Keep shooting every possible day. Take up a challenge like 365 days of shooting, 52 weeks challenge, etc. This can help one learn a lot. Also, take more photos of your family members, you will thank yourself after a few years for doing this. Also, keep a backup on the remote server drive always, I have seen plenty of people losing their precious data as hard drives crash over time.
1. Tell us about your background and journey as a photographer.
I was an Aerospace Engineer before I quit my job 5 years ago in 2018 to pursue travel and photography full-time. Photography started as a hobby in 2011 with a phone camera and eventually became a serious passion while I was working and started to explore the world around me.
2. What professional photographers have influenced your work, and how do you incorporate their techniques into your photographs?
Many photographers have influenced me from my beginning. From experimental to portrait to travel and landscape photographers over the years. A few names who inspire me these days are Michael Shainblum, Steve Mccurry, Taras Taporvala, Daniel Kordan, and Emmet Sparling to name a few, not limited to this list. I draw inspiration to experiment on lighting, composition, and storytelling from them. Having said this our inspirations keep changing over time as we evolve.
Lights and shadows- An experimental light portrait
3. Do you think editing is important for bringing out the meaning of the photograph or the colors in it? Or do you prefer raw images?
Absolutely yes, I believe post-processing is what separates us from the crowd. It can bring out the depth and create the impact of a photograph. I can showcase this with an example of the Taj Mahal picture I took in 2015.
I think post-processing is an evolution like photography itself, we learn over time.
4. What's your favorite thing to photograph?
These days I like to shoot low-light subjects like night skies, low-light portraits, festivals like Theyyam, etc.
Northern lights at Vestrahorn in Iceland
5. What, according to you, are the important skills one should have to be a successful photographer?
How good is one’s vision, how fast one is in the field, post-processing skill, also how well one is good at curating one's own creation - this is a highly underrated step that can decide the quality of a photographer. Most importantly people and networking skills are really important if one wants to make a livelihood through photography.
I have shot over 1000 images from the Haldi festival from Pattan Kodoli in Oct 2022, out of which I have published only one as I felt this was the only image that stood out for me.
6. What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced to capture a moment or to get the perfect shot you want?
Crowds at festivals can be really challenging as it restricts movement to frame the composition. Some of the moments happen so quickly that the camera wouldn’t have enough time to focus. Some festivals may end up with not many happening moments that are worth showcasing. Shooting night skies can be really challenging in terms of rain, clouds, and storms. We ended our 10 days of Iceland trip in March 2022 with not even a single night of clear sky.
The below image was shot during scorching heat camera heating up, hunting for focus in low light, with flames flying around and crowds pushing me around while shooting.
7. What are some tips you would like to share with amateur photographers?
Keep shooting every possible day. Take up a challenge like 365 days of shooting, 52 weeks challenge, etc. This can help one learn a lot. Also, take more photos of your family members, you will thank yourself after a few years for doing this. Also, keep a backup on the remote server drive always, I have seen plenty of people losing their precious data as hard drives crash over time.
8. If not this, what would you be doing?
I would be a full-time traveler and an Investor. I hope to run an Airbnb and a cafe someday as well.
9. Which is your favorite book/show and why?
I am a big fan of the Marvel franchise movies, and historical fiction such as Game of Thrones, Vikings, Troy, Gladiator, etc. Also the Dark Knight trilogy. These inspire me a lot as I enjoy the evolution of the characters and thriller plots.
I try to watch most of the BBC Earth shows
narrated by Sir David Attenborough as the learning from these is impeccable.
I read mostly self-help books and photography magazines these days. Almanac of Naval Ravikant, the Richest Man in Babylon, and Independent Photographer, Natgeo are a few of my favorites.
Interviewed By - Nimisha Dutta
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