Clicking for collectibles

Photographer Amit Pasricha recalls clicking photographs of his school to such an extent that he dethroned the school's official photographer by the time he was in high school.

But he doesn't recall thinking that one day prints from his camera would be termed collectibles and come attached with a price tag of Rs 1 lakh.

"I knew that by the time I was old, my photographs would be valued," says Pasricha who currently shoots panoramic sweep photographs with a 360º view with print lengths running into a few feet. "We used to have long discussions whether photos could ever be an art form," he adds.

Today even Pasricha knows the answer. Photography is indeed an art form and after Indian art, collectors, buyers and gallerists are getting excited at the prospect of photographs increasingly being referred to as collectibles.

Artist Akbar Padamsee's photographs at the Christie's auction last summer made news as did a group photography exhibition held last year 'The Incredible Moment'. Organised by Maneka Gandhi's People for Animals, the exhibition had the country's best 250 photographers exhibiting 2,500 photographs.

"We sold 1,600 photographs and did sales worth Rs 1.06 crore," says Gandhi. The exhibition also encouraged Indian photographers to get exposed to collectors and vice versa.

As photographer Prabir Purkayastha puts it, "Photographs which were never on the radar of collectibles now are a blimp on it," adding, "Photographs becoming collectibles is inevitable."

In the age of digital prints, Purkayastha who only does black and white photographs on Ladakh still likes to use film rolls and sticks to making prints through the traditional C-print or wet print method. His Ladakh photographs are also part of one of the most expensive coffee table books available in India predictably titled 'Ladakh'.

Indian art collectors are vying with the idea of now looking at photographs as an option along with collectors from Europe and America. A host of photographers are having solo exhibitions that are turning into sell-outs unlike earlier times where photography exhibitions were visited and reacted upon by few.

They massaged the photographer's ego but saw no sales. Recalls documentary photographer Sheba Chachi, "Earlier, pictures generated a response from viewers but no sales."

To sustain themselves, photographers attached themselves to commercial projects; today, sustaining oneself with creative clicks is a possibility. "The time for fine arts photography in India is ripe ," feels photographer Amit Mehra.

What do collectors look for in photographs? According to Pasricha people don't like to buy pictures showing agony or grief. Something arty, positive, notional, conceptual, abstract or something with a little drama sells.

"What I learnt from the exhibition," says Gandhi, "is that wildlife pictures do not sell unless they are brilliant and black and white pictures sell much more."

Modern photography concepts like abstract compositions are appreciated too. Amit Mehra, for instance, played with natural elements like sand dunes, wind and water on each other. "Sand dunes can create interesting forms, even taking the shape of a nude body," says Pasricha.

As the worldwide trend of including photographs as collectibles makes its nascent presence in India, there are some practical issues that photographers need tackle, to protect it as investment for the collector.

Other than shooting a brilliant photograph, firstly the prints need to be in archival ink and paper along with archival matting and mounting.

"The glue should be of archival quality," says Pasricha. And the most important is the number of prints of a particular photograph's edition.

Of course, the less the number of prints of a photograph the more the value, but there are no set regulations. It ultimately depends on each photographer on the number of prints he is willing to make. A limited single and signed print is considered best but again there are no rules bounding the photographer to make more prints.

"This is one of the reasons why photographs have not made it to the level of art," says Pasricha. Chips in Purkayastha whose pictures on Ladakh have sold for Rs 1 lakh, "The pictures were priced very cheap as compared to the quality of their print and their sizes (3'x9')."

With the impetus of their photographs being sold as collectibles, many photographers are associating themselves with art galleries to increase their collector base as well as streamlining the associated practical issues.

Seeing the trend, galleries are keen to take photographers under their wing. Says gallerist Renu Modi of Gallery Espace in New Delhi, "Photography as collectibles is a trend that is catching up. There is a market developing for it and galleries are getting motivated."

If you are a collectibles aficionado, it's time you include that picture that caught your eye and moved you. Who knows, with time you might just become the owner of a picture worth a million dollars.

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CALLING THE SHOTS
Collectible works of some photographers (limited editions)

Amit Mehra
Abstract pictures
Highest price: Rs 80,000
Average prices: Rs 25,000 to Rs 60,000 (print sizes 2'x3' "" 3'x4')

Amit Pasricha
Panoramic pictures with a 360 degree view
Highest price: Rs 1 lakh from his Ladakh series (size 20'x 7.5 feet)
Average prices: Rs 50,000 (print sizes 20'x4 "" 8 feet)

Prabir Purkayastha
Shoots Ladakh extensively in black and white
Highest price: Rs 1 lakh (print size "" 3'x9.5')
Photograph prints start at Rs 20,000 (print size 20'x40')