To the master...

I dedicate this blog to the great director Satyajit Ray.. whose movies have inspired me each day.
I recently watched a movie titled "Aparajita". I had watched the "Pather Panchali" and "Charulata" way back in college but at that time I was not much into shooting. It was only when I had got a lot involve din photography and have been lately posting a lot of pictures in the B/W medium that my interest rose.

Every frame of his has had me thinking and has left me spell bound. The simplicity of his frames have been the most powerful element in it.



I could see where my inspiration had come from. I would be thrilled to come even 20% close to what he has achieved in terms of photographic excellence.



I would suggest that to anyone who is really interested in black and white medium and pure unadulterated photography. The purity of the frames are identified by the usage of only human elements. The subtle eye movements the minimalistic frames, the soothing indian classical music in the background.. The entire movie is filled with moments that you would want to see again and again.



A sudden urge to know more about him.. to watch all his films.. and to learn about his thought process has filled me. I am glad its come at the right time. Just when I am togo for my further studies. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise!

Shooting on weekends...

I switched off my alarm ringing mobile in hope to catch a few extra minutes of sleep... When my eyes finally opened it said 6:10 am!
Jumped out of my bed.. the talk between myself and Vishwaas still reverberating in my ears..."...kal aa rahe ho na... we meet at 6:30 .. same palce.... c u tomorrow then.. good night..."
Hurriedly did my morning rituals.. and rushed to Woody's..our meeting place.. I was there by 6:40... No sign of Mr Vishwaas.. or Ajay... or anyone else who would be joining the shoot.. befuddled; i waited.. hoping that someone would call up.. or someone would drop a msg..
Finally Vishwaas called up at around 7 stating that he would be there in 5 minutes.. Trust me.. i felt that it was the longest 5 minutes that i had experienced!

Reached Kalasipalyam market at around 7:30...Its such a pleasure to ride a bike in the early mornings.. no traffic hassles..
There were no familiar faces in sight...
Wanted to have tea.. ended up having coconut water ... The day was just setting in.. but not in that part of the city.. already buzzing with activities.. the buses from the neighbouring state.. the traffic already at its peak that we wondered what it would be like in the other time of the day..

I had read that the people would be at near the flyover.. was it that the others could be there?
I was just sipping the coconut drink .. when i remembered,, someone was trying to call me when i was driving... dialled the number..
It was Greeshma.. was near the Chandru Bhavan restaurant.... So we had two choices.. myself and Vishwaas walk down.. or ask her to come to our place.. we decided the later.
Our faces lit up seeing the group grow.. now we were three.. good enough to shoot...!
Waited some more time.. dialled some more numbers.. no one turned up.. no one answered the phone.. dropped a msg to Doctor to let people know that we three souls are here.. shooting.. if anyone decided to comeby later...

The Kalasipalyam Market is like no other market that I and maybe Vishwaas or Greeshma has shot before.. the brightly colored walls in the background .. with mostly dark skinned people in the midground the brightly colored vegetables in the foreground.... the scene was perfect for another exciting day of photography... they did make interesting compositions.. the roads by the way were bright too.. And did i mention Spongy? oh yes.. there was a whole layer of leaves and vegetables and fruits and what not underneath our feet... Our only thought that time... Just stay cautious.. and not Slip.. as although we would not be hurt.. we would be badly messed up.... This was going to be one interesting shoot!
The aroma of the market was a bit pungent.. mostly due to what lay beneath... the crowd over there was a bit cautious i would say.. The stares that we got said it all..
It was then that I heard the other two discuss.. are we going to shoot? Is it safe? well .... thats what we were there for... we decided to stay at a place together.. someplace where we could stand together.. which we had a hard time to find... after analysing the situation.. i decided to go first..... i took out my camera.. and started shooting without looking through the view finder.... something that I have lately got interested in.. Perhaps due to the surprise element that comes after the shot and some offbeat compositions!
We decided to stay together..

Every step of ours was greeted by a blurt of questions.. More shouts of Madam... and less of Sir.. perhaps the presence of a female in the group was making a difference.. We then realised that we are going to have a good time shooting... and that was the way it turned out to be...I was missing my 50mm... for the lovely portraits that the makrket provied... We mostly shot portraits.... some also used the wide angles to get some interesting compositions...

At around 9 we decided to call it a day.. headed to breakfast at Kamath .. and then back...

One interesting shoot this was.. The activities in the market was really interesting and I must admit.. it is a market that one could do shoots after shoots..

Lost ...

Came across this interesting piece from Kabir.



A diamond is lost in the mud;
all are seeking it.
Some go to the East-or to the west,
Wishing to find it.
Is it lost in the river?
Or in the rocks?
Kabir, your servant, appreciates it
for its just value.
He will take away,
warmly sheltered
in a corner of his heart.



Quit my job. Hope to be relieved by end of June.
Just feeling a bit relaxed, but at the same time a bit lost.
So looking up to the almighty.
He has been there always and
I am sure is that at this moment also.

A year of shooting..

Today I reached a milestone. Its a small one but pretty large for me when i look back at the days.
last year at this time I had just finished my first shooting with my Nikon D70s. I had just got from camera a couple of weeks ago and had been transferred to Bhubaneshwar on duty.
I remember the 1st of May last year was a Monday and I had ventured out to Kolkata on the extended weekend. And what an amazing trip it was! Unplanned.. Not knowing where to go in Kolkata.
Just outside the railway station I saw this beggar who was just finishing his nap for the night.


I headed to the flower market first and did get some interesting shots there.


There were many firsts. I was on the metro for the first time. Kolkata as a city has always had me spellbound and it was just amazing experience there inspite of the heat.
In my previous blog i had mentioned about the infinite possibilities that the city provides to shoot.
The best part was that there was a couple of shots that i shot from the heart and were well recieved.
I love shooting children and was really thrilled at one moment clicking them,


but at the next moment I was sad at the conditions in which many of these children live and survive.


I just remember each moment of that shoot!