"Rain Forest Stream" Fine Art Print

Background
I was born in India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The pristine Himalayan beauty instilled in me a love for nature, which I rediscovered after moving to the United States in 1992. Soon after, I bought my first camera and began capturing landscapes across the country. I remember crying at the sight of the first snow in my life, in front of the Merced River in Yosemite.

Fine Art Photography Influence
Internationally acclaimed landscape photographer Charles Cramer‘s photographs were my next inspiration. His images resonated with me so strongly that I immediately signed up for a workshop with him in the fall of 2000. Charlie opened my eyes to the nuances of light and color that make a print truly “sing.” The bug of making luminous prints has not left me since.
I have also been associated with the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, founded by Ansel Adams; as a result, my works have been influenced by the teachings of such notables as Ted Orland, Brian Taylor, Jerry Takigawa, Huntington Witherill, and Brigitte Carnochan.


Artist Statement
The making of these photographs, captured over the course of the last twenty years, has been a self-discovery process. It started with the aim of capturing the landscapes, but eventually, I realized that it is far more interesting to express our innermost feelings through the landscapes.

Many times I would spend hours in a location before I could “listen” to the landscape. I find landscapes are most expressive in low light and bad weather conditions. Those are the times I find myself busy with my camera trying to capture my “conversations”. To create these photographs I often revisit a location many times until I am happy with the capture.

Once I have a satisfactory capture, the next stage is to print it. This often takes a very long time, sometimes many months, before I come up with a print that can express my visualization of the image.

I capture the images in color, as I believe that color adds a strong emotional dimension to the landscape. At the same time, color can be overused to the extent that it can ruin the overall statement that the image needs to convey. I approach making a photograph similar to a symphony conductor trying to orchestrate different instruments to create a harmonious piece. In the case of my photographs, these elements are line, form, texture, luminosity, color hue, and saturation. A successful photograph, in my opinion, is a perfect fusion of these elements.