Stealing Focus

(BY FAR THE LONGEST POST ON MY BLOG AND I STILL FEEL AS THOUGH I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DELIVER All THAT I WANTED TO!)

Special Thanks to Karun Jamwal and Jay Shah.

This post is about some upcoming and really cool photographers from in and around the neighborhood (and by 'neighborhood' of course i mean the virtual neighborhood that we have created for ourselves in the name of social networking sites) For since when did we start having the time to know our actual neighbors, huh? 

Anyhow, when I first started with this project - I thought, it’d be real easy- I’d just choose three of their best shots and will take it from there- what did I know that picking those three photographs was going to be a task of a lifetime in itself –the further i looked the more mesmerized I got.

Faiyaz Hawawala

Faiyaz, what can I say, is JUST PLAIN TRANSPARENT. 

You don’t have to know Faiyaz for long to know one thing about him that he does not pretend. You can see right through him and it is rather endearing, a quality implicit in his work too. 

I learnt of Faiyaz through a common friend and I am really glad that I did. For not only is Faiyaz a talented photographer but also his simplicity is his virtue. 

Before I finally sat down to write this post I had taken a lot of inputs from all of these people but I ended up writing my own thing in the end- and this applies to Faiyaz the most---- for once I read whatever he had to say about photography and himself- I realised that he does not draw a line between the two.

Even though it may be sub-conciously so – but such is his love for photography that I don’t think he knows where Faiyaz 'the photographer' ends and Faiayz 'the human' begins. And I am not just saying it, but Faiyaz’s passion for photography moved me a great deal. 
Another thing I liked about him is that just like me, he too loves snakes!

A student at Life and Light Academy in Ooty, Faiyaz has grand plans for future and I am certain he will realise them too. Go ahead see for yourself!

“Its about perception, hard work, walking an extra mile, being more creative and  taking risks”, leaves Faiyaz a message for other aspirants.

Nishant Verma

“Hey you take amazing photographs man!,’ I complimented Nishant a couple of years ago and even before he could say thanks I added, ‘What Camera is it?’

 Needless to say ------like any photographer worth his salt – NISHANT GOT MIGHTY PISSED.

(In my defence- I am really not that dumb - so as to think that a DSLR can actually confer talent on a baboon- it’s just that I was planning to buy a camera at that time and was only doing my homework- so to say the least my intention was totally right even though the timing wasn’t.)

Anyhow that was then - what did I know that not only was I to become an ardent believer in his work but also that I was going to endorse the very same.-

A communication professional, Nishant Verma took to photography back in 2009, on his maiden trip to Ladakh as he fondly recalls. Talk about accomplishments and he is fully loaded with several prestigious awards and nominations in his backpack ( the word kitty doesn’t go with his butch and burly frame J.) Some of his work is scheduled to be exhibited at the Art Gallery of Alliance française Chandigarh, for the month of Feburary. It may have started as a hobby but Nishant is already neck deep in freelance projects and is willing to take up assignments that are fun and fulfilling. 

Personally, I don't think that just three pictures can describe the genius that is Nishant - Here- Go ahead and prove me wrong ;-)

“Just take your time and  Click .. your 1^st ten thousand shots will be your worst ..so don’t worry ... just cross that barrier.. Make a meaningful difference in People’s lives”, he signs off.

Garima Singh

With a smile brighter than the sunshine, trust Garima Singh to turn something super-mundane into super- insane with just a click. An Architect by profession, she is only pursuing this as a hobby as of now but let the right opportunity come along and who knows she might just crank it up a notch.

 Killer - innit? And you thought that it was going to be a girly-shirly picha! ;-) 

 (My personal favorite- even though I am a strict vegetarian)

                                      Not that, Girly is too far away or something! Pretty, huh?

“Photography to me is capturing a moment and making it last forever … It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything… Keep Clicking” says she. 

                                    See more of Garima's work here!

Chetan Tiwari

Although we had been on each other’s facebook for quite some time now but we never really had had a word. Until one day that he chose to disagree with me on a certain blogpost- Yeah Yeah I know we are all entitled to our opinions and all that but whatever I WAS SUPER PISSED okay. So I loaded my pistol and went straight for Chetan Tiwari to see who this mai ka laal was after all (and by the way by pistol I mean a pistol in shape of a keypad- which was loaded with words instead of bullets) Only to be more tongue tied than ever – with every single click I got more and more glued to the screen, so much so, that by the time I ended seeing the whole collection- I had even forgotten why I was there in the first place. That is the effect of Chetan’s photography on you.

Chetan works as a Quality Expert in Amdocs and he took to photography only a couple of years ago but he definitely sees it becoming more than just a hobby in the times to come.

“Everything beautiful might not last forever... but a photograph makes sure its memories last forever.” Chetan Tiwari.

Deepika Tomar

Although she was my junior at school but I actually met her some two years ago at a Holi Party – our friends had thrown in unison.

I walked in this huge hall filled with people and saw this chicklet of a girl sitting by the corner and enjoying ‘Dum maaro dum’ –( the Deepika Padukone one- it had just released) and I couldn’t help but notice how much she was enjoying herself. Anyhow we got to talking and she seemed real fun –we had a couple of shots-danced-laughed-ate and made merry and before we knew the party was over and it was time to leave- so I came back home with a happy holi memory. 

What I did not know at that point of time was that this “chicklet of a girl” was a rockstar in making- just a couple of days ago- I saw her work and it may be stating the obvious- but I found it pretty very nice. 

Not only is she talented but what makes her even better is that she is socially aware and not too afraid to speak- just the right ingredients for the right kind of a change maker. 

Deepika is currently studying at National Institute of Creative Communications, Banglore.

Here are a couple of shots that I stole from her FB account and also I feel obliged to mention here because she has specifically asked me to (that these do not represent her best work- unfortunately the situation was such that she could not mail me the pictures she actually wanted here but still I think these are pretty very nice)

                                       Find more of Deepika's work here!

Chirag Sood

‘Dude tu kuch bhi kar but makkhi nahi chalegi.’ I told Chirag point blank as soon as I asked him to send along a couple of his unpublished shots. I had actually had it with photographers and their true love for insects. Thanks to them, I had almost 12 mugshots of a makkhi  and I did not want more. (And I am not even talking about a makkhi that lays golden eggs or something – just a regular ordinary run-of-the-mill makhi) Obviously I was pissed And no one else but Chirag had to bear the brunt.

‘But makkhi represents macro-photgraphy,’ poor thing replied confused.

‘I don’t care,’ the pathetic layman in me was finally up and awake, ‘No MAKkHI THAT’S IT’

‘Okay here’s my link you choose whatever you want,' he gave up.

(And even until now Chirag has no idea about what I am going to publish – but he trusted me and I liked that.)

Youngest of the lot, Chirag is very different from all the others I have mentioned so far and if I were to define Chirag’s work- I’d say it sort of has a "boyish charm" to it – see for yourself!

     WINK WINK !

Chirag is studying direction and film making as of now and seems determined to pursue photography as a career option.
Prod him on to leave a message and he wraps it up gangnam style“ I started photographing with a simple nokia mobile phone (5610), now i have one slr and one Dslr camera. I just want to say, even if you have the world’s best equipment for photography and if you don’t have the passion and dedication, you can never become a true photographer.”

GO AHEAD - SAY HI TO CHIRAG!