Beyond Tech

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ever since my childhood, I have had a love for taking pictures. It all started with a young kid (yeah, it’s me :)) with a low-resolution point-and-shoot camera, dreaming of shooting whatever he found interesting. Over time, I tried out numerous techniques and compositions, and my passion for photography grew stronger. During my college years, a friend and I explored and documented historical temples and artefacts around my hometown. On May 7, 2019, I purchased a Canon 77D, which I have been using ever since. Gradually, I strengthen my knowledge of composition and learnt different camera techniques. I, personally feel photography helps me develop a keen eye to notice beauty in the world around me and sculpt every single component to portray the story.

Here is a short story describing my thought process and experience while capturing the glorious Milky Way.

Shooting the milky way in the night sky has always been a dream for me. The first time (01:30, April 18 2020), when I planned to shoot, I couldn't even see where it was. After many "there here" debates with my mom for half an hour, I was finally convinced that the milky way was actually between the two constellations. As there was some light pollution in my area, I couldn't capture it as I wished. So, I started shooting timelapse so that, I understand its position better. I again tried shooting after a couple of days but I couldn't get a satisfying image. In May, I tried shooting in a different location away from lights. Yeah, the results were better than my previous attempts but the clouds covered the milky way most of the time. In the meantime, I learnt new tricks to shoot the milky way in light-polluted areas. Yeah, that was really helpful. Having some experience and enough knowledge this time, I was able to locate it easily. I told my dad to stop the bike because the environment was pretty dark there. I set up my tripod, clicked the shutter button and Boom! The first picture stunned me. After that, I played with different positions and came up with those images. Overall, capturing the Milky Way was a challenging yet rewarding experience. I'm really proud and happy to share these pictures and the story behind them.

Milky way

Senjerimalai

Shooting the milky way in the night sky has always been a dream for me. The first time (01:30, April 18 2020), when I planned to shoot, I couldn't even see where it was.I set up my tripod, clicked the shutter button and Boom! The first picture stunned me. After that, I played with different positions and came up with those images. Overall, capturing the Milky Way was a challenging yet rewarding experience.

March 2022 - Feb 2023

A fine evening

Punjai Puliampatti

The backlighten grassland with a classic sunset scene is my favourite thing in this picture. And, let me know what you loved in this picture.

December 22, 2020

The world under countless stars

Senjerimalai

These are the pictures that I shot at the end during that night. When I was composing these images, I found that the steps was a bit dark and lacking some interest. I had a thought, to bring some interest in that area. So, I turned on a flashlight and painted the foreground. If you are wondering about the red coloured foreground, it's actually quite simple. I covered it with my fingers (DIY, Huh?). Thus,it brings up the blue-red combo which is actually cool.

June 27, 2020

Cricketer's Eutopia

Aliyar Dam

This was shot at zero point view in Aliyar dam during the golden hour. It was a beautiful sunny day in the late summer in Aliyar (around 20 km from Pollachi). While amazed by the beautiful scenery, people playing cricket caught my attention. After getting lost there, I took a deep breath, before composing the image. What a magical experience it would be to play cricket with your pals while surrounded by stunning mountains. I really adore the part the most.

June 19, 2022

A Highkey Shot

Punjai Puliampatti

This was shot near Punjai Puliampatti. It wasn't the scenario, I usually go out to shoot. Though it was the golden hour, the sky was overcast and barely any light was hitting the scene. Realising the contrast in the scene, I switched my camera setting to monochrome and started looking for subjects. After some drive, I came across an old man looking after a herd of goats and i found him interesting to shoot. Idea from nowhere, I had a thought to go for some highkey shots. So,I quickly turned up the exposure to an extent, and boom! That's how I got this shot.

This was shot near St.Mary's Church in Kothagiri. Yeah, It was foggy that time. I was trying to capture the vibe and suddenly I saw the man with an umbrella that created a bit of contrast with the background. So, I intentionally underexposed slightly to create that moody silhouette.

December 8, 2019

Rays of Heaven

Ooty

This picture was shot in Kottakombai near Kothagiri. The conical hill, which is on the left, is OothiMalai (Temple for a Hindu god ) and the stream in the front is from Bhavanisagar Dam.

December 8, 2019

Idyllic farm

Bhavanisagar

A pleasant evening in Bhavanisagar

May 21, 2020

A Stunning view of Aliyar Dam

Aliyar Dam

June 19, 2022

A Majestic King of Mysore

Mysore

This picture is shot duing Dussherra in Mysore.

October 5, 2022

Paddy field

Nambiyur

This is shot in a paddy field near Nambiyur during photoshoot with Kalleshwaran.

December 29, 2019

A Mesmerising View

Kodiveri Dam

A stunning sunset in Kodiveri dam.

Party vibes | Abstract

Coorg

This was shot in a concert hall at Coorg. Of course, it was before the pandemic. Loud music, strobe lights, smoke bombs, everybody was vibing, head banging, that was totally crazy. So, I wanted to capture the complete mood of the scene in a photo. After experimenting multiple ideas, I realized that slowing down the shutter was really helping me to capture the motion, I wanted. Figuring out the idea, I waited for something extraordinary to happen. Music was slowly building up and I thought to myself, that was going to be the moment. Finally, the beat was dropped, smoke bombs were burst, lights were strobing at the same time. Fortunately, I was able to capture at 1" shutter speed and kept it abstract. I, personally, like the motion blurred hands in the air (in the bottom left), showing the vibe of the people.

August 23, 2019

Fireworks

Punjai Puliampatti

A stacked photo of fireworks

October 27, 2019

Stunning view of Bhavanisagar

It was an overcast evening near Punjai Puliampatti and barely any light was hitting the scene. As overcast weather creates deeper shadows and brighter highlights which brings in greater contrast, I switched to monochrome mode. It was interesting that the old man got off his bicycle and started pushing up the slope. I used the negative space and the divider lanes on the curve road to lead the eyes to the subject. If you notice keenly, you will understand that I have broken the rule of thirds which makes it kind of odd and unique. I, personally, love the notion of how it guides the viewer to the subject, despite the old man being placed at the edge of the frame.

April 18, 2021

Light and Shadows

Senjerimalai

This was shot at Senjerimalai in the golden hour. Every time I go pass by this place, I always wanted to play with the morning light piercing through those trees. When I went out to shoot, I was amazed to see those beautiful shadows of the trees and the glowing grass made by the golden light.

A Closeup of Keyboard

This was shot in the streets of Kalasipalayam, Bangalore. The photography walk with Subham Farate started from Majestic Metro Station and down the avenues towards VisveswaraPuram (the paradise for street food lovers in Bangalore). The two young men were taking in the sight on a nice late evening. When the lads saw me taking pictures, they became excited. I love how it's composed to have tyres on both sides leading to the subjects on either side of the grids.

November 27, 2022

Natural frame

Senjerimalai

This was shot at Senjerimalai after the first lockdown in India. After weeks and weeks of being inside the four walls, going out in the early morning to enjoy the nature, felt great as anything. As you might know from the past, I am being a fan of golden lights, I used the tree branches to frame the mount in the back. I personally love the beautifully backlighten tree branch, which also gives a sense of depth to the image.

A Portait of an Oldman

Nambiyur

This was shot in Nambiyur weekly market. When I went out for shooting with my uncle, this old man got my interest. The posture, shirtless with the turban, the blade in his hand, the bucket to his left and the environment match the story perfectly.

December 29, 2019

Coimbatore

March 13, 2019

BEATBOXING

I am the kind of person who listens to (and also speaks) music. Beatboxing is a unique musical art form that uses the vocal tract to mimic percussion, sound effects and a lot more. I first fell in love with beatboxing in high school, amazed by the variety of sounds that could be produced with the human mouth. During college, I continued to perfect my skills and experiment with different techniques and sounds. As I continued to practise beatboxing, it has gradually become an integral part of how I express my feelings in new and exciting ways through music.

Here are a few clips of a Beatbox competition (2021) and a short interview.

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CALISTHENICS

Through my journey, I strongly believe that working out helps me develop the mental fortitude more than it does to my physical strength. It enormously callused my mind to be self-disciplined and push my boundaries day in and day out, despite the hardships.

I follow a workout routine of Push, Pull, Leg, Mobility and Endurance cyclically for 6 days, followed by a rest day on a week.

Here is my workout tracker graph, depicting the percentage of days I adhered to my above routine for the past 4 year

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Note: April 2021 is not a calculation error.

PHOTOGRAPHY

BEATBOXING

CALISTHENICS