The best thing that has happened to you as a photographer …
Being at the right place at the right time with the right equipment and being able to get a decent picture. There’s no question about that. A good picture is a combination of all these things. The decisive moment is what is all-important. If the light is gone, if it starts raining, what will you do? You are there; the camera is there; the moment is not there.
The right moment must have happened many times to you. Can you remember one such occasion?
No, no, very rarely does that happen. Well, Victoria Memorial in Calcutta at sunset. It’s sort of my favourite picture. It made a double spread in my India book. It was evening and I was standing at one end of the maidan. I remember people had lit a garbage fire, Calcutta’s junk burning behind the maidan. Smoke billowing up. Right then, a horse-driven tonga came into view and I shot it. I don’t think I could ever do it again even if I try. Everything was perfect. The sky was overcast. The sun was subdued. I had a 24 mm lens and I shot, almost looking into the sun. Never made a picture like that in my life, and very few pictures happened like that.