Retro Kolkata : Tell us about your background.
Saibal : I am SAIBAL SEN but known as Shywal to most of my photographer friends. I am from Kolkata & i consider myself a learner in Photography. I am a corporate employee who works in Bengaluru. I started photography as a hobby through my schoolmate whom I consider my Teacher till now , as due to him I came into this field & he is an important critique & teacher who teaches me & guides me in improving my work . Although there are important people whom I consider as teachers, he is the First & important one. For me Photography is like a drug which gives me ideas or perspective to see things in a different way. Retro Kolkata : How important is photography to you? How did you start photography?
Saibal :It started for me through my schoolmate during our college days. He taught me a whole lot about photography from basics to understanding the stories that a photo tells . I used to click with my normal Java mobile phone where the megapixels were just 5mp . My friend taught me to see photos & try to understand the photo, the story, the position of the subject & read about photography , which is still continuing till date . I tried a lot of genres of photography - Fashion, Corporate , Wedding, Product but Street got all my attention & I fell for it . Retro Kolkata : What motivates and inspires you as a photographer?
Saibal :For me it's Emotions , life & moments that won't be repeated again. Everyday there is a new emotion, a new frame , a new story can be found & it's not that you have to travel to different places . If we look around ourselves we will find it. That's what the uncertainty is in Street Photography.
Retro Kolkata : Which genre of photography do you like and What inspires you? Which masters of photography have inspired you in your photographic work?
Saibal :For me Street is the genre that inspires me the most although i worked on different genres. There is no such masters i would like to mention because i believe everyone is an artist & have their own style & imagination to capture photos .
Retro Kolkata : What type of camera, lenses and lighting equipment do you use?
Saibal :I use a Nikon camera with basic lens 18-55mm along with 35mm. Retro Kolkata : What subjects inspire you and prompt you to look for the shot?
Saibal :For me people & surroundings around me are the most subjects that prompts me to look for the shot i imagine.
Retro Kolkata : Do you prefer black and white shots or colour?
Saibal : Bnw for me is an emotion as it gives life to any photos although colours give an equal competition to a photo .
Retro Kolkata : What is the best project you have worked on and how did you get involved with it?
Saibal :I have worked on a few good projects where my works were showcased in some International Magazines - Spectaculam Magazine (V ienna, Austria), XXZ Magazine (Serbia), 35awards (Russia) & etc. I was contacted by them & was invited to showcase my work. Retro Kolkata : Where would you like to be in 10 years time and what are you going to do in the next 6 months to get closer to that goal?
Saibal :According to me for now it is to keep developing my skills & learn more & keep on clicking photos. As for me photography is like a drug to me which keeps me going. The more I learn the better our imagination is at getting good photos.
