Serendipity

To see some of what went behind the scenes on this shoot, click here.

Umang Samani and I went about shooting for a corporate portrait shoot with a twist. Our client was a maverick at heart apart from being an entrepreneur and we very much wanted to make sure we make our point that this is no plain professional but someone who had a multifaceted personality.

We analysed and planned what we are going to do for the portrait. The clothes the look, and the poses. On the day of the shoot, at the shoot location, we spotted a used wooden stool stained with paint. We posed on it for a few seconds and then spontaneously we thought that she should try sitting in the sukhasana on it. And then this image happened. We were so thrilled about it and it probably gave us a high that lasted a few days! Longer than any chemical drug could induce. Hahaha!

I think this image is an outcome that was impossible to plan for but something we could only prepare for with a mind open to possibilities and unexpected rewards or even failures. Something that I feel I need to remind myself before every shoot. And that is the best thing about doing what I do to feel alive. That little bit of unexpected, that little bit that you cannot predict but hope for the best. Like life.

Outcome of an audition

Neha Mahajan was in a fix the other day. A film maker wanted to audition her remotely and wanted the audition footage as soon as possible. They sent a part of the script for her to enact for this audition. We shot this and sent the video to them and that was it.

Many days later I was listening to a wonderful track when I thought it would be really nice to have some slow motion footage to go with it. The only thing I had was the footage from this audition we had shot. And so I spliced the shots almost randomly and this is what we got. There is a lot of room for technical improvement but this was somewhat tolerable for the time being. :D

My friends (irrespective of gender) say that she is just adorable in this video. :D 

Those without dreams

Found this Japanese saying while watching a short film Carter about a man who chose the art of making knives for a living:

"Those without dreams are without ideals.

Those without ideals are without beliefs.

Those without beliefs are without plans.

Those without plans are without actions.

Those without actions are without results.

Those without results are without happiness."

One of the secrets of happiness wrapped up nicely!

Here is the short film, Carter:

http://vimeo.com/79844244

In this short film he narrates his story of how he chanced upon the shop of knives and how he decided making knives would be what he will do. What struck me is how he hung on to that passion in a strange new place, learnt the language, and then spent many years just scratching the surface of this art. Hardly something we would think would go into the making of what looks like an everyday object.

The point where a craft is taken to beyond technology and engineering with skill honed over years and precision fine tuned over probably countless unsuccessful trials is probably where it starts turning into a fine art, isn't it?

A.R. Rahman's magic recreated

In 1993, Maniratnam and AR Rahman teamed up for the movie Thiruda Thiruda. AR Rahman of course had some very fresh sounding tracks and here is one of those, sung again, with a lot of that magic recreated. I don’t understand one bit of the lyrics but it is the melody that I find mesmerizing:

It is all in the voices.

Unexpectedly

We had setup equipment and all the works (actually nothing really glorious like what probably some of the big shots would use :P) and shot that way for a while. Then during a make-up readjustment we realized everything fell in place in terms of the look. To hell with the lights. We could not lose time and flow moving things, adjusting them etc. I wondered for a while if these pics would be almost a dud because of the incandescent light which was the only source apart from a window with faint daylight from an overcast sky. But we were lucky and the Pentax K5 II saved us.

Anyway, we were thankful we kept our eyes open for the impromptu moment for this image. Probably not worthy of a magazine cover but we will get there one day! I swear!

Behind the rising walls

The people who construct the buildings you and I live in are hardly the people we ever get to see let alone meet and get to know. These are the ones who work hard on every inch of a living or commercial place and move on exactly when it is ready and livable. One of my friends who works in the construction business wanted me to take some of their portraits. It was an opportunity I just could not resist. :)

This girl got so shy that I was photographing her while the little baby reacted with fear! :)

The interiors were still in near total darkness and the workers set up lights to be able to see what they are doing.

She was on the terrace along with a couple of other ladies who were cooking the meal for that evening. 

The carpenter.

He was cutting tiles, every muscle in his arm flexing.

Winter mornings

Well, at 31 degrees Celsius maximum temperature it hardly seems to qualify as a winter but the mornings do come down to about 15 degrees which is very very cold for a place that has 42 degree summers!

In winters there is hardly any wind and that is when it is easy to see the effect of firewood use. Certainly adds drama to an image apart from the not so pleasant effects of having so much smoke, or rather, smog! :P