Times have changed, and with that changed the idea of perceiving life around us. The general meanings of life evolved, there is so much mud and chaos in the hectic routines that we all need some time every now and then to wash it off, there are creative minds that come with innovative ideas of taking a step forward and extending their passion for art to something more practical, more exuberant, and more close to reality. Such was the team of four friends and instagrammers from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, who on one of their usual friend’s meeting came up with the idea of exhibiting their Instagram work, to create a palette of art and passion to treat all those who seek to wash off dirt from the monotonies of their lives.
This exhibition was organized in collaboration with Canon Pakistan and Instameet Islamabad. The team of organizers included Jawad Kazmi (@smjawadk), Sidra Tul Noor (@sidratulnoor), Muhammad Danish Khan (@m_danish_khan) and Ali Khan (@alikhan010). There were 87 photographs exhibited at the exhibition, by 29 photographers from both cities, each distinctive and unique in their style, defining the audible qualities that might be seen well in the oeuvre of each photographer.
Syed Mehdi Ali Bukhari, a photographer and writer at Dawn news was the chief guest at the ceremony, who along with the guest of honor Mahmood Naqvi, Managing Director Canon Pakistan, after thorough visit of the gallery and looking keenly at the photographs announced two winners, each from male and female photographers. Sidra Tul Noor and Mustafa Ali stood as winners when the results were announced who received gift vouchers of worth Rs. 50,000 from Canon Pakistan.
It was very well organized event which provided equal chances to both males and females to thrive and grow. What caught my particular attention were few of the photographs below:
Polo Match Played on the Occasion of Independence Day of Pakistan, 2014 at Maqpoon Polo Ground, Skardu, Gilgit, Baltistan (Photo by Jawad Kazmi)
A very French vacation feels photo, taken in the streets of Islamabad by Ammar Malik.
And who wouldn’t fall for trains and train stations? Photo by Usman at Lahore Railway Station, 2014.
Lady like portrait, such composure, much wow, by Sher Ali.
Marvi Soomro and Hassan Tanvir also did commendable jobs with their photographs.
We had a chance to talk to both winners of the exhibition, listed below are their answers to the questions we asked:
Tell us a little about yourself?
Mustafa: My name is Mustafa Ali, I am working as freelancer, taking in all kinds of projects related to photography/ videography these days. I’m still learning and experimenting everyday and Alhamdulilah getting better at it.
Sidra: Hey!!! My Name is Sidra Tul Noor, 24 years old, graduated in Communication Management. I’m the youngest and kind of spoiled that’s what everyone think except me. I’m a nature freak and an art lover actually art is my family we all are art lovers and art collectors. From music to paintings to photography you name it, everything. So, I’m a mobile photographer and loves to click whatever attract my eyes. I don’t have a dslr “maa bolti hai k camera lekar dia tou aur hi over hojao gi”. I’ve a hashtag series #ChaiKiPaiyaliSeries on Instagram. The funny part is I don’t take tea but a hashtag series which is about chai.
What other artist/photographer inspires you?
Mustafa: There are a lot of photographers that inspire me. Some names that I can remember right now are S.M. Bukhari, Azhar Hafeez, Zeeshan Ch., In videography I get a lot of inspiration from Youtubers like Digital Corridor and Freddie Wong.
Sidra: A lot of photographers inspire me in a different genre and in a different way. Therefore, it’s pretty difficult for me to be specific. When I was thinking to organize a photography exhibition and I started stalking people on instagram and going through every single image was the best part. So yes, all these 19 photographers inspire me, I brought my inspiration in photography together in this exhibition and I am proud of that.
What inspires you generally in life?
Mustafa: I’m inspired by nature and its beauty. I really want to do some wild life photography but don’t get the right amount of time to pursue my dream. Otherwise capturing breath taking sceneries is always good.
Sidra: My mother. She’s a breast cancer survivor. She’s a fighter. Even when she was under treatment she never stopped working she used to go to office.She never made cancer her weakness but she actually turned her weakness into her biggest enemy, she fought and won. So my mother is my true and my biggest inspiration.
What is the part of photography process that you ejoy the most?
Mustafa: As a learner, photoshop or post processing always fascinates me. Composites and digital manipulation are always fun to do.
Sidra: The best part of the photography is that you have a power to express yourself through pictures instead of saying it aloud in words.
And what about the part that you enjoy the least?
Mustafa: To be honest I enjoy every part of photography process, so its little hard for me to answer that.
Sidra: Photo albums, film cameras, I miss childhood days. When we used to wait for the photos to be developed, the entire family used to sit together and enjoy it.
How do you plan to contribute to photography from this step on wards?
Mustafa: Well, I have been thinking of posting some short videos and to the point tutorials on my YouTube channel to help out those who have recently started photography. Other than that I am always happy to share my thoughts and techniques with everyone, I have even taught camera settings to total strangers at some picnic spots (he shared laughingly).
Sidra: It’s a very big question. Well to be honest, I haven’t thought about it yet. I just want to go with the follow. I’m really happy and amazed to see people’s reaction. The amount of support we have received and encouragement that itself is very motivating. So, yes, me and my team our planning to organize another exhibition InshaaAllah at the end of year.
There are 2 comments
This was not justified. The photos of the management got selects and they got the prize. The selection was not done on merit. Saw some of the photos displayed were taken from a mobile phone. Don’t you think this is injustice with the photographers ?
I have seen photos of great photographer who submitted their photos but the team did not selected.
You are right in your opinion, and we completely agree to disagree 🙂
But that is not an absolute truth, they were lagging in few aspects but let’s cheer up for first step towards something better, let’s hope to see those things being taken care of in future times 🙂
Also good photographers will have their day, I believe talent doesn’t go unnoticed.
stay blessed,
until next time.