Guwahati: Earning international accolades for both Assam and Meghalaya, photographer Shyamal Datta has made it to the world’s top 100 photographers to be featured in the International Portrait Photographer 2023 book.
Datta is a professional photographer with a portfolio encompassing portraiture, indigenous culture, wildlife, and nature. The International Portrait Photographer of the Year award highlights the world’s most exceptional portrait photographers through a carefully selected competition. This juried contest presents their outstanding work across distinctive categories, including Family Sitting, Character Study, Environmental Portrait, and Portrait Story.
Speaking to EastMojo, Datta, who has roots in Assam but grew up in Shillong, revealed that two of his four portrait entries were selected to feature in this year’s IPPY book that includes the top 101 photographers of the world.
The selected photographs are in the ‘Family Sitting’ category.
The first selected photograph, ‘Kashmir, Warwan Valley,’ was captured during one of Datta’s annual trips to Kashmir to document the lives of remote Kashmiri families.
“I stayed with this family in the remote Warwan Valley of Kashmir. My host and owner of a traditionally built Kashmiri home shared his life story with me every evening. His four children were disabled in some way or another. There were no hospitals or doctors anywhere nearby. Yet he and his family, their poverty notwithstanding, were warm-hearted, generous, and extremely welcoming to me, the outsider,” the photographer reminisces.
When EastMojo asked Datta what made a good portrait, he explained, “There are many layers to that. Of course, the photo has to be technically correct with proper lighting, framing and composition. More importantly, it should be meaningful. In my opinion, a good portrait is not just a pretty photo. There has to be more to it.”
“The judges out there are looking for photographs that tell a story. The contestant’s entry is judged based on how well it expresses the subject’s story,” he added.
Datta, a freelance professional photographer who has been taking photos since 1995, has been on extensive journeys across the rugged landscapes of North and South America. His skill in photography has gained international recognition and has been featured notably in the United States, Canada, the UK, and India. Sponsors and donors support his photo tours, he revealed during the interview.
His notable works include documenting polar bears in the face of receding Arctic glaciers, navigating the Galapagos Islands and tracing crane migration from Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. He was a finalist in the 2008 BBC World Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award and is a recipient of the IUCN Asia prize.
For his second selected image, ‘Memba family, Arunachal Pradesh,’ the photographer travelled to the remote corners of the state to capture indigenous culture. The photograph depicts a Memba tribal family of three, dressed in ethnic attire, huddled together beside a kitchen fire. The Memba community residing in Arunachal Pradesh consists of approximately 3000 individuals. They adhere to the Tibetan Buddhist belief system and are located within the Mechuka Valley, situated in the recently established Shi-Yomi district. Recalling his experience, Datta said, “This family hosted me during my stay there, even in the freezing ice-cold winters when access to the valley was cut off.”
“Since the Indo-China war, these families have been regular visitors to Lhasa, traversing steep High Himalayan mountain passes and often trekking for months to reach there. From Lhasa, they would bring back Buddhist scrolls and stone utensils in exchange for salt. Their tradition and culture are closely related to Tibetan Buddhism,” he added.
Datta plans to focus on documenting the indigenous cultures of Northeast India and the endangered wildlife of the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot. His book, “Indigenous Habitat – Vestiges of Tribal Life in North East India,” was unveiled in October 2021, marking the culmination of five years of research and photography supported by the North Eastern Council.
When EastMojo asked Datta about his advice for upcoming photographers who want to choose photography as a profession, he said, “It is an art form, not a typical job. But if one is passionate enough it can be a great career.”
His portfolio showcasing Northeast-themed works has been displayed at various venues, including the London School of Arts, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, India International Centre in Delhi, and Kolkata International Photo Festival. Datta resides in Shillong, Meghalaya.
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