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This month, the spotlight is on Avantika Meattle. In this interview, she talks about her seven year long stint in Bollywood, her travels across the world, and her return to Delhi as a wedding photographer. Pixpa finds out more about her love and passion for creating meaningful memories.

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Pixpa: You have captured moments of what seem to be the two greatest Indian loves – weddings and movies. Tell us about your experience as a spectator/participant in these two spectacular slices of Indian life.

Avantika: We, Indians, love our weddings, and we love our movies. Indian weddings and movies embody the splendour, and the richness of our society, not to mention the grand culture, heritage, traditions, attire, dreams, and aspirations of the people. Indeed, weddings are like movies nowadays.

I have been associated with both aspects closely. To me, the level of involvement and the emotional connect weddings and movies have with society is simply extra-ordinary, and unique.

In a wedding, the entire family is together – friends, colleagues, relatives celebrate. This is the day that the couple, the bride especially, has dreamt of, for so long. There is a plethora of things going through her mind – excitement, anticipation, nervousness, anxiety, happiness – it is a cocktail of emotions. As a photographer (and someone who has been in that place), I can connect very well with these emotions. I love capturing these nuances on camera, in fact, these are the pictures bring back fond memories every time you look at them.

The same applies for movies where we celebrate the Indian dreams and aspirations. It is very fulfilling to be able to get that one shot which will connect with the common Indian.

Pixpa: What part of your job excites you the most?

Avantika: I love capturing moments. In this profession, the highest accolade is when the person you have photographed feels that your picture has conveyed everything he/she was going through in that moment. It could be an actor or a bride. My real excitement comes from the knowledge that these pictures will remain long after everything is over, and they will invoke all those wonderful memories.

For instance, my pictures of Priyanka and John Abraham in Dostana, Aishwarya Rai in Umrao Jaan etc are the pictures are ingrained in the public memory. Till this day, whenever I see brides use the photographs shot by me, I can’t help feeling super excited.

Pixpa: Where do you find your inspiration?

Avantika: Anyone can click a picture – cameras are good and technical details are easy to learn. However, establishing an emotional connection and timing the picture with the right framing, lighting, etc are the finer details that make it more enjoyable.

My inspiration is the emotional connection. I search for that unique emotion which captures the essence of the event. My camera is the tool – but the entire focus is to bring out and capture the emotion.

Pixpa: From Italy to Udaipur, marriage seems to have taken you around the world. Which, in your opinion, is the most special moment of a wedding? Tell us about some such moments that you have captured on film

Avantika: In my opinion, the best moment is when the bride is getting ready for the wedding. At this juncture, brides, across nations and cultures, are overwhelmed with emotions. The rest of the ceremonies and rituals allow you to capture vibrant and colourful shots, but nothing comes close to the beautiful image of a bride getting ready for the wedding. Also, I feel it really helps that I can connect with the bride on a very personal level, calm her, and capture the excitement and anticipation.

Pixpa: How would you describe your experience of working with children? Are they challenging subjects?

Avantika: Babies are very challenging, but they are great to work with. The challenge is obvious – they have their moods and they will not comply with any request if they don’t want to. So, one has to be very patient and play with the baby till she/he is active enough to click.

However, the best part about babies is that they don’t know what is going on, so they don’t freeze like adults do. Their expressions are natural and real, it’s a pleasure to go crazy taking pictures of a happy baby.

Pixpa: What would be your dream project?

Avantika: My dream project is to do a wedding or couple shoot in a place like Alaska, Antarctica or even deep sea diving!! I just love these spaces! Frankly, would love to work in settings where the nature provides the perfect backdrop – snow capped mountains, beautiful beaches, perhaps, in the middle of nowhere.

Pixpa: What kind of equipment do you use?

Avantika: I have been using Canon set up from the last 4 years. I am currently using a Canon 5d Mk III body. I keep on building my equipment with all kind of lenses, lights, flashes, slaves. The list is endless.

Pixpa: One thing you’d advise fellow photographers to avoid.

Avantika: I can only tell what I try and avoid – try not to push any agenda. You may have a great concept or a pose in mind, but if your client is not naturally comfortable in that, you should try something else. Essentially, your concept needs to align with the client, and not the other way.

Also, sometimes the best pictures can be shot with the simplest of cameras. Know your art well. Read a lot. Practise even more.

Pixpa: Any advice you would like to give to the Pixpa community.

Avantika: We should always keep trying to learn. There is so much to learn, and a picture can, indeed, say a thousand words. Every photograph has the potential to teach something – sometimes, it may be a great new insight or sometimes it would be just to learn what not to do. Be a student always, and keep trying to sharpen your skills.

The goal is to let your picture convey the entire story without words.

Pixpa: Tell us about your experience of building your website on Pixpa.

Avantika: It was super easy! I am really happy that I could design it according to my taste and get it going so soon. The customer service of Pixpa is also fantastic. They are very helpful people. I am really happy to have built a complete website in the most convenient manner possible.

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Meet Matthew Pendergast, producer, director, and above all, a man with a deep love for exploration. In this exclusive interview, the San Francisco-based Matthew Pendergast tells us more about his experiences with the camera, the world and himself.

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Pixpa: You have done spectacular work on a range of subjects, quite complex and diverse in their character. What motivated you to take this creative journey?

Matthew: I’ve been traveling ever since I was a little kid, so for a long time I’ve been inspired by places, people, and cultures. While writing for Reuters in Beijing, I told stories from a journalistic perspective. However, I had the chance to work with video and learnt more about visual storytelling. In college, I began to develop an interest in Asia’s development, and spent a lot of time there, traveling and working, especially in China. So, it has been very inspiring to chronicle the issues that these communities face, as the region’s economy skyrockets. And to this end, it has just been a process of expanding my visual repertoire over the years in the interest of telling a more compelling, succinct and dynamic story always.

Pixpa: How long have you been working as a producer and director?

Matthew: Five years.

Pixpa: From Bangladesh to Cambodia, Sri Lanka to Mongolia, you have travelled extensively. In your opinion, which has been the most rewarding experience of your journey and why?

Matthew: I’ve had some incredible experiences on the road, from rescuing a dying horse in a Mongolian blizzard to profiling river gypsies in Bangladesh who rarely ever stray from their boats.

While I’ve been able to capture some great images, I think that the most rewarding part was to meet the people who are fighting to give their communities and their neighbors a better life. These are the people who have let go of the opportunities in bigger cities or on foreign shores. They have chosen to stay behind to help kids in their community have an education, or make sure their environment isn’t destroyed by unchecked industry. Working with these people and finding out what inspires them to put aside more immediate aspirations for something bigger than themselves – that’s definitely been the most rewarding part of the journey.

Pixpa: What type of films do you enjoy creating?

Matthew: I’d say, films that focus on a person’s story, and are driven by a powerful narrative, and give you freedom to experiment with new styles and shots.

Pixpa: What, in your opinion, sets you apart from the rest of the film-makers/photographers?

Matthew: I came to filmmaking in such a roundabout way that I bring a whole range of other experiences to the process. Working as a journalist, for instance, helped me learn how to focus on a story and be able to leave out the extraneous bits. Having spent nearly half my life abroad, I’ve become really attuned to the details of how people live, the finer nuances of culture etc. All this and more is what makes me different, but I think, above all, it is the fact that I’ve loved the way that I can use film/video to tell those stories.

Pixpa: What kind of equipment do you use?

Matthew: Canon DSLRs, primarily.

Pixpa: As a creative person, what are the challenges that you have faced? Tell us how you overcame them.

Matthew: Honestly, when I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. Someone put a camera in my hands and told me to come back with something. It was trial by fire, but I firmly believe that’s the best way to learn. I discovered an incredible wealth of knowledge out there, especially on the Internet – I learnt so much by just reading how others have grappled with the same issues. I taught myself how to shoot, light, edit, create motion graphics, and all of this with the help of a great online community willing to share their valuable knowledge.

Pixpa: What, according to you, will be an ideal project?

Matthew: Most of the projects I work on are under 10-minutes runtime. I would love the opportunity to spend a longer amount of time really digging into a story, its place and people, and to have the funding and time to create something feature-length that tells an important story.

Pixpa: What part of your job excites you the most?

Matthew: Traveling to a new place with a camera in hand!

Pixpa: You have many feathers in your cap. A journalist, film-maker, photographer, graphic designer- which one defines you best?

Matthew: As I mentioned above, I think we are an amalgamation of the things that we have done. Each experience adds to the process of being a creative professional, and I try to keep those lessons handy when I’m working. Sometimes, the most seemingly random experience can turn into the inspiration or answer you’re looking for.

Pixpa:How many projects do you do each year?

Matthew: On an average, I do about 8-10 projects each year.

Pixpa: Any advice you would like to give to the Pixpa community.

Matthew: Take some time to share your experiences! There’s a lot of noise on the Internet, for sure, but it can always use another voice, especially someone who can share valuable experiences. I’m sure that almost every person, who is reading this, has been online, at some point or the other, searching for tips to make their work better. Contribute to the community with your own knowledge!

Pixpa: Tell us about your experience on building your website with Pixpa.

Matthew: Well, I liked the templates and it seemed like a nice “plug-and-play” option for someone who didn’t want to deal with code. I had to deal with a bit of jargon and had to delete some of the pre-loaded content. However, once I got the hang of how the dashboard worked, it was fairly smooth and didn’t take too long to get my website up and running.