Not Just Gear
UPGRADE Your VISION
Unrestricted
Contemporary
Perspective
What is
UPGRADE?
You can call it a journey with your visual sense.
But that is a tip of the iceberg. How do you imagine this journey with your visual sense to be? Is there a route? A destination? How long does it take?
We don’t know. And we believe nobody does. It’s always an exploration. It’s a continuous effort to see more through what we see. It’s about experiencing the power of vision that is unique to you.
Upgrade offers Free Support to design your visual journey in your way and create impact.
Open, But
Not For All
Upgrade will not make you famous photographer. It will not bring you prizes or medals. It will not make you photography expert. Think before you apply!
Things to consider before you get interested
It’s Mostly Online
Most of the communication and knowledge transfer related to Upgrade is done on Google Meet. However, we do meet offline whenever necessary. The online meetings are generally scheduled at night around 9.30pm – 11.30pm.
We Speak Bengali
Our main communication language is Bengali. The ideas as more catered to Eastern or Oriental approach rather than western art practices. You must be interested in your land and language i.e Bengal and excited to explore its diverse nature and culture.
Not another Photography Course
No, we cant make you zero to hero in six months. It’s not your popular photography course. We work on vision and we do not teach camera tricks and tips. It’s more about what and why over how it’s done on camera.
Mentor Knows Nothing
Do not expect some Godly mentor here who knows everything in photography. It’s a teamwork to knowledge and your mentor is on the same journey. You will join to learn but there is no one to teach here.
Not for Mainstream
We believe the ‘mainstream photography’ is an inadvertent failure of visual art by far. If you disagree, you can still join us if you are aware of the word ‘post-modern discourse’ and okay with adverse opinions.
Open to Interpretation
Whatever you are reading on this page or will come across in Upgrade is completely open to your interpretation. Meaning is a relative word. We believe in discourse rather than a preset meaning or approach.
Upgrade
Methodology
10
Activities
Upgrade is focused on Activeness
The most important factor for an art practitioner is the activeness of the practice. While at surface it seems that it’s the direct practice of the medium, the practice covers more than we can imagine. In Upgrade, we try to explore and plan our activeness in different phases. Please go through the top-level activities of each phase. If you are interested in Upgrade, you must be active on all 10 points. These will be explained and explored further in the journey of Upgrade.
Active Preparation
Preparation is the First Phase of Upgrade. Active preparation ensures you are practically ready to take challenges in your visual journey and make it to the goal.
1. Active Plan: You must have an active plan for your visual journey. This plan will cover your extensive journey map and the actionable.
2. Active Learning: Learning is everywhere and it exists in various form. You must be in active learning on a specific subject. The subject can be anything and may not be related to photography.
Active Practice
This is the main phase of your visual journey. As a visual explorer, you should give it highest importance in your plan.
3. Active Project: This is your main photography project. A photography project is not qualified by the number of images, but the subjectivity and impact of the work.
4. Active Publication: In Rishi On Ride, we provide you multiple channels to publish your work e.g. blog, ebook, portable exhibition, utility prints etc. You must use any one or all the channels and be active on publication.
5. Active Portfolio: You must have designed webspace showcasing your work. In case you do not have a website, we provide free website for your portfolio. You must have an active and up to date portfolio.
Active Communication
Communication has become the most important phase in today’s social infrastructure. You must take it seriously and work your way to maintain and curate your viewer circle.
6. Active Viewer: You need to have a distinguishable viewer community. It may be a Whatsapp or Facebook group or any other online/offline format of your choice.
7. Active Engagement: Engagement is the heart of communication. You must have a regular engagement plan for your viewers. It may not be showing your work always. Think it through.
8. Active Feedback: You need to incorporate an active feedback mechanism for your viewer circle and collect feedback on regular intervals.
Active Analysis
The fourth and last phase is the analysis of the three phases above. It focuses on sustainable growth and creates a roadmap for the next cycle.
9. Active Growth: You must analyze your journey and sense the growth. It may not always be measurable, but it must have a distinguishable impact.
10. Active Roadmap: The roadmap is the outcome of analysis and next explorations combined together. In turn the roadmap helps to create ‘plan’ and ‘learning’ mentioned in the first phase.