Photographs from my office window!

Resisting brackets, breaking boundaries and finding my Ikigai.

Let me start by sharing with you some questions that I have been recently asking myself. Do I have a niche in photography? What do I like to photograph the most? Do I prefer black and white or colour? While I am still mulling over these questions, my immediate responses are something like this: I am just a photographer and would like to resist labels, definitions and boundaries. I like to photograph what catches my eye and depending on the scene, I like to take a call on how I want to present it. What matters the most to me is that photography is what keeps me going every day of my life!

It has now been a couple of months since I started writing about my process and my thoughts around photography. I have enjoyed every bit of the experience.  It has helped me find my voice, reflect on my approach to photography and also allowed me to look at my work objectively. When one starts out as a photographer, especially someone who is self-taught, s/he relies on the internet to educate oneself. The first few times of the search, one comes across gear-heavy and the how-to kind of videos on photography. Upon searching consistently and over the years, one is then able to follow people who talk more about the art of photography. I have relied on such videos and books on photography to keep me going on this journey.

I have never been a big fan of heavy photography gear; it does not excite me too much. I have no qualms in saying that I know only the basics. Enough to get me by. I have always worked with a Canon camera and a mobile phone over the years. I strongly believe that the camera or the gear I use cannot define me. I am more interested in the “why” and “what” of photography rather than the “how.”  As a photographer, my job is to create a powerful photo which will compel the viewer to engage with it. I am interested in interpreting the scene, imagining it and moulding it, when required. A photograph then is not a reproduction of what I see, it is a representation of my photographic eye; just as it is for many of us.

As photographers we notice the play of light, the shade of colours, the interplay of stillness/ movement and everything which is unfolding before us. We catch emotions, actions and gestures on the street. We bring out the extraordinary in the ordinary. The most compelling photos are perhaps about a part that went unnoticed. A frame is the unique vision of the photographer, and when clicking a photograph, we are unlikely to wonder if it will make sense to the viewer. Personally, I feel someone who sees my photograph will interpret it in the way that they will find meaningful.

I have previously talked about how I feel that photography is my Ikigai.   For those who haven’t heard about it, this a Japanese concept that speaks about longevity and happiness which is connected to finding one’s mission and passion in life. I have been in the media for over two decades working for a TV news channel. Over the years I have worked in various capacities and roles, the most recent one as heading the digital department of the channel. While I really like my work, it’s photography that fulfils me. It’s this creative act that I call my Ikigai which now drives me each day of my life. I feel beyond the personal satisfaction, it also contributes to the collective visual dialogue of photography in my city.

The photos I have shared today are from a window at my work place. My office is located on a main road where there is a lot of vehicular and other movement. This vantage point has allowed me to watch the world go by. Over a span of a year, between 2021 and 2022, I would take pictures through my mobile phone from a third-floor window in our building. The glorious ritual (for me) of taking photographs continued until one day a net was put over the building for security reasons.

This blocked the view I had and sadly put an end to the photos I could get from my office window. I still watch the world go by through the net. The difference is when I see images worth taking, I click in my mind!