Omar Bazaz, Independent Photographer
For 34-year-old Omar Bazaz of Peer Bagh, photography is life and life is photography. In 2006, when Omar graduated from Texas in the US, laying a strong foundation with an aviation sector background, he couldn’t imagine that one day he would be taking up photography and filmmaking as a fulltime career.
Omar did his schooling from Tyndale Biscoe School and says whatever he has achieved in life so far is because of the grooming received during his school days. “I was just an 8-year-old, when during a skiing course at Gulmarg, I found a connection with nature. Look at destiny now, how nature has become the nerve centre of my photography” says Omar.
Omar has worked closely with some of the leading photographers of India such as Jassi Oberoi, Sandeep Mathur and Madhur. “I am a self-taught photographer and an audio-visual enthusiast. I started with digital art drawing huge inspiration from some of the leading photographers of global repute and their works” says Omar.
At a time when Covid left an adverse impact on day today life, Omar found an opportunity in the challenging situation posed by the pandemic. This foodie conducted virtual photo tours from Kashmir which was a runway success . “During Covid when tourism was at the lowest ebb, I with help of my photography brought the beauty and bounty of Kashmir on the virtual platform. With help of these photo tours, I made an effort to provide a boost to Kashmir tourism” says Omar. Omar describes himself as a “non political photographer” and praises Kashmir for being a heaven for photographers in the true sense. “ You name it and Kashmir has it. From scenery to daily life and portraits, this place offers every aspect a shutterbug loves” says Omar. Omar recollects how recently he left his residence at 11 pm and got back at 3 am next morning, only to shoot the milky way during the darkest night of the year that was experienced recently. “In Kashmir we have the luxury of travelling extensively and getting to capture so many different and varying aspects” says Omar. This photography and digital art enthusiast is also keen on doing photo essays. “I have been doing photo essays for leading online portals. I recently did a photo essay for an international portal on the subject of decline in Kashmir’s carpet industry” says Omar.
Married for the last 5 years, Omar is a caring father who is equally a hardworking person. He has made a commercial ad video for an international cafe which was commissioned to him by a leading advertising agency. “This agency is ranked number 3 in the Forbes Gulf list and I felt quite honoured to undertake this project” says Omar. He has also directed a commercial ad for Lumix, a camera brand. However, Omar says he is keener to focus on art and culture photography. “I do a unique sort of photography called minimalistic photography. The aim in this genre of photography is to show the grandeur of nature against the existence of humans” says Omar.
Ask Omar how successful he thinks he is and pat comes the tongue-in-cheek reply: “We are getting into an age where art is really becoming valuable. The commercial viability of any art form has increased. Artists are no longer dependent on what we used to call charity money” says Omar. This fitness freak also credits social media for helping all kinds of art forms and photography evolve. Omar signs off saying that he is hoping to expand the horizon of his work and wants to help in providing an impetus to Kashmir while also improving on the creative quotient.
Waseem Mehraj, Portrait Artist:
Six years ago young artist Waseem Mehraj from Ram Bagh, Srinagar, started getting seriously inclined towards making portraits. Even as Waseem was passionate about art right from childhood, it was only six years back that he started this art with a serious intention.
Waseem, who calls himself a ‘vision boy’ did his higher secondary education from Government Higher Secondary school Batamaloo. He likes to draw portraits and keep the issue of mental health as the main focus point in his artwork. “Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are at the heart of my work. With the help of my portraits, I like to express these issues and offer solutions to these problems in a thematic manner” says Waseem. Two years back, Waseem started working on an art series called ‘My rainbows are grey’. “The highlight of this series is anxiety, love and teenage. I have tried to touch upon issues that most of the teenagers confront. I feel teenage is the phase when a thought process begins in a person and a foundation is laid for further life” says Waseem.
Waseem recollects how he started doing art work. He says it was during his school days, when he was in 10th standard and had fallen seriously ill that he began doing art work in an ICU of a hospital. “I will never forget those days when I was infected with pneumonia. The artwork I did in the hospital is a prized possession” says Waseem.
“I like to convey positive messages with the help of my art work and always feel happy if a message conveyed by my work influences someone’s life” says Waseem.
He says social media has had a cascading impact on art work adding that his social media handles have started getting a sizable following from netizens and art lovers now. “I am very straightforward and frank both in my attitude and in my art work. I clearly tell people on social media to either post positive feedback or else keep your negative comments reserved to yourself,” says Waseem. Waseem who himself was feeling low and less enthusiastic in life for a long time says found solace in art which helped him to cheer up and channelize his creativity. Going a step ahead, Waseem wants to showcase his artwork on an international level. “I want to continue touching the themes of mental health in my artwork and want to help people come out of the traumatising experiences they have been facing,” says Waseem.