How it all began.

Hello y'all :)

So, one of the questions I get asked the most is, "How did you get into photography?", and here's my attempt at answering that.

I've always been interested in photography (at this point, you're going "Bah! Rubbish” , but no, really!). Ever since I was a kid, it's always fascinated me. When I was too young to be trusted with a camera, I'd make my family/friends sit down, and sketch them on a piece of paper, then sketch out a little negative of it and put it in an envelope that said fotoflash on top, just like they did in the good old days. My mum has actually preserved one or two of those sketches so, when I'm back home, I'll upload a picture of that.

With time, my folks finally let me use a camera, and the first picture that I remember clicking, is the one below.

I was 7 years old when I shot it, and 16 years later, I still think it's one of the best pictures I've taken. This was on a lake in Kodaikanal. There's another reason why this picture means so much more to me, and I'll come to that in just a bit. From thereon in, I always experimented with a camera, but not too often. I took to sketching a lot more. (I'll put up a couple of those pictures when I get a chance to, as well).

A few years down the line, I talked my folks into getting a digital, point and shoot camera, an awesome 5MP Olympus (It used to do absolutely beautiful macro). It set me off on an experimentation spree! I didn't really have too much technical knowledge; just used my crude methods to get the picture to look how I wanted it to. That's how I still work btw :) I took pictures of almost everything I saw, and tried making each picture look different. Honestly speaking, digital media has made it so much easier for all of us!

Here is a self-timed picture that I took on that camera that I absolutely love!

But then, I wasn't clicking as many pictures as I used to. Studying took up a lot of time, and work took up even more. And then one day, a friend was showing me stuff on a DSLR, and the pure control it gave you over what you did, blew me over. I slowly started saving up and got myself a Canon EOS 500D, and then, there was really no turning back. It was that one thing apart from the people who helped me (that I mentioned in my previous note) that helped me make the switch to what I am today. More than 2 years since I got it and it's still my workhorse. Here's the first picture I took with that camera!

After I got that camera, I learned and practiced for a year. At the end of it, I knew this is what i wanted to do. And one fine day (1.10.2010), I backed my instincts, gave up everything else I was doing, and set up my page on Facebook. Why that day? Go back to the first picture I took and see the date on that :) That's how it all began. And what's happened since then, all of you guys know.

A lot has changed since I began; so much support, a lot of great work, hectic schedules, but one thing hasn't - the love for pictures and doing what I do. It's probably true for almost anything you do, and that's what has kept me going! I hope this has in some way, answered the question of how it all began :)

I'll try answering another question soon, without needing an unscheduled stop at the airport as a reason to do so.

Happy flashing! :)

Audi.