Who is Aakaash Bali?

Aakaash Bali is a cinematic narrative fine art photographer, based in Long Island, New York.

After pursuing a pre-med tract in college, he opted to go into political science and law, before fully embracing photography.

“I essentially gave up a law degree to chase my passion,” he said in a text message after the interview.

Speaking With Aaakaash Bali

What Does Cinematic Narrative Look Like?

The Shadow District

Initially, The Shadow District, “was born out of a need for peace, quiet, and time for myself,” says Bali.

After the interview I admited to the following:

In all your work (yours, Crewdson's, Woodman's and Hamilton's), there is a sort of sadness that lingers in each frame.

To that Bali responded with the following:

The sadness creates that heavy “substance” that I believe is something human nature craves. For the same reason we enjoy watching drama films, or tragic films. It isn't so much that we crave the sadness, but we crave the substance, the “weight”.

Please be sure to check out and buy Aakaash's amazing photographs!

Learn more about The Cinema Experience.

Follow Aakaash Bali on Instagram. You'll also find Shadow District on Instagram.

Photographers Mentioned

Gregory Crewdson

Nicky Hamilton

Kate Woodman

Movies Mentioned

The Grand Budapest Hotel [Aff]

The Shape of Water [Aff]

Gear Mentioned

Fujifilm GFX 100 [Aff]

Sony A7rIII [Aff]

Godox AD600 [Aff]

If you enjoyed this podcast, would you please give it a 5-star rating and write a short review on iTunes? I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you!

Brooke Shaden is a fine art photographer based in Arizona. Her photographs are dream-like, ethereal and definitely complex in tone. I'll be the first to admit that each work of art has the capacity to draw you in and hold you hostage.

From her own website: “Brooke works to create new worlds within her photographic frame. By using painterly techniques as well as the square format, traditional photographic properties are replaced by otherworldly elements. Brooke's photography questions the definition of what it means to be alive.”

Brooke and I got a chance to speak recently, in advance of her presentation right here in Connecticut. She will be speaking about her work, at the behest of CTPPA. Find out more about that event here.

We spoke about her work, of course, but also her background. You'll find out how and why her degrees in film and English have helped her create artwork that is filled with intent and meaning. And, you'll hear about how she is a philanthropist, donating her time to a wonderful causes all over the world, including one in Calcutta, India. In fact, if you would like to donate camera gear or money, she is appealing to your generosity here.

A small sample of Brooke's incredible work. For more go here!

Want to keep up with Brooke, then bookmark her blog, Promoting Passion now.

UPDATE: Brooke Shaden is coming back to Connecticut! She will be here on November 21st and 22nd to lead a workshop called Storytelling & Compositing Intensive at the New Britain Museum of American Art. For more information about this opportunity to learn from Brooke, contact Heather Whitehouse at 860-229-0257, ext. 203 or whitehouseh@nbmaa.org.