In the afternoon sun - edition 5 by Tehmina Ahmed.

Tehmina Ahmed, a writer, photographer and filmmaker began her career in advertising, but soon stepped out as an independent writer and media consultant. A member of the founding Newsline team, she still works with the group and, in 2006, branched out into documentary film production and now heads Newsline Films.

Ahmed's photographic work has featured in group shows since the early years of the International Photography Club of Karachi. She curated the Pakistan exhibit for the international photography festival, Chobi Mela, in 2002, 2004 and 2006 and is the Pakistan photo editor for the Delhi-based documentary photography magazine, Punctum.

Ahmed had a solo at the Nomad Gallery in Islamabad in March, 2009 and participated in a group show at the Twelve Gates Gallery, Philadelphia, in November, 2009. Her current solo 'Thresholds' was just shown at the VM Gallery, Karachi, where this interview was held.

You are a seasoned photographer, yet this is your first solo in Karachi. Why?

I haven't paid too much attention to showing my work partly because photography has been a private passion, if not a secret vice. And then, being busy as a writer and editor I could not find quality time needed to sort through my images.

Taking better photos has more to do with attitude than technique. Like a quiet observer, you capture the odd beauty and charm of the commonplace and the ordinary in your images. Is this an instinctive knack or do you laboriously strive for the right moment?

Striving for the right moment doesn't work for me; I feel it kills the impulse. For me taking a photograph is just a way of seeing or looking at the world. Something out there speaks to you, and that's how the image forms.

Like an artist you make subtle and effective use of colour and texture in your images. Are these effects digitally manipulated or are you a practitioner of traditional photography?

My first camera—a Nikkormat that I used for many years—was totally manual. You set exposure, focus, everything yourself. Now that's good training and discipline. Then I moved on to the Nikon N90, also a film camera, but one that had auto focus and exposure options.

I began digital photography by default so to speak. Five years ago, I enrolled for a short course in visual journalism at the Brooks Institute in California. At the time, the institute was still using analogue or film cameras. I had to postpone my session for a year. I got there a year later to find that film was no longer an option and I would have to work digital. I'm not terribly tech-friendly so that did come as a shock. But there was no option, so I bought myself a digital Nikon.

Regarding manipulation, working digitally doesn't mean that you have to manipulate, not unless you choose to. I am traditional in the sense that I want the image to form in the viewfinder rather than in the digital darkroom.

There are some photographs in the show that seem to be manipulated, but the manipulation really took place in my head. In just one image, there's a reductive process at work that removes one colour to heighten contrast, but that's it. Beyond that, there are minor corrections in exposure or a little bit of burn and dodge that a darkroom would do for you even in the traditional film process.

What subjects do you prefer and what is the most rewarding part of photography for you?

I enjoyed doing portraits for a while and architectural elements have always featured in my photography odd corners in old buildings, the light striking a green leaf, anything that takes my fancy. Lately, there is a sort of abstraction, a playing with colour, form and texture.

It's hard to pin down what exactly is most rewarding in photography. It's looking, if I'm not being too philosophical, for the beauty and peace that exists in the everyday world, in all that goes on around you, and the most rewarding thing is finding it.

Which photographers have inspired you most and why?

I enjoy the work of many, but Cartier Bresson above all. In the subcontinent, there's Shahidul Alam from Bangladesh, who's not only an accomplished documentary photographer, but has done wonders in nurturing the creative spirit in his own country and putting it firmly on the international map.

What advice would you give a beginner?

My advice is learn by doing. The machine will only do so much, the rest is up to you. There are no shortcuts, because as an artist what you are looking for is the core of your own spirit and the place in the world where it will find its resonance.