Photo bug and portrayals

A fascination with photos and portrayals

How did your interest in photography stoke?

Being the eldest child, I was often photographed as a toddler. With those early memories of a camera, I kept looking for it when I was a bit older. I searched for it in my parents’ cupboards, almirahs and everywhere else. To my disappointment, I found out that we did not own a camera. It had been borrowed.

How did your interest then come to life?

That photography bug came to life again in Dubai when I saw my roommate and friend Nicky Sampayo’s camera. It was a Nikon F3. He let me play and take photos with it. That stoked further interest in imagery and the magic of capturing moments. The shutterbug was eating me alive. I wanted to buy a camera, but a Nikon was out of my reach.

Instead, I bought a cheap camera, a Vivitar, a point-and-shoot pocket camera. It used 110-type films and had a built-in flash. I used it extensively, especially when visiting home in Sri Lanka.

A couple of years later, I also bought my first 35mm camera in Dubai. It was a Yashica FR1. I had no idea about view angles and light and shutter speeds. I used my 35mm as a point-and-shoot. Later, I gifted it to my father and bought a Minolta. My early photographs of my kids in Dubai were taken with that Minolta. I brought it with me to Australia.

Was the transition into digital tough?

No never. I embraced it. I bought my first-ever digital camera in 1998, made by Sony. It recorded images on a floppy drive. Almost a quarter-century later, cameras can record over 100 MPs, but my first digital camera could record only 640x480 resolution. Nevertheless, it was cutting-edge when very few had a digital camera.

Tell us more about Phase II of your photo journey.

Digital camera technology improved rapidly, and I moved up a notch and bought a Canon S40, a pocket-style compact digital camera. That camera had ground-breaking features, like sepia, black and white, at the press of a button. It got me hooked on the Canon brand. A few short years later, around 2003, I spent big bucks and bought my first-ever digital SLR. It was a Canon 10D and a great versatile 28–135 lens. Three years later, I bought a full-frame digital SLR, a Canon 5D. A few short years later, I upgraded to their next model. In between, I invested in two high-end prime lenses, a 35mm and a 50mm. Most of the photos in this medium story were captured with these prime lenses, with high apertures, ideal for low light. They were my crown jewels and still are. To overcome the challenge of my bulky and heavy Canon 5D, I bought a Fuji XT camera as a second camera. It is light and in mirrorless format, the current camera vogue.

What next in gadgets?

I am planning to buy a next-generation mirrorless camera made by Canon. It can record stills at 45MP and can do 8k video. It is hefty in price, but I will buy that when it comes to market. I also considered moving to medium format, but it’s hugely expensive.

Since writing this story, in August 2022, I bought a Canon R5C, a mirrorless camera.

Tell us about the technical aspects of your photography.

I learnt film photography at art school in Sydney when I bought my first digital SLR. I learnt the basics. I am not good at advanced settings on cameras. I suck at post-processing. It bores me to the point of annoying me. I am not obsessed with equipment and tools. Instead, I am obsessed with the output. That’s why I am not naturally into technical mastery. My eldest daughter is good with both, and I rely on her sometimes for my photography work.

I let my visual images speak for themselves. My plus point is the visuals. I still love the images from the film photography era, the grainy and filmy effects of yesteryear.

Your photographs are part of your stories. Is that true?

Yes, I read a lot throughout my life. That interest helped me to evolve as a natural storyteller. My interest in vivid images, especially capturing my kids, allowed me to evolve that part of my character and make it part of my storytelling.

The foundation started with memories of a camera in my father's hands.

What is your inspiration now?

To realise creative possibilities. To capture my grandkids in their teenage years. To record visual impressions for posterity.

Who are your favourite photographers?

Sebastiao Salgado, Steve McCurry, Isabel Munoz, George Rodgers, Christina Garcia Rodero.

LEFT — Durand. my son was in his usual jolly and mighty mood. In the background is his cousin, Chian, who found it unable to contain the laughter; MIDDLE — Taken as my son was getting ready for his junior high school formal in 2005; RIGHT — Durand on location @ Sri Lanka in 2008

RIGHT & LEFT — Durand, in his tricks with his basketball, when he was fifteen, emphasised his best interest in life, played for his college team and also for a local club…. MIDDLE; Durand got into fitness as a young boy

LEFT —Taken when my eldest daughter visited Sri Lanka to see her ailing grandfather in 2005. The photo shows how happy he was with his granddaughter.. MIDDLE — My son and daughter were at 13 and 14 in 2004 before they headed to a party. RIGHT — On the left is my eldest daughter, and in the background is my mother. The photo was taken together in Sri Lanka in April 2005. The semi-smile on my mother’s face probably shows her pleasure in being presented with her granddaughter

LEFT & RIGHT — My elder three kids on conversation, visiting grandparents in Sri Lanka in 2008, MIDDLE — My four kids are having fun while posing for me; It was my experiment on low light.

These three photographs were taken when my son, at the extreme back, turned seventeen in 2006. The rest are his second cousins.

LEFT — One of my experiments with low light during my film photography class — taken from my film camera Canon EOS30. MIDDLE — A happy mood of Roanna at 11 years old; RIGHT — This was taken on Good Friday in 2006 when my youngest volunteered to fix the lamp near the cross.

LEFT — Taken at home with reduced lighting; MIDDLE — When Roanna was ten years old, playing on our driveway. RIGHT — This was taken when I was doing my photography class. I took this on film… You can see how I struggled with film technology. I got the camera setting wrong (no preview) and then had trouble with the chemicals in post-processing. Still, the picture composition was good, I believe. So here it is with all its defects.

LEFT — Roanna, my youngest at 11 with her favourite cat, Psycho in 2005. Psycho is living with Roanna now. RIGHT — The backdrop of this photo of my youngest made it interesting in colour contrast of white against red.

LEFT — It was one of those shots where the sharpness of Durand and blurriness of Roshin made it interesting along with the contrasting lighting from the left. MIDDLE — Roshin at 14 in 2002 and on LEFT — Roshin with Roanna in 2004.

LEFT — Siblings and mates; my daughter, and son; yes they are great mates and the photo shows it. MIDDLE — Taken on the day my 2nd turned eighteen; RIGHT — Roshin in her room with posters of her favourite stars in 2004.

LEFT — My eldest visited us from Washington DC in 2008 in Sydney. MIDDLE — in Victoria in 2004, when my eldest at 17 is decked in Doc Martens; RIGHT — Another one in low light in 2006.

My elder three kids in 2008 — happy as always.

LEFT — This is the driver and the cook (emerging from the kitchen) who served us during our holiday at the Ohiya Tea Estate in Sri Lanka in 2007.. MIDDLE — The cleaner of the house during the same holiday enjoying his morning tea; RIGHT — Two young boys, workers in front of their shop in Sri Lanka in 2007.

Bridgeclimbers on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Captured in 2004

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