Yesterday, during the golden hour, I was busy capturing a sunset after a gap of almost two months of heavy rains. A youngster wielding a Nikon DSLR camera appeared from nowhere and we struck a conversation about photography. At some point, he asked me this question ‘Sir, what type of photographer are you?’. Are you a nature photographer, or a wild life photographer, or a sports photographer, or a travel photographer, or a portrait photographer?…I was awe struck with this question, because I never thought about it before. Thanks to this gentle man for opening my eyes at a crucial juncture of my photography interest. After a couple of years of casual photography, with some decent photography to my track record, this is the time to seek for some meaning from this hobby. Why am I taking photographs?. Is it just for the heck of it?. Is it to kill my own time?. Is it just to make others happy?. Is it to make an impact on society?. Vision, Purpose, How?, Scope, Time frame, Budget, Resources, Risks, Communication, Stakeholders, Environmental factors, Process assets, Communication…all these management terms make sense to me at this juncture in my photography as well. That is where photography meets management.
My answer to him was ‘Boss, I am an easy chair photographer, who does not want to take any great pains to photograph something. Whatever happens around and on my way, I photograph. I do not climb mount himalayas for a great shot. Here the problem is, unless one climbs the mount Himalayas, he will never see the peak of Everest in it’s great glory. So far my photography was to master the art of photography. Now that I have reached a stage where I am able to capture some presentable photographs, it is time to do more focused photographic projects. I am going to mix up my photography with my project management knowledge to provide better direction to my photography.
Here is one photograph I captured yesterday evening, at Marine drive, Kochi, using my Canon 550D, Tokina wide angle lens, Hoya ND filter, tripod at f22, s 4 minutes, iso 100.
managerandphotographer 