Caption: Travelling with few possessions, Delhi, © Tahir Amin
Please leave your feedback for Tahir Amin in the [comments] section of this post for this image.
Show & Tell: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Tahir Amin is a lawyer from the UK currently working with the Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore, India on intellectual property issues and its affect on the public domain. Following his departure from the corporate legal world he has been an activist in the U.K Stop the War Coalition, the International Solidarity Movement as an international peace activist/observer in the West Bank, Palestine and currently working on legal issues for the Affordable Medicine Treatment campaign in India.
Activism/protest or simply disseminating information for a cause can be done in many ways, though usually in the form of writing or actual physical protest. However, Tahir believes the power of visuals through photography are equally relevant forms of activism and protest, as images rarely fail to have at least some impact on the neutral observer. From images of the millions of people protesting in London, to the destruction and conflict in Palestine, to protests against patents and the right to medicine, the camera is not only able to tell a story, but it also acts as an instrument of awareness, protest and activism.
He is currently preparing to carry out photography projects around India, in particular, raising awareness about rural India's intersection of art and activism to empower local artists, a project for an NGO in Bombay working on placing homeless children in schools in order to raise funds, a look into the lives of refugees from Tibet living in one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, as well as the Tsunami relief effort in the eyes of the dalits in Tamil Nadu. He is also planning to return to Palestine in the future.
Seshu says
Tahir
See something in common here yet? Your three portraits so far all have the subject positioned dead in the center. I have already covered this issue in my previous comments, but feel it is worth bringing up again – so, please pay attention to composition and wean yourself away from this habit.
On the plus side, while India is a very colorful country you have chosen to shoot this image in black & white. While I would love to know why you have chosen to do so, I think the incremental shades of gray in this well toned image really works for me. No longer does the color of this man’s garments or the background distract me; it’s just me looking at him and him looking right back at me.
Do you think this image will be more effective if it were presented vertically rather than horizontally?
Seshu says
Tahir
See something in common here yet? Your three portraits so far all have the subject positioned dead in the center. I have already covered this issue in my previous comments, but feel it is worth bringing up again – so, please pay attention to composition and wean yourself away from this habit.
On the plus side, while India is a very colorful country you have chosen to shoot this image in black & white. While I would love to know why you have chosen to do so, I think the incremental shades of gray in this well toned image really works for me. No longer does the color of this man’s garments or the background distract me; it’s just me looking at him and him looking right back at me.
Do you think this image will be more effective if it were presented vertically rather than horizontally?
Tahir Amin says
Seshu,
Thanks again for the comments.
Totally agree that I now need to focus on positioning subjects more creatively and move away from that beginners habit of centering. On reflection a vertical shot would have have been more effective, perhaps framing the subject better rather than wasted/vacant space in the background?
cheers
Tahir
Tahir Amin says
Seshu,
Thanks again for the comments.
Totally agree that I now need to focus on positioning subjects more creatively and move away from that beginners habit of centering. On reflection a vertical shot would have have been more effective, perhaps framing the subject better rather than wasted/vacant space in the background?
cheers
Tahir