They just have 15-minutes to capture the myriad hues in the sky before dusk falls. This is what the team of 30 people have been briefed about – the ‘Blue-Hour Photography’ before they post their final photographs on Delhi Instagrammers Guild (DIG) page on Facebook and Instagram.
Interestingly, you don’t have to be a proud owner of any professional camera; a good smartphone can work wonders as DIG’s main aim is to promote photography through smartphone.
Started by three friends Tarun Bidani, an IT professional and Hitika and Prateek Ahuja, who work for non-governmental organisations, DIG is quite popular on social networking sites these days for giving smartphone users a chance to pursue their
passion for photography.
“We were thinking about how to utilise social networking sites and latest applications to do something unique with photography,” says Hitika.
“There were people around us who cannot afford a DSLR camera, yet they were passionate about photography. So, we decided why not have a group for those people who don’t have professional camera but still want to continue with their hobby and that too with their smartphones.”
To begin with, the trio decided to call photography enthusiasts for ‘the walk’.
Says Tarun, “Our first walk was in Dilli Haat. There were around 25 people which included a lot of our friends from photographer community. Since it was the first time, everybody was curious. Also, it wasn’t like any other photography session where you have to get up at 5.30 in the morning.We started in the evening and finished our walk in an hour or so. It actually attracted a lot many people, especially students and professionals.”
Initially, when the three youngsters talked about photography through smartphones, they were ridiculed by professional photographers.
“We are different from other groups so it was not that easy for people to accept us. They thought we were amateurs and had nothing to do with serious photography.
But all myths were broken when they realised we are talking about different photography techniques and making people learn how to play with it,” says Tarun.
The second walk was in a mall. “We visited Select CityWalk and divided the participants into four groups. Each group was given different themes like architecture,
decoration, mannequins and portraits of children. Through their smartphones they had
to click pictures, then edit through applications and upload it on Instagram,” informs Prateek.
Before they ask the participants to begin clicking, a small lecture is delivered on how to take the pictures and what applications to work on.
After they post the images on Instagram, a winner is selected.
“We have two competitions running subsequently. One is a daily feature where anybody can post their pictures. People give their feedback on it. We have weekly contests too, where we select the winners on the basis of given themes. The winner decides the theme for the next week and also selects the winner,” says Hitika.
“DIG was started as a fun activity. People are caught up in the mundane chores of life so much that they don’t have time for their hobbies. We wanted to give ourselves and others a chance to follow their creative instincts,” says Prateek.