PHOTOGRAPHY - ONE OF MY HOBBIES

 

There are plenty of hobbies. One may choose from them depending on one’s interest. Some are, as simple as drawing and reading and as difficult as hunting animals or mountaineering. In addition to the profession, one holds, hobbies are leisure-time activities. One may have one or more hobbies. In fact, I have half-a-dozen of hobbies. I developed these hobbies over time in my life. Stamp collection, drawing, gardening, photography, reading good books, coloring, traveling, etc. Every hobby has some tools attached. I started my hobby of photography in 1967 in Paris, France. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to go to the Sorbonne, the University of Paris for doing my post-doctoral research in Plant Physiology after completing Ph. D at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi popularly called Pusa Institute. Within a week after arriving in Paris, went to one of the famous super-market – Gallery Lafayat with my friend KKS Bhat. It was the first time I ever saw a huge supermarket in my life. Perfumes, fashionable dresses, electronic goods, cameras, etc. were displayed elegantly. I told my friend that I wanted to buy a camera. Since he had one already, he knew something about cameras. He took me to the camera section of the supermarket. There were so many models of cameras. Of course, they were all film cameras. In those times photographs were taken by using films. With the help of the salesgirl, we selected a Canon QL (Quick Loading) camera and paid the price of 100 Francs or so. Also, we bought a black and white film from Kodak Company. That was how I started operating a camera and taking photographs where ever IL traveled in France and Europe.

Later on I shifted to color-slide photographs and bought a projector also. I used to take pictures of my friends, colleagues, garden plants, monuments in France and more particularly in Paris and its surroundings. The films were processed through film studios. Prints of photographs in glazed art paper were also done. In fact I spent a lot of time and money on it. Since I was all alone with few friends in France, I had nothing else to do after work and weekends. Over time plenty of photographs accumulated. So I bought albums and inserted the photographs in them marking the date and place where they were taken. Similarly, the number of color-slides was also increased in number. Even today I have them as my old collections. In addition, I bought some books on photography to learn more about photography. Thus my hobby of photography grew day by day and year by year.

 Some people start photography as a hobby and later end up as professional photographers. I know many of them. We do find plenty of professional photographers who are generally engaged in taking photographs in marriage functions, festivals, political meetings, press meets, etc. The still photographs taken in olden times were mainly in the school at the annual-day celebration. When I was a school kid, the local photographer brings a box camera with a tripod and asks us along with teachers to stand or sit in a group. That was called group photographs. Such photographs are generally black and white. Some of them are still with me as with many others. The photographer arranges the school kids according to their heights. Then he asks the kids to smile and takes off the cap of the lens for a second or so and puts it back. Thus the group photograph is done. Even now it happens in some schools and colleges, but not with those old box cameras. Many sophisticated cameras with zoom lens are available nowadays.

Everyone has a smartphone today. All phones are having a camera which can be operated very easily by even a kid. The important thing in clicking a good photograph is the composing of the object. There lies the very essence of a beautiful photograph. So we need to use our brain and artistic thinking before composing and clicking. Thus photography has become a hobby of all. The purpose of having photography as a hobby is to make a good collection of photographs and show them to friends and relatives. Moreover, collecting such photos is a good hobby too. The sharing is done through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, What’s up, etc.

Thus the hobby of photography has become popular among many of us in the world. Ultimately, hobbies are a good pass time and develop creativity and imagination. A good hobbyist is a creator and enjoys his hobby as well as his or her life. So it is better to have a hobby. Do you have a hobby? If not, get one soon. - NARA