[PhotoSparks] “Travel is a great way of bringing in fresh ideas” – photo-artist Ranga Voona

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this pictorial essay, we showcase some of the unusual ‘photo-art’ by Ranga Voona on display at the Sublime Art Galleria in Bengaluru!

In the earlier 130 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, international design week, flower show, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

Ranga Voona is an aerospace engineer, photographer and artist. His specialty is ‘painting adaptation’ of nature photographs to make them look like paintings. “Thanks to my mother’s artistic skills, I've always been drawn to colours, patterns, scenic locations, sunrises, and sunsets. I've always found that photography and art balance out my day job as an engineer,” said Ranga, in an interview with YourStory.

“For as long I remember, I've been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci; he was a renaissance artist, painter, educationist, inventor, and technologist - all at the same time! To me, he embodies the term 'genius' and his paint masterpieces never fail to fascinate me. As far as photography is concerned, National Geographic's beautiful work has always inspired me. Finally, my biggest source of inspiration is nature itself; there's nothing more beautiful than the natural sights of the world,” he explains.

Thanks to the internet, there are more opportunities for artists today than there ever were, and there is a lot of invaluable information on different forms of art. “It's possible to learn a new kind of art or fine-tune an existing idea for free, thanks to the huge pool of resources available,” Ranga says.

For photo-to-art adaptation, he uses selective editing to incorporate brush strokes, colour manipulations, composition, contrast, and sharpness adjustments. “The right combination of these elements make up a good painting, and the source of the painting is a great photograph. For this reason, I call my style photo-art,” says Ranga.

He does face challenges in his work as well. “While there are many skilled artists out there, wide acceptance of their work in the market and financial success continue to be elusive,” Ranga says. Still, he continues ahead in his artistic journey, and hopes to see his work featured in National Geographic. “I hope to hold workshops and classes sometime in the near future,” he adds.

“To me, travel is a great way of bringing in fresh ideas. Since nature is my muse, I get bigger and better ideas when I see more of the world. I want everyone to experience the overwhelming beauty that nature has to offer. My work represents happiness at its peak, and I'd love for my work to convey that emotion to anyone who sees it,” Ranga signs off.

Check out these pairs of pictures, and see if you can figure out which is the original photograph and which is the adapted painting! Now what have you done today to creatively interpret the world around you?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.