Taking photos is like breathing: Pablo Bartholomew

Pablo Bartholomew addressing the gathering || Photo Courtesy: Aditya Ramachandran

Best known for his striking images of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Pablo Bartholomew is an award-winning photojournalist with a career spanning over three decades. He has won two World Press Photo awards and worked extensively in the fields of Fashion, Advertising, and Photojournalism, featuring societies in transition. His photos have been published in Newsweek, Time, National geographic and GEO, to name a few. He was recently in town to give a talk about his experiences in photography at Article-19, the annual festival of Manipal Institute of Communication. Speaking about his experiences to a rapt crowd of students and faculty, Bartholomew candidly admitted, “If I didn’t know photography, I don’t know what else I would do. For me, taking photos is like breathing.” Excerpts from an exclusive interview with The Manipal Journal:

Q. Is a good photographer born or made? Can anyone be a good photographer?

A. To some degree, everyone can be a photographer. It may seem like only pushing a button. However, a good photographer is one who can evoke emotions and go beyond the ordinary. Training does help in bettering photography.

Q. With the advance of digital technology, would you say it is easier to be a photographer now than it was 20 years ago?

A. Yes definitely, it is much easier with your digital cameras and equipment. However, the question again is of understanding. Only with understanding can you produce a good shot. A photograph has two components, form and content. The content is entirely the photographer’s. With digital technology, the form part becomes very easy. People become lazy and sloppy. In any field, whether it is classical singing or dancing, you really have to work. The same with photography. You have to work very hard at whatever you do.

Q. Would you say that Photojournalism is a male-dominated field?

A. No, there are some good women Photojournalists in the West. But in India, it is a male-dominated field. Part of it is to do with danger and the travel. However, it is up to you (the youth) to change that.

Q. You have covered some heartbreaking human tragedies and natural calamities. Do you get emotionally attached or affected to the people and their suffering?

A. You have to decide who you are, when you enter such situations, and what your role is. Are you entering on a humanitarian mission or to document a tragedy? Of course, you do get emotional. The goal is to be objective and not to take sides on issues.If a person is dying, or is trapped beneath a wall, you have to help. Somewhere, you have to decide what your time of operation is. If I take an example of a heart surgeon, another person may find what he is doing horrific. But he has to work efficiently.

Q. How differently has your work been received in the East and in the West?

A. I chose not to work in India because Indian magazines dealt with material very badly. They would either lose the photos, or send them back damaged, with scratches or not return them at all. Now that things are digital and you have your master copy, it is better. But I still have big issues with the Indian media.

Q. You have worked in so many areas of photography, including fashion and corporate. Which of them do you enjoy the most?

A. For me, shooting people is being able to follow the ideas I have. As a writer, you write about what you know. I enjoy photographing people. And as of now, I plan on continuing my work on the diaspora (people of a common ethnic identity who have been permanently dislocated and relocated).

Sub-edited by: Aditya Ramachandran