imagesofcanada
Follow
...
He created his own Instagram account and joined a network of Toronto-based photographers who had first congregated on the social networking site . At Nuit Blanche in 2013 , at an “ Instameet ,” he was introduced to many of them in person .
Then , there was the moment Sanjay himself crossed the threshold that separates the hobbyist from the professional . He was at the Kortright Centre in Vaughan when he saw someone descending a wooden stair-path through a forest and , without thinking , he turned and snapped a picture . “ I didn ’ t even know if my settings were right ,” he says . But later , he began experimenting with a new editing technique to manipulate colours . The resulting image showed a vibrant red , fall forestscape with a small black figure deep in the frame .
The shot was picked up and reposted by several massive Instagram photography accounts ( accounts similar to what Images of Canada is today ). Shortly thereafter , Sanjay was offered a position by Telus to participate in a new advertising campaign alongside a number of other “ social media influencers ” ( which is what people like Sanjay are called by big brands with big marketing budgets ). His photos have since been published in Canadian Geographic and he ’ s been personally featured in BlogTO , VICE and other media outlets .
IN SOME WAYS , our fixation on numbers on social media often distracts us from the original vision for these technologies – as a tool that connects people . Sanjay himself admits that as his audience grows , he feels the quality of the connections often deteriorate . The level of engagement just isn ’ t the same .
But it ’ s also true that his experience on Instagram has been exceptional – not only because he ' s earned a massive following , but because some of the photographers he first met on the site have now become his closest friends .
For example , when asked to name his three favourite photographers of all time , Sanjay doesn ’ t even hesitate to mention that one is a street photographer from Toronto named Sanjeev Kugan ( IG handle : sksquared ). “ It ’ s funny because the first time I met him I was kind of star stuck ,” Sanjay says . Now , they ’ re peers .
In fact , Sanjay says that , with the exception of his family friends and some friends from school , a good chunk of his social circle is made up of fellow photographers like Sanjeev . He ’ s travelled around Ontario , up to Bruce Peninsula , and elsewhere around the province with people who were once , to him , just Instagram personas . When he visited New York , Chicago and Nova Scotia for the first time , he cold called photographers he had never met . He says they were happy to show him around . When the photographer he visited in Nova Scotia came to Toronto , Sanjay returned the favour .
These friendships are essential for the continued existence of Images of Canada .
The account began after a few other attempts to start a photographythemed Instagram account . One that was dedicated to Toronto , for example , fell flat , though it ' s unclear why exactly . Sanjay didn ' t think it could generate the same level of interest as other photography accounts dedicated to Los Angeles , New York or Chicago . But Sanjay discovered that Canada was another story , especially landscapes which seemed to have a wider appeal on Instagram than architecture or street photography .
So , for the first full year after he created Images of Canada , Sanjay was spending two or three hours a day , every day , trying to either develop or find content to post on the page . He would invite other photographers to tag the account when they were taking pictures around the country . It paid off . Just in the first year , the audience grew to over 100K . At that point Sanjay asked other photographers to help him manage the account , so now six of them spend about 20 minutes a day scrolling through the posts they ' ve been tagged in . They then decide which ones to repost on Images of Canada .
“ It ’ s gotten much easier ,” Sanjay says . “ The really good ones tend to stand out .” And if I can abandon the pretext of journalistic objectivity here , this point deserves some emphasis . The photos on the account really are spectacular . In one , some clever perspective work appears to show a plane flying right through a gap in a majestic blue glacier . In another , the distant galaxies and shooting stars are beautifully enhanced to illuminate the night sky over a solitary barn on the prairies . In another , a waterfall cascading below a mountain range is blurred by the camera ’ s lengthened exposure so it looks like something from an LSD trip or a dream . ( But I probably don ’ t need to keep explaining this to you – go check out the account for yourself .)
I ’ d be lying to you if I said I didn ’ t care about numbers .
– SANJAY CHAUHAN
Sanjay didn ’ t take all of these photos himself . And moreover , I don ’ t think he – or anyone else – could have . Images of Canada showcases an incredible diversity of landscapes and , perhaps more importantly , photographers . No , not everybody can take a decent picture but this account has brought together many who can . That , I think , is what social media is supposed to be all about .
fredi digital 2017 • 25