From Darjeeling Sunrises to Award-Winning Images with Arnab Sarkar

BY Sylvester

Arnab Sarkar | London Photography Awards

Arnab Sarkar

Inspired by the power of photography to turn fleeting moments into lasting memories, Arnab Sarkar has spent years refining his craft through formal training and mentorship. His work centres on capturing authentic human emotion across sports, cultural, heritage, and travel subjects.

First of all, my heartfelt thanks to the London Photography Awards for honouring me with this prestigious award.

I’m Arnab Sarkar, from Siliguri, a town in West Bengal, India. As a child, I was endlessly fascinated by how a fleeting moment could be captured and turned into a lifelong memory. That curiosity took root when I was in Class 10, and my father gifted me my first analogue camera. I took it to my favourite hill town, Darjeeling, and photographed the sunrise.

Years later, while travelling for work, I met Mr. Subrata Roy Chowdhury, then Head of the Department of Photography at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur. He encouraged me to pursue photography formally. I enrolled and began learning the craft in depth.

Around the same time, I had the fortune of meeting Mr. Kamalesh Kamila, a renowned Indian National Award-winning travel and cultural photographer. He became my mentor, my toughest critic, my guide, and my friend. To this day, he pushes me to do better.

This year, I’ve been fortunate to receive multiple awards across Editorial Sports, Fine Art Sports, Travel, and Religious Photography.

In sports, my recognised work includes images from gymnastics, horse racing, table tennis, tennis, equestrian, and wrestling. In the travel and religious categories, I was honoured for The Shaman of Mongolia, a portrait of a Mongolian Shaman.

When I photograph sports, I’m drawn to movement. I use slow shutter speeds, multiple exposures, and tight, focused frames to convey both motion and intensity. For me, framing is everything — a well-composed image should speak for itself without explanation.

The Shaman of Mongolia holds a special place in my heart. Through this image, I was able to share an ancient, lesser-known heritage with the world — a tradition practised for centuries, yet rarely seen.

This becomes a really tough task. I generally first try to sort at a high level based on the theme. Then I analyse each of the initially selected images based on its technical aspects and contents to match the theme of the competition.

I first picked up a camera at 16 when I was in Class 10. The sunrise from Tiger Hill in Darjeeling has always drawn people from far and wide. Living close to the hill station, I wanted to capture it through my own lens— and that’s when my father gifted me my very first camera. It was a luxury in Indian middle-class families those days to have your own camera, but my father managed to get one for me as he promised.

I believe anything worth sharing with the world is worth capturing — so I capture it. Still, I’m most drawn to sports, culture, heritage, and travel photography. These genres reveal true human emotion at its purest. To me, that’s the moment worth capturing.

Well, it depends on the event. For sports, I generally use a full-frame camera with either a 70-200mm f/2.8 or 100-300mm f/2.8 lens. For travel and cultural photography, I rely mostly on a 28-70mm f/2 paired with the 70-200mm f/2.8. I also keep a wide-angle lens in my kit for capturing the ambience.

If viewers can feel the same excitement I felt while watching and capturing the moment, that will be my greatest award. I’d also be happy if someone looking at my work understands the effort it takes to create a single image.

There were many challenges. In sports, the biggest was being in the right place at the right time. Events were crowded with photographers and broadcasters, and movement was often restricted. I was no exception to that. These days, another problem is reflective banners — they bounce light and ruin shots, unlike the non-reflective banners used earlier. For my winning travel image, the biggest challenge was selfie seekers. They often block the subject, making it extremely difficult to frame the image as intended.

For travel photography, I like to visit remote places to capture authentic lifestyles. These unaltered ways of life continue to inspire me, and I feel compelled to bring them to the world.

For sports, gymnastics is my favourite, though I’m equally excited by any other sporting event. The energy of the fans, the focus of the athletes, and the raw display of emotion — that’s my biggest inspiration.

My parents, and my constant guide, Kamalesh Kamila. My father was a sportsperson himself and won many awards. I couldn’t become an athlete, but through sports photography, I feel I’m still carrying that tradition forward. Kamalesh Kamila, on the other hand, keeps me motivated even when I’m not at my best and constantly pushes me to see differently through the lens. I should also mention Mahmoud Hefnawy. He provided me with the opportunities to get into sports photography, and to date, he has supported me a lot.

I encourage all my photographer friends to participate in photography awards. They are the best platforms to showcase creative talent and to learn from other submitted and winning images.

My sincere advice: dedicate time to selecting your best work — sometimes it’s hidden in your old archives. Also, make sure it meets all technical requirements and truly fits the theme.

My advice would be learn from others but don't copy them. Never judge your works or even anyone's work based on number of likes or comments in social media. Try to be happy with your work and never get satisfied.

Well, I am not great at editing. I believe more in perfection during capture. However, I do basic colour corrections required at times.

AI has both good and bad influences. It helps photographers in many ways, especially in culling images when we’re on deadline for news media. But the negatives are more concerning. I’ve seen images altered by adding objects, changing scenes completely, or even fully generated. This has to be controlled.

Still, I believe people have an edge over AI. It cannot be as creative as a human being. That’s why it’s important to stay true to yourself.

I really wish to travel to Europe to shoot the European Championship for Gymnastics.