Journey through the lens

Passionate photographer Rittu Bhatia has unveiled her first exhibition in the kingdom, and hopes that her snaps will perpetuate the art form and influence future generations to pick up a camera.

The 47-year-old recently showcased her finest collection, titled ‘Standing Still’, in The Clubhouse, on Saar’s Miami Park residential compound.

She said: “Standing Still is a collection of my best work since I first picked up my camera. I have travelled the world with it in hand, striving to sublimate landscapes I discover, often overlooked or missed by people rushing from one place to another.

“Capturing the essential, my work constitutes a silent report on the beauty of the world, in which simplicity, purity and minimalism set the tone. I felt like I was being led slowly, carefully along a great beautiful path.

“To have this sensation of time-stopped observation is not easy. This work simply stopped me in my tracks. I am grateful for it. I’ve been fortunate to travel to a lot of countries such as Italy, Germany, Norway, Africa, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and, of course, widely within India.”

Rittu, based in Mumbai since 1997, lives with her husband Nikhil, daughter Anya, 14, and son Vidhart, 19, who is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Computer Science at the US Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science in Pittsburg.

She is originally from the monsoon-soaked hills of Lonavala in the Western Ghats of India, but left home so she could take to the skies. A job as an air hostess saw her living in Hong Kong and flying to London, Seoul and wherever else the job took her.

Then came the sudden change of role with marriage and children. At the age of 40, she discovered a passion for photography, a result she says came from ‘a search for a new identity and a medium for expression.’

She explained: “Most of my life I have been introduced as someone’s daughter, wife or mother, but now that I’m being introduced as a photographer; you can imagine how that makes me feel!

“Photography has given me a new mission and a new identity. It is a freeing, unpredictable, challenging and enjoyable passion, and now also my profession. I enjoy it because it has caused me to fall in love with light and see the world around me with fresh eyes, every single day. It has taught me to stop, look and listen.

“It is my goal to have photography widely accepted as an art form. Not everybody can travel and there is so much beauty in the world to see and experience, and, most of all, appreciate and preserve. If I can transfer some of this beauty onto a canvas and into the homes and offices of people as affordable art, it makes me happy.”

Her trusty camera is a Canon 5D mark II camera, with a choice of a 24-105mm lens, 70-300mm lens and a 50mm prime lens. She also packs a Manfrotto tripod stand and a remote shutter release trigger.

Rittu’s personal philosophy is that photography is an art form, and thus what is important is the way one looks at things, and not a measure of how fancy your heavy duty equipment is. She said: “I teach photography as well and the most important lesson I give my students is: ‘don’t go looking for and wanting for those long heavy, expensive lenses. Instead get closer, think creatively and be innovative’.

“As Yousuf Karsh, the well-known photographer, said: ‘look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera’.”

Standing Still was inspired by Rittu’s love of nature, wildlife and landscape photography. “I love the outdoors,” she explained. “There is never a boring moment. There is always a new angle or a new subject; everything is forever changing. The weather is never the same, clouds make unique formations and the way the sun’s rays cast over the scene in front of you is always very special.

“It is therapeutic and relaxing and nature never ceases to amaze me.

“My message is to pause, look and enjoy. Appreciate our beautiful environment. No moment in time is repeated or reproduced - only a photograph can make it timeless. My aim is to provide the largest audience a glimpse of the unique beauty of our world and in doing so, protect those finite natural resources.”

Her favourite images include a wide shot of the Alpini Bridge in Italy, which was the result of multiple visits and watching the bridge for many hours to get the light and mood right.

Another is ‘Alternative Perspective’. This was taken when many other photographers were snapping a peacock dancing and displaying its beautiful, colourful feathers. Instead, Rittu went behind it and shot the more simplistic, symmetrical patterns in black and white, emphasising the beauty in simplicity.

Rittu was invited by her sister-in-law, Devika Nanda, to exhibit her work in Bahrain. Devika already has numerous works in her private art collection and believed that art lovers in the kingdom would appreciate Rittu’s work.

After a strong reception, Rittu hopes to visit again in November and showcase more of her work.  For now, if anyone is interested in her pieces, then fine art prints of all the photographs are available as limited edition, gallery quality print, custom printed to any size on archival art paper or canvas, via her website rittubhatiaphotography.com