Hashim Haroon’s formal education came to a halt with the 10th standard. He did join a fine arts school subsequently but didn’t make much progress. His family was not that well off so he had to take up part time jobs; among other things, he did book-binding and screen printing. The turning point of his life came when he read an article in a children’s magazine on how to set up a dark room within one’s house. His brother helped too and he started fiddling around with films as a teenager. The first camera he could lay his hands on was an Agfa Click 3.
MoonriseLike many other jobless youth of Kerala, he too went to the Gulf in search of a living but never gave up his passion for photography. When a friend saw some of his photos, he took them to a person heading a colour lab. Hashim was offered the job of a technician in that lab. When money started coming his way, he acquired a Horseman camera, made in Japan. During his vacations, he would religiously carry it back home and go on journeys to click to his heart’s content. In 1991, he won a fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society given for travel photographers.
Brogpa Aryan tribals in Bhiyama, Kargil
Hemis MonasteryHe went on to join an Arabic magazine in Dubai as its photographer, and then a Saudi publication. In 1996, he joined the Dubai Municipality as its photographer. In 2003, he became a freelancer to work on independent projects. Since then, he has been dividing his time between India and the Gulf and has brought out 19 coffee-table books on various subjects.
The town of Kaza, Himachal Pradesh
Brogpa Aryan tribals in Bhiyama, Kargil
It was in 2003 that he first took to the Himalayas. Fascinated by the cultural diversity and the landscape variations of the Leh-Manali stretch, he became a frequent visitor. “The diversity of the terrain is striking. You have cold deserts as well as stunning greenery and vegetation, not to mention the calm life around,” says Hashim. The Ladakh-Nubra stretch that he has extensively filmed includes Khardung La and Tagland La, two of the highest motorable roads in the world.
Buruwa, Himachal Pradesh
“Often, I develop self-doubt if I am up to it because it is physically taxing. But when consumed with the task at hand, I don’t feel like taking rest at all. Things became easier after I switched to digital cameras as one doesn’t have to lug so much equipment. These days, I sometimes shoot with tiny cameras. While shooting people, it is important to mingle with them, and make them comfortable and often the trick is to let them handle cameras and show them the photos,” he says.
A candid shot in Manali
He says a photographer may have to wait for long to find the right frame, the right moment. “Luck certainly plays a part,” he says. He is happy with the images that he has got till now of the terrain but not entirely satisfied. “I need to visit more.”
