Sunday, January 13, 2013

Peace - where art thou?!



I went on my year’s first photowalk yesterday after months and I must say it was so refreshing. It was scheduled in the evening at the Lalbagh in Bangalore. Lalbagh is a garden spread over 200 acres of land that also houses a lake and the very popular glasshouse where flower shows are held bi-annually drawing crowds in millions. Bangalore is hailed as the garden city and Lalbagh is one of the reasons for it.
















Away from the polluted air and the noisy traffic, I joined my fellow-walkers at the hillock to embark on the journey. As we walked, I met a few new joiners buzzing with great enthusiasm as well as caught up with some old friends too. The theme of the walk was to tell a story with the help of a collage of images captured from the walk. I still I am to create the collage but for now, sharing an image from yesterday that symbolizes peace that I am in search of these days.


New Year Resolutions



Dear Bloggie, 
     Do you believe in keeping New Year resolutions? Or are you one among those who resolve to forget what they had resolved? Don’t you worry; I used to be one among those whose resolutions did not even last a week.

2011 and 2012 were actually the years when I almost fulfilled all of my resolutions. You see, I am only growing as an individual with time. I have come to believe it is important to maintain some sort of discipline in pursuing your personal interests/goals; so much so that the resolutions almost became a bucket list of things to do in my smartphone diary that I review every month and record my accomplishments against each one of them. Yeah I am much more organized these days, thanks to the technology.

     My secret of keeping resolutions is really simple. Take one step at a time. Move gradually, and once you’ve established some consistency, it is time to revise your goals.
You have no idea what it feels like when you take a stock of your performance against your resolutions to find you have met your expectations, almost. I am happier today than I probably was.

So what does your bucket list look like?


The Oscar Winning Moment


     I would like to thank God, my parents, my siblings, my friends, my cat, my camera, my laptop, my smartphone, facebook and finally the Bangalore Photowalk group from the bottom of my heart and blah blah blah. As cliched as it sounds, I cannot in my wildest of imaginations dream of reciting this.

But yes, the moment did arrive. Not once but twice in a year. Compelling enough to share with you dear bloggie. Not being modest, but I sincerely believe I have just begun and have a long way to. And this sure is highly encouraging. I am but only humbled.

How would you as an amateur react to winning a photography contest you had participated just for the fun of it. I bagged the second prize of $500 cash for a picture of a woman shot in the middle of a busy commercial street in Bangalore on a bright afternoon last year. This street houses some henna artists from the state of Rajasthan who've made the street their homes. They make a living by carving intricate henna designs on the palms of women & children shopping there. While all the artists were busy at work, this particular woman caught my attention as she seemed deeply lost in her thoughts, despaired and yet had not lost hopes. They say he who has never hoped will never despair. So dream on and one day you will get there. This clearly became the theme of my entry in the contest too. This image will now be used for advertising & promotion campaigns by a multi-national IT company. I feel so proud.


My second claim to fame arrived at the end of the same year when I was informed one of my images got selected by the Bangalore Photowalk group to be featured in their Desk Calendar for 2013 in the category of Street photography.The image is an abstract of a collection of the then made pots placed under the sun for drying. 

I still remember this was my first ever photowalk with the group in February last year and I was happy, excited, nervous and apprehensive of walking with a bunch of total strangers in the pottery town. And today, I have proudly placed the calendar at my workstation intending to draw my colleagues’ attention just so I can brag about my achievement. Purely kidding. But who does not like a wee bit of attention?!

I hope to pursue photography this year too with an additional focus on DIY subjects. Oh and did I say increased participation in events/contests? 
Enough said, see you at the Oscars next year.


LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...