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Khumais Idrees
@khumaix
Photographer based in Pakistan
I believe everyone has their stories and different people choose different ways to tell them. And I chose the medium of photography for that purpose.
Telling stories through my work and improving a certain skill to effectively get the message across motivates me to do my best and get better at what I love doing. As well, being born in Pakistan, a place where not a lot of creatives get that respect that they deserve, really had an impact on me. It motivated me to prove different and gain that respect.
"Most of the time people think that creative professions are not something that you can do in the long run and won't provide you with enough money. That there’s too much risk involved in choosing this as a profession."
Don’t get me wrong, there are several genres of photography that are huge in Pakistan right now, like fashion and wedding photography. But in comparison – landscape or fine art photography are way behind. And I want to change that through my community and the people that I surround myself with. And not unimportant, through my work. I want to show that photography has value; a historical value, and also an emotional and artistic value. Art is inclusive, showing diversity of humanity and landscapes throughout history.
"I hope that my work contributes to people’s understanding of the importance of photography, the importance of Art."
"It is not easy to continue and fight against maybe judgemental reactions, but I keep trying - Just by being myself."
I don’t really care about anyone’s opinion on how I should look at things and what profession is safe or not. I believe that, when you have a unique standpoint that’s not in line with what society is generally imposing, you are the one to educate the people around you in the way only you can – using that uniqueness. You gotta start small and build up from there.
You can’t please everyone, so you just have to stay true to yourself and believe in the work you do. And with time you gather like minded people around you, people that believe in you – and that community will grow.
I just want to show the world how I perceive things; photography and all that comes with it is so fulfilling. It’s quite hard to explain the feeling and energy that it gives me but the places I go to, the experiences in nature, and the friends I make on the way are really amazing. This makes the pursuit of being a photographer/artist fun. And when you have fun doing something that you love, you can do great things.
"I am a true believer of “action creates motivation” and whenever I feel down I try to act on it and get out of my comfort zone."
Just getting in the flow of creating and pushing my limits each time helps me create better and more content. And I think for me being in solitude helps me a lot. It allows me to think clearly. It can be hard at first but reserving a deliberate space for yourself to rethink the decisions that you’ve made, to reflect, is really insightful. Everyone needs those moments of temporary isolation from the surroundings to focus on their craft, their goals – themselves.
When I started with photography, like everyone else, I shot anything and everything. This really helps you to find what you actually like. I think this is really similar to how we live our lives in general. We like something at a certain time but with growth, our interests can change as well. You get an idea of what actually is for you and what you resonate with the most. As I grew older and focused on my work, I created work with more intention: “Intentionality is both the curse and the gift of growth.”
"Through continuous evolution and reflection I learned that I liked to simplify things in a frame."
I think that really helps you tell a great story and deliver the feeling. I approach editing as problem solving; what I couldn’t get in camera at the location I try to achieve while editing. However, even with the edit I want to keep it simple. I usually like the shades of blue in my photos. I’ve a very basic knowledge of colour science, but that blue colour can add a sense of mystery and give an eerie vibe to the whole image. Similarly, bright colours like oranges and reds create a warm feeling. So I usually focus on the mood of a particular image and try to edit and enhance it accordingly.
Back in the day, before I actually started with photography, I came to know about stock websites. So I downloaded a bunch of photos and started practicing edits on them. With time I learned a lot about the process of creating a certain mood in a photo to convey the story better. This really helped me with the technicalities of how everything works, and once I could afford myself a camera, I could apply all the knowledge I had already acquired to my own photos.
One example of a minimalist shot with a meaningful story is the one I took in Skardu. I’ve titled it “Worlds Apart”. Art often reflects the truth of our minds, of being lonely but not alone!
Life shows us how you can be so close to someone one day – then time and life turn them again into a stranger to whom you once told your heart’s deepest secrets. Now, worlds have become too different to be a part of each other. The distance grows, and as in a desolate desert, the cold winds remove the footprints of the past.
"This photograph conveys the message of how we can be once so close to someone, yet "Worlds Apart" now, or in the future. Life's only certainty is its uncertainty."
Travel makes you humble, especially when traveling to remote locations. And experiencing natural phenomena helps you understand life and the continuity of it – the constant evolution. You also get to know how ungrateful you’re of the simple things that you have. I wanna show how, in the vastness of all these landscapes, we might find ourselves hopeless. But on the other hand, how tiny our problems are compared to this ridiculously huge universe. Actually, when we really take time to observe our thoughts and keep this very fact in mind, it can help us put negative thoughts in the right box of our mind and instead focus on the task at hand.
Recently I went to Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan. This trip was really special for me. Just the vibe of our whole team matched perfectly and it was my first time travelling this far into the north. The shots I captured and the friends I made on this trip are a blessing to say the least. Discovering more of my home country in this way is a great feeling.
Pakistan has a lot to offer when it comes to landscape photography, however, most of the places are way too remote. Pakistan is pretty unknown by great photographers/artists, but this is changing quite quickly. Many photographers/filmmakers are coming to Pakistan, which is amazing to see. Mostly, when people hear about Pakistan, they imagine it as a really backward kind of a country but in actuality it’s different – it’s an incredibly diverse country.
As for my favourite locations, I love northern Pakistan. The scenery is just breathtaking. Sarfaranga desert is one of my favourite places to shoot at. Sand dunes surrounded by snow-capped mountains? Say no more!
"Is Pakistan on your bucket list yet?"
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