Views from the viewfinder

Photographer Muthuswamy’s constant companions throughout the lockdown were the rustling trees, verdant canopy, and delicate vein-like branches when he was traveling between Tiruchy and Thanjavur. They started to be his focus and the object of his adoration. “I wanted to learn about the experiences and life lessons learned by the land’s ancient settlers.

These trees are memory banks.Throughout time and throughout generations, they have seen people weep, laugh, pray, kiss, and hug. The TCS senior associate engineer continues, “And yet they stand there, as witnesses with no judgment, prejudice, or opinions.” He chooses to freeze them in black-and-white pictures using cyanotype.

He states, “Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the skies,” paraphrasing Kahlil Gibran. His series, which pays respect to nature, is one of the more than 280 photographs on show at the 10th annual Chennai Weekend Clickers (CWC) exhibition at Lalit Kalit Akademi. With 95 Indian photographers and a variety of subjects, this display honors ten years of passion, community, and creativity. Stories from across the globe and an unwavering passion for photography are what bind them together.

Every click reveals a different story: a toddler darting through the waves, a guy laboring at the salt pans, the pointed features of temple statues, two girls studying in the red light of the candles. According to CWC member Arvind Ganesan, the purpose of this show, which has four categories: debut, solo, instafest, and open, is to tell tales and promote knowledge-sharing. “The data is continuously increased by the pictures you take with your phone. Regardless of the volume of content you have posted on Instagram, it may seem to lack a clear goal when you look back on it. The picture comes to life when you print and see it. It seems like a success,” he remarks.

Festivals under consideration

Suriya Kathir’s black-and-white photos take us to the vibrant celebrations, such as Koovagam in Villupuram, the Mayanakollai in Kaveripattinam, and the Thiruchengode festival. This series of eight strange photos, titled “Religious Ecstasy,” explores rural celebrations and traditions, as well as followers.

acting as if they were gods. “As an atheist, all I wanted to see was how humans and gods were related.” “Introspection” examines the status of transgender people both before and after the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), focusing on how they were treated with dehumanization after its enactment. Prior to then, the tribe was regarded as gods in Indian mythology and culture, according to Suriya, who has been photographing festivities since 2015.

Balaji Natarajan’s trio of photographs, equally mesmerized by celebrations and customs, belong to the debut category. Balaji has been recording lifestyles since 2019. Throughout his trips and every stroll in the CWC, Mohammed Rafi looks for intimate and hidden relationships between people and animals. One click in his “Unseen Bond” series, for example, shows three pups cuddling up against a guy in a field. A hamlet in Chengalpattu has a large number of samanthipoo fields. There, a farmer feeds pups while operating a stove. These pups would follow him around,” he claims. His relationship with his childhood cat gave rise to his passion of animals.

Photography is a very intimate medium that is used to record memories throughout time and to capture ephemeral moments and feelings. According to Aravind, “art grows at CwC and we evolve with art.” Journalist Jeyarani, novelist Tamizh Prabha, and cinematographer Ravi Varman attended the ceremony on Sunday.