पोर्ट्रेट बनाने का यह विचार ही मेरा सबसे बड़ा प्यार है। इसमें पूछे जाने वाले सवाल और उनके जवाब अनंत काल तक चल सकते हैं। यह सब आँखों में या सिर के हल्के से झुकाव का कमाल होता है। मैं बस आगे बढ़ती जाती हूँ क्योंकि यह रुकने के लिए1 बहुत ज़्यादा दिलचस्प है।
The idea of the portrait itself is my great love. The questions and answers in it can go on forever and ever. It is what happens in the eyes or with a tilt of the head. I keep going because it's too interesting to stop.
The idea of the portrait itself is my great love. The questions and answers in it can go on forever and ever. It is what happens in the eyes or with a tilt of the head. I keep going because it's too interesting to stop.
मेरा मानना है कि आप जितनी ज़्यादा तस्वीरें खींचेंगे, उतने ही बेहतर बनते जाएंगे। यह किसी खेल की तरह है। मैं कभी किसी खास शॉट के इंतज़ार में नहीं बैठती, क्योंकि जब आप बहुत सारी तस्वीरें लेते हैं तो कई बेहतरीन इत्तेफाक हो जाते हैं।
My theory is, the more pictures you take, the better you get. It's like a sport. I never wait to get a particular shot because wonderful accidents can happen when you shoot a lot.
My theory is, the more pictures you take, the better you get. It's like a sport. I never wait to get a particular shot because wonderful accidents can happen when you shoot a lot.
[शुरुआत करने वाले फोटोग्राफर को मेरी सलाह है कि] पेन और कागज़ लेकर बैठिए और सोचिए कि आपकी ज़िंदगी किस बारे में है। आप असल में क्या हैं। यह बात समझे बिना अपने हाथ में कैमरा भी मत उठाइए।
[My advice to a beginning photographer is] sit down with a pencil and paper and think about what your life is about. What you are about. Don't even take a camera into your hands before you figure that out.
[My advice to a beginning photographer is] sit down with a pencil and paper and think about what your life is about. What you are about. Don't even take a camera into your hands before you figure that out.
अब मैं जानती हूँ कि तस्वीर खींचने से पहले मुझे इस बात को लेकर आश्वस्त होना होगा कि मैं अपने सब्जेक्ट (विषय) के बारे में क्या महसूस करती हूँ। मैं जो नहीं जानती, वह यह है कि क्या मुझे तस्वीर लेते समय उन्हें यह बताना चाहिए कि मैं क्या कर रही हूँ।
I know now that before I take a picture I have to be sure about how I feel about the subjects. What I don't know is if I should explain to them what I'm doing while I'm photographing them.
I know now that before I take a picture I have to be sure about how I feel about the subjects. What I don't know is if I should explain to them what I'm doing while I'm photographing them.
मेरे काम में रंगों का बहुत बड़ा महत्व है। यह मेरी शैली का हिस्सा है। मेरी माँ एक फैशन मॉडल और इंटीरियर डेकोरेटर थीं, इसलिए मैं उन्हीं की नकल कर रही थी। मेरी सबसे पक्की सहेली की माँ भी ऐसी ही थीं, और उनका सलीका मुझ पर भी असर कर गया। यह एक ऐसी श्रृंखला है जहाँ लोगों से होते हुए सलीका आगे बढ़ता जाता है।
Color is very important in my work. That comes from style. My mother was a fashion model and an interior decorator, so that was me imitating her. My closest friend's mother was the same way, and her taste rubbed off on me, too. It's a domino effect of taste permeating through people.
Color is very important in my work. That comes from style. My mother was a fashion model and an interior decorator, so that was me imitating her. My closest friend's mother was the same way, and her taste rubbed off on me, too. It's a domino effect of taste permeating through people.
क्या आप लोगों के चेहरों पर उनकी मौत, तलाक, नौकरी छूटना या बदलना, निराशा, हैरानी और सफलताओं को देख सकते हैं? क्या वे खुश रहे हैं, दुखी, निराश या संतुष्ट? मैं 1985 से अपने 8x10 कैमरे से सिंगल, वर्टिकल पोर्ट्रेट लेने की कोशिश कर रही हूँ और मुझे कभी ऐसा नहीं लगा कि मैं अपनी तलाश में पूरी तरह सफल हो पाई हूँ।
Can you see the deaths, divorces, job losses or changes, disappointments, surprises, and successes on people's faces? Have they been happy, sad, disillusioned, or gratified? I have been trying the single, vertically shot portrait with my 8 x 10 since 1985 and never felt I succeeded in finding what I was looking for.
Can you see the deaths, divorces, job losses or changes, disappointments, surprises, and successes on people's faces? Have they been happy, sad, disillusioned, or gratified? I have been trying the single, vertically shot portrait with my 8 x 10 since 1985 and never felt I succeeded in finding what I was looking for.
कभी-कभी मुझे परिवारों की तस्वीरें खींचने का ठेका मिलता है, और जब वे नतीजे देखते हैं और कहते हैं, "अरे, मैं तो बहुत खराब लग रहा हूँ," तब मुझे उन लोगों में फर्क समझ आता है जिन्हें मैं चुनती हूँ और जो लोग मुझे चुनते हैं।
I sometimes get commissioned to photograph families, and they see the results and say, "Oh, I look terrible." And that's when I realize the difference between the people I choose and the people who choose me.
I sometimes get commissioned to photograph families, and they see the results and say, "Oh, I look terrible." And that's when I realize the difference between the people I choose and the people who choose me.
क्या सब्जेक्ट के करीब जाने से तस्वीर और ज़्यादा अंतरंग (intimate) हो जाती है? मुझे यकीन है कि इसके लिए सिर्फ इतना ही काफी नहीं है। इसके आगे क्या? चेहरा, या नग्नता (न्यूड)? मैं यही सब करना पसंद करूँगी। पर मुझे ऐसा करने देगा कौन?
Does getting closer to the subject make the photograph more intimate? I'm sure it takes more than that. What comes next? The face, the nude? That's what I'd love to do. Who would even let me do that?
Does getting closer to the subject make the photograph more intimate? I'm sure it takes more than that. What comes next? The face, the nude? That's what I'd love to do. Who would even let me do that?
आईफोन से तस्वीर लेते समय लोग असल में नतीजे पर ध्यान नहीं देते। और न ही वे उसे प्रिंट करवाते हैं। इसलिए मेरे लिए, वह तस्वीर है ही नहीं। यह तो बस आईने में खुद को देखने जैसा है। यह एक ऐसा जरिया है जिससे मेरा दूर-दूर तक कोई जुड़ाव नहीं है।
People aren't really looking at the result when taking a picture on an iPhone. And they don't print it. So to me, it's almost not a photograph. It's like looking in the mirror. It's a tool I don't relate to at all.
People aren't really looking at the result when taking a picture on an iPhone. And they don't print it. So to me, it's almost not a photograph. It's like looking in the mirror. It's a tool I don't relate to at all.
मुझे लगता है कि लोग कलाकारों की नकल करते हैं - उन चीज़ों की जो उन्होंने किसी फिल्म या टीवी पर देखी हैं, और इससे पहले कि आपको पता चले, वे अपने चेहरे या मुँह से कुछ अजीब सी हरकत करने लगते हैं। यह किसी ऐसे अभिनेता की नकल होती है जिसे वे कूल समझते हैं। हो सकता है कि उन्हें खुद भी पता न हो कि वे ऐसा कर रहे हैं, जो कि अपने आप में काफी मजेदार है।
I think people imitate actors - things they've seen in a movie or on TV, and before you know it, they're doing something with their face or their mouth. It's from some actor they think is cool. They might not even know they're doing it, which is kind of funny.
I think people imitate actors - things they've seen in a movie or on TV, and before you know it, they're doing something with their face or their mouth. It's from some actor they think is cool. They might not even know they're doing it, which is kind of funny.
मुझे लगता है कि एक खास वर्ग के भीतर ज्यादातर लोग काफी हद तक एक जैसे होते हैं, क्योंकि वे एक जैसे स्कूलों में पढ़ते हैं और उनकी परवरिश एक ही तरीके से होती है।
I feel as if most people are pretty much the same within a certain class, due to the schools they attend and the way they are raised.
I feel as if most people are pretty much the same within a certain class, due to the schools they attend and the way they are raised.
मैंने कभी नहीं सोचा था कि मेरा काम इतना मशहूर हो जाएगा। यह धीरे-धीरे होने लगा, बिना मुझे इसके अहसास के। लेकिन जब मुझे इसका अहसास हुआ, तो वह डरावना था। मुझे आज भी विश्वास नहीं होता कि लोग मुझे अपनी तस्वीरें खींचने देते हैं। उनका यह भरोसा कमाल का है। लेकिन मैंने हमेशा उन्हें एक ऐसी गरिमामयी स्थिति में रखा है, जो बहुत मायने रखता है।
I never thought that my work was going to become well-known. It started happening slowly, without my realizing it. But when I did, it was terrifying. I still can't believe that people let me photograph them. The trust is amazing. But I've always put them in a context that is dignified, and that's really important.
I never thought that my work was going to become well-known. It started happening slowly, without my realizing it. But when I did, it was terrifying. I still can't believe that people let me photograph them. The trust is amazing. But I've always put them in a context that is dignified, and that's really important.
मैं हर वक्त कला को देखती रहती हूँ। मैं हर हफ्ते संग्रहालयों (म्यूजियम) और गैलरी में जाती हूँ। वह सचमुच मेरे लिए भोजन की तरह है।
I look at art all the time. I go to the museums and galleries every week. That really is like food for me.
I look at art all the time. I go to the museums and galleries every week. That really is like food for me.
मुझे आमतौर पर तभी पता चल जाता है जब मैं तस्वीर ले रही होती हूँ। उस वक्त कुछ ऐसा स्वाभाविक चल रहा होता है जिससे यह बिल्कुल नहीं लगता कि वे लोग सिर्फ अपना पोर्ट्रेट बनवाने के लिए वहाँ आए हैं।
I usually know when I take the picture. There's always some kind of un-self-conscious thing going on, so that it doesn't look like they're there for the sake of having their portrait taken.
I usually know when I take the picture. There's always some kind of un-self-conscious thing going on, so that it doesn't look like they're there for the sake of having their portrait taken.
मैंने अतीत में जिन लोगों की तस्वीरें खींची थीं, आज उनके लगभग 15 वर्ष के परपोतों की तस्वीरें खींचना मेरे लिए बेहद रोमांचक है, क्योंकि वे अभी उस बारीक रेखा पर हैं जहाँ वे बच्चे भी हैं और खुद को पहचानना भी शुरू कर रहे हैं।
Shooting great-grandchildren of some of the people I had photographed in the past, who are around the age of 15, is fascinating to me, because they're right on this fine line between still being children and starting to become themselves.
Shooting great-grandchildren of some of the people I had photographed in the past, who are around the age of 15, is fascinating to me, because they're right on this fine line between still being children and starting to become themselves.
अब मैं ऐसे पड़ाव पर हूँ जहाँ मेरे पास पहले से तय कोई एजेंडा नहीं होता। मैं चीज़ों को बस अपने हिसाब से बहने देती हूँ, उसमें कोई खास कहानी नहीं होती। सेट पर आमतौर पर एक या दो लोग होते हैं, और मैं उन्हें पहले की तरह निर्देश देकर उनकी पोज़ीग नहीं कराती। मैं बस यह देखने की कोशिश करती हूँ कि उनके दिमाग में और उनके चेहरों पर क्या चल रहा है।
I'm at the point now where I don't really have an agenda. I kind of let things flow, and there's not a narrative. On the set it's usually one or two people, and I'm not trying to choreograph them as I did in the past. I'm really just trying to see what's going on in their minds and in their faces.
I'm at the point now where I don't really have an agenda. I kind of let things flow, and there's not a narrative. On the set it's usually one or two people, and I'm not trying to choreograph them as I did in the past. I'm really just trying to see what's going on in their minds and in their faces.
मैंने हमेशा कहा है कि यूरोप के लोगों को अवचेतन रूप से (subconsciously) पोज़ देना आता है क्योंकि उनके यहाँ पोर्ट्रेट बनवाने की एक संस्कृति और परंपरा रही है। वे हमेशा से ऐसे पोर्ट्रेट्स से घिरे रहे हैं, इसलिए वे अनजाने में ही उनके लिए पोज़ देने लगते हैं।
I've always said that the Europeans subconsciously knew how to pose because of the culture or tradition of having your portrait made. They were surrounded by these portraits, and subconsciously they were already posing for them.
I've always said that the Europeans subconsciously knew how to pose because of the culture or tradition of having your portrait made. They were surrounded by these portraits, and subconsciously they were already posing for them.
यह रूढ़िवादिता मेरे लिए हैरान करने वाली है; ज़रा उनके कपड़े पहनने के तरीके की तुलना उनके माता-पिता के पहनावे से कीजिए। वहाँ अभी भी कोई टैटू या पियर्सिंग नहीं है, जो कि मेरे लिए दिलचस्प बात है। ऐसा क्यों है कि एक ही जगह पर रहने वाले सभी लोग एक जैसे कपड़े पहनते हैं, एक जैसे दिखते हैं, एक जैसी चीज़ें खाते हैं और एक ही तरह से अपने घरों को सजाते हैं?
The conservatism is extraordinary to me; just compare the way they dress to the way their parents dress. There are still no tattoos or piercings, which is interesting to me. Why does everyone who lives in one place dress alike, look alike, eat the same thing, and decorate the same way?
The conservatism is extraordinary to me; just compare the way they dress to the way their parents dress. There are still no tattoos or piercings, which is interesting to me. Why does everyone who lives in one place dress alike, look alike, eat the same thing, and decorate the same way?