from my own projects where I may have more space / time.
I’m less interested in creating grand images, which tell the whole story in a few images; I prefer slower, less descriptive images. However, this can be a problem while working on assignment for news organizations.
12. Do you ever find yourself creatively ‘stuck?’ Is there something that is particularly helpful to you in overcoming this?
Yes of course, though I’m still trying to figure that out! I don’t see my practice as that of an ‘artist’ photographer, since much of the work I produce is led by commissioned work. Sometimes, doing the same kind of stories repeatedly can be dull, lulling you into a creative slump of sorts and one starts falling back on formulaic responses.
At different times I have attempted different things to get out of a creative slump. However, I wouldn’t say they are always effective, but have certainly helped, like switching to a film camera or using a point-and-shoot for working in smaller, more intimate spaces; attaching a flash, since I rarely use a flash; limiting myself to use a single lens for some time or even just putting the camera away and watching a film or reading a book!
13. How much effort do you put into getting your work shown? Is this important to you? If so, why? Does showing your work feed your creative process or does it distract from it?
I haven’t been as proactive about exhibiting my work because I haven’t ever felt it is ready. The few shows that have happened have been more to do with circumstances that pushed me into doing something. However, whenever I have exhibited, it has been an enormously, creatively satisfying experience that helps in taking the project further.
14. Do you feel that there are adequate opportunities and avenues to share / show your work in India, or do you always look for such opportunities abroad?
I think opportunities in India exist and are increasing every year. Global platforms of course bring a wider global audience and possibly more money as far as grants and awards are concerned.
15. With your years of experience, of the lessons you have learned, what is the one thing you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
Archiving. Don’t wait until you have a few hundred rolls of film and a couple hundred GBs of data before you start archiving. Organize your images from the start. It helps make connections as your work progresses and allows for a more organized approach to your work and generally helps keep you sane. And yes, don’t forget to back up!
16. How would an interested collector go about buying your work?
Emailing me directly at ishan.tankha@gmail.com would be the first step.
17. If you didn’t do photography, what other career might you have pursued?
Probably something to do with architecture or design. I enjoy modifying spaces and designing ways to make the best of small spaces!
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Copyright © Ishan Tankha
20 November
