A student of Valley School in Bangalore by Jiddu K. Krishnamurthy and then of Sahyadri School in Pune, Joya’s initial schooling environment planted the spirit of free thinking. Her love for the liberal arts was further nurtured at The Government college of Art and Craft, Kolkata, where she completed a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. Post a year-long stint in the advertising world of Mumbai, Joya enrolled at the Calcutta School of Photography and found her true calling.
Fiercely inspired by celebrated photographer Raghu Rai, Joya emulates his style of Street Photography in much of her work. Her other idols include Alan Schaller, Steve McCurry and Paul Von Rieter. She looks up to her parents – life-long mentors to her free spirit.
“Street photography is in my blood.” Joya is always on the hunt for a story that would play out in her viewfinder, a story that can express a city’s sights and sounds, indeed, even a person’ feelings, said or unsaid. To her, photography is a way to pay tribute to life itself.
Joya loves to capture a story authentically in all its richness and uses composition, rather than filters, to add vibrance to a photograph. Reflections are an element often-used, while the background frequently adds layers to the photograph, telling the story just as well as the foreground. She often leans towards a black and white theme, when colours can overwhelm the story itself.
