JOIN USA rainy day brings out the magic in her while the nature, after the rains, mystifies her. The blue sky, birds, flowers, sun and rain have always been a source of inspiration to artists and poets. But what galvanises Renuka, particularly her lens, are the little drops of water found on every facet of nature.
A post-graduate in Mechanical Engineering in Miroelectronics Systems, Renuka A Nayak is an IAS aspirant and an employee of DiggDigital. However, it is her love for a unique form of art — drop‘O’graphy — that sets her apart. A derivative of the word photography, drop‘O’graphy, as termed by Renuka, is ‘the art of clicking rain/water drops’. A specialist in these unconventional clicks, she has a collection of over 1,000 photographs that have captured droplets of water.
It all began on a rainy day in 2011. She was enjoying the view outside from her cosy room when the raindrops trickling down the leaves caught her attention. In no time, she was out in the rain with her camera. Not a professional photographer then, she captured the raindrops in her digital camera. And she was enamored. “It was an amazing experience and I had the feeling of having captured something magical!” she says excitedly.
Explanation kills art. Nevertheless, Renuka’s drop‘O’graphy, can be best described as mystical, superlative and unclouded. For her, photography was a ‘serious hobby’ which soon took the professional route. She recalls her initial relationship with her camera and says, “My first click was on a digital camera and my subjects were the colourful flora in my backyard. When my mother saw these clicks, she motivated me and still does. As and when I clicked pictures, I kept receiving the right encouragement from my family and friends. One thing lead to another and I started experimenting with my photography. Thereafter, I fell in love with drop‘O’graphy.” This art has taught her to be ‘passionate, focussed and patient’ and she says, “I like to be unique.”
A believer in ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’, she clicks pictures not to make everything look beautiful, but to capture the marvellous things around that one misses to notice. She says, “Photographs, especially when taken creatively, are subjected to keen observation. Everyone wants to click a great image. However, beauty is subjective and what attracts me might not excite others.”
After four years of trial-and-error, she displayed her art pieces at the IISc Exhibition, Photostop Photo Exhibition arranged by Honeycomb Photostop, online exhibition in various forums and others. She has also been a part of ‘Photography for Elephant’, ‘Wildlife Photography Exhibition’, ‘Save Tiger Photocontest’ and has been awarded at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath by photographer Anand Sharan. She recalls, “My journey as a photographer has given me an opportunity to meet many renowned photographers and celebrities including Prakash Raj, Sudhir Shivram, Pooja Gandhi. A thrilling experience, this has motivated me to achieve more in the field.”
Ask her which camera is best for drop‘O’graphy and she says, “Camera is a mere tool. I even click on my mobile phone and digital camera.” On the advent of photo editing software, she says, “This software is a boon for correcting errors or minor mistakes. But a bane when the photos are extremely manipulated and the originality is murdered.” Her big plan in the field of photography is to become a renowned artiste in drop‘O’graphy.
“Making my parents proud is my other goal,” she adds.