Learning to See 05
Two photobooks by Ritesh Uttamchandani
Last weekend, I listened to photographer Ritesh Uttamchandani at Twice Told, a monthly event Swapbook Bombay organises to introduce books and authors to people. It is at the beautiful and well-stocked library called Mcubed, the nickname of Maharashtra Mitra Mandal in Bandra West.
Usually, Swapbook interviews authors, but this week, it was more of a talk than a Q and A session because Ritesh decided to show us a presentation with photographs of his life journey leading to his latest book called Where Are You?
When you have photographs, why words and questions?
Photobooks are an almost alien or distant concept even to a person like me who shoots and shares images several times daily with a camera. Having picked up the camera in the digital ‘share as you shoot’ century, this slow, artistic, and 20th-century industrial, craft, and labour-intensive concept is one I can’t wrap my head around, but I like to flip through them if I find them in a library or on a coffee table.
Where are you?
This is Ritesh’s second book. It features images from Manchester, where he spent six months living with his partner, an NHS doctor. His first book featured images from a city that could also be called the Manchester of the East—Mumbai. Through his way of seeing and the textile/post-textile connection, some threads tie the two books together. You can get his first book, called The Red Cat and Other Stories, here.
It probably takes a photobook to express the stories Ritesh tries to bring alive in the book. It allows the reader to become an observer, connect dots, and thread a storyline. Attention in the digital world that we inhabit works in different ways.
The session was revealing because it allowed me and those present to understand his thought process, learn ways of reading images, and understand how photographers think.
Get your copy of Where Are You? here.
I walked the streets of Mumbai with Ritesh while working on his first book on the city and was lucky enough to see his process first-hand. Miles of walking the streets, shooting more than a handful of images over months and years, looking at the images, allowing it to throw up old and new connections, and chewing the cud before digesting it involves days or even years of work. That is the beauty of a photo book, even before it becomes one.
This contrasts sharply with my ‘Insta’ approach of sharing even as I click and let the world connect the dots.
Shooting with Ritesh on the streets of Mumbai.
Many years back, during the initial days of Instagram, Ritesh and I did a Diptych project together. Here are a few images from that series.
The Making of a Photobook.
Self Publish, Be Happy is an organisation founded in London in 2010, soon after the financial crisis, that spotted the need for photographers to publish their books independently because the world is a different place this century regarding reading habits and publishing.
Ritesh self-publishes his book, and he comes across as happy.
He also took us through his photobook-making process and answered questions about it. It would be a good idea for him to do workshops for other photographers who like to see their photographs printed in books, self-publish, and find happiness.
If you are a photographer in India and want to make photobooks, he is the person to ask.
Finally, here are a few images from the evening.
A page from the book.
My friends from Swapbook Bombay.
Minaz Ansari was there too, but I didn’t take an image of her.
We had a few interesting fans of Ritesh who came for his talk.
We also had Memory Keepers Of Bandra author of the bestseller Cancer, You Picked The Wrong Girl.
Sultan of the Deccan - Gautam Pemmaraju, filmmaker and writer and the amazing artist Ranjit Kandalgaonkar aka Gentricity.
Artist Shanti Kasi.
Photographer Binaifer Bharucha.
That’s all, folks.
And before you go, if you are an old, wise soul, get the book.
I enjoyed understanding his process of book making. Had to leave early because of an urgent call. Thanks for organising this Gopal.