I am a visual artist based in Siliguri, West Bengal, India. Having grown up in the foothills of Darjeeling, The Queen of Hills, I fell in love with the surrounding forests, fields, mountains and rivers – all of which embodies the soul of my photography.
I don’t have a ‘gifted a camera at the age of 5 and went on to become a great photographer’ story. Rather I had a yearning for a camera since a tender age. But I never had the fortune to own one. Finally, I got a point and shoot camera, a Sony Cyber Shot to be precise, at the age of 19. It helped me to uncover my true calling and made me permanently fall in love with the art of photography. But I soon outgrew its capabilities and became frustrated with the limited creative controls it had to offer. I was not in a position to spend a princely sum to upgrade my gear. So, I took a long sabbatical from photography out of despair. Then one day out of the blue my girlfriend gifted me a Nikon D3400 to take me out of the 9 long years of self-enforced withdrawal from photography. I am eternally thankful to her for the most precious gift of my life which reunited me with my inner artist. It reignited my passion which was smothered by the daily monotony of a middle-class life. It made me realize that my accountant’s job is keeping me away from the thing I love the most. So, I left my job to chase the perfect light for that frame worthy moment.
I know the place that I live in is not perfect. It has a myriad of problems - unplanned urbanization, uncontrolled growth of population to name a few. But then again photography has taught me to see the world in a way that helps me to isolate a perfect frame from all the imperfections. The biggest gift I received from photography is that it ‘allowed me to see things and focus on things that maybe an average person wouldn’t even notice.’
It hasn't been all roses though after leaving my job. Passion doesn't pay the bills and creativity is a curse when you can't make both the ends meet. But the sheer spirituality of being in nature, soothes my nerves and heals all my mental fatigue. The awe-inspiring sensation I still feel while being in the midst of nature can only be explained by the following lines borrowed from “The Bell Jar”:
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.”
I hope my work will inspire you to seek a deeper connection with mother nature and urge you to reciprocate her bounties by preserving the fragile ecosystem of our beautiful earth.
P.S.: This website is still in its nascent stage. So, I would appreciate your comments and feedback. Please drop me a mail at amartya@framethemoment.photography for any suggestions.
