“Passion is the only thing that fuels a person to keep pouring in hard work and being persistent and helps one succeed in pursuing.”- Harshal Karandikar

Following one’s passions can be a hard job, but it could be one of the most important decisions one makes, while choosing the right career. Luckily, we have talented Indians who follow their dreams boldly and inspire us to do the same. A diversely talented photographer, Harshal Karandikar, the man behind DiversePixelPhotography, talks to us about his interesting journey as a photographer. Born in Ambernath, Harshal holds a B.tech degree in Electronics Telecommunication. Inspired by his father, Harshal took to photography and was fascinated by it at an early age. He realised the important role photography plays in capturing memories and how humans associate deeply with and are impacted by their memories. When he decided to take it up as a part-time job, his parents were very supportive of it.

Despite parental support, his journey had a lot of ups and downs. He shifted various industry segments and finally decided to work with a design firm. He considers his industry shifts to be one of the most courageous things he did because people at his age were mostly settled in their careers. However, he knew he wanted to be happy and satisfied with his job, and hence took a leap of faith. He wanted to enhance and improve his creative skills and wanted sufficient time to practice photography. Thus, he eventually gave up on his initial job and chose the career that he thought suited him best.

Harshal believes that every person is talented in their own way. “Unconventional careers”, according to him, is just a term coined by people who have never attempted making their careers in a specific field. However, identifying one’s talent is a journey in itself and it can be a demanding task. Additionally, pursuing one’s passion requires hard work and dedication. He advises young dreamers to be passionate and dedicated to their career choices. It requires one to devote ample time and to work passionately towards improving it. Apart from photography, Harshal likes editing and retouching images using various software like Photoshop. He has also been an avid guitar player since his school days. Inspired by Erik Almas, he wishes to be a versatile photographer like him one day.

We bring you some of his beautiful clicks.

Alfred Stieglitz once said, “In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” Every photograph captures those unsaid nuances of life, which sometimes gets lost in reality. Abhishek Biradar’s photography magnifies the beauty of any moment, creating magic out of it.

Born and raised in Nanded, Maharashtra, Abhishek pursued his engineering from Pune University. Pretty much living the life of the famous “Farhan Qureshi” from 3 Idiots, Abhishek left his engineering to pursue his passion for photography. His belief that “Profession doesn’t give you happiness but passion does”, gave him the courage to take this tough call.

His love for traveling opened new horizons of photography. Inspired by Ganesh Vanare, he learnt most of his craft through observing and following other photographers. Although currently enrolled in a course, he believes that only techniques can be learnt from others, while passion drives the best captures. He attributes the beautiful journey so far to hard work and persistence, but most importantly passion.

Come let us dive in the world of creativity and passion.

Destin Sparks once said that “Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” Prathamesh Jatar is one such person, who tells stories through his camera.

Born and raised in Pune, Prathamesh always had the instincts of an artist. Since childhood he was a part of various creative activities like drama, playing the harmonium, sports and singing. An MSc in Analytical Chemistry, he pursued his drive for creativity even in his college days. His first encounter with photography was like everyone else – through mobile photography. But gradually, with increased interest, he moved to DSLR. There was a shift in the theme of his photography, from food photography to landscapes, portraits, nature, etc. This passion gives him a chance to explore various places, different cuisines, people and cultures.

Inspired by Vineet Vohra, Wojtek Stark and Steve McCurry, he believes that a supportive family has been one of the biggest strengths in this journey. As an accomplished photographer, Prathamesh has exquisite works of photography to his name. His works were exhibited in various photography exhibitions like- Utsav Bappacha (2018), Vaari Photography Exhibition (2019), Ganeshotsav: Devotion and Emotion (2019) and Kaladhipati Photography Exhibition(2019). For his immense love and passion for the craft, he has made a documentary on photography called “The Camera”.

His advice to all young dreamers is that “Life is a roller coaster ride, don’t get upset about failure and be brave to face challenges that come across your way. Dreams cannot be achieved in a fortnight; time is a great factor that needs to be spent on achieving a goal.” He adds the very famous quote by Sachin Tendulkar, “Don’t stop chasing your dreams, because dreams do come true”

Wishing him all the very best in his future endeavours, we bring you a sneak peek of the world through his eyes.

With the advent of the digital world, perfect pictures and fine photography are so very vital for us. And photographs aren’t just the building blocks of our social media life but also our storehouse of memories. Like Ed Sheeran goes on to say in his song Photograph – “We keep this love in a photograph, we made these memories for ourselves…. times forever frozen still.” Capturing the right moments at the right time and depicting the right emotions are what a professional photographer aims to do. Jayesh Rajput’s photography is an exquisite example of the same.

Jayesh Dilipsing Rajput is a passionate mobile photographer. Born in Anarad (Nandurbar district of Maharashtra), he has been practicing photography since the past three years. He completed his 12th in Nandurbar and then moved to Pune for his engineering. During his second year of college, he bought a new phone and started clicking pictures which eventually laid the foundation of his photography career. He specializes in capturing nature, street, architecture, portraits, and raw emotions. Along with photography, collecting old coins, reading books and novels, travelling and meeting people from diverse backgrounds are his hobbies. In all his pictures, he makes use of his mobile phone to practice photography and no other equipment. His favourite photographer is Auditya Venkatesh and he considers him to be one of the best mobile photographers.

On various social media handles, Jayesh goes by the alibi Framo Grapher. His Youtube videos guide and instruct fresh photographers to enhance their photography skills. Various specimens of his artistic talent can be found on his Instagram and Facebook pages. He believes in creativity, and according to him, that is what helps him strive and endeavour harder to achieve his passion. We bring you some of his incredible work.

“There is no better way to tell a story than through a powerful image.” Documentary photographers give voice to unsaid ideas and stories, while creating a positive impact in society. Deepti Asthana is one such independent documentary photographer, who captures the subtle realities of our society.  

While growing up in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Deepti experienced a different side of India. Influenced by the struggles and hardships faced by the women in every facet of life, she created a passion-driven personal project, “Women of India”, where she highlights the untold stories of those women, who remain unseen in our daily lives and social media. 

Some of her other projects include ‘Divided by Partition: the Baltis of Kargil’ and ‘Living on the edge’. In ‘Divided by Partition’ project she evoked the resilience and courage of these Balti women, in the backdrop of changing geopolitics of the region.  

We bring you some of her incredible captures.