FOCUS on Hegoda

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

In a city as visually exciting as Colombo, you’re bound to have a bunch of shutterbugs. For wandering lensmen, Colombo offers a kalaeidoscope of photo opportunities - be it in the bustling streets of Pettah, Colpetty or Borella or the quiet lanes around Beira Lake, where children play cricket in the afternoons while couples stroll hand in hand.

George Keyt’s first portrait taken by Lionel Wendt

Everyday simplicity captured in a unique and artistic angle was the key to his success. His photography is nationally and internationally acclaimed. Among his accolades are the FNPAS (Fellow of the Natural Photographic Society of Sri Lanka) award and the Bunka award given by the Japan Sri Lanka Friendship Association. He was the first one to be honoured with this award in the field of photography.

Not limiting his skills to photography alone, he had also brought his gift for poetry into the limelight. He had been awarded the state literary award for poetry in 2000. Ma Minisek Oba Gangak Nisa (I am a man, as you are a river), his first book of poetry, won him the State Literary Award for the best book of poetry in 1996.

Award winning photographer and photography teacher Lal Hegoda is our encounter for this week.

Q: There are many genres of photography. In your opinion what is the most difficult too master?

A: There are three main categories in photography: documentary, creative and art. Wildlife photography falls into the documentary section while wedding photography has qualities of both creative as well as documentary aspects. I believe that my photography falls into the art category. There are many heartfelt aspects in this form. If you engage in all three categories accurately, each has its difficult points. This aspect is lacking today especially because of the use of digital photography.

Q: How do you judge a picture as good or bad?

A: The judgment depends on the purpose of clicking the image. In documentary photography you take a record of what you see through your eyes to give a clear idea of the situation to another person. Generally there are less details on a photograph than seeing it live through the naked eye. Some details are lost during the transaction but if you have managed to give a clear picture that is close to the reality, then it is judged as a successful work.

Creative photography tries to unveil a side which has not existed in the incident. It tried to project how stunning the image is.

Q: Why was your debut photographic exhibition called Freud’s Daughter?

Lal Hegoda Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

A: There was a photograph under that title in that exhibition. I no longer have that image with me and I am searching for a copy. It portrays one of Sigmund Freud’s ideologies of the psychoanalysis. It shows an image of a girl asleep beside her doll. The doll is not the typical blond haired, faired skinned beauties found in the market today but has the look of an African Negro. It is a black and white image. Since the photograph is linked with this theory I decided to name it Freud’s Daughter to imply that this signifies Freud’s concept.

Q: Your second solo exhibition was called Through the Window. What inspired this?

A: The images displayed at that exhibition were taken from my office window in Maradana. I had around 30 photographs taken at different times of the day with different activities taking place in the area. The whole exhibition comprised photographs taken from the same place.

Q: Is there a connection between your photography and your poetry?

A: Some people who have read my poems have told me that there are visuals in my poetry. I think about something in a visual angle first before getting deeper into the subject. Some of the things that I have in mind cannot be captured visually. Then I turn that idea into a poem. When you read those verses you would be able to visualize what I had in mind. It would drive home the message.

Q: Your brother Anura Hegoda too is a well known poet.

A: Both my parents have written poetry during their time. My brother and I picked up that habit from them and realized that we too have a flair for the art. Anura’s poetry is similar to those penned by my parents. They are Sandas poetry. I engage in free verse.

Q: You started Kavisiyapatha.

Lovers

George Keyt’s last portrait

A: Many budding poets do not get the opportunity to publish their poems today. They simply send their work to the papers.

This does not preserve their work. We selected a hundred quality poems from emerging young poets and did an annual publication. It motivated them and some of them even got the chance to publish their own books.

The project came to a halt after I became ill. I am hoping to revive it next year.

Q: Your father, Wilson Hegoda, was a pioneer photographer. What was the most valuable lesson he taught you?

A: He did not give any advice but let me follow my own guidelines. I learnt through experience. I was always scared to show him my work so I used to wash the prints those days and hang them to dry.

My father would scrutinize the photographs when he passes by them.

We used to peek in and see how long an image remains in our father’s grasp. That was the way in which we were able to judge his estimation. I realized that my father has been a cessing my work silently when he asked me to take over his final batch of students in a class quite unexpectedly. He knew that I was capable of performing the task.

Q: Many students attribute their success to you. How do you feel when you hear or see such comments?

A: That is a very emotional question for me. My father dedicated his life to teach the profession and I too follow that path. Though they have passed out and have made a name for themselves through their work, our students have not forgotten us. I believe that we have done good work when I see how they have excelled in the art. It gives me an immense sense of achievement and pleasure.

There are many new trends in the field and some have achieved the top position in certain categories. If someone asks me who my relatives are I would say that they are my students because they are so close to my heart.

Q: You have scripted a book Digital photography. Is there a market for photography books?

A: There are a lot of people who engage in photography either as a profession or a hobby. They buy digital cameras and think that it would be easy to take shots. However while engaging in the deed they find out that there are many things to learn even in digital photography.

I began work on that book after I became ill and my students invested in publishing the work. I hope to pen three more photography books in the future.

A: One of the first active photography societies in the country was spearheaded by my father. Lionel Wendt had a society prior to him. I too was the president of The National Photographic Art Society of Sri Lanka, but now I have moved away from them.

There are many good deeds which can be done by a photographic society. There are equally harmful things which can take place because of them. It is up to the committee to choose the path. Some societies demised because the those holding the top positions were weak leaders. Those which exist today do a certain amount of work for the art’s existence. But each of them have the capacity to perform better for the development of the art. Most of them are only concerned about holding a prestigious post and the number of members in their clan. They need to upgrade their knowledge on the field. Then they will know how to proceed.

Q: Nearly 40 years in the field, what is the highlight of your career?

A: There is no specific incident that I can set apart as the highlight. I have witnesses many triumphs of my students. They are all dear to me.