Ashish Wakhlu during the photo exhibition at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, on Saturday. Express
PHOTOGRAPHY, like literature, has the power to transport you to places and spaces which you have never seen. It makes you meet complete strangers, view sights that give you a feel of brand-new world, show you a plethora of human emotions and above all, build connections beyond boundaries and borders. Photographs tell you stories of us, life and its manifestations, sans words. All this is presented by Dr Ashish Wakhlu in ‘Sojourn Glimpses’, an exhibition of more than 40 of his photographs showcasing his experiences and travels.
Wakhlu foray into photography began in 1974 with his father’s German Practika’s camera. And the first few pictures he took, he recalls, came out pretty good and fuelled the hobby sufficiently.
Based in Lucknow, Wakhlu has various cameras, and whether they have made him a ‘good’ photographer, he leaves it for his viewers to judge. “As far as the requisites of a good picture goes, I believe it’s important that a photographer should enjoy taking it and viewers should get the message the photographer is trying to convey. Of the pictures that are part of ‘Sojourn Glimpses’, I have unequivocally enjoyed putting up each one of them, the second criterion is for my audience to decide.”
To date, Wakhlu has shot approximately 15,000 medical and non-medical pictures and photography for him is a means of creative expression, which helps in making good memories. He loves shooting pictures on film and still has a darkroom in his home for film processing and printing. Photography, he adds, is a method of painting with light, both in black and white and colour.
