Challenge Your View with Photographer Aman Dokania:

Reliving wildlife and culture in print

He’s one of the photographers we’ve been getting to know as part of our ‘Challenge Your View’ series. We spoke to Aman about why he first got into photography, what makes the artform so special to him and what keeps him clicking the shutter.

“There’s an extraordinary feeling when you look back at an image of a special moment, and that experience comes back to life. This makes all of the work worth it. It’s very rewarding when you can create an image than connects with people, it makes you want to keep working.”

So, what does it take to create a great image? Aman believes, “it isn’t so much about the technicality of the camera, but more about the subject and moment being captured. For me, photography is about expression and finding a voice. It’s more about telling a story about the subject than taking technically brilliant pictures.”

For Aman, the measure of a good photograph is in how immersive it can be – and it’s crucial this comes through in the print. “The colors need to be so vivid that it looks like a painting. The HP DesignJet Z9+ is the only printer I’ve found that can really bring these colors to life, to make my photographs look like oil paintings. Colors in the photographs I printed 7 years ago still look as good today. Some of my pictures are on walls in my house and whenever I go past them, I can find myself back in the moments they captured, experiencing them all over again.”

When asked what advice he would give to aspiring photographers, Aman gave some advice for taking great pictures:

“Firstly, never underestimate the potential of light to transform a photograph. And secondly, photography is about expression and finding a voice. Find yours and use your images and work to share it with the world.”

Inspired by Aman’s story?

Find out how the HP DesignJet Z9⁺ can help you get the most out of your passion for photography.

Challenge Your View with Photographer Sha Ying:

Capturing the light and shade of life on our streets

“Sometimes the difference between a good picture and not-so-good one is only a millimeter’s difference in the viewfinder. I explore different angles and distances to get a variety of shots. It’s good to experiment and try unusual approaches just to see how the pictures turn out”.

“Just over two years ago I started CHINATOWN, a project capturing the fascinating lives and ‘street stories’ of people I encountered. Having been introduced to a digital printing expert, Mr. Kua Boon Kee, I decided this would be my first digitally printed project. Using the HP DesignJet Z9+, I learned a lot about the print process, and we worked together to make sure the final images for the exhibition were perfect.”

Though digital has changed the way the world views photography, making actual prints is still very important to photographers, and for Sha Ying the process has changed a lot. “Digital printing has been a real game-changer for me. The old printing process could be fun, but it took a lot of time and effort, and reproducing the same image was very difficult. With digital, I’ve been able to get the same rich, detailed results time after time”.

So, what makes the perfect print? Sha Ying discovered there were a number of things to consider, “the printer, the ink and the paper are all important. It’s only be tweaking and perfecting these elements that you can make sure you get the perfect final product. People who saw the exhibition were very impressed by the natural black and white tones. The quality of the images was far beyond my expectations”.

When asked for his advice for aspiring photographers, Sha Ying offered three questions everyone behind the lens should be asking themselves, “What is my subject? How do I deal with it? And finally, how do I see things differently?”

Inspired by Sha Ying’s story?

Find out how the HP DesignJet Z9⁺ can help you get the most out of your passion for photography.