Celebrated photographer Fawzan Husain shares some stories from his eighteen years’ experience as a photojournalist and also talks about his newest projects.

Did you always want to be a photojournalist
No, I always wanted to be a writer and I actually started out as a writer – I worked for Mid-Day for seven months. But then I realised that I could convey my story better through images than through written words.

You have a post-graduate degree in journalism from the Bombay School of Journalism. How important do you think this education was for your career?
I took this course because I wanted to train as a writer. A photographer’s work depends on his approach which, in turn, depends on his personality as well as his understanding of what he’s shooting. For example, shooting in the red light district in Bombay is very different from shooting mass marriages. So, in that sense, my degree in journalism gave me an edge as it helped me to understand the environments I was working in better.

You later worked as a lecturer at the same school. What was that experience like?
In photography there is nothing to teach – you can only share your experiences.  Especially in documentary photography, there’s so much vibrancy – no two photos are ever the same. I’m now also lecturing at the Shari Academy, where I share my experiences and introduce my students to other photographers’ work. It’s all about building up your intuition about when and where to take the shot.

Do you think it’s easier to be a photographer nowadays than it was when you were starting out?
The digital age has transformed photography. It’s made it easier but in my opinion it’s also ruined it. There’s no learning process.

So I take it you don’t use a digital camera?
Unfortunately I have no choice but to use a digital camera. The cost of processing a film is so high that it’s not commercially viable to shoot on film. In fact, the last assignment I shot on film was about eight years ago. 

Do you use film for your personal work?
No, but I have kept a conventional camera so that my children can learn on it.

You have participated in many exhibitions, both solo and group. What do you get out of participating in these shows?
Doing routine magazine and newspaper work kills you after a while. You need to do something for yourself. I make it a point to hold one exhibition every two years. I do this for two reasons: one, because it gives me great personal satisfaction to work on a long-term project and two, because it allows me to let out the frustration that comes from doing mundane assignments. When I did editorial shoots for India Today there was very little scope for creativity. My editor, Prabhu Chawla, had zero understanding of images; he felt I shot very dark and out-of-focus images. So I had to look for avenues to bring out my frustration. This would result in me working for myself which would result in solo shows. But there is a very thick dividing line between pictures that can go in a magazine and pictures that can go up on the walls. And it’s very important as a photographer to understand that aspect.

Nowadays, producing photos that go up on a wall has become one of my main sources of income. I sell editioned prints both within India and abroad through a Bangalore-based organisation called Tasveer Arts.

Tell us more about your upcoming exhibition, “Silver Screen – Beyond the Sets”.
In this exhibition I intend to look at how the silver screen touches people’s lives on a regular basis. For example, if you visit any Indian fair, you will come across photo studios where they have life-size cutouts of famous film stars. The villagers stand next to their favourite star and get their photograph shot. I want to cover these and other aspects of the silver screen touching people’s lives for my next show. 

In an interview in 2003, you said that in the next five years you wanted to explore the outside world to “broaden my frame of reference”. Have you managed to do that?
I have toured India extensively but my international exposure is very limited. I like to get a feeling and understanding of how people in different countries work on a project. I am still hoping to travel extensively outside India but funding would be an issue, especially if I plan to spend a long time there.

You shot in Iraq for Saddam Hussein’s presidential referendum in 2002. What was that experience like?
The whole election was a farce – the voters had to put their tick in the box in front of an officer’s eyes. There were no curtains! So obviously people who didn’t like Saddam didn’t turn up and he had a 100% majority!

 What challenges did you face?
While we were shooting in Iraq, we had to work within certain parameters. However, I tried to push these boundaries as far as possible as I have a sense for adventure! I have also shot in Kuwait and the client was very clear from the beginning that I would have to be extra careful while walking on the roads. However, while in Baghdad, one day I was travelling in a taxi and decided to take some pictures from the backseat. When the taxi driver realised what I was doing, he stopped the car and warned me to stop shooting. When he realised that I was still taking images he took the camera off me and put it on the front seat. It turns out that we were travelling through the area where Saddam lived and if any soldiers had noticed what I was doing then both of us would have been shot! In fact, only a fortnight earlier, a car’s tyre had blown in front of one of Saddam’s homes and the soldiers, thinking it was a gun shot, had shot dead the car driver and the passenger!

I can’t blame the driver!
No, neither can I.

You are also interested in street photography…
I love street photography because you have so much freedom and you can capture those candid moments that will never be repeated. Since I’ve left India Today I have a lot more time on my hands and so I have been travelling all over India and indulging in street photography.

What is the most interesting place you have encountered for street photography?
I spent seven to eight days in Uttar Pradesh during Holi and it was really amazing. It was so colourful and wild!

Did you participate?
At these kinds of events you automatically get dragged into it!

What are you working on now?
Since September I have been documenting the tribal and folk artists of India (such as Warli, Chitara and Madhubani) for the Devi Art Foundation.  I should complete this interesting project by February.

Photos by Fawzan Husain | Fotosocial