ARTISTS, NORTHEAST PHOTOGRAPHERS, PHOTOGRAPHY, SIKKIM
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My Experimentations with Film Photography and Stop-Motion | Pravesh Hingmang from Gangtok, Sikkim

It’s not very often that one comes across new age (digital) photographers who are deeply interested in film photography. According to a recent TIME article, companies synonymous with film cameras like Fujifilm and Kodak have been forging a comeback on observing a positive trend globally. It mentions how young and bold professional photographers who grew up with digital are falling in love with the magic of film photography.

Our new talent discovery, Pravesh Hingmang from Gangtok, Sikkim is a professional photographer, and founder of “Hidden Frames” who has done some lovely experimentations with film photography. Today we chat with him to know more about him and his work

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Photo : Pravesh Hingmang

  • Hi Pravesh, tell us a bit about yourself

I am Pravesh Hingmang and am 28 years old. I’m from Gangtok, but I’m currently based out of New Delhi. I came to Delhi to pursue my higher education in 2009 and have been here even after I graduated from Hindu college. I pursue hobbies in a variety of areas. I love singing, performing magic, collecting old film cameras and of course photography. At the moment, I am working on turning photography into a full time career. It’s been two years since I started shooting professionally. I have loved clicking photos ever since I was a kid.

“I am a big fan of film photography and have been collecting old film cameras for a few years now. I didn’t have enough money in college to get a digital camera. So, I bought one SLR camera which worked on a film. With that camera I started understanding the basics of photography. After (spoiling) about 3-4 film rolls, I finally got the hang of it. Even though I use my digital camera for projects, I always fall back to film when I want to click for myself.

  • Tell us how you manage to spend time on your hobbies?

Along with being a professional photographer (for weddings, fashion, and product photography), I have a part-time day job at Daya Foundation, where we develop educational content for the institute’s community. I’m also currently working on writing a book on stopmotion animation for the Foundation. I have also worked with a few NGO’s in the past as part of their marketing projects. I even worked on some short films as an assistant director.

I am really thankful that my boss is also super supportive of my creative ventures. Moreover, feeling of doing what I love for a living gets me really excited and keeps pushing me to do better. Every subject (in photography projects) is different so it never gets monotonous. I guess that’s one of the best things about my work.

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Photo  by Pravesh Hingmang

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Photo  by Pravesh Hingmang

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Photo  by Pravesh Hingmang

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Photo  by Pravesh Hingman

  • What’s the creative philosophy behind your work?

Experimentation is key. I keep experimenting with new techniques and make efforts to never limit myself to a particular style. I have a ton of favorite places and people that inspire me, but YouTube has been my biggest friend in teaching and guiding me.

“Being a self-taught artist, I believe in doing new things and learning them to the tee. It doesn’t matter how many tries it takes and how many mistakes you make, as long as you get to learn something new out of it.”

  • Tell us about your recent works with stop-motion

I am a big fan of stop-motion animation and love creating videos in that style.With the help of Daya Foundation, I have successfully held a few workshops on stop-motion animation for school kids. I hold these workshops every summer. We mostly make short animated videos on the subjects of environmental awareness and social issues.

These workshops have given me the confidence about the growing interest around stop motion animation.That’s why I have recently started a YouTube channel, do check it out. Also, follow my work  on my Blog, and on Instagram

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