Those brilliant photo-stories

Hyderabad: Photographer-author Diinesh Kumble knows very well the limitations of our generation “to be able to just handle 140 characters at a time”. This is perhaps why his efforts towards encouraging and publishing coffee table books are finding praises, especially after his post-Africa work.

In the city to speak about photography that aims at documenting cultures or even regions, he says, “This is also extremely relevant now that the state has been bifurcated and that both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will begin documenting their cultures freshly.”

But the path to publishing is not easy. Diinesh too struggled to get to where he is now. A self-taught photographer who pursued his passion even through his chemical engineering course, he couldn’t find publishers. So he decided to start his own publishing house.

In 2009, Diinesh’s brother and cricketer Anil Kumble released his now famous book Dream Safari on African wildlife. This was followed by Gujarat’s Vibrant Wildlife. He was then commissioned by the Modi government to work on another coffee table book on Kutch.

“Africa, no doubt, was a great place to shoot. There is so much to capture. And the light there, the way the sun falls near the equator, it’s just beautiful. But I craved to come back,” he says.

“The challenges are bigger in India. Everything changes very few kilometres, from the topography to food to languages. And that is what makes it so fascinating as well.”

Diinesh’s next book is on the Nilgiris Range in the South of the country. “The hills have a lot of stories. For instance, there is a railroad in Ooty that is 400 years old that not many even know of,” he says.

Now supporting young photographers and writers looking to publish books,  Diinesh is clear on what makes good work.

“Interesting frames need to be supplemented by a storyline. So yes, it takes a lot more than just good images,” he says.