A Vision Without A Sight
A VISION WITHOUT A SIGHT
The Blind Photographer : Bhavesh Patel
Barkha Chandra barkha @ chiiz . com
She is the laughter dose of Team Chiiz currently rocking up the PR dept . She is always high on life and hooked to freedom . A great philosopher , living in her own imaginary world as she juggles through the highs and lows of life .
Being an artist is a decision that requires a high level of commitment . Bhavesh Patel , one of the prominent photographers despite being visually impaired , took some life shaping decisions and it turned out to be the best for him . The stunning shots taken by him proves that the beauty of art lies beyond what our eyes can see . His artistic work was displayed in exhibitions organised by the Beyond Sight Foundation and Alliance Francaise Cultural Center in Delhi . The famous photographs taken by him were a part of an advertisement of a perfume brand , which Katrina had been endorsing . It won him a Gold at the Goafest ABBY Awards . We recently talked to him and were amazed by his dedication and will-power towards his life and photography .
Barkha : What does photography mean to you ? Bhavesh : It means to me as creating a map of anything that I remember or tend to remember and I keep it as a reference for myself . When I was using a camera , I was not having any map because I couldn ’ t understand any photo then . I am using my phone as a means to take photographs right now . I label that photo with a proper name and the next time it ’ s reference comes up somewhere , I can just make anybody understand about it .
Barkha : There are many ways to express things , why did you choose photography ? Bhavesh : Photography is all about seeing and capturing . So it helped me in seeing those things which otherwise I am not able to see . Photography kinda kept me in the loop , I mean , capturing made me realize that I was never different from the normal society . Also I keep an album of my own to show people that I am just a normal person and an amazing photographer as well . I can explain a thing to somebody strange as well . That ’ s why I chose photography , to map up a whole new universe for myself that fits right in with the usual one .
Barkha : How it all started ? Can you map that down for us ? Bhavesh : I ’ ve been taught by Partho Bhowmick , the founder of Beyond Sight Foundation ( BSF ). I came in contact with him during my graduation at St . Xaviers College in 2010 . The BSF came to our college with a workshop for visually challenged people i . e ., Blind With Camera project and that was the first time I heard that a visually impaired person could take up photography . I didn ’ t knew anything about it at first but the more I got to know about photography , the more I got interested . I later joined the Blind With Camera project and learned so much through it .
Barkha : Tell us about your shoot with Katrina Kaif as well ? How did it work out for your career ? Bhavesh : For the first time in the world a visuallyimpaired photographer was engaged in a commercial shoot . The director of the ad , Sunil Sippy , was very inspiring . Being a photographer himself , he was very encouraging . I could only finish my shoot because of him . The process of shooting the ad was very challenging for me . There was this sound of a machine , which was generating air to flow on Katrina ’ s gown . I also had to hear her voice to capture her . So I had to listen to her voice and simultaneously filter the sound of the machine , and concentrate only on her . I was scared — this was my first big assignment , what if I failed ? Also , I had to shoot her from different angles , listen to the sound of her fabric and click .
Barkha : What would you suggest to the aspiring photographers , especially to visually challenged
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