Seeing beauty in the mundane

Ravindra with some of his awards

By Shannine Daniel

Capturing a moment in time photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man and a successful photographer is someone who can create this dialogue. 

During the past six years Ravindra Ranasinghe has quietly shot to international fame doing just that. During the past year he put his work at international level attaining numerous accolades, receiving the title of Associate -Federation International de L’ Art Photographique from the world body of photography last year. In a nutshell he has competed in 24 different countries, has had 227 acceptances and 88 images selected in a variety of competitions.   

As the Weekend FT caught up with him, the acclaimed clicker regaled us with his story and revealed more about his passion for photography. 

How it all began

Ravindra Ranasinghe’s photographic endeavor began after unexpectedly winning an award for his photograph ‘Home Through the Mist Behind Them’ which was taken while on a trip to Nuwara Eliya with some friends.  

“Those days I didn’t know anything about photography,” Ravindra admitted but he fell in love with the medium fast and was helped by other photographers.  By chance he met photographer Athula Ranaraja while getting award winning picture developed at Fuji Studio in Colombo 2, and it was he who encouraged Ravindra to submit it to an international competition. 

“I submitted this photograph to the 54th International Photographic Competition organised by the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka (PSSL) at the Lionel Wendt and won a gold medal for the ‘Best Amateur’ entry.” 

This was his first international achievement, and it came with a merit award for the same picture. 

After these two wins Ravindra was encouraged by his wife to continue with photography and thereafter he attended a photography class done by PSSL. Once the 10-day course was completed he began to submit his work to many more international competitions. 

Searching for inspiration

People are the subjects that interest Ravindra the most, because each individual has their own unique story, he says. And when words cannot tell a tale this is where photography takes a lead role. 

He finds street photography in particular captivating, because it gives him a glimpse into diverse lifestyles of different people. He finds art even in the most seemingly-mundane daily activities and sceneries. 

“I want to capture the lives of the people and whatever emotions that are feeling, and at the same time present it in a way which catches the eye of the onlooker. Most of my photos highlight the environment, the situation, and even the moods of the people. My gold medal winning image ‘Tea For Me’ was taken at a small tea pluckers’ village in Ella. I visited one of the houses and had a small chat with the residents. Afterwards the old lady started doing some cooking, and the two kids were around her. I just felt that I had to capture that moment,” he acknowledged with a smile.

The weekends are usually filled with adventure for Ravindra. He takes his camera, and along with a few other contemporary photographers like Mahinda Jevananda and Panduka De Silva, visits some of the busiest spots in order to capture the perfect photograph.

“We usually get together on a Sunday morning and visit Pettah market or Negombo market. In a small amount of time we can capture several interesting images.  

Nature photography has grabbed Ravindra’s interest but due to his work commitments he finds it difficult to dedicate the time necessary to capturing the perfect shot. 

“For nature photography you must have the necessary equipment but more importantly time, because you need to go to places like Yala or Wilpattu and spend a few days there. Because of my office work and my current situation, I am happy with street photography and art photography because they are not very time consuming. Right now I don’t think that I can dedicate my time for nature photography. Maybe once I retire,” he added with a laugh. 

Achievements 

Since 2009 Ravindra has continued to win awards for his work. Internationally he has captured a FIAP Gold Medal, two FIAP Silver Medals, six FIAP Honorable Mention Ribbons, three Photography Society of America (PSA) Bronze Medals, two PSA Honorable Mention Ribbons, 2 Salon Gold Medals, 1 Diploma from Jury (Belgium) and 1 SDF Honourable Mention Ribbon (Sweden). 

On a national level he has received the D.C.L. Amarasinghe Memorial Challenge Trophy for the Best of show Local, the Dr. S.R. Kottegoda Trophy for Best member monochrome and the Kalabushana L. E. Samararatne Challenge Trophy for the best Portrait in the years 2011 and 2013 at the national photographic exhibition organised by PSSL.

In 2013 he also received the B. P. Weerawardena Challenge Trophy the Best Member colour for his image ‘Caught In Between’ at this exhibition. Added to that he was also the UGA Challenge Winner 2014 at a competition that was conducted by UGA Hotels. 

“2015 was a remarkable year; it was my most successful,” admitted Ravindra.  “I received an AFIAP title and won my first FIAP Gold medal, as well as two FIAP Silvers and a number of other Gold and Bronze medals.”

Astonishingly he has scored 19 awards last year alone. He is proud of his achievements and this year his one aim and ambition is to double the number of awards that he received in 2015.

Following his exhibition ‘Vision Beyond the Frames’ in June 2015 Ravindra is planning to tackle an invitation from the Embassy of Vietnam to host an exhibition in Vietnam as he won the FIAP Gold medal for his image ‘Tea for me’ in Hanoi, last year. 

“They want me to host an exhibition that consists only of Sri Lankan images in order to promote tourism in our country,” he revealed. Though discussions and negotiations are still taking place, the exhibition is scheduled for this August.

Ravindra is deeply grateful to his wife, his parents and his teacher and mentor Panduka De Silva for their endearing support and encouragement. He is also thankful to the Henry Rajakaruna, Mahinda Jevananda, Athula Ranaraja and Chanarasena Perera for their advice. He is also indebted to PSSL for the knowledge and tremendous support and encouragement received from them.