Che Ernesto Guevara, popularly known as Che, was a key figure of the Cuban Revolution. His portrait has become a unique counter narrative insignia of various social and political movements around the world. The image is of Che donning a star studded beret over his slightly long unkempt hair and beard, often with a cigar in hand. If not for the Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, who then followed Che, Fidel Castro and their guerilla team deep into the jungle during the revolution, with a camera in hand, the popular image of Che that we see today would have been non-existent. Of all the images of Che, the most popular is the one Korda took in 1960, at a memorial service in Havana. When Korda died in 2001, BBC carried out online news that Maryland Institute College of Art, US, called the picture a symbol of the 20th century and the world’s most famous photo recognising the image’s overwhelming appeal. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, went on to say that the photo has been reproduced more than any other image in photography. Indeed this is the power of camera to immortalise an image and freeze the moment with it. Needless to say, equally powerful are the people who handle the camera. There could have been some other photographer instead of Korda present during the memorial service. But for Korda, his photographic stimuli steered him to capture the image of Che on that very moment, from his preferred angle and frame.
Imphal-based ace photo journalist, Phanjoubam Santosh in his interview with the Imphal Free Press carried in one of the earlier editions shared nuances of capturing images through lens. His thirty years of experience as photo journalist in Manipur is no mean feat. Having shot on a myriad of subjects, this photo journalist has experienced the technological conversion from the traditional film-based photochemical methods to the electronic digital photography. When asked about the qualities that a good photographer should have, besides the basic skill of operating the camera, he stressed the ability to see and feel the poetry within the four frames. Not just a simple advice, we would say. With the coming of the digital single-lens reflex camera, DSLR there has been a visible increase of people who are into photography. In fact, almost everyone has become a photographer. Mobile phones now come with inbuilt camera. There is a joke that nowadays parents see their children only through the ‘High Definition’ frames, even when they are in the middle of a performance. Usually parents are seen busy capturing the performance of their children on the camera instead of enjoying it with their naked eye. Jokes aside, today cameras have become an eyesore in social function like marriage. It seems that the essence of the function has been pushed aside by mob of frenzied paparazzi. This sort of disorderliness is also often observed in many public functions as well. Prior announcement to avoid flash lights by photographers during performances would always fall on deaf ears, thereby disturbing the artists and performers. Photography comes with shades of glamour and style. High economy costs are always involved whether one pursues it as hobby or as profession. Price of a single lens costs more than a month’s salary of Manipur Government grade one employee. This is also true that not all professional photographers are good photographers and vice versa. We, however, do not mean to slay the passion of teeming photographers that we have seen in recent years. We leave it best to their choice of time and space. But feel the poetry not to be levelled as a menace. ‘Forget the camera, forget the lens, forget all of that. With any four-dollar camera, you can capture the best picture.’ This was Korda’s advice.
Saturday Leader: Senate Kh.