Aquin Mathews director of Indian Photography Festival

The Indian Photography Festival (IPF) - Hyderabad, a Not-For-Profit initiative of Light Craft Foundation, is an international photography festival
Aquin Mathews director of Indian Photography Festival

The Indian Photography Festival (IPF) – Hyderabad, a Not-For-Profit initiative of Light Craft Foundation, is an international photography festival, showcasing a wide range of photography from India and around the globe with a series of events, including talks and discussions, portfolio reviews, book launches, screenings, workshops etc.

The IPF creates a platform for the professional and aspiring photographers, the photography lovers and the public where the festival promotes the art of photography at the same time address the social issues through the medium of photography. [Indian Photography Festival]

Can you please introduce yourself for those who don’t know?

Aquin Mathews director of Indian Photography Festival

I am the founder and director of the Indian Photography Festival – Hyderabad. I grew up in India and works between India and Australia.

Could you tell me a little bit about Indian Photo Festival and the team that stands behind it?

Bringing the best of Indian and international photography to Hyderabad every year, the Indian Photography Festival (IPF) – Hyderabad is a Not-For-Profit initiative of Light Craft Foundation in strategic partnership with the ministry of tourism in Telangana. The festival creates a platform for the professional and aspiring photographers, the photography lovers and the public . It promotes the art of photography as well as addresses the social issues through the medium of photography. The festival is a citywide, highly participatory event which takes place in arts and cultural venues, on the streets and in communities.

We have a variety of people who voluntarily joins the team and work tirelessly throughout each phase of the festival. The team comprises of photographers and enthusiasts who desire to give back to the photographic community by supporting the festival.

What motivated you to start a festival of photography?

Photography has become a universal language and it has been pretty much democratised with the advent of digital technology and mobile phones. Currently we live in a world of visual clutter as millions of images are uploaded into the internet and people are confused between what is a good and bad image. So it was important to create a platform where anyone can come and appreciate, debate or question the medium of photography. Also it’s all about inspiring the upcoming crop of photographers and share ideas and network between each other.

What is the secret of making a festival of photography successful?

I believe inclusiveness and fresh ideas are two things which make a festival attractive. After three editions and being a regular program in the Indian cultural calendar, many look forward to the festival and we got to live up to the expectations every year.  A key part of the Indian Photography Festival, the Open Call for Emerging Photographers, is designed to support the young and upcoming photographers, by providing a platform to showcase new talent. Each edition, the Open Call sees the best young photographers showcasing a range of exhibition’s running into diverse subjects and issues. Furthermore we invite established photographers to show their works at the festival to strike a balance. And for art talks, we make sure that we have voices from different genres of photography, from photojournalism to documentary and fine art to landscape. We had some of the finest and acclaimed photographers talking at the festival from Magnum, National Geographic, VII Photo, Noor Images, LA Times, Washington Post and SMH to name a few.

Can you tell us a bit about the process behind program and exhibition curation?

The ‘Open Call’ exhibitions for the Emerging Photographers is selected by a panel of judges from around the world. Also we follow a blind judging process, that the name of the photographers are not revealed to the selection panel to make sure a fair selection process. We also invite artists directly to present their work at the festival; these are works which I have seen in other festivals and galleries around the world. Originality and relevance are the two things which we look at when we select works for exhibitions. For the talks we invite photographers from a diverse area of photography to make sure a dialogue across all subjects and genres of photography.

Looking towards the future, how do you see fairs or festivals of photography in general, and Indian Photo Festival specifically, evolving if at all – in terms of function and meaning?

It’s a great opportunity for anyone who loves and enjoy photography. I see they have a huge potential in inspiring and sharing the ideas to the emerging and established photographers. Also it’s a great opportunity to network with photographers and editors from around the world. So many look forward to a platform like this where they can express their ideas and thoughts freely.

What advice would you like to offer other artists that might help them learn to better promote their work?

Times are changing and one has to invest the same amount of time taken to produce their work, also to promote it. It’s always good to network and share one’s work with editors, magazines and other photographers which can bring more opportunities.

How would you sum up contemporary photography?

Photography has been evolving and I see contemporary photography as a reflection of our time. And I hope it stays in showing the reality which was the sole idea of photography.

Are there any future projects you are excited about and would like to share with us?

Looking forward to a bigger and better IPF 2018.

In closing, is there anything you would like to say about Indian Photo Festival or team?

The Indian Photo Festival has been a great opportunity for the photographers and enthusiasts in this part of the world. As we continue to grow year on year in terms of the visitors and the scale , the Festival will stay true to its primary goal of showing the best of photography. And the festival is a celebratory moment for photography in India.

More Stories

Recanto by Frang Dushaj

Recanto by Frang Dushaj

With the series Recanto Frang Dushaj is paying tribute to a little haven, a little place he calls his own but which he gladly shares with everyone. In mind he can visit it whenever he wants, otherwise he needs a camera and a pair of good shoes. 
Still Life Part II by Stefania Piccioni

Still Life Part II by Stefania Piccioni

Inspired by the Caravaggio's dramatic 'chiaroscuro' style of light and shadow,  was based on "a whole set of techniques that are the basis of photography", I tried to recreate the feel of classic still lifes in my  pictures.
Human Nature by Lucas Foglia

Human Nature by Lucas Foglia

I grew up on a small farm thirty miles outside of New York City. The forest that bordered the farm was my childhood wilderness, a safe and wild place to play that was ignored by our neighbors who commuted to Manhattan.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Distant places; Japan by Claudio Beffa

Distant places; Japan by Claudio Beffa

In the last three years we've discovered many of the wonders of Honshu island, from the natural beauties of Kamikochi and Kumano Kodo, to the artistic treasures of Kyoto, Tottori-ken and Hyogo-ken, not leaving ignored the technology and lifestyle of Tokyo and Osaka.
Saikat Mojumder : Innocence to ‘living in sin’

Saikat Mojumder : Innocence to ‘living in sin’

Siem Reap, Cambodia, is the place, where Angkor wat, the largest temple in the world situated. Mondo Bai is a poor village in this area. Around 800 families are living here under the poverty line.
Mongolia; Modern Nomads by Callie Eh

Mongolia; Modern Nomads by Callie Eh

Mongolia is a landlocked country located between China and Russia. It is a vast emptiness that links land and sky and is one of the last few places on the planet where nomadic life is still a living tradition.
Long exposure : See the Music, Hear the Dance by Edyta Kielian

Long exposure : See the Music, Hear the Dance by Edyta Kielian

The images are captured with longer exposure only, no photo-manipulation. Long exposure helps me create a mysterious and ethereal atmosphere. My dancers are otherworldly ghost-like beings engrossed in their dance and lost in the moment.
Places and people; Once upon a time by HJ Hunter

Places and people; Once upon a time by HJ Hunter

'Once upon a time' shows remarkable places and people I meet by chance in cities like Liège and Charleroi. They live in the harsh reality of high levels of unemployment and social tensions between groups in a multi cultural community.
An alternative perception of beauty; BODY_mass by Rita Bulatova

An alternative perception of beauty; BODY_mass by Rita Bulatova

BODY_mass, the series about bodybuilding, and an alternative perception of beauty, so fittingly came as latter. Unable to travel to pursue my other projects, and having spare time on my hands while being in my hometown
Interview with Riccardo Magherini; published in our print edition #19

Interview with Riccardo Magherini; published in our print edition #19

Riccardo Magherini is a photographer and visual artist. By approaching his medium in innovative ways, Riccardo often challenges human perception, condition and context. 
One Shot by Max Hirshfeld

One Shot by Max Hirshfeld

Propelled by a sense of immediacy, these photos of everyday people in everyday places attempt to reveal what we often fail to see.
The days of salvation by Monidipta Saha

The days of salvation by Monidipta Saha

According to the Hindu religion, the human life is nothing but a cyclic journey of birth and death that is continuing from infinite times. Every living life is actually a smallest divine part of the supreme almighty i.e. “Bramha” or the sole creative power of the universe.
Far North by Irene Tondelli

Far North by Irene Tondelli

“Old, wild, north. Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. More than a decade ago, the mining city of Kiruna made a big decision: to move itself brick by brick 3 km to the east.
Kunduchi Minimalism by Abhijit Bose

Kunduchi Minimalism by Abhijit Bose

It took me to reach Kunduchi around half an hour from Dar es Salaam city. There is a Beach Resort and one needs to pay to enter and sumptuous lunch and dinners are available at the restaurant. But the magic happens much before that.
Today my sister’s getting married by Pietro Sorano

Today my sister’s getting married by Pietro Sorano

My sister's wedding day was one of the best days of my life. Strong emotions, tears of joy. But it was the moment when everything changed. For about thirty years it is as if I had not noticed its growth.
Mannequins by Hans-Martin Dölz

Mannequins by Hans-Martin Dölz

The mannequin, in its modern form, started to appear on the high streets of London, Paris and New York in the 1870s and quickly became an essential part of any window display.
Fine art photographer; Landscapes of Dragos Ioneanu

Fine art photographer; Landscapes of Dragos Ioneanu

As I enjoy a lot spending time in nature, especially around sea or ocean, I continued to travel in the last few years and the two projects I am presenting here are the result of this work.
Odd Stories by Jessica Hines

Odd Stories by Jessica Hines

Artist and storyteller Jessica Hines, uses the camera’s inherent quality as a recording device to explore illusion and to suggest truths that underlie the visible world.
Stories of Russian women; You are mine by Mary Gelman

Stories of Russian women; You are mine by Mary Gelman

«You are mine» is a series of stories of Russian women who endured domestic partner violence.These stories are about power and control of one person over another.

Featured Stories

Bin Uthup ; City-Monochrome

Bin Uthup ; City-Monochrome

Binoy Uthup is a City, Architecture, Interior, Landscape and Wildlife photographer who uses techniques such as Digital Blending, HDR, multiple exposures, vertical panorama, etc., to create unique looking images.
Picasso’s Women by Cristina Vatielli

Picasso’s Women by Cristina Vatielli

The project was conceived to reveal the stories of the women who revolved around Pablo Picasso’s life, by strongly influencing the work of the most acclaimed artist of the XX century.
Curiouser and Curiouser by Vicky Martin

Curiouser and Curiouser by Vicky Martin

Curiouser and Curiouser is a conceptual series of photographs influenced by the story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I was inspired to create this series from personally identifying with the theme of not belonging that features prominently in Alice’s narrative.
Irish Travellers by Joseph-Philippe Bevillard

Irish Travellers by Joseph-Philippe Bevillard

Since 2009, I have been documenting Irish Travellers using a b&w film medium format camera. But an unfortunate incident occurred when I realised I left my bag full of Hasselblad film cameras and lenses on the train from Venice to Rome in May 2018.
Happy Kids by De Westelinck Smith

Happy Kids by De Westelinck Smith

This serie is about well dressed kids who seem to live in an decade some time before ours. Mostly they are emotionless with hint of melancholy, put into a scenery that often feels different.
Portraits of Tertius Alio

Portraits of Tertius Alio

My name is Daniil Kontorovich, also be exhibited under the name of Tertius Alio, which translated from Latin means the observer or grated face.
Edelstein’s world by Denis Kaminev

Edelstein’s world by Denis Kaminev

The Church of Resurrection in Karabanovo village (Kostroma oblast), built in 1833, experienced both physical and spiritual destruction in Soviet times, when it was turned into a machinery service station and a fertilizer depot, and was fully re-established under the guidance of a priest by the name of George Edelstein.
Collection of portraits; Created Equal by Mark Laita

Collection of portraits; Created Equal by Mark Laita

In America, the chasm between rich and poor is growing, the clash between conservatives and liberals is strengthening, and even good and evil seem more polarized than ever before.
Crash landed by Ken Hermann

Crash landed by Ken Hermann

“Crash Landed” is a series of 10 photographs imagining an astronaut who suddenly returns to Earth and finds himself needing to readjust. The project is shoot in collaboration the British Art Director Gemma Fletcher.
Still lifes by Belén Argüeso

Still lifes by Belén Argüeso

More or less three years gave me my first camera ...... I'm not a professional photographer ... just a simple fan trying learn and improve every day,. I started taking pictures of my dog, and uploading them to a pet forum
Portraits by Ewa Cwikla

Portraits by Ewa Cwikla

The power of capturing the daily instant, to have the ability to convert the ordinary into a unique moment, because her camera and her life are two indissoluble concepts.
Postarchitecture by Victor Enrich

Postarchitecture by Victor Enrich

The work of Victor Enrich is intimately connected to architecture. Since our origins, mankind has expressed itself in different ways, using all sorts of techniques and technologies, in order to communicate and evolve.
Faubourg Treme by Alexis Pazoumian

Faubourg Treme by Alexis Pazoumian

There are many similarities between Louisiana and my country of origine, Armenia.That they are a victim of a natural disaster or a crime against humanity, a doggedness of the history
Selfhood by Vicky Martin

Selfhood by Vicky Martin

The series "Selfhood" was in part inspired by the proverb "The Eyes Are The Window To The Soul" and a desire to challenge the need to see the eyes within a portrait.
Roadside motel by Fang Tong

Roadside motel by Fang Tong

The “ Roadside motel” series is a continuation of last year's project “ On the Road”. Life is a journey. People always look around while they are on the road.
Water towers of Luxembourg : A Pictographic Study by Gediminas Karbauskis

Water towers of Luxembourg : A Pictographic Study by Gediminas Karbauskis

Water towers are used to store and distribute water. They are found both in small towns and major cities. Luxembourg is no exception.

Trending Stories

Rohingyas, what’s next? by Erwan Rogard

Rohingyas, what’s next? by Erwan Rogard

Since August 25, 2017, extreme violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has driven an estimated 687,000 Rohingya refugees across theborder into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Generations of statelessness imposed vulnerabilities on these people
Symphony by Matthieu Colnat

Symphony by Matthieu Colnat

How to photograph music? That was the first question I asked myself before I started to work on this series. I never was so much of a dance enthousiast but I have always been intrigued and attracted by classic dancers.
Sidewalk Theatre: Street photography from New York City by Mathias Wasik

Sidewalk Theatre: Street photography from New York City by Mathias Wasik

There are few cities that inspire the modern world as much as New York City does. It’s ever growing, ever rising – a kaleidoscope of American culture.
Circus by Marco Marcone

Circus by Marco Marcone

Inside the ruins of a beautiful 1919 theatre in Old Havana, more than two dozen youth ages 6 to 18 were enthusiastically pursuing their training in circus.
Matriarchs-Framed by Windows and Doors by David Shedlarz

Matriarchs-Framed by Windows and Doors by David Shedlarz

It seems that the world is evolving at warp speeds.  Capturing this moment preserves our history through its people.  Photography is a powerful tool in the preservation of our cultural heritage. 
Microcosmic Portraits Of The Little Earthlings by Irina Petrova

Microcosmic Portraits Of The Little Earthlings by Irina Petrova

My project "Microcosmic Portraits Of The Little Earthlings" holds a special place in my life. This project is a series of macro portraits of insects taken with two retro manual focus lenses, manufactured in 1982, connected by a filter ring adapter.
The Beauty at the river Bank Padma by Mohammad Rahman

The Beauty at the river Bank Padma by Mohammad Rahman

The riverscape of Bangladesh tells the story about the natural beauty of Bangladesh. The mood, artistic appeal, loneliness, solitude, and tranquillity of our riverscape
Bird of Prey by Stefano Lunardi

Bird of Prey by Stefano Lunardi

This project of mine IS NOT a wildlife project but a PORTRAIT FINE ART project to capture the personality of the bird and the spirit that animates them through poses and looks, through the eyes, the most important organ for these birds.
Planet Earth; The Elements by Paul Bride

Planet Earth; The Elements by Paul Bride

Trying to explain the concept behind my photography is never as fun as actually pressing the shutter button. Why do I try so hard to create the images I dream about? Why developed a style over the years in an attempt to define how I see the world?
Raising Goosebumps by Cate Wnek

Raising Goosebumps by Cate Wnek

Often a hyperawareness within me detects something elusive that could happen to my children, or me —however protected I imagine us to be. 
Ego & Fear by KireevArt

Ego & Fear by KireevArt

Through authentic artistic images created by my imagination in this new fine art cycle, I touch upon the theme of human essence. In Fairy-tale and from a part of surrealistic manner
A.L.M.A by Mar Martin

A.L.M.A by Mar Martin

In the end of 2013, a high resolution image of the coldest place we know in the Universe was captured by the most powerful set of telescopes in the world: Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Atacama Desert.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.