Monojit Dutta's phone photograph 'Leap of Happiness' captures a spontaneous moment of children playing with balloons in Canning, West Bengal. The image, shot on an OPPO Reno13 Pro, was taken on a Sunday after annual school exams had finished.
Chance encounter leads to perfect shot
Dutta arranged for a large bundle of balloons to be waiting at Canning station when he arrived on the early morning train from Kolkata. He often visits new places on Sundays to explore and take photographs. 'I came across lots of local children playing in a field, shared out the balloons and asked three of them to run and jump. I didn't guide their movements beyond that, and their energy and expressions are all natural,' he says.
Natural composition and editing
Afterwards, Dutta sat by the river to study the shots. 'The boys were around nine or 10, and were running in a circle, jumping and chasing each other. One of them was a bit less energetic, or maybe tired, so he fell slightly behind. I captured the moment as it happened,' Dutta explains. 'Later on, I realised that it had created a nice balance in the frame, with two boys on the left jumping in the air and one on the right still on the ground.'
He made basic edits on his phone, tweaking saturation and contrast. 'I tried to showcase a life where children can play freely under the open sky,' Dutta says. 'And I wanted to show the joy of Sundays.'
