This is my first blog ever! I shyed away from blogging earlier because I used to think there's no need to express yourself on the web, when there are so many people around you. But now I feel the need to interact with wider communities, similar minded people and to share my experiences with them. One warning though- I am a compulsive writer. So only compulsive readers are invited!
Its strange that I am choosing to start blogging with a photography blog. When I first thought of blogging, photography was almost alien to me..Perhaps the choice would be Astrology, or Aquariums..Never the less, photography it is for now..
So here I go..
I remember myself jumping with excitement after seeing the print of my first photo ever. It was in May 1996, The subject was the Bergi Dam in Madhya Pradesh captured using Mom's Point and Shoot Yashica film camera (Yashica used to be very popular in India in the film days. I still have my Dad's Yashica 635 in perfectly working condition!). I didn't have to do anything but just press the shutter release button. The photo is the only existing photo from that album. It stood out from those taken by my Mom, Cousins because of its composition. (Actually my photo pretty average, it was just that others weren't sure of what exactly they were framing to capture!). Yes, even in film days, when so many things were to be considered before taking a photograph, composition of the photo was of utmost importance. Now in digital age, with sooo many things turning automatic and with the onset of stupid gimmicks like Face detection, Composition is always going to remain manual and certainly the most important thing in photography..
After that incident, I wasn't to hold camera for more than a year and I was under the impression that photography was the easiest thing to do in world. The impression was shattered to pieces when I took my second photo. A Red wattled Lapwing had laid eggs on the terrace of my house. I had just become obsessed with birds after seeing a slide show by Mr. Kiran Purandare. I was keeping a close eye on the eggs and desperately wanted to see the lapwing chicks coming out of them. Moment I saw minute cracks on the shells I rushed to Dad and got the same point and shoot camera and emptied the role. I went so close to a chick that the camera almost touched it. Now I was sure I had gotten the best lapwing chick photos in the world and told the entire family and friend circle about it. Imagine my shock when I saw the prints. 33 blurred photos. Dad told me that I shouldn't have gotten so close to the chicks. But when I asked him How could I have gotten the closeup shots without going closer to babies, he didn't have an answer. As a child, I was always at one emotional extreme or the other. The entire next week went in crying. I didn't even feel like looking at the chicks anymore. They were there for many weeks before they flew away, never to come back.
Later after 4 more years, after my schooling ended I did take the camera to Mahabaleshwar and got many nice shots, but all were general picnic shots. At least I had gotten over that nightmare. The worst was over.
