What first pulled you toward a camera? Do you remember the moment, or the thing you saw through the lens, that made you want to keep shooting?
The thing that first pulled me towards photography is my ability to express my vision through visual art, whether it be Nature, Wildlife or just Urban Life. One of the first things I saw through my lens that made me connect even more with the field was a beautiful golden sunset melting over the horizon. It made me realise that these small moments, that most people seem to miss, are the moments actually worth capturing.
Your photos wander from owls and birds in Goa to macro flowers after the rain to neon city nights in the UAE. Which of these came first for you, and how did your curiosity spill over into the others?
I first got into photography when I was in Dubai. I fell in love with the giant cityscapes and buildings towering above me. That's how I started to break into the field. Eventually, after experimenting with styles, I realised that I have a real knack for Wildlife and Nature photography. I slowly started leaning more towards those themes more than Urban life but I occasionally do go back to my roots to remind myself of how my journey started.
Early on, was there a photographer, a friend, or a single image that changed the way you look at things through the lens?
When I began this journey and even now, I try to take inspiration from other photographers on social media such as Anthony Gugliotta and Arnulfur Hakonarson and I try to incorporate some of their techniques into my own style of photography.
What's the one photograph you're proudest of?
What's the story behind that shot? Where were you, and what made it click for you?
I was out on one of my weekly walks I take with my camera in my hand and I noticed a lamp had fallen on the ground. When I looked further, I saw small weeds growing through the lamp, indicating it had been like that for a while. That scene almost looked as if the forces of nature were "retaking" what was originally theirs. Hence the title of the photograph, "Nature always finds its way...".
What do you love about shooting on the 800D, and is there one lens or piece of gear you'd never head out without?
Since I'm only a beginner, I don't have much hands-on experience with other camera bodies, but some particular things that I absolutely love about the Canon 800D and overall Canon cameras is the simplicity and the simple operating system. One particular thing I love about my Canon EOS 800D is the fact that it is a 24MP crop APS-C sensor, which means I can get sharp photos without much effort. Also the autofocus on this camera is one of the best I've tried till date.
What's a shot that really tested your patience, one you had to wait for, sit still for, or go back for?
How long did that one take, and what were you waiting for when it finally came together?
This is a photograph of a blue Polaris Slingshot, only about 300 of these beautiful three-wheelers were sold at the time in the UAE. I waited for almost 2 hours in an open food truck park with no luck on finding any sports cars worth photographing. That was until I saw this Polaris Slingshot pull into the parking and without wasting a second I went over and I got the perfect shot I'd been waiting for for two hours.
What's a photo from your most recent time out shooting?
Where did you go that day, and what were you hoping to capture?
It was a fairly normal day. Up until about 7PM when I witnessed a sunset I thought I'd never witness again in a city like Noida. I immediately grabbed my camera, and with the last setting it was last on, I took this photo. I wasn't hoping to capture a picture with this level of framing and color, to be completely honest I just wanted to capture the moment while it would have lasted.
What's a favourite macro shot, a flower, a spider web, something small that most people walk right past?
What draws you to the tiny details, and how close do you actually get to your subject to catch them?
The small details that I just love to get in the frame like a lizard's scales and a weed growing inside a lamp, they're often gone unnoticed by say people walking by. What draws me to capture those details is the fact that the complexity of these details are all natural, developed over thousands and even millions of years of evolution, even the smallest things built for purpose. And to get these details I often have to get extremely close to the subject. When capturing say a spider, to get the perfect focus and level of detail, I have to get my lens up close to the subject, sometimes even less than a hand's length away.
When you set out with your camera, do you decide beforehand whether it's a nature day or a city day, or do you just follow whatever catches your eye?
Typically I would just capture whatever I find intriguing, be it nature or cityscapes. But there are some days where I feel like I want to get some nice shots in of the urban life in big cities like Delhi just to capture the diversity of the place, and other days I feel like I just want to have a really calm shoot which would usually involve nature and wildlife.
When someone scrolls through your photographs, what's the one feeling you hope stays with them?
When people scroll through my I want them to remember me for my journey. When I first started out, I wasn't all that good at photography, but as time went on, I improved. And I want people to scroll from bottom to top of my page and think to themselves that I've come a long way.
Contact and Follow
Email: vihaanbhalotia16@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vihaanbhalotia/
Portfolio: https://vihaan1231.github.io/Personal-Portfolio-VB/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vihaan-bhalotia-3bab65347/
