‘The medium that best tells the story’-that is the mantra of independent photojournalist and documentary filmmaker,Gasper D’Souza.
It has been some journey. Born and broughtup in Bombay, Gasper is a thoroughbred product of the Jesuit brand ofeducation, having studied at St Mary’s High School, Mazagaon and the StXavier’s College, Mumbai.
Having studied chemistry in college, hewent on to study software engineering. In 2006 he decided to settle in Goa. Hewent over to the Navhind Times with a proposition to revamp their website. “Myapproach at the time was pretty cocky. I met the editor and informed him thatthe website was a complete mess. For some reason he liked me and I got the job,”he admits. As his stint with the Navhind Times progressed, he grew fonder ofthe editorial side of the business and began contributing feature stories aswell as handling page design. Thus began his foray into the field of journalismin the year 2000. This was followed by a growing interest in photography. “As Ibegan submitting pictures with my articles, I realised that it was somethingthat really piqued my interest, and I started focusing on photography as well”he says.
Passionate about working in areas of socialdocumentary, D’Souza uses multiple media, from the written word, to still and movingimages to bring his subject matter to life.
Now a thoroughly establishedphotojournalist, Gasper devotes a large part of his time doing pro-bono work.His most recent project for social service organisation, CaritasInternationalis, is in his own words “the most moving and memorable of his life.”
A firm believer in the un-obtrusivedocumentary style or reportage photography, Gasper believes in the efficacy ofthe candid image. He does not work with lights so as to not alert his subjectsof his intentions to capture a particular moment. This is clearly evident inthe manner in which he has captured countless timeless moments, with hissubjects completely oblivious to the fact that he has.
Ask the countless couples, whose timelessmoments could never have been reproduced in a clinical environment. In thatlies the magic of Gasper.
