INTERVIEW
April 1, 2021
UNNOTICED MOMENTS
Photography by Pooja Yadav
Interview by Melanie Meggs
Pooja Yadav is a young budding scientist with a passion for exploring and capturing the beauty of the streets. Armed with her mobile phone camera, she traverses around her hometown in India, taking pictures of the everyday lives of people in her vicinity. With her photographs, Pooja is able to express her own thoughts and feelings as she connects the environment to her subjects. Her work offers us a unique window into her life and India through her creative lens.
“Seeing the Indian streets amazes you with the chaos and drama happening around you. I tend to click everywhere whenever I see the magical moments. But Old Delhi is one of the best places where magic occurs every second of every day.”
IN CONVERSATION WITH POOJA YADAV
THE PICTORIAL LIST: Pooja please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in photography?
POOJA YADAV: I was born in a village of Haryana in Rewari district, soon after my birth my family got the opportunity to live in Kashmir as my father is in B.S.F and after that we got to live in many other states as well. We again moved to Rewari in 2017. I graduated from Delhi University in 2020 and was admitted in to IIT Bombay for my masters programme in Biotechnology. Due to what is happening right now, I’m at my home in Rewari and very eager to go back to IIT Bombay campus.
During my graduation I started to observe my surroundings a lot then captured them and started posting on my Instagram handle and my pictures were loved by my friends and they motivated me to continue this.
TPL: Where do you find your inspiration to photograph?
PY: I find my inspiration from the chaos going on the street. Those unnoticed moments.
TPL: What is it that you enjoy about street photography. What happens when you walk the streets with your camera? Explain your technique?
PY: I love to roam and wander and street photography gives me the opportunity to roam around a lot. And I am basically a phone photographer so I always keep my phone camera on. I don’t use any specific techniques I just find the specific moments that are needed to be captured. So far I have not experienced any negative encounter.
TPL: You use your mobile phone to photograph with. Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography?
PY: I won’t deny this that there are some limitations with a mobile when photographing but it never has stopped or hindered my vision in photography. In fact, it gives me a different perspective to see my street. And I agree on this completely that this is more important. Explore and practice with whatever resource you have.
TPL: When you go out photographing, do you have a concept in mind of what you want to shoot, or do you let the images 'come to you', or is it both?
PY: Sometimes when I go to specific location like Yamuna, I keep some concept in mind. Otherwise mostly when I walk, I see my surroundings then a picture pops up in my mind, then I click that picture. And sometimes I tend to miss a moment and couldn’t capture it, but I always keep that picture I imagined in my mind.
TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years?
PY: My goals are simple...to explore more and more and share that the magic happens in every second of every day that I am out on the street. And in five years I would like to see myself as budding scientist with lots and lots of travelling experience.
TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)…
PY: I like to eat good food and watch Netflix and yes can’t skip my studies.
Pooja Yadav's work is a testament to the power of art and the beauty of everyday life. Through her photographs, she is able to capture the beauty and vitality of her hometown in India, allowing us to appreciate the lives of everyday people. Her unique perspective and creative use of her mobile phone camera offer a special insight into her own thoughts and feelings.
