"Not everybody with a camera is a photographer. A photographer needs to have a vision and direction," says Kumar Ale, one of Nepal's young photographers. And the man himself is no ordinary camera-slinger. Ale's approach to the profession makes him unique. For over ten years, Ale has been shooting Nepal's artists, litterateurs, poets and musicians, mostly in black and white.

"I vowed to capture at least one subject every day, not necessarily a famous personality," says Ale. Today he has images of over 1,500 people, ranging from musician Amber Gurung, to poet Madhav Ghimire, to some whose names aren't widely known-yet. The most important thing about Ale's work is that his subjects don't have to pose. His pictures are taken when the subjects are going about doing whatever they do.

Ale is originally from Aathrai in Tehrathum district. The roots of his passion go back to his school days when reading about people like Bhanubhakta and Laxmi Prasad Devkota aroused his curiosity-he wanted to see pictures of all these characters. "All we could see were sketches, no one had pictures.

I hope my collection of contemporary writers, musicians, artists and poets will help future generations to know more about those whose works they study," says Ale. He leaves one class of dreamers untouched, though, politicians. And why black and white photography? "Black and white photographs preserve colour for a longer duration than colour pictures although they are more expensive to start with. And besides, black and white photographs look more artistic," reasons Ale.
Kumar Ale has never exhibited his works. The only thing close was a compact disc with digital images of his works that he carried when he went to Europe several years ago. Exhibition or not, his works have inspired many to come up with new ideas. The poets he's captured have given him inventive names-some call him Chitara, some Photo Shikari.

He doesn't make much money from his pictures, but Ale isn't complaining. "I did not do this for money. This is purely personal. The only thing I hope to get out of this is that it may inspire others to be creative and use their imagination for a good cause.

" It's clear that what pleases him most is being able to inspire creativity. The Royal Nepal Academy had previously stowed away the portraits of many of Nepal's greatest writers owns. Today, drawing inspiration from Ale's work, they are on display. "Every creator should follow a certain line," says Ale. He's certainly got the right angle.