Hegoda: Leading light of photographyPHOTOGRAPHY: Lal Hegoda is well known for the mark he has left in the field of photography as a teacher of more than 3000 students and as a quality photographer. An exhibition of his photographs, 30 in number, consisting of both coloured and black and white pictures will be displayed at the Royal Photographic Society, Great Britain, throughout December.
This is said to be the first opportunity given by the society to a Sri Lankan photographer to display his work."Three Dimensions-in-one", the book related to photography written by Hegoda, will also be launched. Another exhibition by the highly acclaimed photographer, titled "Rupa Chaya" will commence at the "Jayike Global Plaza" in Tokyo from December 19 to 29. A workshop will be organized along with this exhibition in which a discussion of new techniques related to photography will be taken up. Lal Hegoda was born in Colombo on July 4, 1947. He gained his primary education at Thurstan College. His main influence towards the photographic field came from his father, Wilson Hegoda, a pioneer in teaching photography in Sinhala. Debut exhibitionHegoda's debut exhibition in the field of photography, "Freud's Daughter" was held in 1971. Thereafter he progressed in the field, gaining heights and national recognition. His contribution to the development of photographic art in Sri Lanka was highlighted with establishing the Hegoda school of photography in 1972.
Nearing a forty year stay in the field, Hegoda can boast of being the guide to many of the prominent photographers of the era. "I think photography is very similar to poetry in quality and style. Therefore I am trying to present a message behind my work," claims Hegoda. "There is a spiritual quality in relation to photography. I try to give a second thought to my viewers other than the outer visual impact." Indeed, his photography seems to possess a "live" quality. It is as if a viewer is observing the sceneries, landscapes or people in the pictures through a window frame. In one such image, a scene taken near Ma Oya, Ambeypussa, the viewers can almost see the water of the river flowing by. "A photo should be technically perfect to be of good quality. Features like the colour condition, sharpness, and the correct composition can be adjusted by controlling the lense. Through this we can give some effect which is very unique to photography. For example we see the world in 3 dimensions but in photography there is only 2 dimensions. However in a high quality photo, there should be a symbolic representation of the 3 dimensions," explained Hegoda. Rare qualityAmong his collection is another photograph which is of rare quality. This is a side visual image of George Keyt. Another striking fact about his photos is that all the images are taken from various locations in Sri Lanka. Hegoda's international acclaim was marked by awards bestowed down upon him by the "International Federation of Photographic Art Societies" in the years 1974, 1976 and 1985. In Sri Lanka he was honoured with the award of FNPAS (Fellow of the Natural Photographic Society of Sri Lanka) in 1975. He was the first person in the field of photography to be honoured with the Bunka award by the "Japan Sri Lanka Friendship Association" for the year 1998. Art societyHegoda had been active in every field related to photography in Sri Lanka and had held various official positions in a number of societies such as The National Photographic Art Society of Sri Lanka, The Federation of International Photographic Art, The Art society of Sri Lanka and Green Vision (Association of Artists for Environment). He is also a member of the Royal Photographic Society. Apart from his achievements in photography, Hegoda is also a leading figure in modern Sinhalese poetry. His first book "Ma Minisek Oba Gangak Nisa" (I am a man, as you are a river), won him the State Literary award for best book of poetry in 1996. Thereafter he had published several other books of poetry such as "Pasaloswaka Sanda Mageya" (The Poya full moon is mine), "Sandun Aratuwa Dalluye Obai" (You are the one who set fire to the Sandalwood duramen), and "Ganga wak wee Galana Thena" (The place where the river curves)". |
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