15-year-old youth photographerAayush Chitnis wins photo contest

BY NIKEETA BHATIA

-year-old Aayush Chitnis' photograph, 'The Faces ofQuarantii1e', has won top honoursin the 'Alone Together' photographycompetition (Youth Category).

Thecon1petition, held bythe Hornsby ShireCouncil inSydney, aimed tobring localmembersofthe community togetherto connect on theirsharedexperiences duri11g the COVID pande1nic. Localphotographers, includingAayush,subntlttedimages answeringthe question, 'What does the COVIDpandemicn1ean tome?'

ForAayush, aYear 9 Nonnanhurst Boys student, thepandentlcmeant asense of stagnation. "Theworld around n1e stopped moving," AayushtoldIndian Link. "I didn't go anywhere,andI could notmove forward. Iwas stuckin aloopofeating, exercising, entertainment,hobbies, and alittle bitof schoolwork. I triedto embodythatfeelingof stagnationin mywork."

Constrained bythelimitsin1posedby lockdown,Aayushchosetophotograph himselfwithhisNikoncamera and tripod. Usingphotoshoptocreate a'stacked' iinage, thephotograph depicts threeversions of himselftakingpart in variousmundane activities,including:eating,exercising, and practicingguitar. Hechose these activities to illustrate howasingularexperienceofbeing alone,bored, andstagnantinapandemic, couldbefeltbymany:"l couldn'tcapture animage thatincludedalotofpeople,so I tried to captureoneiinage to illustrate the experienceofmany."

Aayush revealedtl1atheusedphotography as anescapeduringthepandemic. "I started toseephotographyasanactualhobbyatthe endoflastyear. 1 thinkIchoseabad timeto getintophotography. l waslimitedwithwhat I couldshootsoI startedtakingphotographs inmyneighbourhood. I foundthattaking photoswascalmingandallowedmeto escape." Itwasononeofhisneighbourhood photographytripswhen oneofAayush's familyfriendsspottedltlmandsuggested he enterilie'AloneTogether'competition.

In addition, he alsoused the time to improve hisphotoshop skills bygoing backand editingold imagesfromtrips priorto thepandemic. He creditshis growthinskillsetto hisfriends, YouTube, experimentation, andexperience withall the equipmentand featuresonoffer.

Aayushwasintroduced to theworldof photographywhen hisdad brought home a Nikon D7100 in2014. "When Iwas9 or 10, l started acompetitionbetweenmeand my dadastowhowasthebetterphotographer," Aayush recollected.

Hisfriendlycompetitionwith his dad hasnowbecome afriendlycompetition with friends. "Competitionmotivatesme. It'sa bigpart ofwhy 1 started to take photographyseriously." With friends,he nowtravels tothecityorwakesup early totakesunrise photosatvarious National Parksacross New SouthWales. He specificallyenjoys the"feelingofadventure" thathegetsfrom landscapephotography.

Aayushlookstothe Sydneyhobby photographyscene onlnstagramas a sourceofinspiration. "Thelocalartists' and photographers'whodefine the Australianphotographyscenearemybiggest inspiration,"herevealed. "Theyare able tocapture thevastcityand landscapes in thediversecountrywelivein." He specificallylooksup to Sydneybased travel photographer@Pat_Kay,and @northborders, basedin Melbourne. ln thefuture,Aayush hopes toenterthe worldoftravel photography. "I willcontinue photographyasa hobbyfor the foreseeable future.Thedream istobecome atravel photographer. Iwould lovetotravel around Australia and the world totake photos."

Aayushwasextre1nelyhappywhenhe foundouthehadwoninthe YouthCategory, statingthatitwasa"stll'realexperience tolookatoneofmyphotoshangingupin anexhibition". Heexpressedhisgratitude towardstheHornsbyShire: "Iampretty luckytolivehere. Whatthey[HornsbyShire Council]doforartistsisreallynice.Youhave thechancetodisplayyourarttothewider publicand that'sreallyhelpfulingettingyow· nameoutthere." Inregard tothecompetitions theShireholds;"there'snodownside to entering. It'sareallygoodwaytogrow."

Aayush'sphotograph, 'The Facesof Quarantine', alongwith 17 otherwinning photographs, were displayedinan exhibitionin Hornsbyinlate December. The works ofwinnersand finalistscanbe viewed onthe HornsbyShire Council'swebsite: https://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/lifestyle/ arts-and-culture/alone-together

More ofAayush'sworkcan be foundon his Instragram: @chitniscuz