Photographer: Samiran Paul
Biography: Born and brought up in Kalimpong, I have not only admired but have in growing years, fallen in love with the works of Mother Nature. This is where I believe I got my inspiration for the creative field of art. As a child, sketching and working with colors interested me. Gradually, what appealed me more was capturing the beauty of any piece of art in frame than on canvas. My first click was with an Agfa camera. Coming from a very modest living background, the question of owning a camera as a child and pursuing photography as a hobby was unaffordable at that point of time. During my graduation days in Kolkata, I used my friend's Minolta SLR camera to take a few shots. Later, my father presented me with a basic Ricoh camera which I treasure till date. Down the years, with the advent of technology came digital photography. The idea of capturing images, printing, storing, transmitting and manipulating them using digital and computer techniques as against chemical processing, is intriguing. There began my fascination for digital photography. In the last few years I have invested more time learning the art of photography in expanse. My works are a reflection of hill, of the beauty, culture and lifestyle of the indigenous ethnic groups that form the small town. Apart from my profession in Kalimpong Girls' Higher Secondary school as a physics teacher. I am associated with local media news channels contributing photographs regularly and local nepali magazine "Naba Prabaha". I am featured in "Talk Sikkim" magazine as a photographer from this hill region (Darjeeling and Sikkim) and later I am contributing photographs to this magazine as a freelance photo-journalist. My wife and my only daughter have been supportive of my passion for photography and are the best critic. Photography to me is an expression of one iss creative mind. I have learnt so much all this while both from my success and more from my mistakes. It is not every day that one lives his dream. I am happy to have pursued and lived my dream. It is been an interesting long journey so far and there is more to tread on. Learning and developing my art remains the motto.
