Photographer Nikhil Bahl to Guide VPS Members “Beyond the Rules”

The VPS guest speaker in November is Nikhil Bahl, a landscape, nature and wildlife photographer who focuses on in-camera interpretation and the development of a personal vision. A seasoned photographic teacher and lecturer, Nikhil is an instructor at the Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts (VisArts), in Rockville, Md. and at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Va. He also conducts photographic workshops throughout the region.

During his guest appearance Nov. 4, Nikhil will discuss a central thrust of his photography and teaching: the need to go beyond the rules of photography to develop images that are unorthodox and imaginative.

“While the rules of photography are very helpful when learning, it’s only when photographers start thinking beyond the rules that they can create unique images,” Nikhil says. He emphasizes creative compositions and camera techniques that foster the capture of images with a different look. For example, Nikhil’s tutorial on “Beyond the Rules” includes the creative use of negative space and how to make hot spots contributing elements of an image.

His website, www.nikhilbahl.com, contains a portfolio entitled The Mystery of Fog with 20 images that make fresh, inventive use of negative space. Other portfolios include photographs from Chincoteague Island, Va., Great Falls, Va., and Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, D.C., that willfully break the rules of photography yet bring a novel perspective to familiar photographic venues.

Nikhil’s fine art prints are part of many private collections and have been in several exhibits in the Washington Metropolitan area. He has won several photo contests and his photos have been published on post cards, greeting cards, posters, newsletters and magazines.