Visual Diary: A story narrated through pictures

Mokokchung, April 19: Mokokchung will soon be in the world photography map as young dynamic youth calling themselves the Mokokchung Photography Club in collaboration with the Goa-Centre for Alternative Photography (Goa-CAP) will organise a 15 days workshop beginning from April 21.

Talking to media persons during a press conference Chaitanya Guttikar from Goa-CAP said, “Documentation is important and through the workshop we would like to teach the people to tell stories through pictures. It is not very important what camera you use to capture at the same time you should have a story to tell through the pictures you shoot.” He cited, “If for example, we miss to document 2012 it will never come. It is very essential that people document their everyday affairs and culture so that in future it will become a reference.” He also narrates about the Alternative photography and how it works. He said Alternative photography means taking pictures and creating images using non mainstream equipment and methods. He said Alternative photography might be taken from a pin-hole or any other film cameras using alternative ways of image making.

Edson Dias, one of the founding members of Goa-CAP, said that Mokokchung at present is not well equipped for a full fledged Alternative photography due to lack of resources. He also commented that even one could use something as basic as mobile phone camera to visually convey the content of the story.

Goa-CAP in collaboration with Mokokchung Photography Club will start a blog to upload pictures concerning Mokokchung district alone in a website from the day of commencing of workshop. The participants will be trained on how to use blogs and upload images.

Goa-CAP during the press conference said there are lots of professionally taken pictures of Nagas that convey only one sphere of their life. “Outsiders on seeing those pictures of Nagas dressed in their traditional attire feel that the whole of Nagaland is still in its aboriginal stage.”

It was stated during the press conference that Mokokchung itself has lots of stories to tell and “a visitor’s perspective could never tell the whole story.” Goa-CAP could help Mokokchung document itself and also would be an agency to train people to document the everyday affairs that will be soon become priceless in coming future. Goa-CAP is optimistic to conduct an Alternative Photography Workshop in future in Mokokchung.