Capturing the mighty Himalayas in myriad hues

Well-known city photographer Sathyaprasad Yachendra's pictures are currently on display at the State Gallery of Art as part of the 7th edition of Indian Photo Festival

Hyderabad: The mighty Himalayas have turned a muse for Sathyaprasad Yachendra, a landscape photographer from Gunrock Enclave in Secunderabad. Beginning 2004, he visited the glaciers many times and every visit turned into a new learning.

“My photography journey begins and ends with the Himalayas,” says Yachendra, one of the photographers whose works will be on display at the ongoing seventh edition of the Indian Photo Festival at the State Gallery of Art at Madhapur till December 19.

The exhibition, organised in partnership with the Telangana Tourism Department and the State Gallery of Art, aims to provide photographers a platform to show their craft.

“Himalayas are vast and, therefore, it will never be possible to cover it all. I choose three segments — Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti and the northern part of Sikkim,” says the 59-year-old photographer who is now displaying 14 pictures curated from his collections. Two of them are in 3.5X 5 feet sizes and 12 are 20X30 inch prints that are framed.

Each visit lasts 10 to 15 days, he shares. “We visit the same places but never see the same thing again. Every day is a new light. A majority of the time is waiting for the right light,” he says about the effort to capture the snow-capped mountains.

He trusts his ageing workhorse Nikon D300 and the 18-200 lens that is paired with it. Most of the time, the shoots are in the golden hours during the sunrises and sunsets. Of course, there have been occasions where he shot in bright light too due to reflections. Shooting in raw helps him to get back the details in post-production, which is limited to getting the shadows and reflections right.

“Our fellow photographers went inside the monastery. I got a feeling that I should stay outside. In a few minutes, the light changed, forcing the mountains to look dark. However, only the edges of the mountains were lit, giving me a picture to cherish for long,” he says about the picture titled ‘Matho Monastery’, which is among the ones put up at the exhibition.

In another instance, he and his friends reached a mountain glacier near the Pensi La mountain pass at the Kargil-Zanaskar Road in Ladakh. “We stayed in the vehicle there overnight and next day we were rewarded with a picture of Drang-Drung Glacier with snow-capped peaks and blue sky,” he says.

Yachendra also lists a frame of the mountains near Baralachala (Lahul) as one his favourites. “The hill looks like a zebra pattern due to the black and white hues in it,” he says. The flora, fauna and monasteries find a space in the frame but not humans. Many practising the craft say including one in the frame will tell about the scale.

For him, the Himalayas are a great teacher. “We evolve with every visit there. The mountain ranges tell us to be humble. People there do not complain about the hostile climate or lack of facilities. They just go with what they have but there is no dearth of warmth,” he says.

“One of our friends had expensive gear. In the excitement of clicking, he forgot to lock his bag. We returned later but nobody touched the gear despite the place being crowded due to a local festival,” he says about the experiences from the valley.

On gear, he says having modern gear will help but still the onus will be on the photographer to get a good picture. “One can buy the best bat but that will not make him bat like Kohli,” he says.

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