Thirteenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

Photography has been a popular medium in Pakistan eversince independence. F.E. Chaudhry; a local Pakistani photographer, and Margaret Bourke-White; an American photographer, captured glimpses of migration which had affected millions of lives after the Partition of the sub-continent in 1947. After the independence, portrait is the most wanted and well-liked genre of photography in Pakistan, and some of the famous names are, Shahid Zaidi, Zafar Ahmed and S.Rollo. In previous two decades, the technological shift from SLR to DSLR has changed a lot and artistic approaches towards the subject. Although the technology has transformed, the basics of the photography remain the same. In a portrait photograph, besides physical traits, a photographer also tries to capture something underneath; depiction of unsaid persona of a personality. In this paper, I discuss three of my portraits. First is a teacher and mentor; then an artist, and finally the widow of a well know Pakistani painter. I present an analysis of my understanding of these personalities and its impact on the process of portrayal in the medium of photography, and its link with the identity discourse. These three portraits are part of my ongoing practice, based on the topic of identity and character in a portrait.