A photo essay on barks
by Sudeep Sen
Over the last decade, I have been obsessively photographing tree ‘bark’ in different parts of the world. I have seen their character change with climate, terrain, latitude, longitude — the type of light available, or the kind of lens or camera I have used. I have shot them in the sweaty tropical climes of rural India; in polluted cityscapes; in the sparse, well-lit, clean, cold air of Scandinavia; in the Balkans; in South America, Caribbean and elsewhere. The cameras I’ve used range from a professional full-frame ‘Canon 6D’ to an user-friendly ‘iPhone 5’.
Editing in writing for me is a crucial part of a writer’s creative process and final output — and I believe that the same rules apply in fine-art photography. I use a basic editing programme on my MacBookPro to arrive at the final version. However, editing in photography is not to be confused with image alteration or morphing. The features I use in the editing suite largely include subtle calibration and play with contrast, saturation, exposure and cropping — crucial aspects that serve to highlight nuances that may go unnoticed to an ordinary eye.
Almost all the bark photos are cropped to regular rectangular or square frames, so that when they are displayed in large format on exhibition walls — there is a consistency in size and visual scope for the viewer. Depending on the effect I want for the final art-print, I use both colour and black-and-white options.
The photographs presented in this diptych portfolio were all taken in the village of Maihar in Madhya Pradesh this summer. The first set of four, ‘Diptych One’ is barks of trees that are part of the compound at the magnificent Art Ichol complex. The second quartet, ‘Diptych Two’ — dominated by the reds, oranges, yellows and browns — was shot on an overcast wet day at Sharada Maa’s Temple, that sits on top of the highest hill in the area. These two photosets are only a fractional part of my on-going ‘bark’ series — one I continue with what feels like childlike verve, utter fascination and deep interest.
Sudeep Sen is widely recognised as a major new generation voice in world literature. Sen’s prize-winning books include: Postmarked India: New & Selected Poems, Distracted Geographies, Rain, Aria, Ladakh, The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry, and Fractals: New & Selected Poems|Translations 1980–2015. A new book, Blue Nude: New Selected Poems is forthcoming. His poems, translated into twenty-five languages, have featured in major international anthologies; and his words have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek, Guardian, Observer, Independent, Telegraph, Herald, Harvard Review among others.
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