A year of scams and here's another one.
Barkha Dutt you make me sick!!!

You know what pisses me off the most, are idiots who buy a DSLR and then get desperate to sell their pictures. What follows is even worse, the free unsolicited advice, completely uncalled for.
I have been doing this for over a year and i still think i am years away from telling people how good or bad their picture is, or how to get a right frame or compose one, unless asked for and even then i am rather reluctant to pass a judgment.
Just yesterday i had a long conversation with an old acquaintance who bought a DSLR and was rather desperate to sell his pictures, despite the fact that he had no clue what lens he was using or basics like what an aperture or ISO settings were.
Further he wanted me to use Photoshop for my pictures, something i despise, i hate touching up my pictures too much, call it old school, but then thats how i am.

Pretty sorry to say the least.

As things stand i finally got paid for the shoot i did over the weekend, which means the new lens is just a drive to CP away. Excellent!!!

Also managed to sell some pictures from the queer pride parade. (phew can pay my bills now) Even though i wasnt happy with the shoot, thanks to lack of the right lenses on me, i still managed fine i guess.

Moreover Brian just got back from Budapest, so shall get my lens and back up camera from him at some point today.

It was strange bumping into an old friend ( not sure if i can call her that), at the Habitat this afternoon, guess she was there to cover some golf convention, brought back a lot of memories.

As predicted the morning was coupled with a hangover albeit not as bad as expected, breezed through a couple of meetings like a zombie.

Half two in the morning, and drunk out of my wits, I lie in bed awake listening to pearl jam and radiohead.

My head spins slow to the music, tomorrow morning is going to be hell, the hangover from hell is going to drive me up the wall.

A long yet rather satisfying day slowly yet unsurely comes to an end.

Some pictures from the Queer Pride Parade

Refer to the link.

Queer Pride Parade Delhi 2010

Crazy Sunday ahead.

It seems like this Sunday is going to be anything but laid back, an early morning shoot, followed by the India v new Zealand game of cricket.

Afternoon, have to attend the naming ceremony of a cousin’s new born son, and then to add to that have to shoot the gay pride parade. Its going to be tough considering I need the 18-135mm for a shoot like this, which as we speak is in Budapest with Brian. Guess will have to make do with the 55-250mm and the 50 mm prime.

Evening has more in store, have to attend a dinner at a friends place, more like a school reunion.

Fun fun fun!!!

An early morning shoot at Qutab, pretty decent, happy with what i got, the light was great for a change, crisp to say the least and the sky was blue, so unlike Delhi.
Followed that up with a 45 minute work out session, ran the hard miles on the tread.
Feeling fresh and the pain aint too bad this morning.

Its good to be back to my exercise regime, ever since my bout of dengue it has been rather impossible to hit the treadmill.
But after much deliberation i did manage to get back to my regular regime this evening. 10 kms on the cross trainer, 5 kms on the treadmill and 30 mins of light weight training.
Bloody brilliant!!!
Just hoping i can keep this up now.

Spent a rather sleepless night, dreaming of lenses and lights, pretty crazy to say the least. And considering i believe in instant gratification, have agreed to do a shoot for which i had earlier said no, the same shall ensure that i atleast get the 24-70mm by Monday and maybe if things go well then also the Elenchrome FxRi 400 studio lighting set.
Lets see how things pan out.
But really cant wait can i?

Spent the evening,  testing the lenses i need to buy, just to appease my tormented lens deprived soul, bought my self a new lowepro lens bag, pretty hip
Also spent the evening with Akash Das (http://www.akashdas.com/) discussing the nuances of a life as a photographer, both he and Sharad later came over and we all sipped on some excellent Ethopian coffee brewed to perfection by Bahadur.
Must say an evening well spent.

As things stand, i need two new lenses, but as always i dont have the cash to go out and get them as yet, 5 months of saving and i shall have them, but the wait is excruciating.
However i shall be going over and testing the two new lenses, the 100-400mm and 24-70mm, cant wait to get me hands on them
Sighhhh

The End of another Phase.

The smell of leather and cologne was thick in the air, the grey light that filtered in through the French windows was eerie.

The uber expensive upholstery stood out and demanded attention.

The chair I rested my sorry arse in felt warm, I just wanted out, leave out the nuances and just walk away.

I sat across him, wondering what to say, my intentions were clear, his grey as ever.

He sat across me oblivious to my existence; my physical presence was just an aberration.

Ipad in his hand, he continued to look busy, till I realized he was playing darts on his idart app!!!!

Strange things have happened to me before, but this was as strange as they got.

No words were spoken, two souls, one tormented one distracted caught in a whirlpool of nothingness.

At the end of it all I just walked away, a year a quasi aberration was over.

So, apparently i had a long chat with Richard yesterday and some how managed to convince him that getting my new webpage up and running is rather imperative. So who knows by the end of next week the new site shall be ready.

So my thought for the day before i hit the sack-

" sometimes its a wee bit better to take a step back, if you need to move forward"

A year, maybe at some levels an aberration is over!!

Sitting here winding up a year is not easy. Sometime in September i took the decision to take this plunge and i guess even though i do have mixed feelings about it, i am hoping its the right decision.

All this corporate bull is great, but its not for me.

And yes i hear it all the time, that converting your hobby into a source of income is not the best way to take on life, but i guess at some level i am ready for it.

Lets just hope for the best and see where things take me.

The Russian invasion of Goa, where every sign board reads in Russian too!!!

Sighhhh

As for my pledge of not going crazy with the camera, i think i did pretty well, only 500 odd shots over a period of 3 days, not bad i must say!! considering i had on one occasion take 96k shots on a 12 day project back in June and July.
On that note, i do think i did get some crazy sunset shots at Vagator. Will transfer the pictures tomorrow at some point.

Back home after a long and overtly boring flight and longer and excruciating wait at the baggage reclaim carousel.
Its frustrating as hell when you have to wait 45 mins for your baggage to arrive!! Seriously its almost as long as the darn flight.
I remember when i had shot the entire T 3 i was hoping such issues would be take care off but i guess i was wrong, as usual there is no such thing as a smooth transition when it comes to public welfare projects.

And while I wait for this darned airlines to start boarding, I cannot get over the russian invasion of goa. More on the same later

Goa you shall me missed. Flying out in an hour, a great weekend. Reality awaits my return

In just a few hours i shall be away from this urban mundane existence, sitting on a beach, sipping on some schnapps, and taking in the sun.
No laptop, just two lenses, one camera and yes the resurrected blackberry. Honestly i tried not taking the same with me, but it just couldnt be done.
That said there will be no postings till Monday
Hope we all have a great weekend, and who knows maybe i get some magical shots in Goa.

Drowning the blackberry.

Yes, I am now an expert at drowning that darn blackberry!!

Second time in a month I have dropped my blackberry in water, the last time around it was a bucket of water and this time it’s the winter rain puddle.

As we speak its drying under my studio focus light.
Its nothing but pure déjà vu!!
When will I learn?

Weekend where art thou!!

I can’t wait for this weekend, finally a much-deserved getaway. I am headed to Goa, the beach, the sand, the sun, the wine, the vindaloo, no blackberry(s), no laptops, just me and maybe my camera(s).

Not sure if I want to shoot anything in Goa, have promised my self that I will not take more than two lenses, and only one 16gig memory card, which shall seriously hamper my ability to shoot like a junkie on coke!!

All I really want to do is give my ever aching shoulder some rest, just sit by the pool or on the beach and vegetate.

Another night spent hunting down the mutant mosquitoes, its been rather crazy the entire year, I don’t know who to blame?

Mr Kalmadi? For digging up the entire city? Or the MCD for not taking enough actions to curtail this epidemic?

I did write a bit about the commonwealth games but never managed to post it, maybe the time is neigh to do the same.

On a different note, I am stuck to the OST of The Moon- Clint Mansell has kicked arse!!!
Bloody brilliant I must say.

Website Glitches.

The past 4 months I have been trying to get my website reconstructed, the only glitch is the guy who seems to be working on it!!!

Off the record he seems to be going through a quarter life crisis, talented as he might be, he seems to be stuck in a constant state of high!!
Stoned immaculate, its hard to get anything across to him, every week or so I do catch him on chat and all I get is the same answer. –“ dude I am soo stoned and your website is almost done”

I wonder when Mr. R would finally wake up and have my new website up and running.

Morning blues

Its strange how you wake up hung over, despite the fact that the evening before you didn’t even touch alcohol.

Is it all those chemicals I sprayed to annihilate the mutant mosquito infestation?

Possible!

But then again its never normal to function after only a few hours of sleep.

Unfortunately I have a shoot in the next 20 minutes and I badly need my fix of coffee. The client is slightly stuck up on the hand that needs to be shot, it can neither be too aggressive or too submissive, just the right expression needs to be captured.

Have already shot for them three times, the same hand in all plausible postures.
Lets see what I get now!!

Winter where art thou?

My obsession with winter is well documented. Cold foggy days, the lack of sunlight, the comforts of a warm bed, the hot cup of coffee, large glasses of cognac, and the black jumpers that hide the paunch, all beautiful.
As I pen this, the 15th day of November has dawned on most of us (unless you are in the far west) but the fans still buzz overhead and the mutant mosquitoes still feed on me like I am a big fat juicy steak.

O winter where art thou?

PAIN

Its simple, you learn to live with pain, physical or otherwise, you just learn to adapt. With the passage of time it becomes a part of your soul, integral.

Honestly I cant remember the last time I was close to a 100%, age and years of abuse have finally taken a toll on this body I call mine.

Even though I lost 18 pounds the past few months, the pain in the neck (thanks to the multiple collapsed disks followed by three surgeries) never seems to abate.

Things seem to have taken a turn for the worse since I was laid low by a mosquito in October. Dengue!! Yes in all its glory laid me so low that I never thought I could rise again. A month later, and I still lie awake in my bed with my joints hurting like a bitch.
I can only dream of the days when this pain would abate and life would be like its meant to be, free from the shackles of pain.

A year gone by, and nothing to write about?
I should be ashamed of my self, the world changed while the days turned to months.
Job changes, profession altering decisions, bouts of dengue, et al.
So as i sit awake in my bed at 3 am while my dog snores at my feet and the urge to smoke is great i do hereby pledge to write in as much as i can before this year ends.