PERCEPTIONS, MAR-2012

Perceptions play a phenomenal role in our daily lives – They could be false or they could be true nevertheless, they will continue to influence our lives and actions pertinently. Humans have the habit of creating perceptions around anyone and anything they are associated with, without which there’ll be any “significant” growth in their lives. They are so vital that even to identify who’s a true friend and whose not, you need a strong sense of intelligent perception. To understand your parent’s needs, to fulfill your friend’s expectations, to meet your professional obligations, to express your love and to understand how the world defines you, perception is mandatory. A perceptive mind will be far ahead of “time” and would attract people with ease, for it could read perfectly their minds and fulfill them with utmost care. I acknowledge this is not possible all the time but, a perceptive mind is powerful enough to push back the ordinary and shine with success and acceptance. Likewise, perception in Photography is a powerful element capable of pushing a photographer’s capability and resulting in some of the stunning shots mankind could rave over. There are photographs, produced through our long history, which make us – look with awe, smile instantly, forget our pains, forget time, get lost into it, salute the guy who produced it, save as our desktop etc. Iam influenced significantly by all these too but, the kind of photographs which influence me with overwhelming power are those which make my eyes wet without a reason – Just brilliant timing and perception – Yes, and that’s what I call a “Powerful photograph” in my world of photography, a world dominated by darkness and dampness. There have been instances when my eyes were unreasonably wet for looking at a photograph and their creators range from Vincent Munier to an Unknown guy who’s creation get’s known to the world through the daily paper or a “Forward mail”. My personal favorite in the world of photography is Mr. Vincent Munier and right from day one I peeped into his works, he has had a significant influence over my thoughts and actions. I also tremendously love the works of Ami Vitale, whose creations are as powerful as a fission reaction – “Just speechless” would be the outcome when you look at her creations. And the one close to my heart as my best friend is Mr. Kalyan Verma, who quit his lucrative job, pursued his dream, spent months in remote jungles, fortified his skills and forgot the world, only to make the world look back at him. These are the people who see what we don’t but that exists – that’s visible to a perceptive mind, a mind free from restrictions, haste, hate and greed. Our lives are bounded with immense collection of beauty and events which we fail to honor or recognize, as they pass by to be never exposed to the world. So much so that when we begin to slow ourselves down and watch with curiosity, the quantum of creativity that gets generated is unbelievable. Right from the domestic cat that mews at you with love to the crow that stares through your kitchen window, there’s something hidden behind and when caught at the perfect moment – It’s a creation. Then, it’s only appropriate to wonder about the potential of “Hidden moments” prevailing through the world, through our daily lives, at every corner and in every form. It’s upto you to identify, understand, capture, process and cherish the moment with your conscience first and then, with the world. If the world speaks about you, ignore, and if the world speaks about your creation, thank them. There have been few such moments in my life when I managed to capture the hidden meaning, and more such instances when I reacted slowly as the “hidden moment” perished with time. Missed opportunities are a valuable learning and they need to be written down in your memory for ever, to help capture when they recur. Through the past 6 years, I have written down such wonderful “missed instances” in my memory and it remains to be seen if Mr. Luck would permit a second chance. Till then, I would be staring into my personal collection of photographs to understand the “moment” I was standing through when they were captured – they convey a meaning and they need to be learnt…..

The fact that Canon has now launched the EOS 5D Mark 3, successor to my favorite DSLR – the brilliant 5D Mark 2, only revitalizes the hopes of enlarging my “perception” through its ground breaking capabilities. My bank balance would dehydrate in the coming months, as my life begins to revolve around the “Mighty Mark 3”…….Hope I get to own one soon and when I do, I would be thankful to who ever were responsible for that.

PERCEPTION LEADS TO?? WHO KNOWS… – K.D, CIRCA 2012

THE GOLDEN PERIOD 2006-2009, FEB-2012

(A peep into the past and a tribute to Sony DSC-H2, my first camera, which instilled in me the zeal Iam moving forward with, forever)

Pictures posted are in reminiscence of 2006-2009 and captured with my now extinct camera, the Sony DSC-H2.

There’s a golden period to everyone’s life and to every aspect of life, be it your personal agenda, music, films, politics or anything you may name. Those are the “heydays” which redefined the way you live or the way you look at life and when thought about, makes you feel proud for what you are. There are significant illustrations - The period between 1945-1991 was the golden period of “strategic politics” when western world “faced-off” with Communist world producing “World Order” changing changes, the period between 1930-1950’s is considered a golden period for mankind as it witnessed changes which changed the way we live today through scientific advancements and incredible medical breakthroughs, the period between 3rd and 6th century CE was the golden period in Indian History when Gupta’s facilitated marvelous advancements in the field of science, astronomy, philosophy and mathematics, the years 1998 and 1999 are considered “golden” by racing enthusiasts from my generation for its when, Mika Pauli Hakkinen thrashed Michael Schumacher for two consecutive world championships producing the most aggressive and competitive racing of modern era, the decade between 1980- 1990 was a golden period in Tamil film industry for it was the era when Mr. Ilaiyaraaja belted out eye watering eternal tunes and in my life, 2006-2009 were the years which inscribed permanent, inerasable and hurting memories which would continue to make me wonder, smile, shed tears, crave, sit in darkness and feel proud of when thought about. Those were the years which fortified my creativity when a significant portion of the time was spent in out of the world imagination, sitting and staring into the vast invisible emptiness surrounding me. I remained confined to my upstairs room, which has now been rented out after my movement to a newly bought apartment, and it was the focal point of my then bustling life as friends used to gather there for a moment of relaxation, a booze, a night of laughter or to vent out their emotions. Those three years toiled me as I learnt various aspects of life – patience, commitment, friendship, value of money, love, ego, time, health, imagination, who are parents, faith, evil and photography. When the amateur interest in photography was budding, I was shaken to tears on a cold morning, in 2006, when mother handed over INR 21,000 to buy my first camera. At that point of time, I neither had a job nor was the money and mind set-up to explore for opportunities as most of the time was spent sitting/sleeping idle, thinking what am I goanna do with that big digital camera?? It was then my old home, No 70/2, came to rescue with its interesting location as I fine tuned my photographic indulgence in its back-yard, shooting at what ever made its presence felt. The old home was a repository of learning and now I miss her terribly after we moved to No 17, on my mother’s retirement, which is located strategically but without the ambience I had lived with for the past 2 decades. The fact that 14/50 shots presented above where shot in and around 70/2 while the remaining 36 were shot over 12 locations across three states only signify the opportunities it abounded with. As time rolls by, I visit her once a while to rekindle the thoughts and have a quiet “sit-down” in the backyard which contributed the most in killing the loneliness I was living with through those 3 years. Those were the years which wrote on my memory the things, as hard hitting as a meteorite strike. I - lost friends, made my parents lose patience, spoilt my health, plagued with ego, misunderstood and hurt the most important person of my life, lost that person to my “from birth” arrogance, learnt perseverance, fell in indestructible love with western Ghats, began the massive addiction to the effects of magnificent SW Monsoon, got a job, got back few of my best friends, lost both my hands, for a month, to a venomous bite during a rain forest trek, spent that month in absolute loneliness and burning pain in my upstairs room recovering and regretting as time pushed me ahead and, the pains and losses behind. Now as I move forward with confidence, hope and time induced happiness, a sudden peep into the past and the moments I had captured during my heydays just blew away me into ashes. Every single photograph attached above has a romantic, painful and a hilarious story behind it and, when I spend a minute over each of them it’s an unbelievable and eye moistening transformation to the “Golden Period” of my life. Who where ever part of my life, whatever made my life meaningful are separated/shattered beyond reach/recognition and my only resort for getting in touch with them are these photographs – priceless and beyond the comprehension of an average “motive” oriented life. If you do have such a “Period” in your life try peeping into it and tell me, if you didn’t shed few tears…