36 Pictures

Saturday 21st April, 2012
Russell Market, Shivajinagar
Bangalore

A few weeks ago, I met with an awesome wedding photographer (Anup J Kat) whom I bombarded with questions about the trade and he very graciously  told me everything he could over a quick cup of coffee before he rushed off to shoot a wedding! I am always beyond grateful to photographers who share their time and knowledge freely!

Anyway, amongst all the other tricks of the trade that Anup shared with me, he challenged me to go out and click as if I were clicking on film.

36 shots. No instant reviewing.

So I shared the challenge with two other photographer friends and we went off on a little adventure to Russell Market, armed with our cameras, 36 shots and a desire to be better at what we love to do!

We met at Indiranagar, took an auto to Shivajinagar, decided to split and meet in front of St. Mary’s after 45 minutes. I have to admit that I kind of felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb in that area. Some streets, though busy were almost completely void of women and even if there were any, they were very modestly clad in burqas. So me in jeans and t-shirt, plus camera in hand… let’s just say, it was a little bit intimidating.

But beyond that factor, it was such a great experience! It sure was difficult not allowing myself to review my shots as I took them but I can totally see the benefit in doing this exercise. After we shot, we regrouped and made our way to Woody’s ordered some coffee and dosa and reviewed each other’s images.

So here’s what I learnt today:
- I love street photography. I love how everything is constantly changing and you never run out of interesting subjects but it is definitely not my comfort zone.
- Photographer friends are awesome! Haha. No seriously, being lonely sucks. Being lonely as a photographer sucks even more. You need somebody to talk aperture, shutter speed, ISO, post-processing and drool over dream equipment with. Be a friend to make a friend!
- Just ask. Ask your subject if you can take a certain shot. Don’t assume that they don’t want to be photographed. Be okay with a ‘no’ and move on.
- Inspiration is all around you. STOP and look.

Anyway, enough talk, here are some of my faves from the day:

Thanks Anup for the inspiration. Thanks Anu and Sharan, my new partners in crime! Let’s do this again!

p.s. If you’re a fellow photographer in Bangalore, looking for some friends to go gaga about photography with, join us!