Going back to David's point about photography being a solitary activity, I want to say that there is an irony here - photography became popular because of photography societies. Photography caught on as people started forming clubs, salons. Because it was such a technical process, people had to come together to discuss the chemicals and experiments. These days, the methods have changed and there are hardly any groups talking about photography anymore.

Abhay Sardesai: So, what do you think about these advances? Because photography is both a science and an art, has the gesture of taking a photograph changed with technological transformations?

David De Souza: Yes, it has. Earlier, you would drive your parents into penury if you tried to buy the equipment. You had to have clubs because you had to share your materials. There is no need for a club today. You do need clubs for socializing, for talking about your work, yes, but not for sharing chemicals. You have other club-like presences - you have photo-blogs. These clubs are more amorphous, they exist in the virtual world. They are impersonal spaces but there is a different kind of professional intimacy. There are different ways of taking photographs now as well.

Niyatee Shinde: As photography gallerists, Matthieu and Ader, would you show photos done with a cell-phone?

Matthieu Foss: Yes. If it is interesting work, we would show it.

Zehra Jumabhoy: Niyatee, since you have worked in this field for so long, are you saying that there is no new turn in photography in India?

Niyatee Shinde: There is no new turn, definitely. It is not as bad as it sounds, though. People are going that extra mile to express themselves better. But it is not like we have suddenly woken up to this new group of photographers who are doing stunning work. There are individuals who are doing good work, of course. I think Sunil Gupta is a pioneer in his field. With photography, the subject is always important. Hence, the importance given to documentation. Gupta is documenting the gay lifestyle.

Abhay Sardesai: Do you feel that people who come from a background of painting and sculpture are the ones who are really pushing the envelope for and with photography? Like Vivan Sundaram's photomontages in Re-take of Amrita, that re-order narratives from the past and engage with structures of memory. And Pushpamala N. and Clare Arni, who investigate the act of documentation itself. Or Sandesh Dnyaneshwar Bhandare, who has travelled with Tamasha troupes in Maharashtra, documenting their transforming lives, lifestyles, and public spheres through both text- and photo-essays. Or Atul Bhalla, who has conjured up the social life of water, as it were, through his photographs.

Niyatee Shinde: I agree. It is artists like these who are pushing the envelope.

Abhay Sardesai: So, Shahid and David, do you find that people who are using photography in conjunction with their own disciplines are coming up with more interesting ways of approaching and using photography?

Shahid Datawala: My own early work was with graphics. I worked with screen printing, scratching on negatives and the like. It was only much later that I got into pure photography. I now want to do photography with videos.