We are told, there are two sides to a human beings brain. The left brain is for logical thinking and the right is for creativity. The subject of this story seems to have successfully bridged both sides and seems to have done quite well for herself.
Salonee Kamat Jain studied in Panjim and went on to complete her education in Pune with a MBA in finance. She then secured a job in Crisil which is a ratings agency and did the hard corporate yards for ten years. She travelled across the length of breadth of the country.
In its big cities, towns and its villages doing interesting work. She noticed how the people lived, worked, their food and the local culture of the place. She observed with the eye of a photographer.
“Camera was my constant companion in childhood. My dad’s uncle was a photographer and he gave me a small Kodak camera. My father learned photography from the uncle, who in turn passed on the knowledge to me. I subsequently joined a photography course in Goa to get formal training,” she said.
She took photographs of the ‘Ganesh’ immersion in Mumbai and the ‘dahi handi’. In Goa, she took photographs of the Shigmo as well as other important occasions. Her job kept her very busy during the week. But on weekends, she would go out taking photographs. After 10 years in Crisil, she was promoted to the post of Associate Director.
She then took a momentous decision to resign and focus time on herself and her love photography. She founded Salonee Jain Photography to capture moments and to unleash the creativity of shutterbugs through visual storytelling. This gave her time to focus on developing her own language as a photographer.
“I spent time in Kerala shooting along with my husband and son. I she never thought of going abroad and taking photographs of events taking place there. There was so much happening in the country that it did not make sense to go out of the country,” she said.
Now after all these years of taking photographs, her photograph has been selected for an international photograph exhibition. Called the Documentary Family Photographers International Exhibition. She is now the only Indian photographer to be shortlisted. She is one of forty one photographers from fourteen countries who will be showcased at the exhibition.
The organisation that is behind the exhibition is based in Ireland. They usually organise the event either in New York or Los Angeles. This year it is an online affair which commences on June 13 and will close on July 16.
Salonee will be exhibiting her photograph titled “Strength in Unity” at the exhibition. The theme of the exhibition is “Community” and all the photographs will highlight this theme. Although her photographs have been showcased in several exhibitions and won competitions, Salonee believes that her true accolades are her smiling clients and proud students.
“I do what I do to bring a smile on faces and changes in lives,” Salonee said. She is also an international educator, teaching nearly five hundred students ranging from six years to seventy who live across the world.
