I dont think it is taking a camera walking down the street taking random shots ,I think it is much deeper , more mystical , more mind awakening venture and a learning device too..
I am not talking about theatricality I see every frame as a poetry of life juxtaposed between here and there, as I travel mostly by bus I shoot from the bus window and something pushes me to add a scene into the heart of my camera , I shoot all my pictures in color, here it was the lady , in her own world she was wearing a bright blood red saree ,a South Indian lady and again what you really shoot is body language , which only the camera understands ..I dont compose I simply shoot , I shoot for myself , and what I shot with my mind could be read differently by your mind .. I believe in simplicity , simple scenes of life that we have forgotten to see and appreciate .
I cannot go on a photo walk , I am a loner I shoot exclusively on my own..I remember once I was aggravated with a lady at Vasai beach she kept following me I used some harsh words but she said she just wanted to see what I was shooting..
I felt bad that I had scolded her I went back apologized to her profusely today she is a good photographer and a good friend. So I stopped shooting in a crowd completely .there are exceptions ,,now I have friends who come from abroad I go out on shoots with them but I learn from them staying at a distance and there are great masters you can learn while watching them , the way they approach their shots , the way they hold their cameras and I make sure they are not disturbed by my presence I become disembodied ..and so I learnt from Dr Glenn Losack he is an absolute loner ,and in his own world nothing exists betwen him and the camera just the subject and him and he talks to them while he shoots , they think he is raving mad , and they are mad too .. I mean the beggars he shoots .
Than there was Jean Marc Gargantiel from Reunion , he shoots in such a way that you dont know a foreigner is shooting , he becomes one with the crowd ,, and this masterly quality I found in my friend Marc De Clercq he is very fair , tall handsome long curly hair but when he shoots he cannot be seen .. and I trailed behind trying not to copy their shots but changing perspective did get me some interesting flow of imagery.
Finally one person who impressed me recently was my friend Boaz , he is very serious about what he shoots , highly patient , does not give up, wont get aggravated or angry and is always smiling even if an apple fell on his head .I learnt a lot from him , first being selective and not trigger happy , and working on the final product this is something I cant do, I shoot a story board , sequences and a string of symbolic thought ..Boaz was god sent we got along pretty well both here in Mumbai and Hyderabad a truly great photographer and if you are with a great person something cosmically will rub off on to you ,,it did I know.
And all this important , learning unlearning ,, you dont have to copy what they shoot but get inspired and improvise ..the sky is the limit.. I am self made photographer I have Gurus I learnt from them but it was not always photography , it was humility ., simplicity and other such thoughts.
I try not talk about what I shoot as pictures are more talkative than us , they can start a conversation with your mind in silence and thus it brings me to one of the finest street photographer on Flickr Akbar Simonese he shoots pictures that are simple but they touch a chord , and I am happy that I have learnt a lot from this wise young man at heart from Amsterdam.. he encourages , he instills hope and he is not condescending about his skill or his experience .. following great photographers is very important though you may not shoot the same thing .. you have to accept other forms of photography and find your own ultimate path..
There are many great teaching photographers on Flickr provided you are willing to take up the challenge and you dont need to get your ass roasted to be a good photographer...when I began teaching my granddaughter photography people thought I was loony crazy , but what I really taught them was how to hold the camera and to never be intimidated by it , the camera is the cosmic slave of our mind , my granddaughters will never be photographers but yes but they will always be able to shoot pictures of their own children...and will store memories that I have stored for all three of them.. photography is not just a hobby it is something more and once you get hooked there is no end ,and this post was destined to filled with words ,,its up to you t remove wisdom from a jumble of sentences .. Adieu
