Photojournalist, publisher and photography tutor Krishna Maharaj passed on September 07, 2024. This remembrance is authored for MATT by his colleague, Mark Lyndersay.

In 1990, I was appointed to be Krishna Maharaj’s boss. To be accurate, I was appointed the Picture Editor of the Trinidad Guardian, and Krishna was a freelance photographer with the paper.

Over time, I implemented some of the changes I’d planned for the department and let’s just say that they weren’t welcomed. Inter-office politics got suspended in favour of resisting the new-broom efforts of this interloper.
So, it turns out; Krishna and I did not get off to a great start. Not even a bad start, it was all pretty awful.

The one evening, after everyone had either left or was out on assignment; Krishna asked for a chat.
He felt stuck and wanted to know how to raise his photographic game.

I offered some guidance, and he pressed forward with enthusiasm, enrolling in the New York Institute of Photography and following the course through to its conclusion.

Eventually, Krishna would leave the Guardian and go to the Trinidad Express, where he eventually rose to the role of Chief Photographer.

“I’ve known Krishna for over 40 years, from a school boy visiting the Guardian Newspaper [Taylor’s father, Rudy, was the Chief Photographer of the Guardian for many years] to working alongside him at the Express Newspaper – up until his retirement,” recalled Robert Taylor, Photographic Editor at the Express.

“He affectionately called me Rob and I called him Krish – he was always ready to make light of any situation which always helps in a stressful environment. Willingly giving advice, sprinkled with his many years of experience as not only a photographer, but also as a radio host.”

For Krishna, photography was more than a job; it was a calling which he responded to with enthusiasm.

Judging the 2007 AMPOTT photography competition, from left, Bernadette Williams, Krishna Maharaj, Elmo Griffith and the late Maurice Brown, Noel Norton and William Aguiton. Photo by Mark Lyndersay.

He founded the Association of Media Photographers of TT (AMPOTT) to offer a unified front to incidents of media practitioner abuse which had begun to become more frequent.

One of the association’s activities was a biennial photography competition, and he asked me to be the chief judge.

After his co-pilot in guiding AMPOTT, Tony Howell passed, the association began to founder. After he retired, he created a community newspaper, began coaching novice photographers and pursued one of his lifelong passions, learning to fly.

He’d call from time to time to ask if I’d be interested in participating in a new project, but none of them ever seemed to require my participation, though he’d bring some of the work of his students to my office for evaluation.

What started as an uncomfortable relationship eventually settled into an easy friendship underwritten by mutual respect.

“His sudden departure will leave a void in a profession that is quickly losing its foundational ethos,” said Taylor.

“Rob watch this boss shot” I can still hear him say, as well as some unpublishable comments. Rest in Peace Krishna.”