A childhood hobby started with a an aim and shoot Kodak Bunny 126 format camera . There was hardly any choice available to buy any camera. There was not much to play around to control the exposures except a shutter button, it was still fun shooting friends in the boarding school and the mountains, clouds and other activities in Mussoorie. In a boarding school with no day scholars there were many extra curricular activities to keep us busy even on Sundays and holidays. Participation and involvement was a must in one or more activity A photographic club was started by an English language teacher who was a very dedicated advanced amateur using a Leica. Students who had a camera had to join it. It was a very nice experience. We learned to process black and white films in a trays. We made contact sheets using ordinary household bulb adequately controlled to give an even spread of light on a sheet of glass pane that was used to press strips of negative film and light sensitive paper. These were just magical moments. This was one activity that made us forget the stress of school activities that started with all students were hounded out of their warm beds around 4:30 AM and finishing the day back into the bed around 10:00 PM. The smell of the hypo got settled in my fingers and this made me read more about photography. The photography club closed as the teacher moved out join a better job. I kept my interest alive by shooting pictures and photo coloring of black and white prints. I still have my first photo color coated booklet. A good cameras were difficult to buy in those days. I got a Russian reflex camera through a relation working in the oil fields. This camera had more functions than the Kodak Bunny. For me it was a great switch over from picture clicking mode to creative picture making mode. It restarted film processing and making contact sheets as learnt during that very short period quite some years ago in the school. But as luck would have it I left for Germany where the best of the equipment was available. While working and learning the language for better prospects, I also saved money to buy me my first SLR camera the newest launched model of Yashica - Electro X. I slowly started creating a kit with each saving I bought lenses and other accessories. On a special offer at a departmental I bought a small darkroom kit that included a small enlarger, film processing tank and trays for processing prints. My savings were spent on photography books, magazines, films, B&W printing paper and processing chemicals. I used to gift away prints, besides keeping some for me, to people and friends I shot. The feedback worked as a tonic.

A small advertisement in the local newspaper changed it all for better. On the basis of the small portfolio I was hired by an advertising photographer, Mr. Detlev van Eupen in Celle, Germany. The biggest benefit I had working all the years for him was that he sent me to various short courses and workshops on varied aspects of photography. Perhaps it was his assessment of my dedication to photography and his assured feeling that I would stay to give back to his company what I learnt at all those forums of exposure. To be frank there was no cause for me to leave his company as I was getting what I had desired most - to be able to learn more all the time. There was studio work and both B&W and colour darkroom work. Large enlargements for exhibitions, multi exposed printed albums for marketing people product industries like lamps, brass, school and office furniture industries. It was great for me as I was his only co-worker and that kept me fully involved in all activities of his photography business as with more helping hands the work gets divided.

We had lots of clients from biscuit companies to heavy industries. For larger part of the year we shot pictures for color wrappers of the biscuit companies - XOX and Trüller. The work was very precise as each and every product element had to be rightly placed in the picture composition as per the layout. It was all shot on 8x10", 5x7" and 9x12 cm formats. The biggest format was used for offset printing of wrappers and hoardings, the smaller formats for print publicity and color prints for distribution. It was a feast all the time round the year with the fresh out of oven confectionery tasted well in advance of the season it was meant to be marketed.

Besides this we had clients from the lamp, highly polished brass, fashion garments, furniture, television, flute and ready made house industries. Another exacting work was for Vetco. They made various instruments for the drilling industry like the oil fields. We use to receive segments of pipes that came to them from the oil fields and other areas of drilling. We documented the damages by correctly recording the colors, scratches and other marks of damage, etc on the pipes for scientific study and evaluation.

I do feel the acute sense of both artificial and available lighting developed while handling such kind of exact work on a regular basis.

I was permitted to freelance for reportage work in my free time. On the basis of my street photography portfolio and other photographic work, I got listed on freelance photographers the panel of the local newspaper - Cellesche Zeitung. I was called on a regular basis to cover many prestigious assignments for the newspaper to be published as front page pictures like the visit of Mr. Willy Brandt, Mr. Helmut Kohl and other city functions.

At the fag end of 1977 I returned to India unscheduled to give attention to my family business interests. I continued to keep myself busy with photography creating time out of the family business to pick up assignments for various industries. I picked whatever work that came to me as I had the confidence of doing justice to all kinds of photography jobs. The work that I never ever picked up in India was wedding photography as I noticed that the photographers were never treated decently nor got the respect as a professional.

Handled various aspects of photography over these years from photo journalism, travel, industrial, outdoors and indoors, fashion, advertising, food, product, catalog/still life, etc. dealing directly with clients.

Just to name a few of my associations: Freelance photo reporter with Cellesche Zeitung a daily newspaper of Celle Germany; Department of Space (various earth stations and installations in Delhi & UP) , Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board (Andhara Hydroelectric Project, Chirgaon and Bhabha Hydroelectric Project, Kinnaur); National Institute of Fashion Technology (educational slides, documentation of Resource Center, fashion shoots, visiting guest faculty for basics photography) , New Delhi; Pearl Academy of Fashion (educational slides and fashion shoots), Delhi; Himachal Pradesh State Handloom & Handicrafts Weavers Apex Cooperative Society Ltd. (Himbunkar) (catalog photography of their products ), Kulu; Telco, Delhi; Taj Palace, New Delhi; Mastermind Advertising; Louishoppe (exclusive furniture); Candleshoppe (exclusive perfumed designer candles); Something Special (export fashion wear and decorative products for catalog and exhibition prints); Lal Behari Tandon (Chikan); Wild Orchid (fashion wear); Whorra Enterprises (silver and white metal niche designer products); The Gondals Press; Genesis Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (Satya Paul); Good Relations; Genesis PR; Ego Restaurant; Rico Auto Engineering; DD International Inc.; JJ Foams; Portrait Advertising; M.J. Engineering Works; Trendsmith; ..........

The fundamentals have been to keep myself updated with developments in technology and to work in harmony with such technologies as and when available for use. Good 80% of the people do not use the services of advertising agencies for promotion of their products and services because of their small budgets. A very large portion of my showcased work has been executed in direct briefs given to me by my clients. Keeping in mind the economics favouring the client, I suggest the best photographic medium for their output. If there can be a saving why not save without compromising on the quality, as at the end of the day results matter.