Wildlife photographer Ismail Shariff’s studio Imprima is unlike regular photo studios. A red wall breaks the blue and white Santorini-themed interiors and a large metallic table with wooden hues and high chairs occupy prime space. This table is where Ismail and his photographer and artist friends and clients place fine art prints for scrutiny.
A light accent designed with leftover wood gives the studio an urban-rustic ambience. Ismail’s brief to his friend and interior designer Sona Reddy was to “do something that’s not ordinary”. His idea was to dress up the walls with large prints of photographs of nature, given his penchant for wildlife. But the idea was done away with, since this studio primarily functions as a fine art print studio.
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Ismail takes up one or two wildlife expeditions a year and the remaining months are spent at this studio, alone, working on high quality fine art prints. “There are only 16 such studios in the country,” he says.
The studio, set up in 2012, factored in his need to spend long hours at its premises and was designed to be aesthetic and creative. A few old cameras sourced from the Sunday bazaar in Charminar occupy the tiny shelves on the red wall. A few more cameras and hour glasses add to the quirk factor of the décor in the studio and the pantry.
Photographs shot by Ismail and reprinted on metallic paper, canvas and a variety of papers are for visitors to see. The tone and texture of the paper varies according to the photograph. Ismail was introduced to fine art printing outside The Louvre when he was in Paris from 2007 to 2010 and on returning, he found no precedence for it in Hyderabad and started the studio.
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One of his first clients was Ambareesh Pittie and slowly, Ismail began to take up printing orders for photography exhibitions held in town. One of his earliest exhibition orders were images showcased for Waterscapes exhibition at Muse art gallery by the Yacht Club of Hyderabad. Vijit Pillai and Peeli Sri Murugan are among the others he’s worked with frequently.
Colour is a striking factor of the studio interiors and is an extension of Ismail’s eye for detail. “Colour calibration is everything in my work,” he says. Well known Hyderabad photographers reach out to him for prints. There’s a difference between photographs printed at regular studios and those done in a fine art studio. This studio is where Ismail earns to fund his wildlife expeditions. “I am not good at photographing people, so I couldn’t think of fashion or other streams. Photographers rarely earn through their own images, unless they are into wedding photography,” he quips.
A large black and white wallpaper printed from a ‘bokeh’ photograph contrasts the red wall. Imprima turns photographs into customised wallpapers for corporate interiors, hotels and residences. The wallpapers of SodaBottleOpenerWala were printed at this studio. “When there’s a good print, it makes viewers want to own it,” he says. A few bamboo poles run criss-cross on one wall. This part of the studio, he says, is high maintenance since he has to ensure no termite attacks.
Imprima Studio
What: Imprima
Where: Road no. 12, Banjara Hills
USP: Fine art printing studio with a Greek theme