Yashasvy, is a freelance photographer from Hyderabad, currently based out of New Delhi. His photo project- Dark Side of the Rain, tries to depict the lesser known emotions to be associated with rain such as loneliness, melancholy, even devastation. Find out more about his series, while he curates best images from his series.
Rain is one of the most commonly occurring themes in literature, visual media and music. With everyone’s own individual perception of rain, when rain is used as an element in art, it usually depends on what emotional state its being used to provoke – which can be either positive or negative. The positives include freedom, romance or a beginning of something, while the negatives include loneliness, melancholy or even devastation.
While it brings joy to a lot of people for a variety of reasons, I personally associate the latter with rain, for the most part. Especially with what comes after rain. Maybe growing up in an urban part of India, wherein rains are usually associated with traffic jams, flooding, and overflowing garbage, resulted in that. Honestly, I do not know, and that’s what I’m interested in – to explore the times when the air gets clearer but the character gets foggier.
The time after it rains is one of my favourites to shoot in. People walking with umbrellas and raincoats, harsh lights from street lamps making surreal reflections and the naturally high-contrast environment. It was during the monsoons of last year when I had started the photo series. I wasn’t really on a plan to create this, but one really good day of shooting in Hyderabad inspired me to do so. It had rained heavily that day and I went out for a casual walk that ended with me making few of the most meaningful photos I’d ever made. It was an interesting challenge working on the series from then on, exploring the theme in both the urban and natural world trying to carry the same spirit as on day one.
Working on this series has helped me change the way I approached creating images in general. I have started to look at the world to understand it as deeply as I can, learn whatever I can from it and find a way through photography to talk about it.
All text and photos by Yashasvy Kanvas.
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