Does this statement ring a slight bell and strike a 'Deja Vu' in your head? Well, it could be as this is such a beautiful phenomenon. So many people see us, touched (physically and in the heart), looked up to by a gamut, but who feeds or sees the unseen, very few, right?! Well, a similar 'ooh, you got me right there' moment happened for someone else too. And this, we're talking about not a person, but a place….a place visited by more than a million people daily, revered and held, acclaimed and celebrated, but one person had a different lens to view it.
Well, by a different lens, I don't mean the literal camera lens, but his perspective. A vantage point that quite dramatically stole the show; and showed a new one; a jaw-dropping picturesque sight!
When Jay Vardhan Sharan put on his photographer's lens (not only literally) but donned his master photographer's hat and perspective, little, did he know what surprise the photography Gods had for his beholder maverick self?
A sweltering summer evening that was pricking much of the Delhiite crowd, a bunch of tourists, worshippers, and ordinary people made their way to the revered Lotus Temple in the Kalkaji district of New Delhi. The clock must have struck 4 pm, and one of the avid seekers who placed his feet on these sacred ground was Mr.Sharan, with his ammunition, i.e., His big fat sack of cameras and lenses.
Sharan was walking aspiringly, braving the scorching sun rays with palm and with a tint of hope shining in his heart. For he knew, whenever he has stepped into a monumental space, something extraordinary has come out of his camera lens. But what was it going to be this time? He didn't want the usual glance or what had been done and dusted.
In the middle of Bahapur stands this might 26 acres wide and might Lotus Temple; and, in middle of that stood Jay wondering what photograph should he be the beholder of. What perspective shall he strike, and what light intensity and direction should he be with or against. After all, many visitors come to meditate at this holy site with no God idol but are an amalgamation of the World's top nine religions…and captures thousands of snaps. Still, the idiosyncrasy of one capturer is what makes that one stand out of the gamut of captures.
While he was trotting around the periphery of the temple, he nudging his head and shuffling his camera lenses, pondering what could be an ideal master photograph could be, for the n-th time he happened to look up, against the light, and this time it was fate.
He has his epiphany moment as this time he envisioned the gigantic monument at that instance like a pair of alien eyes. And he knew he got this one!
After various permutations and combinations of lenses, angles, settings, the magical blend came off: Sony Alpha a57, 18-55 lens. A similar output was created using a Nikon camera with a 35mm lens. With the sunlight being at its peak, now that became a colossal challenge. But, this fearless artist took this stepping stone to his stride and was determined to make the appropriate use of his camera modes and position himself just at the right degree. Standing against the light and with all the artistry at play, step one of this award-winning masterpiece was born.
Then came this photographer's post-photography steps. Deploying his preferred Adobe Lightroom, he rendered his expertise further with some reflective manipulations and enhancements. This alien invasion-Vantage Point picture led to this man garnering much admiration and accolades from across the Globe. He secured one of the top 5 of the thematic contest of 35AWARDS Russia, in which there was a participation of over 111 countries and almost 3k participants. He also bagged The People's Choice Award on Viewbug.com for this masterpiece. The picture is titled: 'Alien Invasion in my city' and is available on Jay's photography profiles on various international photography platforms.
