Born in Bareilly, India, Dr. Pankaj Sharma has been involved in the field of art photography for more than 20 years. A monochrome photography aficionado, Dr. Pankaj Sharma’s stint with photography dates back to 1990s when he got his hands on his grandfather’s camera, an Agfa Click III. Pankaj Sharma used this classic gear on a trip with his family, where he tried to click a few pictures of them and the surrounding landscapes. As the film was processed and pictures were printed, he instantly fell in love with the emotions that were evoked by those black and white photographs. “I noticed that the pictures which had dramatic interplay of light and shadow looked amazing”, says Pankaj Sharma. Talking about his perspective on B&W photography, he listed out a few points, explaining what he loves the most about B&W photography:
• The impact of light and shadow is often greater in black and white photographs as compared to that in coloured photographs. However, by ensuring adequate amount of light while photographing, we can have excellent results in colour medium as well.
• In this genre of photography, a lot more attention is provided to the subject.
The subject in black and white medium seems more effective than that in colour medium. As colours often (not always) become more prominent than the subject.
• I love the play of grey tones in B&W images. A picture with maximum tones between black and white is always impactful. The images created by great masters with maximum grey shades in them have always fascinated me.
• The mood and emotion is rather captured more powerfully through black and white medium. A black and white picture can portray a story of sentiments quite effectively.
• Few subjects, like street life, architectures, portraits etc. look fairly impactful to me in black and white medium.
Pankaj Sharma has been honoured with Fellowship of India International Photographic Council, New Delhi; Fellowship of Federation of Indian Photography, Kolkata and Fellowship of Image Colleague Society, California, USA. He also is a mentor and guides budding photographers
As told to Unnati Sagar
