Workshop to train local talents
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 6
Well-known photographer Anay Mann is in Nagaland to share his skills and trade secrets at a summer photography workshop to be held in Kohima. In a meet with The Morung Express at the Dimapur Airport, Anay said to be excited being in Nagaland again –revealing that this is his fourth visit!
Anay, who will be the resource person and trainer during a month-long workshop, is a photographer based in New Delhi and is represented by Photoink. A regular contributor to big names like Forbes, Fortune, Wired, New York Times, Business 2.0, Time Asia, Newsweek, Travel & Leisure, Better Homes & Garden, Tehelka, he has also worked with Der Spegiel, Stern, Life, Red Herring, and GQ India among others. His works have been exhibited at India Habitat Center, Photoink, Recontres d’Arles-France, Ateliers de L’Image-Marseille, WhiteChapel Gallery-London, La Virreina Centre de La Imatge-Barcelona, Arco-Madrid, Musee du Quai Branly-Paris, Fotografie Forum International-Frankfurt and Noorderlicht Photo-festival-Netherlands.
The international photographer had his first solo exhibition in 2004, three solo exhibitions in New Delhi and three outside India and numerous group shows in India and around the globe. Having no formal training in photography himself, Anay said there are no good formal schools of photography. It was the main reason why he trained people during his spare time. Anay is also a visiting faculty member at NIFT Delhi.
Terming Nagaland as ‘virgin territory’ Anay said that till date, Nagaland has been captured and shown by outsiders. He said the workshop aims to remedy that and help Naga photographers document their own lifestyles. Nagaland has yet to be exposed till now and people from here should be exposed to generate images, he said.
Anay hopes to teach the workshop participants as much as they can learn. “A highly technical camera cannot by itself take good photographs,” he said and that the craft of photography has died because of automatic cameras. He revealed to be teaching various genres of photography, help participants understand the working of a camera and also expose them to famous photographers’ works. Participants will be trained depending on their interest after exposing them to the basics, Anay said. “I just want to push them in the area of direction they want to go in”, he explained.
Anay informed that there will also be an exhibition and sale of the photographs after the workshop concludes which he said is important to building the confidence of the photographers; the sale of the photographs will act as a confidence booster.
The workshop will commence from July 7 and end on July 31 and held at Hotel Cimorb. The photography event is organized by ‘Gallery Monet’ headed by Moala Ozukum and Neteno Yoshu. Participants can use film or digital camera although SLR cameras will be more beneficial. (Phone cameras are not permitted).
Participants will be divided into two groups keeping in mind that there are working people who will not be able to give much time but would not like to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the workshop. However, one is also free to choose which group one would like to be in. Group-1 shall have classes 4 days a week. 2 hours of theory and 5-6 hours of practical from Monday to Thursday. Group-2 is the same as Group-1 but more intensive and will be on Friday and Saturday (or Sunday).
