Photojournalist & filmmaker · Kolkata
Jayanta Shaw
Working as a photojournalist in India since 1986. Ten years on the Reuters staff, and assignments across South and South East Asia — Kargil, Afghanistan, the 2004 tsunami, 26/11. Published in LIFE, TIME and the Washington Post.
- Years behind a lens
- 40
- Years on the Reuters staff
- 10
- Cricket internationals
- 40+
- Cups of chai
- ∞
About
Forty years on the picture desk
I am an Arts graduate of the University of Calcutta and have worked as a photojournalist in India since 1986 — eleven years at Bartaman, ten on the staff of Reuters, and close to thirteen at Ei Samay. Since 2024 I have worked independently, contributing video and stills to AFP TV and Frontline.
The assignments have run from Ayodhya and the Gorkhaland hills to Kargil, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, and the work has been published in LIFE, TIME, the International Herald Tribune, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and National Geographic Online, among others.
Since 2009 I have also made films. My first solo exhibition, on Calcutta, opened in 1993 at the Oxford Book Store with the pictures selected by Raghu Rai.
- Based in Kolkata, West Bengal
- Now Contributor — AFP TV & Frontline
- Also Documentary filmmaker; guest lecturer, Chitrabani
- Open to Assignments, commissions & archive licensing
Training
- Arts graduateUniversity of Calcutta · Vidyasagar College, 1986
- Basic PhotographyChayapath, under the Federation of Indian Photography
- Photojournalism workshopReuters Foundation
- Hostile EnvironmentCenturion Risk Assessment Services · London, UK
- FilmmakingChitrabani, associated with St. Xavier's Kolkata · 2009
Personal details
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Kolkata Current town/city
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Kolkata Home town
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23 March 1966 Date of birth
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Married Relationship status
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Male Gender
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English Languages
Coverage
Major assignments
News events across India and South East Asia, and in Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
- Babri MasjidAyodhya · 1992
- Kargil WarLadakh · 1999
- Bhuj earthquakeGujarat · 2001
- AfghanistanConflict coverage
- Indian Ocean tsunamiIndian subcontinent · 2004
- Mumbai terror attack26 November 2008
- Operation RhinoAssam
- Gorkhaland movementDarjeeling hills
- Maoist movementNepal
- FloodsBangladesh
- Kumbh MelaIndia
- Cricket40+ ODIs & Tests · India & Bangladesh
Published in
- LIFE
- TIME
- International Herald Tribune
- The Washington Post
- The Boston Globe
- National Geographic Online
- Associated Press
- Agence France-Presse
…and many other national and international dailies and magazines. Work with AP and AFP was filed as a freelancer. An interview appeared in Asian Photography magazine, among five eminent photojournalists.
Career & education
Where the work has been
School and college in Kolkata, then forty years of newsrooms.
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April 2024 — present
Video & Photo Journalist
Independent · Kolkata
Contributor to AFP TV and Frontline magazine, shooting both video and stills.
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July 2011 — March 2024
Photographer
Ei Samay · Calcutta
Nearly thirteen years on the picture desk of the Bengali daily.
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2009 — 2011 Teaching
Guest Lecturer
Chitrabani · Kolkata
Teaching at the filmmaking institute where I had trained.
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July — September 2010
Photo Manager
Press Information Bureau · Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010
Ran picture operations for the Games.
Also listed as Photographer, Organising Committee — Commonwealth Games.
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April 1998 — December 2009
Staff Photojournalist
Reuters · Calcutta
A decade on the wire, filing out of eastern India and across the region.
Also listed as Photographer, Reuters India Private Limited.
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December 1986 — April 1998
Staff Photojournalist
Bartaman · Kolkata
The first job, and eleven years of it.
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1986 Education
Vidyasagar College
University of Calcutta
Graduated in Arts the same year the first newsroom job began.
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School Education
The Scottish Church Collegiate School
Kolkata
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1966
Born in Kolkata
23rd of March — the city I have never really left.
Film & exhibitions
Beyond the still frame
Filmmaking took hold after a course at Chitrabani in 2009. The pictures had started showing sixteen years before that.
Filmography
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2011
Silent Killer
Documentary, commissioned by the Films Division of India.
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2010
Premendra Mitra
Documentary for the Sahitya Akademi, directed by Saikat Bhattacharya. Design.
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Screenings
Festivals
Kolkata International Film Festival (short and documentary section) · BIOFF Film Festival, Puri · KSFF, organised by Chitrabani and Nandan.
Exhibitions
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1993
Calcutta — first solo exhibition
Oxford Book Store, Kolkata. Pictures selected by Raghu Rai.
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2008
National Exhibition of Art
Photograph selected for the Lalit Kala Akademi Golden Jubilee celebration, New Delhi.
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Since 1993
Group shows
Many group exhibitions and multimedia presentations.
Recognition
Awards & honours
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2005 – 2011
Commendation Award National Photo Contest, Photo Division, Government of India — 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011
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2008
Classroom Winner Dance Studio Life magazine, USA
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2008
FIAP Diploma Transport Doprava
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2008
First prize, National Photo Contest Jadavpur University Photography Club, Calcutta
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2006
Humanity Photo Award (HPA) Documentary section, China
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2006
Honourable mention Salon of L.A., The Western Photographer Association, USA
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2003
Second prize Nikon International Photo Contest
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1986
Honourable mention Olympus International Photo Contest
Pictures
Selected frames
Twelve empty slots, waiting for the work. Click a tile to open it larger.
Contact
Say hello
For assignments, commissions, film work or archive licensing, email is quickest — Facebook and Instagram both work too. I read everything and usually reply within a day or two.
- Email hello@jayantashaw.com
- Facebook /jayantashaw
- Instagram @jayantashaw
- Location Kolkata, India