'Sriniketan' in Bangalore, has been the cradle that gave birth to the resurgence of pictorialism in India, after the tradition of the early pictorialists like JN Unwalla, AL Syed, F Ratnagar, and many others, died with them. The humble incumbent of 'Sriniketan', Chakravarthy Rajagopal, 77, was keen that creative pictorial photography was not upstaged by the advent of commercialism.
- Mohd Arfan Asif
Sri. Rajagopal says,
The sharp rays of light in the early morning and late evening gave me the rekha (literally, "line"), on which I evolved my photographic
style. The extreme high contrast of harsh lighting was solved by scientific processes.
Light against darkness always has greater impact than vice versa. That's the principle behind the white chalk against a black board and that's
the very same I use in my pictures. In the toughest of conditions, I try to capture a line of light to play up the shadows in my compositions; therefore,
I call it the 'line of light' style.
There are two things that I have always stressed and the knowledge which I have imparted to everyone who has come to me, apart from exposure
to good quality. The first is there should be a scientific approach rather than depending on ones grandfather's legacies. The second is, there should
be a certain discipline in making the exposure, developing and enlarging.
Apart from the ultimate image, the knowledge, craftsmanship, ability, creativity, approach of what can be done is significant. It is only then
one can have a control over the medium to produce fine works of photographic art.
Monsoon Clouds
A halo of dust
Mountain Shrine
To rest at Sunset
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