Love story… A love story with a camera. A love story with creativity. Conflict causes anger. Conflict causes pain. The conflict they beg to differ. Conflict helps them see the beyond. Conflict helps them create beauty. Conflict helps them make art in the form of photography that defies the blood of the land and focuses on the natural charisma of the surroundings. Yes, I’m talking about heaven on earth. I’m talking about Kashmir from wherein come these amazingly creative photographers who look into the beauty of their land and create beauty instead of encashing into the disturbing political diaspora of the land.
Amir Bhat all of 26 years old and a financial accountant talks about his love story with his lens which was more prompted by his idea to create, create a niche, create something that sells create a job for himself in a land struggling for young future but still replete with tourists keen on a quick insta click.
A land struggling with a history of violence, dirty politics, scarcity of growth and inverse globalisation; career opportunities are either too scary and debatable or none at all until and unless you might wanna be somehow creating one.
Journalism has your head in a tizzy and family in sleepless nights. Government jobs are by far non-existent and the businesses slow especially after the lockdown because for this land the lockdown has been ongoing especially when the valley was disconnected earlier too.
Tourism and what sells to tourists have some scope -either you shoot people visiting or you shoot the products they buy. And of course, creativity keeps you sane says Bhat especially when the edge to fall into the dark recesses is so near and everywhere around you.
It’s not difficult to be part of the drug-abusing disillusioned youngsters or to be part of the ones that are depressed. But what is difficult is to be sane and carve a path; what is difficult is to not rebel when you invest your life savings in a drone and a couple of months later that also gets banned; What difficult is to still see the beauty around you and be inspired enough to click things that are soul hauntingly different and ethereal.
Naveed Bashir (21) studying tourism at Jamia which has now been online ever since the lockdown and not at all what he was expecting when he joined the course with dreams of exploring.
Naveed says that for him photography is a way to channel out his energies. An introvert, for whom photography is the best form of expressing what he feels, the best way to connect with his untouched feelings, the best way to let out his emotions and of course best way to earn on the side.
Wedding shoots, songs and videos, bits of film making product shoot whatever comes his way and hones his skills till the university calls them back and meanwhile photography makes sure he is sane and creative. Of course, Naveed’S photography started as an added advantage to his chosen profession till the lockdown happened and the way out of the conflicted land seemed to shrink further.
And in case you are wondering by numbers about these ace lensmen well they might not have many followers on insta but are natgeo your shot chosen ones and have a lot of experience and beautiful heart touching soul-stirring frames to their names which the numbers can ignore but the appreciators of good work cannot!!!
SUPPORT AND FOLLOW THEIR JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM
AMIR BHAT: @amir.bhat0
NAVEED BASHIR: @na____vi
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