Extraordinary of the mundane

A picture speaks a thousand words, they say. Photographer Saumalya Ghosh underlines the phrase with his life story. A man of few words, Saumalya prefers to express himself through photographs and canvas. “I don’t prefer to express in words; I am a visual person. During my childhood, I was fond of painting. Later on, I turned to photography. The visual language has always been my mode of expression,” says the Kolkata-based Saumalya, who confesses that photography was his chance to connect with people.

One of the youngest most-sought-after street photographers in the country, Saumalya considers each street as a stage. “I love to observe the drama of daily life as if it is staged on the streets. Common people are my heroes and heroines who play themselves. My philosophy is not to interrupt or influence this ‘real life’ drama while shooting. My camera absorbs it all in its original and purest form. I believe that reality can be stranger than what I can think of,” says Saumalya, who is a software engineer by profession.

He has been part of many national and international street photography competitions/festivals, including the Miami Street Photography Festival 2017, 2018 and Sun Francisco StreetFoto Festival. “From my journeys, I have learnt that a street photographer should be honest, respectful and empathetic towards people.”

He adds, “We’re living in exciting times. Digital photography brought millions of people into this field and it is really easy to click brilliant photos with a cellphone.

Social media platforms like Instagram offer people opportunity to exhibit their works.” Though social media plays a considerable role for photographers to share works, communicate and collaborate with experts across the world, he feels that one has to be passionate and hardworking to excel in any endeavour.

Quite hopeful of the budding photographers, he suggests that they interact and study the art form from contemporary masters. Concluding, he says, “Observe the works of the masters and contemporary photographers. But in the end, simply follow your heart, shoot what you love. Experiment, take the risk and fail. Enjoy the journey.”