Jolchap photography: Encapsulating your precious wedding moments
Dr Nipun Hazra has always held a passion towards photography. As a child, Hazra saw his father pick up the camera on several special occasions, and this power of capturing fleeting moments absolutely fascinated him. Over the years he picked up this hobby as his own, eventually specialising in wedding photography and creating Jolchap in 2017.
Dr Hazra explains rather beautifully how weddings are like imprints in our lives. Camera lenses freeze the priceless moments and we often come back to these photographs days, months or years later. The name Jolchap came from the desire to infuse the feel of a Bengali wedding with creating memories of a lifetime.
Blending the aspects of a documentary with the emotions of a wedding is certainly not an easy task. So, why did Dr Nipun Hazra take up this challenge in addition to his medical profession? In conversation with us, he explained how it was in fact his profession that inspired him to specialise on weddings in the first place.
"I think happiness attracts me," he said with a smile, "When a medicine works and my patients get better, it feels like a blessing. They remember me and also recommend me to their close ones. In my photography also, I wanted something similar. And weddings are indeed the most blessed of events."
When asked about his working style, Hazra stated that other than some mandatory portraits, he prefers not to follow a specific set of guidelines.
"I try my best to avoid monotony in my photos," he said. "Keeping the client-specific details in mind and studying the venue beforehand, it's better to take some on-spot decisions rather than the pre-selected poses."
Over the last five years, the team of Jolchap has had the opportunity to photograph a variety of wedding events including a large portion of clients from their doctors' community. Nipun Hazra's personal favourites among these are the ones where guests seem to enjoy themselves effortlessly. The candid moments of these weddings definitely make the best of albums.
Wedding photography, as interesting as it sounds, does come with its fair share of challenges. We all know the recent trend of daytime or outdoor weddings. According to Hazra, these shoots can be particularly tricky in terms of managing the camera in line with the natural light as well as utilising the venue.
Moreover, shooting at particular spots becomes especially difficult when certain restrictions are posed regarding the use of a DSLR camera.
There are many among us who often dream of pursuing a hobby different from our career path. However, be it the fear of acceptance or the greater need of financial stability, these dreams often take a backseat in our minds until they are forgotten. Dr Hazra admits Bangladesh is not yet at a stage where we can think of following our passion blindly. But that does not mean we just stop doing what makes us happy, he said.
"We must not forget that life is about living, not merely surviving," he stated strongly. "Yes, our work provides us with income and security. It brings food for our stomach. But our dreams and passion are the food for our soul, and order to really live, it is important to keep feeding the soul," remarked Dr Nipun Hazra.
Dr Hazra concluded by asserting that if life gets hard, it does not mean you have to give up on things you love. It only means that you may have to work twice as hard, but the returns will also be equally rewarding.
You can checkout Dr Nipun Hazra's amazing photography at: https://www.facebook.com/jolchap.photography/