Navtej Singh

Navtej Singh practices photography for himself. Having travelled across the length and breadth of the country, he tells his stories through the eyes of the locals, the colours that they dwell in, and the landscape that surrounds them. Below, he takes us on a journey, as he tells us about the time when he got his first camera, and delves into his artistry and inspiration. 

The First Camera
Photography began as just a hobby. I've studied science and my profession is totally different. It began about ten years ago, when I went to buy a camera. I had gone to buy a normal Sony camera at the shop, and the owner of the shop told me that he would give me a good discount if I buy a Nikon D60. At that time, I did not want to spend much on a camera. What I had in mind was a nice little camera, a point and shoot, where you could touch the screen behind and it would autofocus — the small, thin cameras that had just come to the market. A friend of mine asked me to think over the offer for a day and then decide. However, that evening he bought the Nikon and said that I want you to have this. I said I can't afford it, but we went ahead with it anyway and that was that. 

The Journey
I started clicking the people around, the kids, and all I knew was that there’s one green line on which you place that setting and you can click. It was the automatic mode. D60 looked like a very big, fancy camera at that time. Even today, for someone who gets a DSLR for the first time, it's a very fancy camera for that person. But I knew my framing was good, even though I didn't know much about the technical aspect. Even today, I just know the basics of the camera. If somebody asks me something very technical, I would have no idea. But I know I can click, and if I have a camera in my hand, I know how to operate it, what I'm looking for, and how the light plays out. This I think, is more essential than knowing everything about the camera. At the end of the day you end up using just five or six functions. I understand the balance between the ISO, shutter speed and aperture, which is just perfect for me, I don’t need to know more than that. 

So, initially after I got that camera, people began asking that why don't you click us as well and click our kids. At that time, Facebook was something new, so I started putting up some pictures there, and it started generating likes. We’re all humans, at the end of the day we say, ‘oh I got some likes, it's good.’ It started slowly, like that. Six months later, I went to my cousin’s wedding, which happened to be in Chandigarh. There were all these wedding photographers. I was carrying a D60 and they had similar models. I looked at them and asked them in Hindi about the many features they were using and one of them replied in Hindi, ‘Sir, put it on P,’ which was the program mode on the camera. So I had a quantum jump from automatic to program mode. Later, when someone would ask me about what mode I shoot on, I’d say program, and he or she would be impressed. To a novice, it was a big deal, it sounded fancy. 

Then, I went to another cousin’s house for dinner and he happened to be a big shot at Canon. At his house I saw the 7D. He told me that this is a trial camera, and that I should try it out and use it to click the party pictures. When we were leaving, he told me I could keep it and use it for a year! So slowly I began figuring out the various modes. Initially I would mug up the combinations without realising that there are no fixed combinations. But when you start clicking you recognise it all. And the cameras today are so friendly and so good, that there was never really a problem. 

The Stories
The best snaps I’ve taken are not with my camera, but in my head. And I don't delete any of my snaps, it may be good, bad or ugly, because I have memories associated with them. Each snap carries smell, sound, emotions. The entire atmosphere is there in the picture, for me. Each photograph I take is for me, not for the world. Hence I don't do it commercially, neither do I intend to do it commercially. I put it up on Instagram so that people get to see different facets of our country. 

I am also quite good at conversing with people. So I can sit down anywhere, be a beggar with a beggar, and sophisticated with someone well-off. I could drink tharra and I could drink scotch, it makes no difference to me. I think this is a big advantage that I have when it comes to clicking people. I can make them comfortable in front of the lens. Also, my job provided me with a lot of opportunities to travel, and hence photographing. I get to fly a lot, go to sea a lot, climb mountains a lot. So I had a lot of opportunities and I made full use of it in every way possible.  

The Inspiration
I am interested in what nature presents to me. The best pictures are the ones that you see around you, without a camera. I see the world as frames, billions and zillions of moving frames. I don't look up to anybody in particular and neither do I want anybody to look up to me. Every sunset and sunrise is different. All snaps, all people are different — you can never get the same snap again anywhere. Everything around me inspires me. 

Also, physically I'm very fit, so that contributes to me clicking at five in the morning and keep clicking till late in the night, without needing a break. I have always been an outdoor person, I am never bothered by how clean a place is or how dirty the place is. When I have to click, I have to click. I don't place myself as a very good photographer, but I am happy with what I'm doing. At the end of the day, even though I do different kinds of photography, what really interests me are the people, the landscapes, and the culture.