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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