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A day with Chen in Lucknow

A fun thing about photography is that it leads you to meet a lot of interesting and different people. One random day after the New Year, I received a message from from a gentleman who later introduced himself as Chen (Bjack) that he plans solo trips and like to get his pictures taken in a certain way at the cities he visits. Chen is a radio presenter in Taiwan, where he broadcasts music. He has visited India a couple of times before and this time his agenda is to visit Lucknow for it’s monuments and get some portraits done here.

Although it wasn’t the best time to visit Lucknow in April because of the heat and more particularly because of the repair work done at Rumi gate which practically leaves it out for the pictures because of the huge scaffolding around it. But Chen had made up his mind and passionate travelers don’t visit a city just once.

Here are some of the images that we made together.

At Bada Imambara, the cameras have been completely banned by the authorities so one can only shoot with a phone, which is something I have never been able to wrap my head around but we had to do what we could and below some of the pictures here are taken with my phone.

It wasn’t a part of the plan but we decided to visit the Chhota Imambara the next morning to get some vacant streets and the early morning sunlight.

If you are curious about his suit, the orange suit was especially stitched for the Lucknow monuments to complement them. :)

BUDS: Abhay

Abhay is one of those sportsman who really signify the spirit of sports. Abhay exuberates positivity and has a forever smile on his face. He was the most excited and welcome chap at the stadium and always wanted a picture or a video to be taken. Like many other athletes he also has a 3 sessions/day session. I am just amazed on how these guys recover every day from this strenuous training sessions everyday. I decided to follow his training session for a day, turns out his training starts at a ground in Bijnor.

It was serene cold morning in Bijnor when I went there and had a feel of a life that started much earlier than mine.

Budding Boxers of Lucknow

A little more than a year ago, I had come home from a break between two shooting events. As we all tend to open our instagram during such trying times, I happened to see an ad about a workshop called ‘Find your creative voice’ by Indrajit Khambe. I was so ready for an experience like this that I immideately signed up for it without even going through any of their profiles. I had a faint memory of Mr. Khambe’s and went ahead with that hunch.

During our initial meeting over the zoom call, I showed him and the co-mentor, Ms. Suhitha Shetty, a lovely lady with practical and precise advice and warm support.

The workshop has to be consisting of any these subjects.
1. A documentary project

2. A Self portrait series

3. Photographing your family

I on an instinctive level had known a project that I wanted to pursue,it was to document the budding local sportsmen. I have always had an interestand practise in powerliftingbut that seemed to be an easierproject, rather I chose Boxing to be the focus for this project as although fascinating, it wasn’t a very familiar sport. It’s dynamic, fast paced and would be different from what movies show us.

I worked up my contact and got to talk to the coach at the legendary K.D Singh babu Stadium. As all things Lucknow, I was welcomed well, and a lot of folks were curious about this project. Some were reserved some enthusiastic. This is where I find this city very comfortable. You keep good intentions,a smile on your face and you are welcomed everywhere, well mostly.

This is where I begin the documentation of the Boxing department of the K.D. Singh Babu Stadium.

Junior boxers look up to their seniors not just in terms of techniques but also like their elder brothers who would chide them,nurture them and also push them forward in their training.

New entrants to the sport are mostly seen in the corner practicing their basic skills and strength to get fit enough to start their journey.

Manisha & Kabir's

Manisha & Kabir had been married for around 2 years before these photos were taken. Their wedding happened in such a rush as Kabir had to leave for Doha his secured a job there that Manisha had to be with him no matter what. It was a small quite ceremony but Manisha’s desire to have the fun and frolics of an Indian wedding still remained. She wanted to enjoy it with her close friends and family and had got in touch with me after we shot her best friend Shweta’s wedding two years back. That freshness of their relationship and marriage is still intact and I am glad I could capture it all as it happened. I hope it shows through the pictures and the video at the end. Also don’t miss out on Kabir’s rap performance posted somewhere in this blog.

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It started out with Manisha’s Mehendi ceremony at their residence in Lucknow.

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It was followed by the Manisha and Kabir’s combined Haldi ceremony where some of her friends did get their share of Kaleera.

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Both these functions were attended by their close friends and the reception ceremony was attended by a larger circle of guests but the energy still remained intact, with Manisha asking the DJ, rather animatedly to continue while the storm was taking over the night.

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Shweta & Parth's Wedding - I

As a wedding photographer, I get a lot of calls or enquiries from couples, their parents for photographing their perspective weddings, but with some couples, you know from the get go that these are the kind of people you’ll get to enjoy a lot while being a witness of their big day.

Shweta and Parth’s wedding was one such wedding I shot this year and I have received so much praise for this album that it has been overwhelming as well as reassuring of my own craft and instincts for capturing moments.

Since it was a four day long wedding, I have split the blog post in two sections starting off with the Mehendi ceremony where the groom also dropped in to have a couple of cans of beer but.

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To be honest, unless I bring some elements of my street photography while shooting weddings, I am not content about where my photo story is heading on that day.

To be honest, unless I bring some elements of my street photography while shooting weddings, I am not content about where my photo story is heading on that day.

I probably mentioned this somewhere that since meeting Andre Corsi at Silk Inspire, I have got a new perspective of keeping an eye on children during weddings and see it from their perspective too.

I probably mentioned this somewhere that since meeting Andre Corsi at Silk Inspire, I have got a new perspective of keeping an eye on children during weddings and see it from their perspective too.

Didn’t I tell you :D

Didn’t I tell you :D

A lot of the couple’s friends dropped in from different cities much before the actual wedding started.

A lot of the couple’s friends dropped in from different cities much before the actual wedding started.

Friends and family of Shweta had arrived from different cities and it turned out to be a mix of traditional folk songs sung by her aunts and friends discussing the dance moves for the ring ceremony and cocktail party.

The ring ceremony and the cocktail party.

The ring ceremony and the cocktail party.

Each day’s decor was done by a different team but still it felt so cohesive while being different. This beautiful cake was provided by arguably the best wedding cake maker of the town, Mouth Wide shut.

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The crazy dance party went beyond the wee hours, even after we left the venue, which also resulted in Parth’s swollen face the next day, but that’s all okay, times and meets with friends from your childhood to adult life comes very few times.
Coming up next is their wedding day and how I clicked the most Unhappy picture of mine ever……