Brian Buckey | July 3, 2008
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| Photo courtesy of Joe Breen |
| Associate professor Steve Raymer in Dubai, one of 14 countries he visited when working on his last book. He left Tuesday to work on a new project, Redeeming Calcutta. |
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Raymer, an associate professor for the School of Journalism and a former National Geographic photographer, left Tuesday for a month-long visit to India where he will continue work on a book project in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and lead lectures at Calcutta University and the American Center in Calcutta.
Raymer became familiar with India early in his professional career and the country has remained a focus for his work late in his career.
“When I was a kid, right out of graduate school, India was one of the first places National Geographic sent me,” Raymer said. “It was in the summer of 1973 when there were no cars there, literally. It’s a place that I’ve gone to many times in my career.”
India today, bustling with a population of over 1 billion, is far different than the country that Raymer was first introduced to in 1973.
“I’m absolutely convinced that it is the right place for me to be working right now as India achieves this prominence on the world stage,” Raymer said.
In 2003, Raymer began traveling to 15 different countries to photograph Indian immigrants as they tried to survive and prosper in their new country. His work resulted in a book published last fall, Images of a Journey: India in Diaspora, which serves as a photographic record of the migration of Indian citizens to countrants as they tried to survive and prosper in their new country. His work resulted in a book published last fallries around the world.
During this trip, however, Raymer will continue work on his new book project entitled Redeeming Calcutta. While many journalists have documented the problems of homelessness and poverty that exist in the city of Kolkata, Raymer’s work will highlight the expanding opportunity for prosperity and the pride of the local citizens.
Aside from his work in Kolkata, Raymer will also travel to northeast India where he will hold a photojournalism workshop at St. Anthony’s College in Shillong for more than 70 Indian journalism students.
“The media in India are absolutely exploding, both the broadcast media and the print media,” Raymer says. “They’re exploding in English and the national languages and even global languages.”
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| Courtesy photo |
| Raymer’s last book, published last fall, and his current work reflect his fascination with life in India over three decades. |
The middle class in India, which Raymer says is around 4 million people, is rapidly
expanding and as the population becomes more literate, newspaper circulation is steadily increasing.
“The Indian media are extremely healthy and just exploding in terms of reach and new publications, new channels and new networks,” he said. “It’s a great time to be a journalist in India because there is just so much growth and opportunity for students.”
As Raymer explores the country with the lens of his camera, he hopes he can bring back some of his experiences to his students.
“The more I work there, the more I can bring back to the classroom for students,” he said.
But no matter what his motive, Raymer is always looking to return to place he first observed 35 years ago.
“I’m always looking for a way back,” he said.
