STUDIO

Worker drilling inside a coal mine, Asansol By Ahmed Ali, 1951 silver gelatin print with selenium toning, 24 x 30 in

- AMIT DIXIT

In the decades following Independence, industrial photography in India played its part in the great act of nation building—and Ahmed Ali (1923–2016) was one of its most influential practitioners. Ali developed an interest in photography at age 11 when he was gifted a box camera, but his first professional assignment was photographing the Tata Steel Plant in 1947. After WWII, there was a rising demand for photography in sales, promotions and advertising, and Ali found his niche in commercial photography. He set u