Self-taught street and documentary photographer Saurav Biswas, hails from the city of Kolkata and is currently invested in building his own practice. He began exploring photography two years ago. For him, photography is a mere reflection of what he thinks, feels and how he interprets his surroundings. From a very young age, his observant nature made him deeply conscious and aware of his immediate environment. His parents never interfered, instead they promoted this independent thinking. He further inculcated within himself the habit of noting down all things peculiar around him in his diary. Over the years, this interest grew into something much bigger and Saurav realised that just writing wouldn’t suffice. He needed an alternative medium to be able to hold on to the multiple memories he had collected over the years.
His search for the perfect medium led him to a film camera, which was previously used by an uncle of his. That was Saurav’s first encounter with photography. His uncle went on to teach him all the basics about the process. In 2013, his father gifted him his very first camera and thus began his journey of expressing his thoughts through photographs. He adds, ‘Everyday I learn something novel as I believe that the journey is far more important than the destination.’ Motivated by his own work, hunger to do more, and inspired heavily by everything around him, Saurav thoroughly enjoys and revels in the process. He asserts, ‘A photograph is not just a frame for me, it’s an emotion. My main aim is always to try and connect my feelings with the viewers.’
Talking about his idiosyncratic black and white images, Saurav explains, ‘The shutter-release button works as a pause button for me. The photographic process helps me rest and capture the day-to-day moments happening all around, which may seem banal but are rather interesting. In our daily routine we tend to miss out on a lot of tender moments. When I began capturing these moments through my lens, I observed a perfect harmony between them and felt my surroundings deeply. I always try to represent the beautiful moments with as much detail as possible, through my photographs.’
Real subjects with stark and raw emotions, and natural landscapes, form the basis of Saurav’s striking images. Breaking it down further, he tells me, ‘Rather than clicking random things, I always try to feel my surroundings and when I feel something different, then the shutter release button helps me make sense of the moment. I enjoy the process of being so deeply engrossed in photography. I love to appreciate the creativity around me, rather than calling myself creative.’ Currently, he is working on solo projects, focusing on social disturbance. For the future, he is excited and hopeful to work with people who are usually a focus of the mainstream.
Text Unnati Saini