about me
hello I am Babür,
— or call me Bob, if that’s easier.
Thirty years ago, I wanted black-and-white pictures for my walls. Pictures with soul, that I’d never tire of looking at. I searched the art galleries and found nothing I loved, so I decided to take my own.
That’s how I started photography. Well, not straight away, because I didn’t yet know what I wanted on my walls. So I spent a year reading everything I could find, from magazines to books. Second-hand bookshops and camera shops became my hangouts.
When I finally bought my first camera, I had an accident on the very first day, before taking a single shot. It slipped from my hand onto concrete and broke into pieces. Luckily, I managed to get it fixed. By the time it came back from the repair shop, I knew exactly what to do with it.
Soon my walls began to fill with my own pictures. I was photographing friends, their friends, anything that caught my eye.
I’d also learnt that printing matters as much as taking the picture. So I built a darkroom in my bathroom and taught myself to print. I’d come home from work and go straight into the bathroom to print. Sometimes I printed the same frame more than forty times. My first exhibition, in Johannesburg, came out of that bathroom.
Photography is more than pressing the shutter. Knowing what to do after you’ve pressed it at the right moment matters just as much. One of the most rewarding things in my life is photographing people in their own surroundings, where they feel most at home. Whether it’s a portrait or a documentary story, if there’s no connection with the person, even the best camera won’t help. Photography is about putting feeling into a frame. It’s the art of telling a story in a single picture, not owning the latest camera.
I work quietly and patiently, and take care to catch the moment as it is. Then I edit every frame myself and print it in classic black and white, natural colour or vintage colour.
My test for a good photograph hasn’t changed. It’s the same now as it was thirty years ago. Since the day I decided to take pictures, every time I press the shutter I ask myself the same question:
“Is this frame good enough to hang on the wall?”
Start with a chat. You can decide later.