Passion makes people go to any extent to achieve their goal. They are not affected by the hurdles they face on their ambitious journey and that is what makes them stand apart from others.
Here is one such person Tomasz Sobecki, a photographer from Poland in Europe. In addition to Master’s degree in geomorphology at the University of Nicolas Copernicus, he also completed his Ph. D in Photography from National Film School.
Mr. Tomasz was at Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH), recently to teach students photography, on an invitation from the Design Department. He also displayed his photos along with those taken by the students at the campus. His wife Maggie accompanied him. He has been conducting one month course in photography for the students. As many as 300 students applied to attend his classes from design department as well others. However, only 100 students were taken due to logistic constraints. Here are some excerpts from his interview with R. Avadhani.
What made you visit India?
I am here on an invitation by Dr. Deepak John Mathew, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Design, to teach students about photography. This is my first visit to India and I am trying to connect the cultures of Tourn, my city with about 200,000 population and India, particularly Hyderabad. Tourn is a city established in 1,233 and has a glorious history. Tourn Cultural Agency is the co-organiser for Magic Tourn exhibition held at IITH. I have also conducted exhibitions at England, Switzerland, Finland, Kazakhstan, and in the United States.
How is the response from students?
It’s a nice opportunity to teach students. They are very enthusiastic and that was visible from the number of students who approached to participate in the class. While I exhibited static photos, they captured the life of city on the move. This is fascinating.
How is Hyderabad?
The culture of Hyderabad is very rich and the white marble temple (Birla Mandir) is very impressive. We could not see such constructions in our country and all the structure are with red brick.
What are the cameras you use?
I use two very professional film cameras: MAMIYA RZ 67 Professional and MAMIYA 7 II which I have here with me and I have already taken some professional photos of Hyderabad. The MAMIYA 7 II is very unique as it has number 1207 and similar number have four lenses to it.
