The story of a photograph
This photograph of mine won the first prize in the photography competition held as a part of a virtual national convention of Architects (NATCON) named Transcend. It came as pleasant surprise and the things and coincidences that happened along with that were quite surprising. Thought I will share those coincidences as a short blog. The main reason behind writing this is that though these are small things but these matter a lot and these small little things make life interesting and keeps everyone moving. With the positive vibes these create, we may be able to achieve something beyond our own reach. On World Photography day I thought I will complete this blog which I was aiming to write for so long.
The spark:
In 2018 I took some kids in my family to the Palace in Thanjavur, a palace where the descendants of the Marathas still live. On the way from my house to Palace I was just building up the interest in them talking about the history of the place to the limited extent which I know and that’s when we crossed the Brahadeeshwarar temple (Big temple). Continuing my explanations I explained to them the greatness of the temple and its surroundings and that’s when it struck me that I haven’t seen the temple from this angle in any pictures before (the angle in which I had photographed). There are many beautiful pictures of this great temple which was built by Raja Raja Chola some 1000 years before but not many with this temple covering its environs. So then I thought I should try and take a picture of the temple covering its surroundings as much as possible.
Another reason for me to get this idea was the presence of flowing water in the Grand Anaicut canal on the Southern Side of the Temple (this canal is used for irrigation and receives water when the Mettur Dam is opened). It was flowing in full glory. This was around the middle of the year when we have the summer rains in Thanjavur, owing to which lush greenery had grown on Temple Ramparts.
The Click:
During the time all these thoughts were running in my mind it was post noon and the angle from which I wanted to take the photograph would have harsh sun spoiling the photo. So I thought I need to take a picture in the morning so that the sun is behind me when I click the photograph and lighting is also subtle. The next day I arrived at the spot took out the camera and clicked some pictures. To my satisfaction the lighting was as and what that was desirable with somewhat overcast conditions.
The first prize a complete surprise:
The NATCON which is usually a big affair was conducted in a virtual way. Highly appreciate the way it was conducted online. It was a two day function and I had registered for the program and sat through the whole day missing only some moments in the first day. The announcement for the prize was in the evening. Also in the morning my friend Ar. Prasanna Pandian had called me and told that his sketch had been shortlisted and he received info about the shortlist. Since I did not receive any call like that I thought my photograph has not been shortlisted. So once the days formal sessions came to an end I logged off and went for my dinner. Suddenly I see a lots of messages congratulating me flooding my whatsapp. Then I checked and saw that I had indeed won the first prize in the photography competition. It was very special for me, but I still regret logging off that day without hearing the announcement of prizes.
The first coincidence:
I winning the photography competition was a pleasant surprise, but the coincidence of my beloved senior from both my UG and PG days winning along with me was even more pleasant. It was Ar. Sakthi Murugan, my mentor in photography and well-wisher. It was Sakthi who taught me the nuances of photography in the early days of my college and it was from him I was inspired to take up photography as a hobby. In college my father had bought me a NIKON FM10, but I did not even know how to mount the film roll. Then starting from that to many more things in photography I learned from Sakthi. It was a great moment for me and a biggest of coincidences that we both won this competition.
The second coincidence:
It was the big Temple. The Brahadeeshwarar temple. The topic of the competiton was ‘My Home town pride’. Since both Sakthi and me belonged to Thanjavur both of us had indeed clicked the photograph of our pride the big temple. Though the subject was the temple the photographs had two different concepts. Mine was the temple with the surrounding context and his was the temple with People.
The third coincidence:
My good friend Ar. Prasanna Pandian, won the first prize in Sketching competition. We both usually along with our other artist friends share our sketches, photos etc and comment on each other’s work. I knew that he was going to win it the time I saw the early rough draft he had shown me when he had just started the sketch. For him to get first prize in sketching to me getting first prize in photography is something I did not think of.
The miss on the day I photographed this:
On the day when I had to send this photograph for the competition, I was just checking if everything was fine and that’s when I noticed a white mark in front of the temple. I had not noticed this mark before. Then I zoomed into see to my surprise that it was a Peacock in full glory turning its back. To be frank, I did not notice this on the day I photographed or for a long time after too. Then I thought had I seen the peacock that day may be I would have got an opportunity to click something differently with this bird in the foreground and temple in the back drop. This I surely think I missed on the day may be because I was concentrating on something else. I am not sure if I will get a chance again to see a peacock again there. Let’s see!!!
The idea of this photo was triggered by taking a group of kids to heritage building visit. This photograph ended up in the top in a competition. Some memories and coincidences I thought should be recorded. Life takes you up and down. Enjoy it. Thanks for reading.
Comments