The Oasis English Press sat down with Dhruv Ravi Krishnan and Shyam Raghavan, the Joint Coordinators of the Department of Photography, to learn more about their work in the upcoming fest. 

Shyam mentioned that the department was responsible for taking informal photos, and Dhruv added that the clubs had invited them to capture events or for informal snaps held in Sky Lawns. He said that most of their fest work was concentrated around events like Prom Night and Street Dance. Additionally, they photographed the crowd at food stalls, concerts and other events.

Shyam elaborated on the work sessions that took place before the fest where they familiarised their juniors with taking photographs and subsequent tasks with them. He mentioned that there was a lot of work involved with noting down the ID numbers of the photographed people, matching the photos with the people and then distributing them. Dhruv added that they generally started preparing three to four days before the fest and most of the current batch already had some experience owing to the work done during BOSM.

Shyam shared that the biggest problem they faced was that one of their cameras was damaged during BOSM. He explained that batch snaps generated around Rs 1.5 lakhs but that depended on how many operational cameras they had. Hence, the loss of even one camera created a lot of problems. Dhruv added that they had to borrow cameras from other clubs. Shyam said that the Students’ Union had promised them another camera but due to budget constraints, they had not been able to deliver.

When asked if their departmental responsibilities had prevented them from fully enjoying the fest, Shyam explained that apart from specific tasks like taking photos, they had plenty of downtime. Dhruv added that their work had been organised in shifts, with most of their revenue coming from the photos. Reflecting on their experience as Coordinators, Shyam shared that it had been great — ‘stressful at times, but enjoyable overall’.

On a parting note, Dhruv encouraged everyone to take as many snaps as possible and added that they are a great memento to look back upon.