While scouting for offbeat clothing stores, we chanced upon the photography studio of Gautam Vir Prashad on Ballygunge Circular Road and really taken aback by its rich collectibles. Occupying a quaint space on the second floor of boutique July, this studio also acts as an exhibiting area for Gautam's work.
You should visit the space to actually believe with your own freaking eyes how artistic it actually is. Despite the studio being adorned by numerous collectibles, it still exudes an effect of minimalism. As you walk up the stairs, you are thrown into a whirlpool of everything vintage, starting with an ekco radio, a rotary dial telephone and some vintage hard bound books (one of which included a 100-year-old Vision of Dante). But him being a photographer, you will be blown away by the vintage cameras kept there, one of them being a Pearl River viewfinder camera, in addition to Holga, Yashica and Fujifilm cameras taking the beauty of the studio a notch higher.
Gautam has wittily given his photographs a three-dimensional effect by using embellishments and hand embroidery on his framed images. We couldn't help but admire a picture of a lake with a few boats, wherein the border of the boats are modified with thread embroidery. Using a 9x13 frame for this picture, it is priced at INR 7,500. The smaller ones are priced at INR 5,000 and if you want to buy one without a frame, get it for INR 2,500.