Belgaum Photographers Circle

With the advent of digital cameras the number of photo enthusiasts has seen a tremendous growth. Not many especially the youth with very little money at their disposal were not very keen on taking photos then spending more on developing etc. With digital cameras it has become far easy for anyone to go and tale pictures and here are a group of amateur photo enthusiasts who have formed the Belgaum Photographers Circle.

The community was started on Facebook by Vinayak Talukar on May 11, 2011 with exceptional assistance from Anvith K S and they have conducted 6 outdoor group photo shoots and two Basic Photography Workshop on 7th and 8th Jan 2012 which was attended by more than 40 photo enthusiasts.

This is a community of Photography lovers, where they share and learn tips and tricks about the awesome art.

As of today the group has 127 members and growing. The best part of the group is all are learners as Vinayak puts it. We are here to share our knowledge with each other so that we develop our own skills.

The group has done 6 outdoor group photo shoots:

1. Bhoothnath at Khanapur Road on 26th June 2011 – 6 people had attended
2. Vaijanath Temple and Mahipal Gadh on 3rd July 2011 – 6 people
3. Nandgad 18 Sep 2011 – 5 people
4. Jamboti 27 November 2011 – 4 people
5. Windmills at Kakati on 22 Jan 2012 – 10 people
6. Yellur Gad on 29 Jan 2012 – 7 people
The Founder of the group Vinayak Talukar who runs Ideaflask, told this blog, “The group was started with a very simple intension of Sharing The Photographic Knowledge we have. The only intention of the group is to enable people to take better pics. And the hidden agenda behind every Group Shoot is to have fun.”

“We are looking forward to hold further workshops like this and also we are working on conducting advanced level workshops. We plan to conduct workshops to share the knowledge associated with the camera. We plan our workshops in a very practical method, so that the attendees actually practice then and there. Along with this, we will hold regular group shoots so that we put our skills into action” Vinayak added.

Prasad Parmaj another enthusiast who was very hesitant to go on the shoots with his point and shoot camera said, “I was always Passionate for Photography & I was searching for a Platform were I could Learn many things out of it. I found out this Group to be Most Happening Group with continuous Events on Group Shoots for Outings & work shop conducted by them made me realize Camera its not just Point a thing & shoot it & also made me Find many things in Camera which I never realized.”

Anvith K.S a web developer by profession who also is an avid cyclist and one of the founder of this group told this blog, “ First and foremost, I love the outdoors. Photography lets me connect with the outdoors and also capture t the way I see it. The sheer pleasure of being in the midst of jungles is exhilarating. Secondly I love to organize trips / events. So given a chance I will jump in with both feet.

Also the trips tend to be in areas where we need to carry some snacks or food with us, and I love to eat and prepare stuff.”

Anvith told, “The intention of these shoots is to relax and have some fun. Along the way we also get to learn about photography and its nuances. But this group is not just about going to a place and photographing it. We make sure we experience the place. The sight of the rising sun, the sweet smell of mist on mud in the morning, a hot cup of coffee or tea at 5am while waiting for the others to arrive, are somethings which I look forward to in every shoot. Belgaum is gifted with great destinations and locations within a 50km radius. Our intention is to visit most of the places, in a group, photograph it from different perspectives, learn from each other, eat ( we do a lot of that.) and generally have fun.”

In respect of future he said, “We intend to conduct more shoots and workshops in the future. Also on the cards are shoots within the city for ex: an indoor shoot with a model or product. Food photography (we get to eat afterwards ) and street photography.”

Viraj Nilajkar, a student and new member of the group said that, “You see life is all about Living it in the moment and making the most of it, We here at the Belgaum Photographers Circle just wanna have fun and learn what we can from these Trips about Photography and as GIFTED as we are to stay in a Beautiful City like Belgaum which has HEAVENLY Spots on just a Foot Step away from us…. Who would not be tempted to just go out there and enjoy the serene, soothing and exhilarating Landscapes and the Mother Nature. You dont need a High End DSLR camera to be with us, Even a Point and Shoot Camera like the one I use will work or even a Nokia Phone with a VGA camera will work(Not really). We Love to Explore and make the most of it and also we have Teachers like Vinayak and Anvith Sir who teach us a little thing or two about how to Handle a Camera and also to get Lots of Food Items on the way to the TRIP. These are the little things we do here in the Group and you are more than welcome to join us and explore the BEAUTY of Belgaum.”

Rajendra Deshpande said, “I was really interested and wanted to learn photography, fortunately I met Vinayak Talukar who started this group and he taught some really nice tricks, macro photography, landscape photography, portrait photography and many more things which are priceless. Going for group photo shoot, meeting new friends clicking some awesome photos. I have never imagined it was so much fun and amazing experience. I honestly really enjoy whenever we go for photography.”