An interview with Sanhita Banerjee

Sanhita Banerjee won 1st Prize in our Humans of the World competition with an image judge Amanda Hajjar of Fotografiska praised for its composition, color and movement. Keen to know more about the shot, Sanhita’s route into photography, and her travels across Vietnam, we put some questions to her…

Congratulations on winning our Humans of the World competition Sanhita. What did you make of the judge’s comments on the image?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the judge’s words have described exactly what I hoped to portray with this image. Amanda and Life Framer’s words have brought to the fore the scenario captured perfectly. The emotions I strive to put out with my work were conveyed to the judges and that brings a great sense of satisfaction to me.

Tell us a little more about the image itself, and the story and circumstances behind it.

We had made our way to rural Central Vietnam to document the way of life of the people there. On our drive back to the city I noticed a large plume of dust seemingly making its way toward us. Upon realising that this was a shepherdess and her flock, I climbed onto the roof of our car to take a number of spontaneous shots of this scene. Out of the several photos I was able to click, I felt this one captured the feel of that day the best.

And is it from a larger body of work from Vietnam?

Yes, I was in Vietnam for almost two weeks, and my initial plan was to spend all of my time in Northern Vietnam but as fate would have it torrential rains made me change my plans to venture to the Central tracts of the country. Needless to say I was able to capture a wide variety of images from my time there, from portraits of hill tribes to the paddy fields in the valleys.

There isn’t much about you online. Tell us a little bit about your route into photography and your relationship with it now…

I’ve spent my entire life as a teacher, first in India then in Australia until I decided to quit and devote some time to myself in 2017. In early 2018, a friend who happened to also be a photographer noticed my natural inclination towards artistic ventures and encouraged me to take up photography. Starting out as a hobby, photography has become ingrained in my blood, it has become my lifestyle. I push myself to visit the most rural places overlooked by tourists, places where one has to go without basic amenities for days. Being an early riser has definitely helped me with this and I am able to push myself through the fatigue despite going on 6 to 7 long tours every year far from my home.

And how would you describe your photographic style or approach?

My photographic style is to reach people’s hearts. If a lay person is able to relate to my images without being overwhelmed or understanding the technical aspects of them, I consider my work to be a success.

Perhaps you could pick a couple of other favorite shots and tell us a little bit about them?

We were in a Central Vietnamese village where the main source of livelihood is the making of jute items, specifically floormats. I was able to visit a small workshop where jute is infused by natural dyes after they have been boiled. Here I captured two images [see below], one of the process where the raw jute is dipped into the steaming dye to give it its distinct hues and the other of a lady weaving the dyed jute into shapes we recognise as floormats. I have a lot of shots which I absolutely love from Vietnam but these two have stayed with me since my trip for the beauty of the colours and the dedication of the workers to use age old techniques, without the use of machinery to produce such high-quality items.

What’s keeping you busy right now? And what next in your photographic journey?

I’m in the process of publishing a book which documents a long series of photographs I have taken in the past on different trips. I also have numerous trips planned where I am hoping to take some stunning shots, my schedule for the year includes visits to Canada, West Papua, Iceland and Omo Valley. I am an avid landscape photographer as well, I love to be in and around nature.

And finally, if there was one piece of advice you could share with your younger self, or perhaps with someone starting their journey in street photography what would it be?

There will always be naysayers, people who point out faults based on absolute technicalities but if you have faith in your talent and your eye for photography, keep at it and eventually you will find recognition. There are no shortcuts in photography, you won’t be famous overnight, it’s a process that takes years of practice and