An Exclusive Interview with Karan Zadoo

Born in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir photographer Karan Zadoo came to Delhi with his parents as a young boy. After getting educated in Delhi and taking a job with an advertising agency the life of marketing executive and the harshness of a job with little love returned was the turning point in his life. Karan left his agency, returned home and left for a long vacation to the hills (Himalaya). That’s where he realized his love in exploring new things getting close to nature or any beautiful unexplored or explored travel destination. Throughout his travels across the country Zadoo has learned that the eclectic range of people throughout India offers untold photographic opportunities, whether it’s from the back lanes of Delhi or the hills of Himachal, stories are waiting to be captured. With a love of landscapes, food, and people India offers the perfect backdrop. Whether capturing people at a place where they are dressed to the occasion like a fair or festival or their respected state and place where they belong is what gives the audience a feeling of that person’s life and way of living in his own small town and village or a state or any place. These moments also aspired Zadoo to understand the documentation of certain people in their life like many others photographers do. As a photographer Zadoo always wants to be learning and evolving with his shutter release and the photographs he takes.

In this “Exclusive Interview” section, today we have the opportunity to talk with Karan Zadoo, as his photograph was winner of Photo of the Month – 38th Month, 3rd Place. Let’s discover more about Karan Zadoo, and his forays into photography in the following interview with him.

An Exclusive Interview with Karan Zadoo, winner of Photo of the Month – 38th Month, 3rd Place.

Light & Composition: Greetings from Light & Composition, Karan. How does it feel being selected as the winner of Photo of the Month, 38th Month, 3rd Place?

Karan Zadoo: It feels nice to get this respectful position for the first time on L&C.

L&C: Your photographs, “Dholma is Her Name”, was selected as Photo of the Month, is a wonderful portraiture photograph with artistic perspective, correct lighting, and very well presented. Overall, a great composition! Tell us more about your experience of taking this photograph.

Karan: It was a lucky chance capturing Dholma the daughter of my friend from Kaza, Spiti. Dolma is very nice and at the same time naughty enough to skip her daily things like going to school and studying after coming back from school.

This image was one of her naughty behaviors of avoiding going to school on time and I just was trying to send her to school but she wouldn’t go and instead wanted to show me this head of a broken doll.

Dholma is Her Name, by Karan Zadoo

L&C: Besides this winning photograph, many people liked and voted for other photographs of yours in the Photo of the Month contest. You must be proud. How do you see your journey to the world of photography so far?

Karan: I appreciate this question because I live for capturing moments which I see my way and love them and feel delighted when the audience also loves them. I work with happiness and passion involved into it first and surely for other reasons but I want to make the audience happy seeing my quality of perception. My journey has taken me all over India to see many places from high altitude mountains to dry and deserted Rajasthan to back lanes of Delhi to festivals and fares across the country.

L&C: As we know, you born in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir then moved to Delhi with your parents when you were young. Do you think the rich diverse cultural and artistic heritage of these places portray a different essence to you?

Karan: When I was young I could never understand the meaning of any monument or social event well as it could not put a visible impression on my conscious. Whereas now after taking up photography the monuments and social events come to my consciousness. Now I feel surrounded by so many monuments, sites and fares all around me in this country. Opportunities to learn are endless now. Learning in the lanes of life, more than any academy helped me understand the depth of life. I oblige my family for being supportive and helpful all the time.

L&C: Do you like a particular genre of photography and if so, why?

Karan: I love Landscapes because it allows me to display a lot of what I see and the entire environment gets captured in a single frame. But going in the back lanes and challenging life is also very interesting because you get the fear out of you at the end of the day and become more understandable of the different cultures and many different kinds of people. Attitudes, bliss, passion, aggression, godly, ungodly, rich, famine, hard workers, just pure corrupt and many more can’t even describe the kind of people I’ve met and it gave me another mind within myself. These all become experiences in terms of genre and create a style of a photographer and his/her passion for capturing the experiences of life.

L&C: One of the keys to any style of photography is visualization. Please tell us how you started this process and what you did afterwards.

Karan: I just left my job thinking I could do better for myself by my own effort and so I traveled across the mountains of Himalayas to find myself in the landscapes. One day when I was in the mountains photography hit me and I came back to do a course in photography and learn what is a camera, how it works and then I started shooting. When I saw my images I registered that landscapes are most interesting and makes a definition out of my artwork. From then on I lived a lot on landscapes, did my maximum traveling wondering landscapes from many different places and kept capturing them.

L&C: Karan, have you ever exhibited your work? If so, then tell us about your first exhibiting experience.

Karan: Unfortunately I haven’t exhibited my work myself but I have had my work up in restaurants and on websites for winning awards. I have many of my images posted in books and magazines across the globe and that also gives me a great feeling of creation of my work to have it widely accepted.

L&C: Are you involved with any photography organizations? How does this help you in your photography?

Karan: I am an independent photographer and love working for myself and also go assist some senior photographers occasionally to get to know their way of working. I learn by workshops and also online courses and find the best way to learn is by trying in life to get experienced and become successful. Meeting new people and seeing and following a few artists helps me develop my work as well as keeping in touch with a number of known photographers who guide and help me.

L&C: What advice would you give our readers who want to take part in the journey around the world with photography?

Karan: I would only say few simple things. Dear photographers please capture your loved theme and then buy your own image only then expect an audience to buy them. Always be happy capturing great images. Know the right subjects the right time the right moment and the right ways of capturing the image that would give you an award for your hard effort.

L&C: Thank you, Karan, for sharing your feelings and experiences with us.