Gopal M S works in advertising  but is a passionate photographer whose muse is the city of Mumbai. He captures Mayanagri in its mundanity as well as the stories of her people and showcases them in his e-zine "Mumbai Paused".

 

When he visited us as a guest lecturer, he opened up new ways of showcasing photography: in the zine format. He started by telling us what a zine is - a coherent compilation of pictures that come together to craft a narrative. In his presentation he showed us a zine that he has made on the different bags that people carry in Mumbai. Through the lens of the bags, he documented how the city has undergone changes. When asked about his process of working, he shared that he walks around this city and with patience comes the vision to find beauty in the everyday. Moreover, he also gave us an important insight—that although the technical aspects of photography are important, what really brings the photo alive is the soul of the photo. It is important to focus on the frame but it is more important to focus on what is within the frame. He explained that zines could be inward-looking or introspective or outward looking. He ended the session by showing us copies of zines in different languages.

 

This session helped us immensely while making our own zines.