Mohammad Ilyas is a nature photographer and an artist. I hope you’ll enjoy the interview;

How did you fall in love with photography?

I have a love for Nature since childhood & always desired to capture the experiences and moments I have in the lap of nature. Whenever I see a landscape photo it creates a fire & desire in me to explore more. That’s when Photography triggered itself.

How important is having a unique style as a photographer? How would you describe your style?

Though photography is the art of capturing the moment, however it’s only about your experience & is not just the image that falls on the sensor . Just like a singer sings in his unique voice & style , the very similar way a photographer presents his photo in that unique style. If a singer tries to change his voice or sing in some another style he’ll fall apart. Likewise a photographer is recognised by a unique style and it’s very important to stick to it.

Where did you grow up? How have your roots influenced your sense of style?

Kashmir. Famously known as ‘Heaven on earth ‘. That’s where all my influence comes from. Since childhood I been visiting countless landscapes and I feel that it’s not yet been properly portrayed . There are very great Photographers out there producing incredible images all over the world . Me brought up in this beautiful valley gave me the opportunity to shoot photos and my experiences with a goal of producing the best images I could, so that world also gets to know how beautiful this place is. The love of nature urges me to explore more places and get the world the best of the views and experiences apart from the images of that place. I like to bring my emotions at the time of clicking the photo into the final result.

What advice would you give to aspiring photographers out there?

Believe in yourself and know that camera is just a tool. The real photo gets clicked in one’s mind .

Have you ever run out of ideas?

All humans do get exhausted. It’s nothing to worry about. Your mind needs rest just like your body.

How do you find places and models for your shootings?

It’s a mixed work. Sometimes internet ,other times maybe someone suggests about a place. Other times I go out and explore on my own. Which is quite often. 😊

What’s the one piece of photo gear you couldn’t live without?

If you’re talking about Photography, then I can’t go out without a wide & a telephoto lens. Also tripods & polarizers are very important which you can not replace with any digital effect.

Do you edit your photos? If yes, which programs do you use?

Yes. Adobe Lightroom is a very powerful tool . Also Google Snapseed is a great editor.

We would like to express our gratitude to Paula Maria for this great interview.

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