Chiiz Volume 1 : Pushkar Photography

A Vision Without A Sight
A VISION WITHOUT A SIGHT
The Blind Photographer: Bhavesh Patel
Barkha Chandra
barkha@chiiz.com
She is the laughter dose of Team Chiiz
currently rocking up the PR dept. She is
always high on life and hooked to freedom.
A great philosopher, living in her own
imaginary world as she juggles through the
highs and lows of life.
Being an artist is a decision that requires a high
level of commitment. Bhavesh Patel, one of the
prominent photographers despite being visually
impaired, took some life shaping decisions and it turned
out to be the best for him. The stunning shots taken
by him proves that the beauty of art lies beyond what
our eyes can see. His artistic work was displayed in
exhibitions organised by the Beyond Sight Foundation
and Alliance Francaise Cultural Center in Delhi. The
famous photographs taken by him were a part of an
advertisement of a perfume brand, which Katrina had
been endorsing. It won him a Gold at the Goafest ABBY
Awards. We recently talked to him and were amazed
by his dedication and will-power towards his life and
photography.
Barkha: What does photography mean to you?
Bhavesh: It means to me as creating a map of anything
that I remember or tend to remember and I keep it as a
reference for myself. When I was using a camera, I was
not having any map because I couldn’t understand
any photo then. I am using my phone as a means to
take photographs right now. I label that photo with a
proper name and the next time it’s reference comes
up somewhere, I can just make anybody understand
about it.
Barkha: There are many ways to express things, why
did you choose photography?
Bhavesh: Photography is all about seeing and
capturing. So
it helped me in
seeing those
things which
otherwise I am
not able to see.
Photography
kinda kept me
in the loop, I
mean, capturing
made me realize
that I was never
different from the
normal society.
Also I keep an
album of my own to show people that I am just a
normal person and an amazing photographer as well.
I can explain a thing to somebody strange as well.
That’s why I chose photography, to map up a whole
new universe for myself that fits right in with the usual
one.
Barkha: How it all started? Can you map that down
for us?
Bhavesh: I’ve been taught by Partho Bhowmick, the
founder of Beyond Sight Foundation (BSF). I came in
contact with him during my graduation at St. Xaviers
College in 2010. The BSF came to our college with a
workshop for visually challenged people i.e., Blind With
Camera project and that was the first time I heard that
a visually impaired person could take up photography.
I didn’t knew anything about it at first but the more I got
to know about photography, the more I got interested. I
later joined the Blind With Camera project and learned
so much through it.
Barkha: Tell us about your shoot with Katrina Kaif as
well? How did it work out for your career?
Bhavesh: For the first time in the world a visuallyimpaired
photographer was engaged in a commercial
shoot. The director of the ad, Sunil Sippy, was very
inspiring. Being a photographer himself, he was very
encouraging. I could only finish my shoot because
of him. The process of shooting the ad was very
challenging for me. There was this sound of a machine,
which was generating air to flow on Katrina’s gown. I
also had to hear her voice to capture her. So I had to
listen to her voice and simultaneously filter the sound
of the machine, and concentrate only on her. I was
scared — this was my first big assignment, what if I
failed? Also, I had to shoot her from different angles,
listen to the sound of her fabric and click.
Barkha: What would you suggest to the aspiring
photographers, especially to visually challenged
22 Vol.1