A colourful, fallen leaf partially submerged in rippling water

Mayank reveals through his lens, the secret poetry of ephemeral phenomena like wind blown clouds, drying lakes, stains on walls, birds on wires, mosses and weeds; to capture the unity of soul of all elements, the ideal purpose of which is to reflect the soul of the observer.

Beginnings

Mayank Bhatnagar was born and brought up in the heritage city of Jaipur (Rajasthan, India) and studied at St. Xavier’s School there. Childhood flair for art led him to study graphic design at the prestigious Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda (Gujarat, India), where he got introduced to photography as part of the professional B.F.A. degree programme.

What began as a subject turned into a passion, leading him to shoot hundreds of rolls of film and indulge in black-and-white printing in the faculty darkroom. Hours were also spent in the faculty library going through books about photography masters — amongst whom works of Ansel Adams and André Kertész inspired him the most.

Professional Commitments

After graduation, Mayank worked with Mudra Communications (now DDB Mudra), New Delhi (then one of India’s leading advertising agencies) as an art director and subsequently started his freelance graphic design career. Photography took a back seat for a decade but Mayank picked it up again in 2006, when the digital photography age was just setting in.

Since then, Mayank has had four solo fine art photography shows. His photographs have featured in several publications including Better Photography, Discover India, Mint, Planet Earth India and in WWF-India calendars and greeting cards. His works adorn the walls of hotels, restaurants and showrooms in Jaipur. His fine art images are in private collections in India, Canada, Germany and USA. Mayank’s photograph Supporting Role was a finalist at the 2022 Siena International Photo Awards.

Mayank looking at framed photographs from the 'Out of the Ordinary' series displayed in an art gallery
Mayank at his first solo show Out of the Ordinary

Creative Compulsions

Mayank loves to shoot a wide variety of subjects. Trained as a designer, it is designs that intrigue him most, whether natural or man-made, fleeting or coincidental. Exploring and looking at the world positively, mindfulness, making memories, using photographs for causes and sharing beauty with others are important purposes or reasons for him to indulge in photography.

As a graphic designer, Mayank has designed for several leading national and international brands. Mayank Designs is his online portfolio website. He also dabbles in issue-based graphic illustrations, some of which have been published in prestigious journals. Graphic Reflections is his illustration blog.

On Social Media

You are most welcome to connect with Mayank on social media: