My journey As a photographer

"You don't take photographs, you make it" 

                                                                    -Ansel Adams

"My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport." 

                                                                      -Steve McCurry

This is just a brief dairy of my experiences, my learning. This note is a open book, I have tried to put down whatever I have felt throughout this journey. This note would be a bookmark to see back from a future day!

I remember, I probably would have scrolled through hundreds of amazing photographs that day on a website. I was awestruck, amazed and thrilled. That was the day I decided, I should at least start learning the art of photography and i was very sure that it would take decades for one perfect photograph. It should be a year now, since i bought my BIG camera, Nikon D5100. But the photography interest grew way long before it, with my simple and humble Nikon L810.

Few photographs from my initial days of photography!

There are masters whose photographs and thoughts have inspired all the times. Those ultimate frames, jaw dropping photographs, the hidden world in every shot and the thought process behind every shutter release, hats off... More than their photographs, the story behind it would be worth listening, their travel experiences, small incidents which led them click a brilliant frame, photographs out of coincidences, their mistakes and their big success... I am not just talking about those national / international award winning photographers or the NatGeo photographers, i have seen few around, just like me but with a great passion about photography. Many a times i tend to imitate their work, follow their path and blindly say "He did it, so do I"! I agree, photography should be a reflection of individual creativity, but we tend to learn a lot of things when we imitate / follow few good work.

The Garlic - Something which I tried to imitate from a fellow photographer

I am no expert now, I still do the same mistakes which I used to do with those first few frames, the only difference is that, I now know exactly what is the mistake. Now having found the mistake, it is time to correct it. And I believe that during this process is when good photographs come out. I always tell myself, there is a lot to learn, a diligent learning would always lead me to good photographs. I still do not have one "Woooow" kind of photo, but there is a level of satisfaction with few my photographs. Over the months i have become more restless, you can find me in a very unusual place wandering like a headless chicken for one good photograph. I keep enchanting " Anything for a good photograph"!

One of such photograph, which was a satisfaction

I was depressed, it was disappointing, I was disheartened, there were days when i just came back empty handed, with bad experiences... It was very recently that I understood that i should take all these as my learning. I was super happy, jumped around assuming a photograph was brilliant, but only later realized it was no extraordinary! I have stuck an emotional face to my photography, I am very much attached to it!

While i see a lot of great photographs around, on the other side there are some people with the DSLRs, roaming around in the parties and get together, clicking the weird faces, tagging them on the social media and boasting themselves as "photographers", I am sorry I do not buy it! Except for few constructive groups / forums / pages, good contacts and good repository of photographs, the social media will not help much to grow as a photographer. The solid websites with loads of knowledge, constant review by better photographers and good interaction with the fellow photographers are few means which has resulted in improvement.

Mysore Streets - Chamaraja circle

One from my spider series

Streets of Mangalore - Krishna Janmashtami Procession

Markets

A portraiture from Yakshagana

Kambala

After Life

The sand plover

It is still a long way to go to call myself as a "Photographer", I am just a hobbyist. I just go around clicking whatever I like. Landscapes, portraits, bird photography, still life and street photography are few genres I have tried, but yet to figure out what I am good at! I have also tried my hand in making photo-stories, but utterly failed, it needs little more time I guess.

There is still a lot of things to learn, a long way to pursue. Photography so far has thought me many things, it has changed my point of view and the perspective of seeing things in a more positive way. Those times at work, its like meditation, sit hours for just 1 photograph. There aren't a perfect photograph, it is the context, the perspective and the story behind them make it perfect!

Singing off with a lot of hopes to make some great photographs ahead!
Anything for a good photograph!
-Arun

Nikon L810 was my first digital camera.
Couple of my photographs are from my Samsung Galaxy Note.
And most of the photographs are from my Nikon D5100 + 18-55 + 55-300 Nikkor lens

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams - See more at: http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/11531/22-quotes-by-photographer-ansel-adams/#sthash.s0rpPXhf.dpuf

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams - See more at: http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/11531/22-quotes-by-photographer-ansel-adams/#sthash.s0rpPXhf.dpuf

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams - See more at: http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/11531/22-quotes-by-photographer-ansel-adams/#sthash.s0rpPXhf.dpuf

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams - See more at: http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/11531/22-quotes-by-photographer-ansel-adams/#sthash.s0rpPXhf.dpuf

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams - See more at: http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/11531/22-quotes-by-photographer-ansel-adams/#sthash.s0rpPXhf.dpuf