What it feels like.

Life feels a little bit like this at the moment. Hurried. Fast. Out of control. But bright. And Beautiful.

S's Cupcakes

27th May, 2012

S's Cupcakes,

Sea Breeze CHS, 

Nerul, Navi Mumbai

Last weekend, my friend Vini and I went over to Shreya's place in Navi Mumbai. Shreya was our junior at college and we got to know her through our mutual friend, Sharan(ya). Over the summer vacation Shreya decided to start up S's Cupcakes which is a little catering business of... you guessed it... happy little delicious things called cupcakes! 

When I found out that she was doing this (and I was going to be in Bombay for a couple of days!), I asked Shreya if she'd be interested in letting me photograph her at work and she agreed! So my able-assistant for the day Vini and I urban-trekked (yes, I just made that up) to Navi Mumbai by train last Sunday and had a wonderful afternoon with the talented and uber-lovely Shreya of S's Cupcakes and her family!

Upon arriving, we were very excitedly greeted by Oscar, the family dog! We sat and chatted for a bit and then after a brief recce of the house, Vini and I proceeded to re-arrange the furniture! We finally decided that Shreya's room with two lovely BIG windows was the best spot to make use of the ambient light and so we rearranged her room a little bit and then Shreya got down to business! 

I came away happily satisfied from the experience and a tasting session of the cupcakes and I assure you, this girl knows what she's doing and what's even better is that she loves what she's doing so you are guaranteed to get not only yummy but 'baked-with-love' kind of goodness if you order from her ;) It doesn't get much better than that so if you live in Navi Mumbai, make sure you look her up and place your orders for some of her scrumptious delights!

Exploring Bangalore - Pottery Town

28th April, 2012
Pottery Town,
Bangalore

This shoot was part of '36 Pictures' second expedition, a little 'club' two other photographer friends (Anu John David and Sharan Ranjit) and I created with the aim of getting out there and shooting so we can get better at what we love to do! Because when you love something you, you work at it and you give it your all! And let's face it, it's so much more fun doing that with friends than doing it alone! 
(You can see the first expedition pics here.)
This week we went to Pottery Town and it was an absolute charm. When we got there, I was a little worried... It was much smaller than I had imagined it to be and we were obviously 'foreigners' to the area so it was going to be hard (or so I thought) to get by without attracting a lot of attention, especially with our cameras! But it turned out to be an amazing experience. This place is so fascinating! The people were warm and welcoming and more than happy to help us out and allow us to take photos. We talked to bunch of them and all in all it was a great photographic experience!
Thanks again to Anu and Sharan! So grateful for your friendship :)Also special thanks to my friend Smriti, who joined us yesterday and put up with us as we floated about taking pictures and talking photography!

Here are some of my favourites!

Home alone.

And it's totally OK!

36 Pictures - Russell Market

Saturday 21st April, 2012
Russell Market, Shivajinagar
Bangalore
A few weeks ago, I met with an awesome wedding photographer (Anup J Kat) whom I bombarded with questions about the trade and he very graciously  told me everything he could over a quick cup of coffee before he rushed off to shoot a wedding! I am always beyond grateful to photographers who share their time and knowledge freely!
Anyway, amongst all the other tricks of the trade that Anup shared with me, he challenged me to go out and click as if I were clicking on film.
36 shots. No instant reviewing.
So I shared the challenge with two other photographer friends and we went off on a little adventure to Russell Market, armed with our cameras, 36 shots and a desire to be better at what we love to do!
We met at Indiranagar, took an auto to Shivajinagar, decided to split and meet in front of St. Mary’s after 45 minutes. I have to admit that I kind of felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb in that area. Some streets, though busy were almost completely void of women and even if there were any, they were very modestly clad in burqas. So me in jeans and t-shirt, plus camera in hand… let’s just say, it was a little bit intimidating.
But beyond that factor, it was such a great experience! It sure was difficult not allowing myself to review my shots as I took them but I can totally see the benefit in doing this exercise. After we shot, we regrouped and made our way to Woody’s ordered some coffee and dosa and reviewed each other’s images.
So here’s what I learnt today:
- I love street photography. I love how everything is constantly changing and you never run out of interesting subjects but it is definitely not my comfort zone.
- Photographer friends are awesome! Haha. No seriously, being lonely sucks. Being lonely as a photographer sucks even more. You need somebody to talk aperture, shutter speed, ISO, post-processing and drool over dream equipment with. Be a friend to make a friend!
- Just ask. Ask your subject if you can take a certain shot. Don’t assume that they don’t want to be photographed. Be okay with a ‘no’ and move on.
- Inspiration is all around you. STOP and look.
Anyway, enough talk, here are some of my faves from the day:

Thanks Anup for the inspiration. Thanks Anu and Sharan, my new partners in crime! Let’s do this again!

p.s. If you’re a fellow photographer in Bangalore, looking for some friends to go gaga about photography with, join us!

Red wine.

 

 

 

Here’s hoping this new week will be full of exciting things!