PROFILE INTERVIEW OF ASHISH RAMESH SINGH BY KAVITACHOWDRY

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KAVITA CHOWDRY

If you are willing to take risks for your passion, then you can
achieve anything in this world- Ashish Ramesh Singh
Freelance Photojournalist

How did you realize your passion for photography?
When I was in my college days pursuing Journalism, I was always
inclined to photography. I used to capture pictures from my phone
and during my graduating years, I decided to pursue the field of
photography.
What was the most memorable memory of yours being
in this profession?
When you work in the field of journalism, every day becomes
memorable. Still, if you want me to quote then I think the time that I
worked with the I-next newspaper was from 2013 to 2017, and the
time when I worked in Bharat Samachar in 2018 as a street
photographer. Also, when I started working as a freelance
photographer in 2019 in Kumbh for UP Police I gathered a team of 70
students and we all worked together on the same project. I think that
was the most memorable time when I gathered people together and I
learned the importance of learning from the new generation and
giving them knowledge about the same.
What problems did you face while working for any
newspaper or news organization?
While working in any news organization back in time as a decade ago
the most common problem was that we didn’t have WhatsApp or we
didn’t have any major technological refinement or any equipment
that could you know send pictures at any minute like we used to visit
the field we use to click pictures and then we had to go back to the
office. I recall a time when the Indian Cricket Team arrived in
Lucknow and we had to click the pictures immediately before the
deadline and then we had to go back and give the pictures to the office
that they would process and write the news.
Have you ever covered any riots or sensational events in your
career?
Yes, I have covered many riots, especially at the time of elections when
Akhilesh versus Mayawati in Lucknow 2013 and CAA NRC protests. The
most memorable one that I still remember is when the Hockey girls’ team
came to Lucknow for a match at Lucknow University and they were teased
by the University boys. I don’t know if the picture went viral and came on
the front page the next day, I didn’t see the news because I had that
consignment the next day, and all the students including those students
went crazy about the crisis. That was the time I realized the significance of
myself to my family and my career and I agreed to take decisions precisely.
Few students are still indecisive about whether they
should do freelancing or not. What’s your take on that?
I know students are indecisive about whether they should go towards
freelancing or not but see this is very clear if you go to a 9 to 5 job
they give you a fixed income but there is no job security, especially
after covid. If you go towards freelancing, you need to make up your
mind that you need to invest first you need to see what you want to
work with what is your aim and in which field are you working you
have to make up your mind you have to have a strong faith in yourself
can work in freelancing field also but there is no job security.
Talking about photography, how important is it to have a
clear vision while clicking pictures on the field? Photography is all about vision if you can’t clear your imagination. If you can’t see through a very long distance in your mind what you are meant to click, how would you present it to the audience, how will you click a picture in a dark area or an area with an extremely tinier source of light? As a photographer, you need to set the frame, you need to see the composition, and you need to see that without any proper light how can you play with your camera lenses? You are expected to be very specific with the clouds of creativity revolving in your mind.
What suggestions do you have for students who would
like to pursue a career in photography or photojournalism?
What I would suggest is to listen to your heart if you love
photography, if you love to capture things, if you love to capture
memories, if you want people to see through your vision then
definitely pursue the field of photography. It is a glorious and
fascinating arena to work in. All you need to be productive and all you
need to comprehend is how to enrich and understand to take wisdom
from any age group to execute it in your work. You should toil
according to the circumstance and learn to take risks in your lifetime.