World Renowned Photographer to grace India's Largest Photography Festival to be held in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, September 14, 2017: Photo Journalist and National Geographicphotographer Reza Deghati; Photographer from Magnum Photos, an international photographic cooperative Stuart Franklin, War documentary photographer, covering social issues in conflict areas, Andrea Bruce are among the several other international photographers to participate in the India's Largest Photography Festival to be held in the city from 21st September to 8th October disclosed Aquin Mathews, Festival Director in a press note issued in the city today.

The Indian Photography Festival (IPF) - Hyderabad, is a Not-For-Profit initiative of Light Craft Foundation, is an international photography festival, showcasing a wide range of photography from India and around the globe with a series of events, including talks and discussions, portfolio reviews, book launches, screenings, workshops etc. The IPF creates a platform for the professional and aspiring photographers, the photography lovers and the public where the festival promotes the art of photography at the same time address the social issues through the medium of photography. The IPF 2017 will take place at the State Gallery of Art - Hyderabad, from 21st Sept - 8th Oct.

The festival which is in its third year is organised in association with Government of Telangana and Telangana Tourism informed Aquin Mathews, Festival Director of the festival.

"Photography is one of the most followed visual art form around the world and the city is happy to host the festival for the third time. It’s a pride for the city of Hyderabad as a festival in this sheer size is happening here and world famous photographers are coming to the city; Telangana Tourism is delighted to encourage such festivals" says B.Venkatesham - IAS, Secretary to Government of Telangana Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture Department.

It will be kicked off formally at State Art Gallery on 21st September at 5 pm with a keynote address by Reza Deghati from National Geographic.

The same day Stuart Franklin from Magnum Photos will be starting his 2-day workshop/ Master Class for emerging photographers.

The festival features other distinguished photographers who include Kate Geraghty, Photo Journalist from Sydney Morning Herald, Australia; Helena Schatzle, Documentary Photographer from Germany; Cecilia Paredes, a Fine Art Photographer from Peru; NatanDvir from Israel; Q Sakamaki, Documentary Photographer and Co-Founder #everydayjapan&Hikari Creative from Japan.

Photo Editor of PTI, Gurinder Oscan; Photojournalist Sudharak Olwe, Visual Artist Manoj Jadhav, Prashant Godbole all from India will also take part in the festival and conduct workshops.

The festival comprises of exhibitions, Artist Talks, Screenings, Workshops, Portfolio Reviews and Photo Walks.

The objective of Festival, according to Aquin Mathews, is to create a platform to appreciate, debate and question the medium of photography by bringing international and local talent on one single platform, help them learn from each other. “Photography is a universal language”, says Aquin who is a self-taught photographer. It has been a great educator all these years and as through photography we can understand what a war or Tsunami without being into the actual situation. It has the power to move. It brings history live to the future generations. It has power to change society, he added.

Photography is democratised with the advent of digital technology and mobile phone cameras. We live in a time where the record number of images are captured ever in the history of photography and the avisual clutter is visible everywhere. People don’t know what is a good image or a bad image. A festival like this will helps every photographer and photo enthusiast to see what good photography is, as we bring the best of Indian and international. Photography to Hyderabad every September. We need to find new ways of taking photography. This festival offers a platform informs Aquin.

There is a lack of exposure for photographers in India. Through this festival we would like to bridge the gap says Aquin.

The festival will feature photographers from 40 countries. 525 photographers showcase their work. Last year 300 photographers from 30 countries showcased their works. The festival offers a great networking opportunity for the local photographers. They will get more exposure. They can learn from each other.

The main venue of the festival will be the State Art Gallery, Madhapur and other venues the Gallery café, Srishti Art Gallery, Inorbit Mall, Goethe Zentrum, IIT Hyderabad, SaamanyaShastram, Shilparamam, Chowmahalla Palace, Lamkaan and Deja Brew Art Cafe.

The entry to the festival is free except Workshops. The festival is an annual feature.

It is a good fortune that Hyderabadi photographers get to meet Reza Deghati and have an opportunity to attend his talk, said Aquin Mathews. Several films about Reza's work have been produced by National Geographic Television., Reza served as Creative Director for National Geographic's most viewed documentary, Inside Mecca. Reza is known for his extensive humanitarian work.

Reza’s award-winning images are iconic. This 65years old French and Iranian national from Paris has covered much of the globe for National Geographic Magazine.

Reza Deghati, is one of the best-known photojournalists in the world. He has been traveling the world for 30 years, crisscrossing more than 100 countries, photographing conflicts, revolutions and human catastrophes.

Through photography, Reza has found a way to tell stories without the use of words. He empowered the less fortunate to tell their own stories to the world so that the international audience gets a more accurate picture of the world they’re living in.He uses photography as a tool to educate, telling stories of the victims of conflict to international audiences in the eyes of the victims themselves. He is a promoter of citizen journalism

His photographs have been distributed through international media such as Time, Stern, Newsweek, El Pais, Paris-Match, Gio, and in books, exhibitions and documentaries by his own agency, Webistan.

Reza served as a consultant to the United Nations in Afghanistan, helping to distribute food to populations in war-torn parts of the country. He photographed for UNICEF . He has also photographed for Figaro, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times Magazine.
He spends much of his time as lecturer, trainer, and visiting professor, giving presentations and running workshops on global issues. His humanitarian work and photojournalism have been recognized by international institutions and universities, including Stanford, Beijing and George Washington University to name a few and others.

Reza's landmark exhibition in Paris, drew a million visitors.Over the last three decades, many of Reza’s photographs have been on the covers of National Geographic Magazine. He is also the author of seventeen books.He was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, France’s highest civilian honour, for his philanthropic work,

Another distinguished photographerwho will grace the festival is the man behind the Iconic Tiananmen Square Photo, Stuart Franklin.A winner of World Press Photo award for his now famous 1989 photo of a man standing up to a tank in China's Tiananmen Square, he served Magnum Photos as its president. Magnum Photos is probably the most famous photo agency in the world. Many may not have heard it name, but we are familiar with its images. Magnum's members are selected by the other photographers on the agency, so becoming a member is a pretty gruelling process.

Through documentary photography, Andrea Bruce brings attention to people living in the aftermath of war. She is a co-owner and member of the photo agency NOOR Photo Agency. For eight years she chronicled the world's most troubled areas as a staff photographer for The Washington Post. She focused on Iraq. Now she lives in Afghanistan.

The IPF' PORTRAIT PRIZE 2017 is a new addition to this year’s festival.The IPF' PORTRAIT PRIZE 2017 is a portrait competition organised in association with Creative Image Magazine.

It is open to the photographers from the Indian subcontinent. Photographers have been making portraits for centuries and what's so interesting about portraiture is its ability to capture the essence of a person, a time-period, or a culture. This award aims at discovering the compelling portraits and extra-ordinary talents.

Raghu Rai, Editorial Director - Creative Image Magazine is the Judge. Raghu Rai is a legendary Indian photographer and was the first Indian to be inducted in the Magnum Photo Agency.

Twenty photographers have made it to the final. These include: Santosh Korthiwada | Akib Abdullah | Kushal Gangopadhyay | Indranil Aditya | Paridhi Jain | Nilargha Chatterjee | Srishti Bhardwaj | Sudarshan PB | Pratip Acharya | Sirige Srikanth | TarunChouhan | Anuja Dasgupta | Vaydehi Khandelwal | Saptarshi Choudhury | Himanshu Thakur | Sandip Bose | Rajesh Kumar Singh | Ranjeet Tayi | Anupam Roy Chowdhury | DebadyutiSaha.

The winners will be announced during the opening of the Indian Photography Festival on September 21st at 6pm.

The winners will walk away with Cash Prize :- First Prize - INR. 50,000 | Second Prize - INR. 25,000 | Third Prize - INR. 10,000. They will also get accessories which include: 1st Prize - Manfrotto Tripod worth INR. 21,593 | 2nd Prize - Manfrotto Active Bag pack worth INR. 10,318 | 3rd Prize - Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod worth INR. 1,600. (Prizes provided by our accessories partner - Manfrotto& Srishti Digilife). Their works will be exhibited at the festival. They will also be entitled to exhibit their works in overseas festival. The winning images will be published in Creative Image Magazine.