Photography is more than a hobby!

As I watched Aswathy and Anandit intently look at the photo they snapped, it occurred to me that most of us would want to look at the photos we  take, with interest and appreciation for several reasons.

A photo recalls a scene or sight that we visited. We are overloaded visually with sights, scenes, colours, movements, etc. while we travel or visit  a place. Often, there is a competition for our visual attention. At best we give a fleeting attention, when something strikes us visually. Those who are in the habit of photographing something which has held their attention, the photo is a record of the first impression. When one revisits the photo, there is an opportunity to appreciate details and specifics we missed earlier. 

A photograph is visual aid for our memory. There are people who would ensemble their photographs subject wise or date wise to create a story line. The photographs aid our memory of events, happenings and experiences. It is  a good way of capturing the history and culture of a place. I have found that it can be a travelogue if seasoned with anecdotes and reflections. This can stimulate children. It would introduce them to people, places, traditions and geography.

Every photograph has some technical aspects of exposure, light, focussing, use of filers to highlight or mask somethings. Most of us would need to learn this by practice although some instruction from a book or an experienced photographer would be of great value. However the creativity each of us can develop to capture sights to leave an impact on others, develops over a period of time. One way to update and revise technical aspects of photography is by revisiting the earlier photographs to find what was missing and make that as a learning curve.

Almost every college student wold have a camera, at least one in the mobile phone. It is necessary for like minded people to gather together to share experiences of the techniques of photography and learn from each other about photo-apprecaition.

Of all the things, what fascinates me about photography is to behold the richness of the environment in which we live. There is more beauty, order and aesthetics all around us than we think. The photographs reveal what our eyes missed to capture!  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)