Kochi photographer Ambily Pravda captures still life in startling ways

The 30 photographs by Ambily Pravda on show at Durbar Hall Art Gallery demand a closer look. Many look like oil paintings rendered on canvas . “ The canvas gives that quality. “Material needed to print photographs - bromide paper, chemicals for processing - are all hard to come by. The option then was to print on canvas,” says the veteran photographer, whose works were on show at, Chayapadam.2, Durbar Hall Art Gallery from August 30 to September 2. . 

(Source: Ambily Pravda)

With three decades of experience , this is Pravda’s first solo show. All the photographs on the show — fishers and their catch, a man sipping tea at a tea shop, houses on the side of a hill lit up at night, an oarsman on a snake boat... have been shot in natural light and are striking in the simplicity. “I have tried to capture the play of light and shadow. It is the quality of light that gives life to a photograph. The best time to click is between 4 pm and 9 am. The light at midday can be unflattering.”