Snapshots of everyday life

PASSIONATE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Other than the usual lure or need of money which makes people take up jobs, every individual is always looking for a passion-driven activity which could be pursued from a non-monetary perspective. ‘Project 365’, a self-imposed challenge or resolution to do a specific activity everyday for an entire year, is one such activity that has been trending in the recent years across the country.

‘A photo a day’ has become the most popular daily activity that is taken up and Flickr.com, blogs and personal websites have been the commonly used platform to post about one’s progress. While Mumbai and Delhi are two cities where the project has really taken off, Bangalore seems to be slightly lacking on this front. Metrolife caught up with a few of the most regular and popular ‘Project 365’ photographers from the City.

Vishakha Jindal is a second year student at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, whose youthfulness and passion for her work reflect in her photographs which can be found on www.flickr.com/photos/29641964@N04. “Documenting a year of my life in photos will always be a memorable experience. More than a New Year resolution, it was a challenge for me. I chose to do a 365 days long photography project as it would improve my photography skills and create a photo journal that speaks for itself,” says Vishakha. 

Has the project helped her the way she expected? Her answer is simple — “If not perfect, practice at least makes one better day by day. Till today, I have missed only a day’s photograph, being consistent otherwise. My photography skills and observation skills have really improved when it comes to finding a subject to click and doing justice to it with my camera,” she adds. Vishakha will probably not continue the project in 2012 but instead, is planning on doing ‘An illustration per day’ project, being the art student that she is.

Another ‘Project 365’ photographer is Siri Pulipaka, who otherwise is an avid food blogger (www.cookingwithsiri.com). “My experience so far with ‘P365’ has been nothing less than awesome. The year 2011 has been very eventful for me and this project has helped me capture its true essence at every stage,” says Siri. Her photographs are accessible on www.365daysofsiri.com, where she has neatly archived and categorised them by month and week.

She probably won’t be doing this project next year due to lack of time. But this is only a temporary halt of this project for her. “I am sure that in a couple of years, I will definitely take up this project again. My photography skills have improved after starting this project,” she adds with great conviction.

Anju KP, a manager at Microsoft, is another amateur photographer who has taken up the photo-a-day challenge and is currently on day 189. However, as of now, her photos can only be viewed as a photo album on Facebook. “I just started it as a personal passion and didn’t find the need to put it in a more public online space. That was until I saw that people were eager to see the next day’s photographs and were actually following my work. I will be transferring all the photos to Flickr and will definitely continue this next year as well,” says Anju.

With end-December approaching, people have started making their resolutions for the coming year. Be it a New Year resolution or a challenge to oneself, let’s see if more people take up ‘Project 365’ in Bangalore in 2012.