Guwahati photographer wins 'Night Sky award' at international event for Meghalaya pic

Bringing laurels to Assam and India in the field of photography, Guwahati-based-photographer Himadri Bhuyan has bagged the top spot in the prestigious “International Landscape Photographer of the Year” award in the category of “The Night Sky Award.”

Bhuyan’s photo was selected from over 3,000 submissions all over the globe. He is also the first Indian to have clinched the spot for a photo that is from India. “The photo is from Sohra, Meghalaya and I have always wanted to capture two different elements in motion in a single snap and hence this image,” said the elated shutterbug.

The annually-hosted International Landscape Photographer of the Year (ILPOTY) is an award show whose sole aim is to provide a stage for photographers around the world to showcase their skills on an international platform. The Award has two main prizes, “The Photograph of the Year” is awarded to the best single landscape photograph, while the “International Landscape Photographer of the Year” requires a set of four amazing images.

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“I was not much into the competition aspect of ILPOTY as my main aim was to gauge my skills in comparison with the famous and well-known photographers out there,” Bhuyan told Team EastMojo. To capture that “award-worthy” shot which is aptly titled “Spinning Time,” the photographer had to go through years of trials and errors. “I took the same image in the same location first in 2017, then in 2018 and finally in 2019 till I was able to get my satisfactory shot. Satisfactory, because I feel that there is a lot which I could have done in the final image,” Bhuyan said.

There are two ways to capture light trails, said the photographer. “You can use the long exposure method where the shutter is kept open for a longer amount of time to allow more light to enter. However, there is a chance of damage to the sensor with this method and hence I opted to stitch multiple images together using the 30-sec interval photo click trick,” he added. Bhuyan uses the Nikon D850 and captured this award-winning photo using the 18-35mm lens, keeping the aperture at F4.

Capturing star-trails is itself a momentous task for any photographer, be it a pro or an amateur one. Couple it with fact that the image had to be shot on a clear starry night in a place such as Meghalaya where the onset of rains increases the water flow, but compromises the clear sky, is nothing less than a herculean task. “We need to keep an eye out for focus and composition in the pitch dark as well,” he added.

“As a kid, I used to love hearing the click of the shutter and the film roll. I believe that it was the first time that I actually fell in love with photography,” said Bhuyan, reminiscing a 1998 memory. However, his urge to take up photography as a passion and a livelihood option came when he first saw black and white magazines that were focused solely on photography during his college years.

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Bhuyan is a professional wedding photographer and is the Northeast Mentor for Nikon. He even tutors aspiring photographers on a personal level. His works were also featured in the 2014 Nat Geo Your Shot Daily Dozen and was also the assignment winner in Nat Geo Your Shot, for the same year.

Upon being asked to share his “clicks of wisdom” for young aspiring photographers he said, “Keep on practicing and always look at others works in comparison to where you stand, this will be the force that keeps you going.”