Photography
DBR Mills came across my purview more than a decade ago. I heard about it in passing and was curious to learn more about it. Old news articles told me that DBR (Dewan Bahadur Ramgopal) Mills shut down in 1992 temporarily but was never opened after that. Today, two and a half decades after its closure, the buildings line in complete ruin.
Over the past year or so, we have been surprising our clients with a little present on their wedding anniversaries. We wanted to give them something physical, a keepsake of sorts, unlike the usual greeting card on their first anniversary. I put myself in the feet of a newly married couple and tried to think from their perspective. Given that I was also recently married, I realized that we often think of printing photos but rarely get to the act of doing it. So I decided to make some beautiful prints of the best moments of their wedding and compile them in a folio box. These 12 prints look great on the wall, on a desk and can be framed for extra effect.
2017 went by faster than I expected. It feels like it was just yesterday that I had finished with 2016 wedding season with a quiet New Years’ Eve at home. As I grow older, it is obvious that a single year forms a smaller part of my life, statistically speaking, and hence the feeling of ‘time flying by’. For example, when you are 10 years old, 1 year forms a significant 10% of your life time. But when you are 30, 1 year is a mere 3% of your life. And that figure will only keep decreasing.
The year is 2037. A loved one has passed away. You grieve over your loss. You want to relive your favourite moments with them. You recall the summer of 2017 when you traveled together. Your fading memory can only relive so many moments so you want to see the photos again. But they are stuck in your iPhone 7 whose battery died a long time ago. But you had also copied the photos to your pen drive. Alas, USB ports don’t exist anymore. All you are left with is a low res image on Instagram/Facebook with multiple filters applied.
Often, we find inspiration from places where we least expect it. Earlier this year, I was traveling in Europe and came across the gardens of Villa Borghese in Rome. While the gardens are themselves quite vast, the real gem lies in a villa within them. The Galleria Borghese was started by the nephew of Pope Paul V and houses an extensive collection of art & sculptures. However, what impressed me was the actual interiors of the building. Every tiny corner was decorated down to the last detail and no two rooms were alike. It was truly breathtaking.
Place – Rang Mandir, Mumbai
Date – 23rd April, 9:30pm
Mood – Exhausted, hungry, emotional but incredibly motivated
Wedding Photography in India is seasonal work, with muhurtams (auspicious days) occurring only during certain times of the year. Often, I talk to fellow photographers during off-season of weddings or during a break in work and ask them how they are doing. A familiar reply is “I’ve been sleeping/watching movies/going out with friends”. And I can completely relate to their activities. After finishing a hectic wedding season with several sleepless nights, all you want to do is lounge at home watching TV and meeting friends for a drink. But during this free time, you also have the opportunity to try out new things and improve yourself, without impeding the relaxation activities.
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