Humility personified, but proud of his work, K Maruthachalam, is a photographer of renown in and around Coimbatore.  Coming from an agrarian background, his first love is nature photography.  He has also done a lot of industrial photography and deserves to be termed a pioneer in digital photography in the country.  In this informal chat with Coimbatorebest.com, he speaks about his interest in photography and his experiences as a professional photographer.

Your interest in photography

I am basically from an agrarian family.  I studied up to Pre-University Course (PUC) and then got into farming, to give my family a helping hand.  Because I was involved in farming, I had a lot of interest in nature.  Then the thought came into mind – Why not photography?  At that time there was no one to teach photography and even literature on photography and photographic equipment was non-existent.  In those days it took years just to get an interchangeable lens or any other piece of photographic equipment.  Also photography was not very popular at that time.  So it was very rare in the 60’s to find anybody interested in photography.

Your first camera…

I started with Alfa Klik 3. Later, I got a regular 35 mm German camera.  Then, I got a 120 mm Roliflex and in '68, I bought a Nikkor Mat FTM with interchangeable lens, after which I gradually built up on my photographic equipment.

Your pet subjects

As I said earlier, my interest in photography came about because of my involvement with nature and my interest in birds came about because of my involvement in photography.  I became interested in bird photography from the 70’s onwards and since then I have done several international exhibitions.  Birds, insects, animals and mainly nature I would say…most of my award-winning visuals have been from these subjects.

Any special place where you went to take these snaps

That is the unique thing.  ‘Nature’ does not’t mean only forests, woods and waterfalls.  It can be the tree next to your window or your own backyard.  I say that everything and anything that is created by God and not influenced by man, is nature.Most of my snaps have been taken in the farm where I lived.  Do you know something (pointing to the tree outside his office window) I have seen at least 14 to 15 varieties of birds on this very tree.  There is so much of nature that we are blind to.

What is essential to photography of birds?

You need to watch them and you need to study ornithology.  You can’t just go and shoot birds.  You will not be able to get a good shot without studying the bird.  The best period to shoot a bird is its ‘nesting period’.

Any specific equipment that we need for taking ‘nature’ photography?

Normally you require a long lens, which is readily available nowadays.  It should not be difficult to get a good quality lens of range say 400 mm or so.

Your participation in international exhibitions?

I have participated in several international exhibitions and in all these exhibitions my works have been exhibited along with the works of leading photographers from all over the world.  For these international exhibitions, one has to submit four slides or four prints, which will be the maximum.  There will be at least 5,000 entries, from which the panel of judges will select 3 to 4% of all the photographs and these photos will be accepted and displayed at the exhibitions.  So I have over 500 acceptances from these international exhibitions.  So you can imagine for yourself the quality of the photographs that make it to the final selection.

I have been awarded a 5-star rating from the Photographic Society of America and till ’76 I had this rating.  A 5 star rating is given for someone with more than 488 acceptances in international exhibitions.  At present I have a Diamond Star rating.  Since 1986, I have stopped exhibiting. 

On your recognition from PSA

There are three big photographic societies – Royal Photographic Society, Federation of International Art Photography and the Photographic Society of America.  To my knowledge only three or four Indians only have been awarded all three societies.

To become a member of the Royal Photographic Society all you have to do is to submit 24 photographs.  To be recognised by the Federation of International Art Photography you should have 18 acceptances in international exhibitions.  You should submit evidence like prints / slides to show that you have taken the snap.  So they look at your quality of work as well as track record.  In the Photographic Society of America you cannot apply. It is they who will select.  They will look at your track record, your work and the service that you have done to Photography through articles in various journals, lectures and so on.  I was the Chairman for Federation of Indian Photographers, Nature Division.  I had written articles for the photographic magazine ‘PSA Journal’ from the Photographic Society of America (PSA).  I had also written a series of articles on the necessity of saving birds and insects for the sake of agriculture.  I have also given talks and lectures on photography to a lot of colleges, clubs like Lions Club etc,.  The recognition from the PSA is what I value most because very few have got it and because it is so difficult to get.

Your perception of photography

Photography allows us to see something which we cannot see with our normal eyes.  You can write hundreds of words, but just one image can have the effect of a thousand words.  A very powerful image can be a big influence.  For example, so many articles were written about the Gujarat Earthquake, but just a few powerful images can wrench people’s heart.  So photography should be used powerfully, judiciously and above all with integrity.

In nature photography, it is possible to create very natural photographs using digital photography.  So it is very important that photographer should have integrity to use his genius rather than have his photograph manipulated digitally.

Any unforgettable incident that you remember while photographing

I had a terrific encounter with a King Cobra in Valayar Hills.  It was nesting and King Cobras are deadly and poisonous and doubly so when they are nesting.  All of a sudden I saw it, when I was just 30 feet away from it.  It is deadly and can even outrun you.  I just turned and ran and amazingly I was able to escape as it gave up the chase after a short while.  And another time I had to escape a charging elephant.

On your involvement in Industrial photography

I have also done a lot of industrial photography.  I have trained people over the years. All my employees are freshers.  The reason I take freshers  is because I can train them rather than having to de-train them.

The kind of equipment you use

At present I use a Nikon system, a Leica system and a Hasselblad according to the need.  For the studio and for industrial photography we use a Panoramic Noblex 180 degree camera.  This camera with its very small lens will rotate 180 degree.  We also have a field camera and a medium format camera.

On your lab

The reason I started this lab is because I wanted quality.  Earlier, when I used to participate in all these international exhibitions, I used to send my films abroad for printing.  Even then I was not satisfied because the prints were not up to the mark and it was also time consuming.  So I decided to provide quality for those who wanted it and who are willing to pay higher.  When I started this lab even Kodak was surprised because at that time this was a very remote place, but today I am doing well because of the quality that I give.

A few years back Fuji had conducted a competition for the summer and a period of three months was given.  It was a South India competition and when the organisers looked up as to where the snaps, which won the first few prizes had been printed, they found that all the top three or four entries had been printed at my lab.

We maintain our lab on par with international standards.  We use gloves for handling, a simple precaution for protection against scratches on the negatives and prints that is very rarely to be seen in even the so-called ‘popular labs’.  Our wastage is 10%, while it is just 1 % for other labs.

On your collection of books on photography

My collection of books on photography has been done over 30 to 35 years.  It started like this:  I received my first camera when I was in school in my 8^th or 9^th standard.  That was in the early 60’s.  I had to get some books.  Luckily, books were not taxed at that time and even then I had to get permission.

On the photography industry in India

It is one of the fastest growing in India at a rate of 15% every year.  All the big companies like Kodak and Fuji are now concentrating on India as the next biggest market after China.  Another good phenomenon is that a lot of world-class ads are being made in India.  Here the production cost is low compared to Europe with no compromise on quality.