National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

Shots of Splendor

A top British diplomat spans a decade of his photographic journey

By BINEETA PANDEY

Ben Schonveld's experiments with people and sometimes with nature are on display at a solo exhibition of photography at the Siddhartha Art Gallery, under the title "West of the Silk Route".

British Ambassador to Nepal Keith Bloomfield inaugurated the weeklong exhibition on May 26. Schonveld, first secretary at the British Embassy, spans a decade of his journey in photography. The 23 works displayed at the gallery presents a side of Schonveld that few were familiar with. The photographs are priced between Rs.9,000 and Rs.15,000.
This is Ben's first exhibition as a photographer. "West of Silk Road" encompasses the artist's travels in Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt. "Many of you know him as the gentleman who works at the British Embassy," said Sangeeta Thapa, curator of Siddhartha Art Gallery. Wishing Ben good luck with his first oeuvre she added, "I hope that this exhibition proves to be starting point, a new chapter, which will provide Ben with the encouragement to think inventively and creatively behind the lens of his camera."

Ben began experimenting with a Nikon camera 10 years ago. Still loyal to a Nikon, he uses his camera to capture images that captivate him, whilst on his travels. Why photography? Though there are hundreds of opportunities that a photographer misses in his lifetime, he says, the passion to capture the moment, the perfect light and composition still endures.

Schonveld confesses to no artist inclination at all. "I don't know. I am not artistic at all. It is just very different from my job; it stops me from thinking about my job. There are other bits to me too and photography is something that is very personal. Something I tried to do for many years. I struggled with it and grew frustrated but here we are."

Schonveld's photography has a different feeling to it; he preserves the expression of things without losing humor. Beginning with photographs of people and faces in black and white, artist finds color more challenging." When you get it right, it works. It gets very dramatic," he says, pointing to a color photograph of a sunset in Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India. "See how the black shades begin and end," he says showing the different hues of the evening shade. The blacks define the details, the wall where the people live, yellow lights that are dots showing the houses they live in, and the rest a silhouette against the crimson sky. "It's very dramatic, the colors have come out right," he adds. Most of his photographs are of people, as he finds them easier to capture. He says, "Nature is disorder." His photographs of cows are particularly interesting and Ben pipes in " I think they are photogenic."

"It is great to do such exhibition in Kathmandu, promoting photography he shows his talent in promoting photography diversity", said Ambassador Bloomfield. "It is rare in diplomatic circles to be inaugurating an exhibition of someone you work with," he added. n

(Pandey is an internee with the SPOTLIGHT)

EX-GURKHA WELFARE MEET

The sixteenth annual meeting of the Indian Army Ex-servicemen Welfare Organization in Nepal (IEWON) is being held from 1-7 June 2003 in Kathmandu under the Chairmanship of Shyam Saran, Ambassador of India.

IEWON is responsible for the welfare of all the Nepal domiciled Government of India pensioners.† Madan Prasad Aryal, Defense Secretary and senior officials of His Majesty's Government of Nepal are attending this meeting.

A seven-member delegation headed by Lt Gen VK Dua, Director General (Discipline, Ceremonial & Welfare), Army Headquarter, New Delhi arrived in Kathmandu to attend this meeting.

There are over 1,16,000 Government of India Pensioners in Nepal whose welfare is the responsibility of IEWON. ìLast year over NRs 6000 million was disbursed by the Government of India as pension in Nepal and expenditure on welfare project amounted to over Rs 150 million,î states the press release from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Such welfare projects and schemes include visits by medical welfare teams consisting of specialist doctors, drinking water projects, solar energy projects, micro-hydel projects, financial assistance for various infra-structural development projects like road, bridges, schools, hospital, scholarship to wards of ex-servicemen, distribution of medicine packets etc. n