It is time, says creative photographer Leena Kejriwal, that photo art grew in the country. By Purabi Shridhar

THE urge for creative fulfilment was always there. But it was only after exploring other media like the brush and paint that Leena Kejriwal discovered that the camera could capture the very soul of its subject. Now, she wants to see ‘photo art’ make a big impact as an art medium in the country.

With her recent successful debut exhibition ‘Kalikatha’ on her home city Kolkata, Leena has proved that the camera lens in the right hands and with the right treatment can be a powerful tool of art.

Getting Focussed
While schooling from Maharani Gayatri Devi School, Jaipur, and graduating in political science from Loreto College, Kolkata, Leena knew that she was creatively inclined. However, “it was only after my marriage and two babies that I began to explore the field seriously,” says Leena.

Once Leena settled on photography, she went about it in her quiet, methodical manner. The 34-year-old began her formal training at the studio of Girish Mistry, Mumbai, where she did a diploma course in advertising, photography and advanced lighting techniques.

Then, she worked under the guidance of veteran photographer Raghu Rai at various workshops. She honed her skills so much that she earned a membership of the prestigious British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) and also of the Photographers Guild of India (PGI).

What has clearly been a major influence on Leena has been her interaction with veteran lensman, Raghu Rai. According to Leena, “he helped me understand what was lacking in my pictures, to read my photos and to create subjects in my viewfinder. Just being with him and see him work has been a major lesson.”

On the Streets
“I started doing portraits, clicking people on the streets and monuments,” she says. Even during family holidays, Leena trained her camera less on her family and more on subjects that appealed to her! Her shots of various monuments all over the country, from Puri to Rajasthan, were her passport into the professional world of photography. The Hyatt Regency hotel selected her pictures for their guest rooms at Mumbai and Kolkata.

“The art director for the project came from the USA. About 600 prints were selected; they were etched, scratched and acid washed to make them look like pencil sketches,” Leena says with justifiable pride.
Leena also set up a studio to do ‘classical portraits of lay people.’ Her reasoning being that ordinary people make far more fascinating subjects than celebrities.

With her confidence getting a boost from the Hyatt project, she felt it was time for an exhibition of her work. The India Habitat Centre readily agreed to host her debut exhibition while the venerable India International Centre (IIC), Delhi, has slotted her show for the year-end.

And all she did was to send her folder to the IIC, which was clearly impressed by her calibre. The overall appreciation for her work has clearly given the young photo-artist a real high!