Identify unique stories to capture meaningful photos
By Surbhi Kaul
For him,travel photography is not just going to places and taking beautiful pictures. Nithil Dennis, travel photographer and associate professor at Royal Thimpu College in Bhutan, says, “For me, travel photography is about people, places, traditions, food, etc. It is a combination of travel journalism, streets, documenting communities, and clicking pictures of sceneries.”
Speaking to students at the Times School of Media, he used his photographic expertise in documenting various cultures, to talk about the art of storytelling through travel photography. Dennis took the students through variousjourneys he had captured.
Storytelling through observation
For example, he spoke about his first visit to Chamba in Himachal Pradesh in 2015. He captured the livelihoods of a ‘Van Gujjar’ community. “I was fascinated by the tribal communities there. The Van Gujjars are the people who are nomadic by nature. I was able to capture their life by observing them,” he said.
Through the same journey, he explained the importance of having an in-depth knowledge about a community and observing all the small details whiletraveling . And it proved interesting as well as intriguing for him.
Beauty is in the details
Using his pictures to talk about his experiences, Dennis shared his observations on the mixed culture of Kerala. While he was traversing Kerala, there was one thing that puzzled him the most: the symbol is the trade union logo. ‘The Kerala Diary’, brings out these little aspects, like a cross and a ship he observed in the CITU logo, indicating a mix of religion and trade unionism. “One needs to absorb all these small elements when traveling,” he said.
Shoot, but don’t disturb!
Talking about another series he capture on the Jewish dance, the Butoh, Dennis spoke of how difficult it became to shoot it. “The Jewish lady who was teaching this dance was very particular that I should not disturb her while shooting. Now, as a photographer, it is difficult to make yourself invisible in front of the subject. But after three different sessions with her, she finally agreed to the shoot.”
He learnt an important lesson from this experience. “The lesson I learnt was how to shoot without disturbing the subject. As a photographer, you need to be sensitive about others’ environment. Shoot the subject without intrusion,” Dennis said.
There were more travel journeys Dennis shared with the students. They included his series on ‘The Bolivian Festival’ followed by ‘LGBTQI’, ‘NU UNO MENOS’ #Me too- Argentina, ‘Bhutan Perspective’, ‘People’s Project’, and his wildlife series.
“When you travel, you identify a story, youobserve something unique and then you tell the story through your images. This is how a photo story is made,” he concluded.
For him,
Speaking to students at the Times School of Media, he used his photographic expertise in documenting various cultures, to talk about the art of storytelling through travel photography. Dennis took the students through various
Storytelling through observation
For example, he spoke about his first visit to Chamba in Himachal Pradesh in 2015. He captured the livelihoods of a ‘Van Gujjar’ community. “I was fascinated by the tribal communities there. The Van Gujjars are the people who are nomadic by nature. I was able to capture their life by observing them,” he said.
Through the same journey, he explained the importance of having an in-depth knowledge about a community and observing all the small details while
Beauty is in the details
Using his pictures to talk about his experiences, Dennis shared his observations on the mixed culture of Kerala. While he was traversing Kerala, there was one thing that puzzled him the most: the symbol is the trade union logo. ‘The Kerala Diary’, brings out these little aspects, like a cross and a ship he observed in the CITU logo, indicating a mix of religion and trade unionism. “One needs to absorb all these small elements when traveling,” he said.
Shoot, but don’t disturb!
Talking about another series he capture on the Jewish dance, the Butoh, Dennis spoke of how difficult it became to shoot it. “The Jewish lady who was teaching this dance was very particular that I should not disturb her while shooting. Now, as a photographer, it is difficult to make yourself invisible in front of the subject. But after three different sessions with her, she finally agreed to the shoot.”
He learnt an important lesson from this experience. “The lesson I learnt was how to shoot without disturbing the subject. As a photographer, you need to be sensitive about others’ environment. Shoot the subject without intrusion,” Dennis said.
There were more travel journeys Dennis shared with the students. They included his series on ‘The Bolivian Festival’ followed by ‘LGBTQI’, ‘NU UNO MENOS’ #Me too- Argentina, ‘Bhutan Perspective’, ‘People’s Project’, and his wildlife series.
“When you travel, you identify a story, you
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