An interview with Gajan Balan

Tamil photographer and digital entrepreneur Gajan Balan won our recent CIVILIZATION competition with a stunning bird’s eye view of the rooftops of Mumbai. Judge Emma Lewis of Tate Modern called it a “striking image of immense hardship and resilience. On a human level it is incredibly poignant; formally, the colour palette, rooftop angles and the tension between the still, sleeping body and birds circling overhead combine to powerful effect.”

Keen to know more about Gajan, about the image, and about his thriving YouTube account, we put some questions to him. And his responses – covering the juggling of projects and business ideas, finding authenticity, and what makes for a “bucket list” image – were as fascinating and thought-provoking as we might’ve hoped.

Hi Gajan. Firstly, congratulations on winning our recent Civilization theme. Can you tell us a little bit about your winning image, and what it means to you? Did Emma’s comments resonate?

Thank you so much for creating opportunities like these, and for an image like this to be recognized makes it that much more special to me. I often wonder if the story I see in my photos will resonate with viewers and for Emma to hit the nail on the head was an extraordinary feeling. When I see this image, the lines and tones pull you to this singular figure that is asleep; this young man that has found comfort in what many would deem an uncomfortable environment. The hawks circling above adds some drama to underscore the harsh conditions that the subject calls home. When I spotted him early that morning, it was a scene that I found strength in. I had to wait there and capture the right frame that could best convey what I felt in that moment and well, this is as close as I could get.

In three words, how would you describe your photographic style?

Your story matters. Regardless of what my subject is, my purpose is to capture a story as best as possible. For me, it’s the North Star that will always guide me in the right direction.

You run an agency – Bokeh Blink – through which you mostly focus on portraiture, and you also run a pretty popular YouTube channel, sharing equipment reviews and “how to..” tutorials. Can you tell us a bit about this – how these various goings-on came about, and how you split your time across them?

In 2017, I made the decision that I would completely leave the wedding photography business and try to carve out a new lifestyle for myself. While that genre was very fruitful for me, it didn’t give me the fulfilment that I was looking for as a creator. I spent months thinking and mapping some ideas, and ultimately came to the realization that I just wanted to travel the world and capture whatever I wanted. As naïve as that may sound, my business background kicked into high gear and focused on how I could actualize my new vision. The answer was to put in the work capturing a new portfolio of images that better reflects what I wanted to capture moving forward, and it also meant building a community of engaged viewers that respected my opinion in the digital imaging space. The two strategies go hand-in-hand where I look to capture projects that resonate with me while documenting that experience to create meaningful content for other creators. It has proven to be incredibly successful, even exceeding my projections, but most of all it has brought me so much fulfilment. The cherry on top is that I get to share this journey with my team.

The Youtube channel is particularly interesting, as a way to build a following and a different way to monetize your expertise, and it’s also a very generous sharing of your knowledge. What’s the reality of this? I guess it’s equally hard to cut through the noise, but also opens up more entrepreneurial possibilities beyond print-selling and straight commercial photography assignments?

You’re absolutely right! We have the opportunity to reach millions of people should we take the time and pair it with a good strategy. For my channel, I was focused on two things: give authentic reviews that help people make an informed purchasing decision and share photography tips as openly as possible (no sacred cows). I believe that these two helped me cut through the noise, which is also a bit surprising at times because I also cringe at some of my earlier videos. At the end of the day, I treat my viewers as my customers that are primarily paying with their attention. When they visit my YouTube channel, I want them to feel beyond satisfactory. I wanted them to feel like they had a great meal and in turn feel compelled to come back. With that mindset, I’ve been able to not only grow the channel but see significant financial success through affiliate marketing, selling prints, and more recently, one-on-one training. All in all, the success on YouTube subsidizes my photography company so I can say yes to only the projects I want to and even take a loss on others if the opportunity lines up with our values.

Through that channel you recently launched a series called Roaming. Tell us a bit about that… and the first episode was based in Mumbai. Is that where your winning image came from?

If funds were not an issue and I was only allowed to do one thing for a living, it would be the production my travel photography show, Roaming. It was something I wanted to do since the inception of the channel but I had to work my way up to that. I taught myself photography, not videography, so I leveraged my YouTube plan to learn video production. When I felt that I was ready, I mapped out some key locations that would serve as the backdrop for season one and began a new style of content on my channel. When people watch this show, I hope the resonate with the passion for travel and creation as much as I do. My purpose with this show is to really motivate people to go out and create for themselves, and through that process find fulfilment. When I was in Mumbai earlier this year, there was an incredible feeling of fulfilment every morning I woke up, so it was only fitting to use that destination for our season opener. The winning image was also captured there which makes the first episode that much more special to me.

In Roaming you talk about “bucket list photos”. Can you share a couple of other ones with us, and talk through the stories behind them?

The portrait of the labourer in Mumbai and the children from Tamil Nadu are two other images from this trip that have made my personal bucket list. Look, I didn’t expect to get a single one on this trip and I happened to land on three. For me, you cultivate this process of image capture and you follow your intuition as best as possible. At no point in the journey do I pre-emptively believe that any particular moment will result in a bucket list image. Some may differ in their approach and opinion, and that’s okay. That’s what makes this space so exciting! You already know why the winning image is special to me. The labourer was my idea of India in a single portrait. Could I capture a portrait of a single person that conveyed the essence of India for me? That search (and a good amount of luck) resulted in this image where the face and eyes share so much depth. The second image will be featured in the season finale of Roaming, where I speak about it at length, but in short it is the why behind everything we do. Being a Tamil, it is important for me to document our people and strive to share their stories with as many people as possible, and through that process, do my part to keep our culture alive. When I had the opportunity to travel three hours north of Chennai into a remote village and meet these children, I felt very blessed. Here was this once in a lifetime opportunity to capture our people, our future, in a very powerful image. We are so blessed in the West with all that we have, and an example of this are the school portraits we had in elementary school where all the kids would line up for their class portrait. Well, the image of these Tamil children is me reinterpreting that image styling and putting my people at the front of the class.

Has COVID-19 impacted your work? I guess traveling Is off the cards for a little while, but the digital content is more relevant than ever?

For me, COVID-19 has given me much more than it has taken away. While I am not able to travel as liberally as I’d hoped to, I focused my energy on how I could maximize this new world we share. Since the pandemic hit, I’ve been able to find efficiencies in my production workflow, develop new daily habits such as meditation, journaling, and reading, and more importantly, spend more quality time with my family. All of this may not seem relevant at first but it has truly put me in the best position to stay creative and move the needle forward. The result is me enjoying what I do even more, doing it better than I ever have, and providing richer material for people to enjoy in a time where people are starving for new content.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish you could go back in time and give to your younger self, or would pass on to other aspiring photographers?

I feel like this may change depending on where I am in my life but at this time it would be to follow your truth. What I mean by that, is to truly understand what interests you, ask yourself why, ask yourself why again, and maybe a few more times for good measure. Once you are able to strip away your ego and get to a place that you’re really happy with, that’s your truth. While it may have been nice to find mine earlier, I’m just happy I figured it out eventually. For aspiring photographers, I’d say really take the time to understand the purpose behind your process and move forward from there. Magical things happen when you start to really listen to yourself.

And finally, what’s keeping you busy right now?

Trying to capture another award-winning photograph? Hahaha. Right now, my time is divided between a handful of photography projects that I look to publish soon, wrapping up the last dozen YouTube videos for 2020, and mapping out how I’ll be producing season two of Roaming in the new year. In short, I’m keeping busy doing what I love.