Stories through frames

After Fanushi-4.0, Calcutta Instagrammers united to hold another exciting event -- India Pictures: Global Meet 2.0 organised by the India Pictures, Zostel and Creative Image Magazine. This is an event where anybody with an urge to capture their surroundings can take part. The pictures are then uploaded on Instagram with the event hastags.

The city witnessed one such photowalk on 6  November which was held across 25 cities of the country. The founder of Calcutta Instagrammers, Sammya Brata Mullick was the curator of the photowalk. The walk criss-crossed through the lanes of North Kolkata beginning from Beadon Street and covered parts of Goa Bagan. Red-bricked houses, the old lanes and the happy faces of the people had it all. The cold November winds, the tea stalls preparing a hot cup of tea, children overjoyed with their on-going football match and everything was beautifully in sync with the theme "Street Photography", which captured the textures of the place. More than 150 photo-enthusiasts of Kolkata were a part of this.

"The second year for the India Pictures Global Meet- Calcutta Chapter received an overwhelming response. During the walk, people were given an hour to shoot photographs using their mobile phones/DSLRs and upload them on Instagram using the pre-decided hashtags to qualify for the contest. The theme was 'Street Photography' and people got a chance to capture the rich patterns and textures of North Calcutta, most importantly to weave stories through their frames. The photography enthusiasts covered in and around Beadon Street, Goa Bagan area, Girish Park and North Calcutta," said Sammya Brata, founder, Calcutta Instagrammers.

There has been an incredible rise in the number of photo-enthusiasts being a part of this endeavour. The on-spot mobile photography contest with the hastags ip meet 2 and ip zostel witnessed a huge number of entries out of which two were selected as the winners. Uber, one of the prime sponsors of the event is holding yet another contest as a part of this project, the theme of which is "view from my uber", and the winner gets 20 uber rides free.

However, the grand prize remains the main attraction. The winner stands a chance to meet the renowned photographer, Padmashree Shree Raghu Rai and receives a DSLR as a winning prize. This all-India contest has got more than 17,000 uploads from across the country within just a span of 24 hours, while more than 270 entries are from Calcutta within the same period of time. With the current generation pouring their hearts out on social media, this is quite a unique way to explore one's one city in ways never seen before.

Source: Stories through frames