Shooting buddies

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These are exciting times for photographers. There’s an advantage that 21st century lensmen have over camera addicts of the previous generations — the Internet. Social media is giving amateur photographers what they need most — audience, a global online audience. Thanks to the slew of photo-sharing options in the virtual world, one can now share one’s visual ideas with a worldwide

audience and many are forging new friendships, forming clubs and groups, and connecting with like-minded folk from across the world.
The online space has become a vibrant platform, brimming with ideas. And blogs are the public venues for lively discussions on the journey behind the lens. For Sandeep Dinker, an engineer from Hyderabad who is now a freelance photographer, his blog, mysticxpressions.com opened up a whole new world for him. “I started it as a playful blog, uploading my perspective and pictures from daily life. Then people from around the world started subscribing to them, commenting and sharing them. I started getting friend requests and total strangers contacted me to accompany them on photo-walks to places like Hampi and Valley of Flowers. One strong bond I’ve formed is with an ex football player from Italy, who I met through my blog and headed to Hampi with for a photo walk. Photo-blogging has given me a feeling of being one with people. It’s very satisfying every time a new visitor comes to my photo-blog from some remote part of the world,” he says.
These photography bonds have inspired many professionals to take out time from their regular jobs and explore exciting new places. Neeta Shankar, R&D engineer and a freelance photographer based in Bengaluru, has made friends online through her passion for framing and freezing moments. “Facebook, Flickr and other platforms have made photo-sharing simple. I have travelled with photographers on various trips. On a trip to Ladakh last year I met five brilliant photographers. One of them currently shoots assignments with me. I also met a photographer from Belgium whose positive feedback on my pictures has motivated me to pursue my interest in earnest,” she says.
When Dr Ashok, an anaesthesiologist from Naya Nangal, started photographing birds two years back, little did he know that Facebook would help him connect with professional photographers from overseas. “Initially I was randomly clicking birds and then started experimenting with the camera. When my daughter saw my pictures, she encouraged me to upload them on Facebook. I decided to be a part of more photography groups. I uploaded pictures and got suggestions from great photographers like Georgina Chin from Singapore. I’m learning a lot from them. It’s like one huge family on the web world,” he says.
And then there are others like Chandan Gomes who chose to move beyond the web world and started organising photowalks and workshops. “Social media has played a strong role in fostering collaborations between artists from different parts of the world. I’ve met many friends including Nicholas Foo from Singapore, Tahara Baijan from Afghanistan, Sandy Ford from New Zealand and Vicky Roy, through mediums like photo workshops and photowalks that I organise, and photography groups on Facebook,” he shares.
Chandan has come up with an interesting concept called the ‘Open Library’ in New Delhi, where budding artists and students will meet every two weeks to study books on photography, that are not easily accessible or are too expensive, and interact with eminent visual artists, many of whom are contributing books from their personal collection.
“We wanted to foster an intimate and open dialogue between photo enthusiasts across the spectrum — young and old, unknown and renowned. We wish to create a space where a young photographer can freely interact with a Raghu Rai or a Pablo Bartholomew without any inhibitions,” he explains.
Traveller, writer and photographer Ajay Jain started photography as a passion, and the people he met during his photography journey inspired him to do more. Conducting workshops for photo enthusiasts in New Delhi, he says, “Today even expats in the city are finding time out for photo workshops and walks with the locals. When we started two years back, there were around 60 people who came for photo talks and now there are many. These informal sessions for photography discussions and learning are becoming extremely popular.”
Rajiv Iyer, a mechanical engineer by profession and also an avid photographer, was prompted to start his own photo journey after making various photo buddies. “My journey with the camera began about 18 months back. My endeavours got me in touch with people from various strata of career graphs. Kinshuk Hora, head of IT from Glaxo Smithkline, shares a similar passion; Gaurav Arora, who runs a successful furniture business of his own and is deep into the technicalities of photography; and then there’s Col. Anirban Chatterjee, one of the top ranking soldiers of our country, who loves to frame as he serves the nation. Rathika Ramasamy is one of the most famous photographers whom we contacted through our Facebook group called DPEG. We also conduct domestic and international photography tours to undertake photography assignments,” he shares.
Sharing an anecdote from his photography experiences, photographer Adil Hassan says, “While setting up the Delhi Photography Festival in Delhi, we came across more than 500 applications from across the globe. Sam Harris from Australia had an amazing collection of family photographs. We became friends and since he was working on Urban Indian Nightlife, he connected with many youngsters here, went for nightouts and stayed with them.”
Photography is blurring boundaries and giving people a strong medium to present their perspectives to the global audience. And the click of the camera and the click of the mouse are opening up a whole new world of friendships.