Robi(Anirudha) Chakraborty
Photographer / Based in St Paul, Minnesota
I was inspired to choose photography growing up around a family friend who took photos on many of our trips together while living in Kenya. As a young adult, I studied photography under O.P. Sharma at Triveni Kala Sangam...
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About
I was inspired to choose photography growing up around a family friend who took photos on many of our trips together while living in Kenya.
As a young adult, I studied photography under O.P. Sharma at Triveni Kala Sangam Photography in New Delhi, India. I then worked in commercial and press photography in New Delhi. A highlight was working with Blossom Kochhar and photographing her models in New Delhi before I moved to the US in 1985.
Having lived for many years in the US, Nepal and Africa and being Indian-American, I feel my citizenship is one that is more global and anthropologic. I feel I can often bring a foreign lens or a new perspective to what may be familiar to me culturally.
I returned to India after 13 years of being out-of-country in 1998. It was as if I was looking at a previous life experience. India and Nepal fascinate and pull me artistically: I feel like I am looking both from the outside in and the inside out. I discover something new every time I visit my country of origin as each state in India is vastly different in terms of language and customs.
India is rapidly changing. The big cities are looking more and more like the West with new townships, highway flyovers and new airports. I focus on the India that is less affected by these changes, the villages that are ancient and timeless in their beauty. I also photograph parts of culture which are becoming extinct such as the elder women of the Apatani Tribe in Arunachal Pradesh who are the last generation to have facial tattoos. I have also spent time recently photographing the way of life of the Konyak people in Nagaland, India.
My photography, thus, has focused on the people and landscapes of India, Nepal and the United States. I enjoy the whole experiential process of photography which includes getting to know my subjects and spending time with them. I shoot with both a full-frame digital camera and medium-format film camera.
Awards-I received Photographer of the Year Award by International Color Awards 6th Annual Master Cup for my photo, Off the Ground, and several other awards from them. I received first place from ipa (in'tl photography awards) in the category of wedding under the people category also in 2013.
I appeared in Photographer's FORUM Magazine, taking fourth place for Best of Photography in 2014 (November issue) and received a Bronze Award for a photo of villagers playing Holi in Color Magazine (May 2011 issue). I have been in many juried exhibitions in the United States including the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins; Rayko in San Francisco; Mpls Center for Photography; Alliance Francaise--Paris and Minneapolis; Museum of Contemporary Art, DC; and, Photo Place Gallery, Vermont. My photos accompanied articles in the Washington Post and Global Post.
I am currently creating a book on the people and landscapes of India which captures many of these award-winning photos.
Representative commercial assignments include photos for marketing campaigns for Hines Global REIT, Inc, Elite Fragrances, Princess Jewelry, India House, Arlington Dance Theatre, National Cathedral--DC, Pangea World Theatre, Blossom Kochhar Health and Beauty, Alfred Allan Advertising, Indian Army, Asian Games 1982, and Delhi Press to name a few.
As a young adult, I studied photography under O.P. Sharma at Triveni Kala Sangam Photography in New Delhi, India. I then worked in commercial and press photography in New Delhi. A highlight was working with Blossom Kochhar and photographing her models in New Delhi before I moved to the US in 1985.
Having lived for many years in the US, Nepal and Africa and being Indian-American, I feel my citizenship is one that is more global and anthropologic. I feel I can often bring a foreign lens or a new perspective to what may be familiar to me culturally.
I returned to India after 13 years of being out-of-country in 1998. It was as if I was looking at a previous life experience. India and Nepal fascinate and pull me artistically: I feel like I am looking both from the outside in and the inside out. I discover something new every time I visit my country of origin as each state in India is vastly different in terms of language and customs.
India is rapidly changing. The big cities are looking more and more like the West with new townships, highway flyovers and new airports. I focus on the India that is less affected by these changes, the villages that are ancient and timeless in their beauty. I also photograph parts of culture which are becoming extinct such as the elder women of the Apatani Tribe in Arunachal Pradesh who are the last generation to have facial tattoos. I have also spent time recently photographing the way of life of the Konyak people in Nagaland, India.
My photography, thus, has focused on the people and landscapes of India, Nepal and the United States. I enjoy the whole experiential process of photography which includes getting to know my subjects and spending time with them. I shoot with both a full-frame digital camera and medium-format film camera.
Awards-I received Photographer of the Year Award by International Color Awards 6th Annual Master Cup for my photo, Off the Ground, and several other awards from them. I received first place from ipa (in'tl photography awards) in the category of wedding under the people category also in 2013.
I appeared in Photographer's FORUM Magazine, taking fourth place for Best of Photography in 2014 (November issue) and received a Bronze Award for a photo of villagers playing Holi in Color Magazine (May 2011 issue). I have been in many juried exhibitions in the United States including the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins; Rayko in San Francisco; Mpls Center for Photography; Alliance Francaise--Paris and Minneapolis; Museum of Contemporary Art, DC; and, Photo Place Gallery, Vermont. My photos accompanied articles in the Washington Post and Global Post.
I am currently creating a book on the people and landscapes of India which captures many of these award-winning photos.
Representative commercial assignments include photos for marketing campaigns for Hines Global REIT, Inc, Elite Fragrances, Princess Jewelry, India House, Arlington Dance Theatre, National Cathedral--DC, Pangea World Theatre, Blossom Kochhar Health and Beauty, Alfred Allan Advertising, Indian Army, Asian Games 1982, and Delhi Press to name a few.