Photo Kathmandu

A moment of their own - women dancing by Larry Daloz

A Young Tharu Man from Ravi Mohan Shrestha Collection

Builders from Boharagaun by David Carlson

If you're in Delhi in the first week of November, there's the Delhi Photo Festival (more of which later). If you're in Kathmandu, there's Photo Kathmandu (3rd - 9th November), an event that needs support in particular because of the devastating earthquake that happened there earlier this year.

If you're in both places in the same week, you could do a subcontinental Photo Festival double-header.

I put a few questions to Nayantara Kakshapti about the festival and photography in Nepal as a whole. This is what she said

How and why did Photo Kathmandu begin?

We have been dreaming of this festival for a few years now. After the earthquakes in April and May, we decided to just go for it. Nepal can use all the positive attention it can get this year. A festival will allow us to invite the global photography community to Nepal, creating possibilities for the local photography community to access global networks, and also promote photography to local audiences.   

What are the main events this year?

We will have about 12 curated print shows featuring Nepali as well as international photographers such as Philip Blenkinsop, Kevin Bubriski, Kishor Sharma and Bikas Rauniar. We have 8 workshops designed not only to build photography skills but also skills for writers, editors and others who work with photography. We have an artist residency for photo and jazz artists that strives to promote collaboration and experimentation. And 6 days of programming that will include artist talks, discussions and slideshows.  

What are the difficulties photography faces in Nepal?

Nepali photographers struggle to get paid decent wages, they dont have editors and publishers who understand and value their work enough, they have limited networks to get their work out into the world. Also, it is a challenge to free 'the Nepal story' from either the poor 'third world' country story or the exotic beautiful tourist destination story. We don't have a photography school in Nepal so young photographers who want to learn how to be better at what they do, have to rely on workshops or look at expensive programs beyond Nepal.        

Is photography being used in any way to help overcome the earthquake devastation?

Along with good friends Sumit Dayal and Tara Bedi, we were involved in setting up #nepalphotoproject on Instagram and Facebook since the day after the first earthquake on 25 April. The project aimed to crowd source photographs and information from the ground and inform people about rescue, relief and rebuilding work. 

This is an on-going project that will aim to document Nepal's long term recovery. As mainstream media has moved on, this project looks at keeping the post-earthquake Nepal story alive and accessible. Also, we are selling archival prints from Nepal Picture Library- a digital archive we set up in 2011- to raise money for rebuilding heritage sites in the old city of Patan where the festival will be hosted. This has been a way to sort of lean on our past, to help rebuild for the future. More info at www.support.photoktm.com      

Who are some of the Nepali photographers we should look at?

Kishor Sharma, Prasiit Sthapit, Surendra Lawoti, Shikhar Bhattarai, Sailendra Kharel, Rohan Thapa.

Support the rebuilding of heritage sites in Patan by buying an exquisite limited edition print! support.photoktm.com 

www.photocircle.com.np
www.nepalpicturelibrary.org

Max Pinckers dos and don'ts: Question Yourself, Question Everything

all pictures by Max Pinckers from Will They Sing Like Raindrops or Leave Me Thirsty

A late arrival on the Do's and Don'ts lists of last year, here is Max Pinckers. Max has made his hugely successful profile of Mumbai, the Masala-styled Fourth Wall. The book of that series has sold out but he's following it up with a book on escapees from Forced Marriages and (Honour) Family Violence. It's called 
 Will They Sing Like Raindrops or Leave Me Thirsty and it's coming out  later in the year and ...

you can pre-order it here. 

And read my book review of the Fourth Wall for Photo-Eye here.

And an interview with Max for the BJP here.

Max Pinckers Dos and Don'ts

I’d like to start by saying that there aren’t really any rules in photography that need be followed. Although it’s always good to create some for yourself in order to construct certain restrictions, developing a space in which the need to maintain such restrictions stimulates a creative approach. Start with a concept, an abstract notion, an idea. Mold it, challenge it, write it down and discuss it until it’s purified to such clarity that you can recognize it when scanning the environment and surroundings. Train your eyes to see, and not just to look. When in doubt, always reference back to the initial idea, regroup and re-examine. If necessary, start again (a mid-project crisis can be very healthy). No one will give you the idea, it won’t be hiding from you either, it will present itself to you when least expected. The tricky part is recognizing it (and its potential value) when it does.

Don’t let your subject highjack the initial concept. Subjects have a tendency to grab all the attention, leaving little room for interpretation that goes beyond what is visible in the photographs. This is where choosing the right subject is of quite some importance, although not crucial in conveying your intentions. A subject is of course necessary, but only functions as a vehicle with which the initial idea is communicated. From my experience, subjects that already have some form of fiction incorporated within them seem to work best, providing a stage onto which Reality somehow reveals itself every now and then by exposing its own veil. This is an approach that goes hand in hand with (documentary) photography, its indexical relationship to reality yet its impossibility to contain it.

Give your idea and intentions the space to breathe and develop. Avoid making typographies, one dimensional photo series or the use of repetitive image strategies. Challenge every image with a fresh and critical approach towards the idea. Combine images to create narratives. Become a storyteller. If you can’t seem to find a way to translate what you want to say into a still image, try using words, other people’s images, found footage, sculptures or videos.

Listen to your images. Let them talk back to you and you’ll be surprised with how much they can teach you about yourself. Above all, always be critical and question the medium, the subject, the approach and your own position.

www.maxpinckers.be