To see everything in new light… a simple thought of carrying a DSLR on a family trip to Kerala became the perfect first step of a journey that’s still going on, taking new paths time and again.
Anshuman’s love for photography began in 2009 and he hasn’t looked back ever since.
When he travelled to Kerala about eight years ago, he spent an entire day on a boat, photographing ducks, fish and birds dwelling in and around the backwaters of a river. The Pune-based photographer returned home and didn’t waste any time in comparing his photographs with those taken by his favourite professional artists, talking about his pictures with his photography mentor to learn better.
Anshuman’s dedication and commitment to the art of making images are constantly fuelling his journey and today, he has a studio set-up at his home where he works on his ideas of photography. He also travels to various wildlife destinations and other scenic places frequently, making portraits, wildlife and landscape images. The range of photography genres he is into is further expanded by product photography.
Tadoba, Ranthambhore, Bandipur, Kabini, Bharatpur and Ranganathittu are some of the places Anshuman frequents, and Bharatpur is his favourite destination.
He says, “When it comes to wildlife photography, it’s very important for me to first understand the behaviour of animals. And in a place like Bharatpur where you get to go on foot and watch and photograph the animals, you can do your research well… you can sit, squat, lie down and walk around on your own watching its natural inhabitants. Unlike a safari vehicle taking you around the forest to see tigers and big cats elsewhere, you get all the intimacy you ever wanted in and with the wild.
“Recently, I also visited Little Rann of Kutch and went cycling most of the time to meet and know the local people better. To understand the location and how well light and shadow play on a particular place can be a fascinating study,” says Anshuman, giving us a fresh perspective on understanding a place both as a traveller and a photographer.
When asked about the different genres of photography he’s interested in, Anshuman explains, “Every season has its own flavour and it’s a conscious choice that I make to visit a particular place in a particular season so that I can see and photograph the best it has to offer. This formula has always worked for me: the more the time you spend understanding your subject of interest, the better your results in terms of experience and photography.”
Anshuman, an active member of the Photography Society of Pune, had been following Toehold Skippers’ work on their personal social media and had always had high regard for their talent and natural history knowledge and expertise. He says, “The content put up by them on their personal pages as well as the Toehold website is well-articulated, and it wants one to always know more about them. And when I realised that I needed more camera equipment for my evolving interest in photography, I also came to know that Toehold had a wonderful array of equipment in their rentals section in both Bengaluru and Pune. My relationship with Toehold has stayed intact thus.”
Anshuman has a simple but crystal-clear idea about what photography means to him, which is also simultaneously profound. “Expressing any given situation as an art form, in the language of light and shade, bringing together imagination and thought, is quite an exhilarating experience. And to make one’s own understanding reach people in a relatable way enhances one’s own growth as a person. And I like how travelling for the sake of photography helps you look at everything differently – all causes and effects can be experienced first-hand and made personal, which is a humbling human experience,” he elucidates.
Anshuman’s eloquence of speech and art are always in accord and the images he has made are a testimony to that. We wish him the very best in his future travel and photography endeavors.
© Anshuman Kumar 
