Niyatee Shinde: Yes, it is true that a commercial photographer's personal work looks the same as his professional work. This has happened at the Exhibit A shows, for instance. Though, admittedly, Exhibit A did have an important historical function - that of giving a platform to fine art photography.

I am a photo-historian and I don't think that photographers are doing anything new these days. The whole shift we are looking at is purely commercial. For the first time, collectors are looking at photographs as viable objects. There is a lot of repetition even amongst our senior photographers. What is so different now? There is no new turn, really. The big shift is that installation artists are using photography in interesting ways in their work. That's about it.

David De Souza: I think the trouble with photographers is that very often they operate in a vacuum. We work in isolation...

Abhay Sardesai: Yes, but do you really think that the distinction between Fine Art Photography and Commercial Photography holds water? After a point aren't these just labels of convenience that need to be looked at carefully? Should the term, 'Fine Art Photography' be done away with, as some practitioners believe?

Matthieu Foss: I disagree. I think there are artists who use photography as a way to express themselves, which is very different from someone who is asked to photograph a pair of jeans. A photographer might do an excellent job in a commercial project. The reason behind him doing it is what makes the difference. The term, 'Fine Art Photography' does make sense.

Abhay Sardesai: I am sure it does. But look at the paradox here - the 'new turn' is about commerce, isn't it? So, how is commercially viable 'fine art' photography different from excellent commercial photography where you are capturing a pair of jeans.? Aren't there layers of meaning here, which need to be teased out carefully?

Matthieu Foss: I am not talking about selling a pair of jeans. I am talking about the quality of the work. There is so much exposure now for photographic ventures.

Niyatee Shinde: Matthieu, if there were not such a boom in the art market, would photography really be getting this much attention? Is the attention because photographers are suddenly doing great work?

Matthieu Foss: For the first time there are collectors who are interested in building real collections and this is not something that's purely commercial. Whether it is photography or Indian art in general, people are not only buying to speculate. Until now, nothing much has been done for photography; not many galleries were showing it here.

Niyatee Shinde: To be fair, efforts have been made for a long time. Photography as an art form has been seriously discussed since the '70s. On a personal level, I have curated quite a few photography shows, many of them abroad. But now, because there is an art boom, everyone is talking about photography. That's what I find scary, the fact that the interest is so clearly and directly linked.