I met Raghu Rai on the terrace above his office; it was a cool, sunny, late afternoon in early march and we drank tea and munched a biscuit or two.
I had asked Raghu about Martin Parr, the first "real" photographer I had met, at a time when I knew nothing of photography. For Raghu, Parr is photographing the superficial and while his work was exciting for a time, it has now been overdone. Parr needs to move on! He risks repeating himself.
Another German photographer, Raghu is at a loss to recall his name, had done some panoramic photographs which Raghu admired but when this photographer came to India in the mid-1980's, he only stayed about 10 days, shooting with flash into people's faces; from this a book was made. It said little of the real India and was in many ways was insulting to Indian people.
People have a natural dignity and it needs to be respected. When Raghu photographs in India he is one of it's people and he emphasises with his subjects; to impose upon them might create dramatic photography but does not create truly insightful photography.
The West has adopted an arrogant approach.
I had asked Raghu about Martin Parr, the first "real" photographer I had met, at a time when I knew nothing of photography. For Raghu, Parr is photographing the superficial and while his work was exciting for a time, it has now been overdone. Parr needs to move on! He risks repeating himself.
Another German photographer, Raghu is at a loss to recall his name, had done some panoramic photographs which Raghu admired but when this photographer came to India in the mid-1980's, he only stayed about 10 days, shooting with flash into people's faces; from this a book was made. It said little of the real India and was in many ways was insulting to Indian people.
People have a natural dignity and it needs to be respected. When Raghu photographs in India he is one of it's people and he emphasises with his subjects; to impose upon them might create dramatic photography but does not create truly insightful photography.
The West has adopted an arrogant approach.
No comments:
Post a Comment