Three students from IIT Jodhpur (IITJ) showcased their photography talent at an art gallery in Denmark last month. The shortlisted photographs are up for sale in Denmark from 17th October to 14th November, 2015. This laurel is not a result of the students directly applying to the competition; instead they were approached by some online communities to display their photographs. Mohit Gupta, Kirti Vardhan Rathore and Himanshu Sahu are the 3 students whose artwork was internationally acclaimed at the Lorien Gallery, Denmark.

Istockphoto.com is an online platform where photographers share their talent with the international community. A few celebrated photographers from Istock visited India last year and held a competition where students were asked to conduct a photoshoot.

The fact that students of IITJ were contacted personally by the international organisers to participate is a huge achievement. However, none of the 3 students wish to pursue photography as a full time profession after graduation. Mohit Gupta, a third year student whose photographs are being auctioned, says, “As of now, my aim is to focus on engineering and work in that field even after graduation. Photography is a reserve skill which I can pursue anytime in future, but once I exit the engineering field, it will be difficult for me to get back in the game.”  The second participant from IIT Jodhpur, Himanshu Sahu is a recent graduate who is already settled as a professional engineer.

The participants will be given 60% of the sale proceeds from the auction after it ends in mid-November. However, students are still unsure as to how they would utilise or invest their rewards. 

Mohit, who is also the secretary of the institute’s MAD (Media, Arts and Design) Society, says, “I was one of the communication links between IITJ and the organising committee. I feel proud of my achievement as well as the role I played as a representative of my institute.”

Here are a few photographs by Mohit Gupta that were shortlisted. 

Despite such international recognition for their skills, the students are quite calm and rested about their achievements. Older IIT students are known for winning laurels at global platforms in various fields. However, many of the newer IITs established in 2008, with their unique programmes and achievements, have gradually begun to mark their credibility at par with the older IITs in various aspects.