Landscapes of emotions
Describing himself as a fine art conceptual and landscape photographer, Achintha Dahanayake 36 who was recently awarded the National award for Sri Lanka at the Sony World Photography awards, is a firm believer in the beauty of minimalism especially when it comes to landscape and conceptual photography.
This week the Mirror Magazine got an introduction into Achintha’s world of photography. A graphic designer by choice for more than six years, Achintha stumbled into his passion for photography as a means to overcome the stress of a 8-5 job routine. “ I was never a fan of being in a 8-5 job. So I used photography as a medium to release that stress and it truly helped. And sooner photography became my passion,” he tells us.
A casual glance at Achintha’s work a viewer is immediately struck by the depth and the beauty of its depiction of a scene. A peculiar art form of capturing pictures , with bare minimal elements is what the photographer prefers, “When it comes to landscape photography, I always find myself going for a minimal composition. I don’t like to include too many objects in my frames. I want my photographs to stimulate a viewer’s mood. It could be sadness or happiness or any other emotion.”
For Achintha inspiration can strike from anywhere. It could be an established photographer or it could be an amature just startng out in the field. He tells us it is the emotions behind the capture that speaks to him the most, “if it talks to my emotions, I’m all about that.”
As an experienced landscape photographer, Achintha shares that planning is absolutely key to taking some good shots. “That doesn’t mean to say that unplanned trips don’t make good photographs. But planning helps. Second thing is patience, that’s the key. As landscape photographers, we are dealing with nature and natural light and nature doesn’t behave the way we want. So be patient,” he advises young photographers. Another piece of advice from Achintha to young photographers is that passion for the art form should be one’s only motivation he tells us . “Don’t enter this field in search of making money. Enter this only if you have the passion and determination. Sometimes you will feel down,uninspired at times, but if you find your way somehow, photography is a beautiful art form,” he shares. Meanwhile, Achintha is planning to do an exhibition and launch a photography book featuring his work in the future. “That’s my long time project. And in the meantime I have planned to create several photo series a s well.”
Pix and ST Magazine cover
by Achintha Dahanayake