Capturing the essence of village life 

• Dhanuka Kumaratunga on mobile photography and his latest book 

Dhanuka Kumaratunga is a man of many talents – he has tried his hand at photography, writing lyrics, graphic designing, and has found that he excels in all of them. During the lockdown, he combined his talent for writing, along with his passion for photography, and authored a book on the art of mobile photography. His book, Essence, tells the story of human lives in a remote area in Sri Lanka, that he captured on an iPhone 6. It is an exceptionally interesting book to see the lives of people from the eyes of another, all captured candidly. 

Brunch had a chat with Kumaratunga about his book and more.  

When talking about his book, he told us that Essence is the name of this book. “It depicts a reading of freedom and social culture we have lost through the experiences those that live in a typical village face.” He described Essence to be a different genre of design, and the page layout is shown in the format of a typical western magazine. 

As enthralling as the concept of this book is, Kumaratunga told us that Initially, he didn’t set out on this journey with the aim of turning it into a book. “I travelled to various parts of the country to do research for the university I work at, and when I was conducting field visits, I wanted to try capturing images with a mobile,” he said, adding that the first thing he did was figure out how to work with a mobile. “I took photos and edited them on my mobile. I was left with several pictures, which is when I thought I could put it down in a book.”

On the subject of his work at the University of Peradeniya, he named that to be one of the greatest inspirations for his art. “There’s nothing like waking up in the morning to breathtaking sights like the Mahaweli River, Hanthana, and all its surrounding mountains encased in mist,” he described, talking about the almost magical scenery that he tries to depict in his book too. “This may be why many great artists are born in Peradeniya; it is an inspiration,” he added. 

Normally, when using photos in a book, one would opt for a fancy camera. We asked him why he chose to use a phone. “I used an iPhone to capture these images as I believe it can make a world of difference; I even edited all those photos on the phone,” he told us. With hardware and software in the world constantly evolving and changing, so do phones and cameras. Kumaratunga also informed us that he chose a mobile because of its practicality, and how easy it is to use, especially with his goal of capturing human emotions and senses in photos. “I’ve always had a passion for mobile photography as well, so I wanted to explore the art behind it a bit more and see what I could come up with,” he told us. His main goal with Essence is to give the reader a visual experience. 

Since this book came to be during the lockdown, we asked him how he finds time to create art – be it designing, photography, or creative direction. “Actually, time is the biggest problem. Art is a subject that requires one to constantly be immersed in its many aspects or you will lose touch,” he said, explaining that he tries to keep early mornings or late nights free to engage in his artistic passions. 

We also touched a little on his musical career; he told us that he has written a few songs during his career and is in talks about joining a band as well. “I’m not in the music industry by profession; my friends are and they just call me whenever they are working on something, so I too give my input and work with them,” he told us. Personally, aside from photography, his biggest love is the film industry. In the future, he hopes to look into film production and be more actively involved in the Sri Lankan cinema industry.

With mobile phones having developed so much that modern phones could now rival a good camera, we asked Kumaratunga for his opinion on the future of mobile photography.  He told us that mobile photography is currently common and very popular in Sri Lanka. “I’ve seen many people moving away from cameras like DSLR and opting for iPhones or other quality camera phones.” With the internet being as easily accessible to everyone, Kumaratunga also said that it is now easy for anyone to learn tips and tricks on how to take great pictures using a phone online. The future is bright for mobile photography.