Ever since I have been into photography, I had this urge to work on little Projects of my own through which I could address the societal evils and spread mass awareness.
I was working on one assignment where I had to document some Classical Dancers performing on the streets of Kolkata when I came across this woman who was a part of the same. We hit it up right away and I learnt about the struggles she had to face in her life and how she managed to overcome them, refusing to give in. On that very moment the idea of BEING A WOMAN was conceived and I decided to bring it to life.
All of us must have heard about the story of Adam and Eve haven’t we. But how many of us actually know what happened ? Just like most of us, I grew up hearing that God created Man /Adam first and in order to give him company on earth, a Woman/Eve was born. It took me 36 years to realise that this concept was wrong. Man, no doubt, was created by God who soon realised that there were some flaws in him. He wanted to rectify them and thus set out to re-create. In the process he eventually landed up creating a woman. So it becomes needless to say that women are the most perfect creation of God right from their first prototype. Apparently it was because of a woman that man/adam had to start working who did nothing when he was all by himself. Hence we know for sure where the proverb ” Behind every successful man, there is a woman” came from. With passing time both man and woman grew wise. Men exceeded in physical strength over a woman and women surpassed the men mentally. Do we even realise why it is a woman who gives birth to a new life and not a man? This Godlike ability to ‘create’ was bestowed upon a woman to establish them as being far superior to all men. But do we actually respect a woman? Even as we celebrate International Women’s Day every year to show them we do, there are countless women being wronged somewhere. The basic idea behind this project was to re-establish the fact that women are to be respected and cherished. Through my body of work I have contemplated to bring out the various moods (shades) of a woman. A futile attempt indeed because not even God himself could understand them completely. We men are truly blessed to have you women co-existing with us and I thank you for being who you are.
The entire project is dedicated to all the Women around the world who have gone through a lot of hardships in their life but have not given up. The images for this project have been shot using the Fuji XT1 combined with the 23mm, 10-24mm and the 50-140mm lenses. I found the 10-24mm to be an extremely versatile lens allowing me to capture the environmental shots in their totality. The 23mm produced amazingly sharp portraits and was complimented well by the 50-140mm. Fuji has been known for their accurate colour reproduction and this can be seen in all of the images. I am really enthralled with the XT1 and its output specially while shooting in harsh outdoor situations. Before signing off I would request all my male audience to think about the message I wanted to convey through this project while all my female audience can have my word that we genuinely respect you for being who you are.
About Ritesh Ghosh
My name is Ritesh Ghosh and I am a Travel and Street Photographer from Kolkata. This would probably not have been my introduction 8 years ago when I was just a regular guy working in a Private Bank. Although I had been creatively inclined since childhood, the 9 to 5 grind left me with almost no time to discover the potential within. I guess everything comes with an expiry date and so did my career as a Banker. Looking at the world around me through the little glass window on my camera I started getting intrigued day by day. Persistence and Patience are the best friends of a photographer. I try and shoot regularly for about 3 hours. By virtue of these qualities one starts looking at the things around them with precision. Juxtaposition is my favourite sub genre in Street Photography. It gives me the opportunity to express myself creatively and engage my audience at the same time. I draw my inspiration from Vineet Vohra who has mastered the art of Juxtaposition. Iam presently working on a couple of personal projects and travelling whenever I have the opportunity.
