Friday, January 21, 2011

Lucky And The Unlucky Blogger Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

Marziya Shakir at Work

The Worlds Youngest Street Photographer From Bandra

My Head Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

Grandfather Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

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This is my head on the following day after I had cut my head at Kurla in a Shia ritual called Kamazani .

I removed the bandage myself and cleaned my self inflicted wound wit rose water and Marziya shot this and the following pictures too.

Marziya is my 3 year old gifted grand daughter full fledged street photographer.

She shoots on the Nikon D 80.

Munna Bhai Photographer Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

Two Street Photographers of Mumbai

Learning Street Photography Through Humility

163,235 items / 1,285,817 views

Marziya Shakir with her street subject at Chinchpokli Road Bandra.

Marziya Shakir Shoots On Nikon D 80

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Here she must have hit the trigger giving birth to all the following images.. my Nikon D 80 is not in the best of health and physique and I am too broke to buy a new camera and lens..

Aiee Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

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Aiee means mother in Marathi.

Thats what both Marziya and I call her .. with respect and with devotion for her station in life.

She stays at Chinchpokli road Bandra

I have been shooting her for a long time now but we hardly talk , she smiles considers me mad shooting her pictures , but when Marziya held the camera in her hand and took this shot she realized perhaps , even madness gives birth to creativity.. whether Marziya is a product of my street madness I dont know,but Marziya at 3 years makes me unlearn photography, from a manual which is not written by any eminent photographer.

I taught Marziya to hold the camera when she was very young, and camera etiquette , Marziya will never take the camera without placing the strap around her fragile neck, and the Nikon D 80 is a heavy camera for a child.

I made Marziya take the next few shots too , and she does it with a passion that is clearly from within the soul of the camera.

Marziya at times is very impulsive , she likes to shoot pictures when sh is in a mood, otherwise she refuses to take the camera in her hand.

Even when she stands before my camera I have to ask her , or she will turn her face or howl at me, so she knows when to stop and when to begin .

Every morning she wears my Press Card , when we go down to the bazar to pick up the newspapers , she shoots the Desi Murgiwala , or we come back home , without shooting anything.

Marziya does not get intimidated by crowds that gather around her when she shoots she just looks through them, she sees what she has shot avidly on my lap top, but most of the time I show her pictures I shot when she was born, 11900 on my Flickr stream, she has only seen a few and she knows the chubby kid is her, she will tell me proudly Dada that is me.

So I teach my elder sons daughter Marziya Shakir the art of living in peace with a camera, mans gift to Humanity.

And I want Marziya Shakir to be able to see life and shoot good pictures , and here photography is a means to an end not for money fame or iconic glory.

After seeing some of the shit that I come across in newspapers I think Marziya is million light years away from the way they handle their high end cameras.

And Marziya Shakir has her own Nikon D 80 a present from her Guru her Godfather Dr Glenn Losack MD of Manhattan New York.. in a way Glenn is my Guru too..


The first lesson in photography Marziya learnt is humility , she kissed the hand of the Marathi lady Aiee after she has taken all the shots.

And than I shot them both together.

Kamazani The Mark of Faith

Moharam in Mumbai 2010

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All the pictures in this set were sent to me by my dear friend Munna Bhai of Dongri to share with all of you as I was in Chennai shooting Moharam and Ashura there.

Moharam in Mumbai 2010

Moharam in Mumbai 2010

Moharam in Mumbai 2010

All The Pictures In This Set Were Sent To Me By Munna Bhai of Dongri

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As I was in Chennai shooting the Azadari there I could not shoot the Moharam in Mumbai ,so I requested Munna Bhai of Kaiser Bagh Kama fame to give me some images to post at my Flickr photostream.

And he gave me all this that I hare with all of you...I am indebted to him for this kind gesture.

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