Imagine a world where beautiful monuments keep getting constructed. A place where architects put their heart and soul into creating aesthetic and practical structures; but, we have no one to capture images that remain true to their work and showcase it. Architectural photographers are the unsung heroes in the world of architecture and art.

Now, what is architectural photography? Architectural photographers represent the architect’s creation by clicking pictures that are aesthetically pleasing. Not only that, but they also deliver an accurate representation of the original structure. They showcase architecture in its real state while also documenting the environment and emotion.

Today we shall take a look into the minds of three different photographers who have mastered this art.

Gaurav Upadhyay, the man behind @thewanderlustmariner, is from the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Surely, he is an incredible architectural photographer. Additionally, he is a marine engineer who has travelled over 90 countries. Moreover, he has captured the beauty of most through his trusted lens. He calls himself a dreamer which I believe is justified with the dreamy, serene feeling of his photographs.

Dheeraj Khandelwal owns the Instagram account @dhekhandelwal. His feed speaks for itself as you scroll through his artistic representation of the creations around. This filmmaker acquired the exquisite skill of storytelling through his images. His photographs are sharp and crisp, playing with lights, colors and shadows.

Our last architectural photographer for today is Aman Channa, aka., @pixellence_by_aman.channa. His feed validates his admiration for architecture and art. Beautiful and intricate designs of architecture fill his page. You begin to notice how he uses light and colours to make certain aspects of the photograph stand out.

Clicking pictures of architecture with such aesthetic appeal is a pure talent which all our mentioned artists possess. So, make sure to check out their pages!

Ah! Who can understate the value of photographs in our lives. Imagine a time, just a few decades ago. Who would have thought that pictures would get so interwoven with our existence that we won’t be able to go a day without them. Be it moodboards, instagram posts, nostalgic polaroids, memes, stock images or advertisements we owe a lot more to photographers than we realise. After all, what is life if not led in absolute aesthetic pleasure?

I’m no expert, but I can pretend to be and tell you that no road is useless. You should let your passions guide you to the epoch of your abilities and then witness the world’s admiration. Who knows maybe you can be the next Annie Leibowitz, Mario Testino, Hrishikesh Gholap, Kunal Malhotra or Roshani Shah! The photographers we bring you today are unique and spectacular, proving to us that there is nothing more attractive than people being in love with what they do.

So, it is my privilege to first introduce you to Hrishikesh Gholap, a 21 year old photographer from Navi Mumbai. With interesting angles and perspectives, he peruses through the world like an open book and then shares the snippets with us. He gives us a fresh and modern portfolio filled with richness and texture.

On the same brilliant spectrum of creative expression lies Kunal Malhotra, a former marketing executive who never lost his calling for clicking pictures and sharing his knowledge. His Youtube channel boasts of a lofty half a million plus subscriptions. With his vast experience and delightful skill, he is a testament to the fact that passion pushes you forward. His pictures have a wonderful way of showcasing Indian life and culture. If your interest has been piqued, his advice and videos will surely be of help!

Last but certainly not least we have a photographer who has raised her name and game to get featured by the likes of Google, Apple and National Geographic. Her name is Roshani Shah (popularly known as roshagulla on Instagram). A popular meme-saying applies most poignantly to her, “It’s her world, we’re just living in it”. Now I’m no expert but her understanding of colour and composition sets her apart from most. If you haven’t already opened another tab to check these fabulous artists out, then what are you waiting for?

How easy it is to just get lost in the constancy of life when there is a whole weaving of fragility running right beneath us. We dream years and years in wait for one moment, and we never even realise when it passes us by. In all this confusion, we are left stranded with a million desires and dreams. How do we do so much in such little time?

Born in Dehradun in 2000, Prakriti Maurya had the unique privilege and experience of being born into a defense family. With roots in Uttarakhand and Varanasi, she was exploring the country from length to breadth. From the salubrious northern beauty of Awantipura to the enchanting deserts of Jaisalmer, to the lovely land of Conoor in Tamil Nadu to Shillong in the mighty east, being raised all over the country meant that she had been to over 11 schools in 17 years of schooling. Perhaps this life taught her the value of creativity or maybe she just made the most of it but one thing is for sure; creativity runs through her like an unbridled stream. It is no-wonder then, that she is currently in the third year of Architecture at IP University, Delhi.

She credits hereditary in having led her to become an artist, being the daughter of an artist, she found herself in the fields of photography, painting and crafts. A lifetime of travelling and making new friends taught her to preserve each memory and trip and her photography is reflective of that. Of course, being a girl poses its own strange challenges, thankfully for her (and for us), she received utmost support from her family and friends in taking excursions and trips to fuel her talents. Nirvai Singh Rai from Mumbai and Ashraful Arefin from Bangladesh are a few artists in the field whom she admires the most. As of now, she has participated in two exhibitions; one in Delhi and the other one in Jaipur. Her exhibition in the glorious pink city taught her a lot more about being a part of this world than any other thing could.

If you thought that only photography was her only forte, allow me to introduce you to her abundant talents in painting and fine arts. From mandala art to amazing coasters to landscapes, her Etsy profile has it all! When one is young, one can dive in head-first into all styles and forms, Maurya loves both the western and Indian forms of art and expresses them
amazingly. She recently celebrated a landmark achievement in receiving her first international order.

Obviously, the question floating through the air is: How does one do so much?. In her own words, Prakriti says that she can never be idle. There is a hunger that drives her to travel, click, paint create and do whatever it takes to be the best version of herself. At the same time, she believes that there is a talent and passion in each one of us, one simply needs to be restless enough to realise those dreams!

We hope Prakriti’s story inspired you to showcase your own unique talent!

Some moments are priceless, we live them in our memories again and again. A photograph captures that moment for us, preserves it for us to revisit the cascade of events following and preceding the moment at our leisure. We often fail at words to describe the beauty our eyes have had a glance of, a photograph helps us share the magnificence of beauty with the world. Seeing through a photographer’s lens is seeing right through his heart and soul.

Today, we present two excelling photographers – Rahul Divraya and Mr. n Mrs. C. Enjoy the visual treat of beauty.

The Instagram page of Mr. n Mrs. C is highlighted for nature themed photography. The photographs with picturesque capturing of flower blooms with thoughtful backgrounds are the star of the page. Nature is enriched with plethora of beauty; sunsets are everyone’s favorite but a photographer’s job is accomplished when he captures the nature in his own unique way. The page would surely be a delight for sunset lovers.

Rahul Divraya tries to capture all the beauty that the eyes see and the heart approves of. Capturing candid of stray animals to picturing the monuments and the vast sky, one might find all types of photographs on his page. Miscellany has its own perks; you never know what follows next.

In an enterprise to discover the creative threads of the images that confront his gaze, Akash Agrawal, a keen photographer, who claims to be “a collector of moments”, promises to offer a new outlook of the world through the semiotics of his lens. He views photography as a medium that illuminates the underlying dynamics of the imagery that surrounds us. His photography is rooted in the artistic perception that Photography speaks in a visual language that has the power to inform, educate and move the audiences worldwide without the necessity of a shared vernacular.

For an artist, engaged to the core, in wafting meaning through the visual tapestry of images, it comes across as a happy coincidence that his snapshots capture a wide spectrum of shots that  abounds in arresting visuals from the everyday life, the delight of scrumptious food, the grandeur of an architectural marvel and the panorama of a pristine landscape. His frame registers the bright warning colours of wasps, the oft-overlooked souvenir from a previous trip, the beauty of a blooming flower and more. While his array of black and white photography taps into the hidden persona of the subject, his collection of wedding photography unravels the excitement of the newly-weds. He is also an avid traveller. His travel photography re-inscribes the personal experience of unmasking the multilayered beauty of his sojourn. Each sojourn, presumably unique, yields a perspective of its own. Through his lens, he has captured the dazzling appearances of the architectural style of Buland Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikri, the artistically carved Maharani Ki Chhatriyan in Jaipur, the aesthetically engineered staircase at the entrance of Junagarh Fort in Bikaner, the arch monument of the Gateway of India in Mumbai, the sandy beaches of Bali, the vast seaward ridges of Australia, the gladiatorial arena of Colosseum in Rome, the Grand Mosque of Muscat, to list a few.

The visible world, with its riot of colours, finds a powerful echo in his photographs, for he grabs moments that remain the same as well as those that drift away from the clutches of time.

He captures the bewildering kaleidoscope of images that paves the way for the viewers to stand back a little and filter the variety of spectacles that the world unfolds before their eyes.

Tête-à-tête 

How did photography happen to you?

I don’t have an epiphany moment. In some ways, everyone has been exposed to photography from an early age.

When I was a teenager, my family took me to Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bangalore. Right before the trip, we purchased a Kodak camera. I enjoyed clicking natural wildlife, especially the beautiful butterflies. Maybe since then, I have gotten the photography bug.

As a photographer, who inspires you the most?

Auditya Venkatesh aka audiphotography. The way he captures images through his phone is amazing and inspiring. Apart from that, I love the work of British photographer, Platon, who is famous for clicking portraits of world leaders.

How do you evolve yourself as a photographer? 

As a general principle, I am always taking mental snapshots of everything as my practice routine.

I think that improvement in craft starts small, it starts simple, then you grow and evolve from there. The important thing is that you learn to concentrate on the way certain elements warp, distort, or improve a photograph.

Retrospectively, what has been the most courageous thing that you’ve ever done?

I would say Skydiving in Australia. You have to take a huge leap of faith before you dive off 15000 ft. It was worth it.

Do you have a message for young dreamers who follow or wish to follow an unconventional path? How can they beat the odds?

First of all, shoot what you love. Learn to shoot by shooting what you love, regardless of whether it is landscape or still life. 

Secondly, learn how to use your equipment. Get off the Auto mode. Most importantly, Editing is an important part of the process and there are a few nice and free tools such as Snapseed and Adobe Lightroom Mobile to learn from and play around with.

His snapshots radiate the joy of experiencing the spectacle of every moment. After all, each photograph amplifies our understanding of not only the familiar but also the unfamiliar.