There was always a photographer somewhere inside me since my adolescence when I would collect the magazines and newspapers that published appealing advertisements. Of course, I didn’t know anything about photography, but I still liked them for their sheer aesthetic value. The whole thing continued until I coincidentally stumbled upon some people who were passionate about photography. There was something about them, their photographs and their passion to capture the moments. One of them was my friend, Soam, whose Facebook and Flicker albums were so intriguing that I finally ended up having to buy a DSLR camera. Again, I owe it to Dipan, Debu and Debiprasad who have, on several occasions, encouraged me to go ahead and pursue photography as a hobby.
Back in the month of December, 2010, Dipan informed me of the Canon Roadshow at Nayapalli Durgamandap, and the next thing I knew I’d bought the camera for 21,500 bucks. Ever since, I’ve been taking shots whenever I feel like, without worry whether I know enough of photography rules or not. Personally, I realized it’s more important for me to enjoy holding the camera and clicking around than trying hard to learn every rule in the book. Guess what, my life post-DSLR was never the same again: I found a whole new meaning in my life, photography became a passion for me, adding a whole new dimension I could never have imagined before.
It’s been nearly a year and a half, I still look back at that magic moment when something told me inside to buy that camera. I’m proud of that moment which gave me so much. It’s like feeling the magic of falling in love without worrying about whether you’ll end up marrying her. I have lost count of the moments that gave me the eternal joy when I’ve seen those clicks come out well, those indescribable moments when you personally feel you can cherish a click forever.
I remember that last time I took my parents to Mumbai on a 5-day vacation. Every time, we were out, I’d invariably carry my camera and click everything that caught my fancy. Of course, Mumbai has always been my love, but with a camera in hand, it just meant some more than that. I can never forget those awkward moments when I wanted to click something but my parents would be in a hurry to move past the subjects. I could recognize the passion building up inside me, when not being able to click something I so wanted to, could actually hurt me 🙂 I can’t believe, in those five days, I’d come back home every evening with around 200 photos per day, not knowing whether every click was worth a keeper. But then, at least, I would go to bed completely at peace with myself, knowing that I didn’t miss a chance to treasure a moment, even though my folks found it weird. 🙂
It’s been a year since that historic trip (in a way that helped me discovered the passion for photography), and I feel I’ve come a long way. It’s a passion that keeps me going when the chips are down. Whether I have a bad day at work, or I mess up my personal life, it’s my love for the camera that keeps me going and helps me see through each of those phases. Just wondering what my life would be like, if I’d procrastinated on buying that camera. It was clearly one of those things in your life when you realize there is a divine intervention of some sort.
I still don’t worry about how much I have learned about photography rules or how little I know of photography. For what it’s worth, I know I possess an object I always think about and the object possesses me altogether. To some, it might sound downright funny for me be emotional about a camera, but to me, it means quite a lot and is worth much more than I can explain in words. Life might hurt you to death at times, things may go wrong, people might stop believing in you, but it’s only your passion which keeps you going through the hard times and barely lets you down.
I’m yet to be married, so I don’t know what they feel when they hold a tender new-born baby in their hands. But there have been countless times I’ve felt the same way that’s close to their ecstacy. That’s how much my passion about photography means to me. I have no time in the world to worry how much I don’t know about photography; I’m just too busy being in love with it. Rarely do my eyes go blurry when I express my passion about things, but just know this is one of those moments.
How much do you love yourself when you’re with your camera?