When times are dire and the future looks bleak, Srishti believes in the power of adaptation and innovation. The completely unprecedented coronavirus outbreak and the quarantine that followed for months threw balanced running systems into chaos, becoming one of, if not the most, challenging times every industry had to face. People scrambled to digitize all activities, postpone or modify pre-planned workshops and seminars and upturn our modes of operations to suit digital mediums. With prolonged reflection and thought, we at Srishti decided to host webinars in order to keep the photographic community engaged, and thus, ‘Webinars for a Cause’ was born.
The online series presented discussions with eminent photographers and speakers from a plethora of genres and the proceeds from the registration fee went directly to charities to help migrant workers, stray animals, and more.
Kicking off the series with a discussion on the future of photography after the Coronavirus abates, top photographers from across India, like Sudhir Ramchandran, Tarun Khiwal, Jaideep Oberoi, Bharat Bhirangi, and Senthil Kumar, joined us for “Photography Post COVID-19” to share their insights on the potential directions photography would take in the future. In times of uncertainty, it was enlightening to listen to some of the field’s best as they discussed and speculated about the industry and ways it could adapt and evolve into, despite ongoing challenges.
The next session revolved around the role of photography in wildlife and nature conservation, with distinguished wildlife photographers Vijay Mohan Raj, Shaaz Jung, Sudhir Shivaram, Jayaprakash Bojan, and writer Sejal Mehta taking centre stage in the discussion. Photography plays a prominent role in creating awareness and serves as an indispensable medium to preserve wildlife and nature. The panellists shared their top-notch works including rare behind-the-scenes footages of shoots that enlightened many.
Two webinars – one on street photography and its importance as an invaluable tool of cultural documentation, with photographers Lopamudra, Vineet Vohra, Dinesh Khanna, and Rohit Vohra, and another on photojournalism with Saumya Khandelwal, Ashima Narain, Smita Sharma, Prashanth Vishwananthan, and Ritesh Uttamchandani followed course.
The street photography webinar encouraged attendees to create social links to plan and shoot photographs and the photojournalism webinar emphasized the importance of objectivity and keeping the photographer’s voice absent in the image, sparking interest and conversation.
Srishti also hosted online workshops with celebrated international photographers like Brendan de Clercq, Wesley Wong, and Geoff Ang, who shared their expertise and secrets on lighting, achieving the perfect frame, colour calibration and other profound industry tips.
Starting enriching discussions with a handful of webinars on diverse topics ranging from education to wildlife, Srishti was able to connect five hundred individuals together, who were hungry to learn and eager to throw their own perspectives into light. The initiative was accepted and lauded in the photographic community, who kept busy and engaged with each other during the lockdown.
