Jassi Oberai: Photographer of the week

by Yvette Depaepe
Published the 23rd of August 2021

Jassi Oberai captures brilliant landscapes, shoots portraits and masters various other genres. He loves to use vivid in everything he captures.
But Jassi’s passion is much more than creating stunning visuals.
He is the founder of a company called 'Light Chasers' which delivers, he is all about giving the knowledge that he has garnered in his professional journey and so ventured into creating ’Light Chasers’ a company which is all about competence in photography at all levels. One can either find him hanging on some distant trail juggling frames and lines and creating compelling images or sprinkling nuggets of recent techniques and imagery to aspiring photographers in canon workshops spreading his passion called photography.
Let's listen to what this artist has to tell us through this interview.

'Light Walkers'

Briefly tell us about yourself, your hobbies and other jobs, Jassi.
I am living in Delhi NCR, India. I started photography very late at the age of 40 and from the very first day, I knew that photography is my calling. I left my cushy job of 15+ years to pursue my new found passion of photography. I attended many workshops and focussed on learning the art and the craft.

After being associated with Canon India as their mentor for 10 years, I am now an Ambassador for Lumix India. Today, after almost 11 years of having taken the plunge, I started my own company Xploring Light which is into photography workshops and photo tours. Xploring Light is one of the most respected company in the field of photography education in India.

How has your history and life experiences affected your photography?
Which are your most important experiences that has influenced your art?
By temperament I am very impatient individual and photography, particularly Landscape Photography taught me how to be patient while waiting to create that elusive moment in a landscape when light and shadow weave their magic to help you create your art.

Photography helped me evolve from an impulsive shooter to more observant shooter. Now I ask myself why I am shooting a particular frame before actually pressing the shutter button.

'The Migration'

What first attracted you to photography?
My love for nature. One incident when I met a photographer enjoying the process of shooting wildlife images, made me think and compare that with my “rat race corporate life” and I knew I had to be in photography to get out of that rut.

'Witch Finger'

Describe your overall photographic vision.
For me photography is the way to realise my artistic feelings. It’s a language through which I express myself. It takes time to develop your style in photography. I look and seek unique compositions and light plays an important part in my overall vision of final image. I feel a good photographer is more like a good chef. Just like a chef, he must know his recipe and all ingredients in their exact quantities, a good photographer must visualize the final image he is going to capture and the composition he has in mind. Any other way is just random shooting.

'Chaos'

You have your very own style but your work is very diversified. Can you explain why this is?
Thank you for this question. I am glad you noticed that. I think there are a couple of reasons for it.
First – since I started very late in my life and had to start making money fast to survive, I had to foray into fashion and glamour despite having my heart in nature and landscape. So this is where my fashion portraits come from.
Second – being an Indian, I am always in the middle of some rich cultural heritage. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot miss the culture part from my photography. And I feel most Indian photographers, no matter what their experience is, are shooting their culture as well.

Being an ardent nature lover, landscape photography is what comes most naturally to me.
I shoot landscape, travel, wildlife, fashion, glamour, culture, portraits and fine art.

'Festive Feet'

'Facebook News'

'Allure'

What is more important to you, the mood,/story behind your images or the technical perfection?
Any day mood and story but on the hindsight, can we even do justice to my vision without mastering the technical aspects of camera. But if I have to choose between a technically strong image and strong story telling or moody image, I will go for the story telling even if it has major technical flaws.

'Himalayan Road'

What generally is your relationship to your subject matter beyond being an observer?
Do you prepare carefully the locations where you are intending to photograph?
Its very intimate. I have to become an integral part of my subject. I mean if I do not become one with my subject, I cannot feel it and then whatever I create will look superficial, will not be connected to my soul.

Good preparation is the most important aspect in increasing your hit ratio. I mean things can still go wrong but I don’t want to go to a place to shoot not knowing what to expect.

'Dark Secret'

What gear do you use (camera, lenses, bag)?
I use Lumix S1, Lumix GH5, Lumix 24-105 f/4 lens, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 Lens with Sigma MC21 Adaptor, Few MFT lenses for my GH5.Fotopro Tripod and H&Y ND Filter Kit.
All of these get packed in a Mindshift camera bag

What software do you use to process your images?
I use Adobe Photoshop to process all my images.

'Color Warriors'

Can you tell us something more about your work flow?
My workflow revolves around chasing light, capturing it the best way using camera and then taking it through post processing to enhance it. I am still not into too elaborate in post processing. While I am not against focal length blending or any such steps, I am still not into it.

'Pathway to Heaven'

What is your most important advice to a beginner in Photography?
Give yourself time. Show some patience. Rome was not built in a day. Even a baby takes 9 months to come to this world. And most important advise will be about the use of social media. While social media platforms are great to showcase your work and build your community, they can be very addictive. They give a false sense of belief that you are busy. There is no substitute for spending time in field and continuous learning. The more you do that, the faster you will grow.

'Zebra Mountains'

Who are your favourite photographers and more importantly, how has your appreciation of their work affected how you approach your own photography?
In this era of social media, naming a few will not be fair. But honestly I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter who took the images if they inspire me. Sometimes names intimidate which at times hamper my growth as a photographer. I still consider Ansel Adams as my biggest inspiration and that is where my love for Black and White Landscape Imagery has come. If I am able to create 1% of what he did, I will consider myself an achiever.

'House on Fire'

Are there any specific directions that you would like to take your photography in the future or any specific goals that you wish to achieve?
First aim will be to bring life back to normal which has been adversely affected by Covid. I would love to explore more exotic locations across the world and if I could inspire even one soul to become a good photographer, I would consider myself a winner.

'Sadhu'

Describe your favourite photograph taken by you and why it is special to you?

'Dark Mood'

This image is very close to my heart because of the circumstances in which I took it.
I was to lead a photo tour to Iceland in 2019. The tour has to start on the 17th of September 2019 and I lost my mother on the 14th of September 2019.
Odds were against me but I decided to go ahead with the tour and left home without performing last rites. I was just not in the tour. I hardly picked up my camera and on top of it all, we faced highly challenging and gloomy weather conditions in Iceland. It was in that state of mind and gloomy weather that I created this image.

Is there anything else you wish to add and what do you think about 1X as a home base for your work?
I am delighted to be featured on 1X.com. To me, 1X has is the platform where I learnt a lot. It’s a platform which has never compromised on quality. Getting published and awarded on 1X is like a dream coming true. Thank you to the entire 1x team to have created a platform that is nothing but elite.

'Longing'