'Shutter' Island!

Seeing the title don't misunderstand that i am gonna write a review about the film. The island being referred here is the Museum compound at Trivandrum where the photography exhibition "Exposure" took place yesterday. The museum premises were fully filled with photographers and DSLR cams. The venue turned out to be yet another place a photo shoot. The event really provided an opportunity for many photography enthusiasts to showcase their talent and to interact with eminent photographers from all over Kerala.

We should thank Mr Ananthu Ganesh and Mr Bittu George for taking the initiative to organize such a wonderful event which was sponsored by Alamy Images. And not to forget the role of social networks these days like Facebook, where these people met and decided to take up such ventures. The exhibition featured almost 300 photographs of 30 photographers which got a great response from the viewers. Eminent personalities like Mr R Gopalakrishnan(Still Photographer), Mr Balan Madhavan(Wildlife Photographer) and Mr Vipin Mohan(Cinematographer) were also present which really added the grace to the event. The event was really a feast for the people of Trivandrum, their numbers just showing how much they are interested in this art!

It's great to see young people are coming up with such innovative ideas, that was even reflected in Mr Balan Madhavan's feedback to the event. Now the platform is set for everyone to showcase their creativity. Seeing the kind of response i really hope Trivandrum will turn into a regular host for more and more exhibitions. It's evident that next time the participation will be more and exciting. It will be really great if we get a support from the concerned authorities for a better venue and provision. Congrats and hearty thanks to all the photographers who participated in the event. For the moment we can proudly talk about "Exposure"..An event that lighted the city with some exceptional works!

The people who made it possible!

The Art of Creativity

What all you people notice when you see a movie?? Definitely the first priority goes to the actress, then the actor, songs and so on..and i am no different:)..It’s indeed true that our audience are really good at analyzing the technical side of the movie, especially about the visualization. In fact, India has got a bunch of exceptionally talented cinematographers and photographers. But for sometime, a new trend has been wavering across Kerala. Yes, I am talking about ‘Photography’, the new passion for our youngsters these days.

Hari Menon

It requires a lot of effort and dedication to convert this passion into a profession, especially this field being very competitive. Some of the best examples being people like Hari Menon, Jayesh Mohan, Ajay Menon etc. Infact, I was lucky enough to meet some of the eminent photographers in Kerala. Photography is a very interesting field to be in, but very competitive too. 

Jayesh Mohan

Ajay Menon

“You don't take a photograph, you make it”..a very famous quote by photographer Ansel Adams. This quote turns so meaningful when you see the photographs taken by these people. Hari Menon is a pure class when it comes to creativity. He has even produced some exceptional photographs from some situations which we never notice in life. Being a traveller, he has almost covered every part of India with his creative photography. Some of his photos leaves us spellbound for sure. In fact, I am a great fan of Hari as his photography continues to encourage more and more people into this field. Jayesh Mohan happens to be a close friend of mine. A very jovial person who came into the field of photography after studying animation(no relation between these two) and turned successful with his hardwork. He is a famous name among the Cochin photographers who specialises well in Fashion and Wildlife photography. He is a great fan of rock music and works as a vocalist in a Ernakulam based band. There is an album called ‘The Jayesh Mohan Way’ in his Facebook profile which clearly proves that all the photographs has got a typical 'Jayesh' touch:)..Ajay Menon also continues to amaze us with his photographs. He takes photography in another perspective, a bit different from the others. I love the way he photographs people, which has got unusual depth and meaning every time. The common factor among the three is that they reached these heights with their own effort and hard work. Their works are the best references for everyone who is new to this field. We can't forget the works of senior photographers like Rajan Paul Sir(truly splendid), Anil Kumar Sir etc. 

A recent snap from Jayesh Mohan..Simply outstanding!

As i said, many youngsters are now aspiring to become photographers. It will be ungrateful if i forget to mention about my friends Nidhin Radhakrishnan, Sunil Karthikeyan, Ashwin Koushan, Manu Manohar, Vishnu Raghav, Ananthu Ganesh etc, who are exceptionally talented. Not to forget people like Munz, Vishnu Prabhakar etc. Nidhin completed diploma in photography and is now moving around Kerala with his Nikon D50. His photos are very creative, some leaves us with a haunted impression, and is really blessed to have received comments from senior photographers like Rajan Paul Sir. I hope soon he will be among the top photographer's of Kerala. Manu and Ananthu are some of the budding photographers from Trivandrum, who are gaining popularity with their awesome clicks. Hope they will be soon among the top. The growth of social network has really helped everyone in promoting their works(all of them owns a fan page in Facebook). 

One of my favorites from Nidhin:)

As for me, i was too passionate about about photography from my childhood. My dad was a photographer, which really made me close to film cameras and lenses. After he quit this career my interest got lost too. But as the time came, the interest gradually came back to me. Now i am very much interested in this field as many are inspiring me to get creative. Some people thinks that owning a DSLR makes them a good photographer. As many are buying these DSLR and publishing photos as they like, the genuine essence of photography is lost at times. Please don't spoil the class of this great media.. Do creative and innovative works, and make photography as a language to communicate in the coming years! 

Palakkad..Photo by my friend Manu Manohar!

Night is always young at Kovalam..Ananthu Photography:)

"When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes.  But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls" ~ Ted Grant

(PS: This is my view on photography and the photographers of Kerala. There are many more talented photographers in Kerala and other parts of India. I wrote this with best of my knowledge. And i do remember and respect the senior photographers even though i haven't mentioned much about them. Do feel free to comment what you think of this writeup. Thanks:))