The Lead Up

My apologies for not sharing anything lately even though I said I would. It's been a crazy week and while that has mostly been good it's not really ended well. I just lost one of the best friends I've ever had. Sure he wasn't a human being but it still hurts.

I've been sitting on this picture for a while now without really knowing what to say about it but I think I do now. There are times when you walk down a path thinking that you know for certain how or where you want to go only to find out once you've started that you have absolutely no clue how to proceed further. You have the end in sight and you kind of know what your goal is but there are problems along the way and there's a good chance that they've encompassed you and that's all you can focus on. I've been thinking a lot about the future lately and it is scary! Uncertainty is really scary but as I look upon the past I'm reassured. Why? Because I see how God has been working all along. I think one of the things that God is trying to teach me this year is to trust Him more even in the most trying of times. Every single time it's always been something good happening at the very last minute and that does go a long way in teaching me a lesson. We don't know the entire picture and that's OK. there this quote by Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that is quite poignant, "We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty."

It's OK not know exactly how to proceed. It's OK not having things in complete control. It's OK walking down a path that has problems but it's only OK if you look above. It's only OK if you look to God for His help. Only then will it actually lead to the peak you have in sight.

I have no idea why God decided that Dixie had served his purpose but the more I think about the future and the things ahead (that I'm aware of), the more I'm reassured that God's timing is perfect. Of course that doesn't take away from the fact that there's a cavity that's been created but it's reassuring and kind of makes it easier to deal with.

Although I wish I were there to say goodbye, the weird thing is the last time I was home I had this weird feeling that I would never see him again. I regret pushing aside that feeling now as I realise that was what I should have listened to but I look back fondly on the great memories I've had because of Dixie and how having him and watching him grow and growing alongside him has taught me so much. As I think about it all I can't help by thank God for bringing that precious little creature to live with us and bring that little extra joy in our lives when he was still there.

To you Dixie. My friend. My buddy. I will always miss you. Always and forever. Goodbye!

A Million Miles

Have you ever got to a point where you look back and realise that you've come a long way? You made it thus far through all the weird twists and have survived life's curve-balls and while you should be filled with a sense of accomplishment, it feels like something's amiss.

You look ahead and all you can see is see is...well, very little, if anything at all. The future holds so much that is unknown and that can be incredibly scary. You realise that you're on your own path and you have no idea where it leads and yet you've got to keep walking.

Now, don't get me wrong - the very fact that you're standing where you are proves that you've come a long way but that also means you've got a long way to go yet. The fog of uncertainty can be intimidating but you know you've got to feel your way through. Progress, at times, may be slow but that's the only way forward. It's might never be easy but you need to carry on.

A lot of what's been going on recently has left me thinking along those lines and while I would be lying if I said the future doesn't scare me at times, it would be remiss of me not to mention what actually gives me hope. At the expense of sounding preachy and cheesy it really is God who give me hope. When I look back I realise that I would not have made it where I am today without His help and that can be incredibly comforting because while the future can be ambiguous, I know He's still going to be there leading, guiding and comforting me whether I ask for it or not and that is all that should really matter. What gives me solace right now as I reminisce about the past and wonder about what the road ahead may lead is that assurance that He's right here beside me.

A friend once asked me why I write what I do and why I relate it to the pictures I post. I don't have a definitive answer but it's probably because each picture holds some sort of meaning for me. Each picture isn't just about beauty or documentation - it's also about emotions. It's about how it makes me feel and how I want anyone who views it to connect with it in their own unique way.

This picture to me is about a whole lot more than what I've written but I hope someone else can get something out of it too.

"I'm still not done; I'm only half way there
I'm a million miles away from where I'm from
But there's still another million miles to come"
- Trouble by Avicii

This was shot on the OnePlus 2 and edited in Snapseed.

Zephyrtone

I had the pleasure of shooting with Zephyrtone a while back. In case you don't know who they are you can check them out on Facebook. They're a music producer duo who's just launched an EP called "Shooting Stars" which you can check out here - Shooting Stars. My favourite track is "shooting stars" athough the others are pretty amazing too!

Sayan and Zephyr are amazing people and some of the few artists I actually have respect for.

BTW they're currently on tour across India so check out their dates and watch them live if you can.

I really have been super inactive here but I'm grateful for all those who've kept in touch via social media - much appreciated! :)

For those of you who've asked. I haven't stopped photography. That (as far as I can tell) will hopefully never happen. I just haven't uploaded a lot lately even though there's a lot of stuff I wish I had shared. Maybe I will in the future so stay tuned :D

Will be leaving for Chennai today for an internship so that should be exciting. Hopefully I'll be able to post more often.

Everglow

That's a beautiful word, isn't it?
It's stuck with me ever since I head the song. Sure, it isn't officially a word but it alludes to something so beautiful that it probably should be.

Having to make some major decisions that could shape your future really forces you to put things into perspective. Right now the future seems so uncertain. There are times you almost feel trapped, like you're in a cave longing and looking for the light so that you can crawl out to freedom.

To me, this is one of my favourite pictures because of the meaning and sentiment behind it. It might not be the most technically sound but it's one that I love and will probably have on my wall at some point as a reminder.

We stumbled upon this cave during a hike up a hill and we couldn't help but stop here for pictures. I knew exactly what kind of a photograph I wanted when we entered (is this the process of visualisation that Ansel Adams spoke of?). I tried to express the mental picture I had and explain it to my friend and then asked her to look up at the open ceiling as if she were longing for something. I assumed she would go with a rather sad or serious expression but she went with a faint hint of a smile and as I was working on the picture that really stood out because it really brought out the emotion I was trying to convey.

Looking above for guidance, hope and reassurance might seem silly but that's something I've tried to do because without God's help and His guidance I would truly be lost. There are moments when I fail to see it or even refuse to because I'm arrogant but that light, that glow is always present. All I have to do it look for it and follow the everglow.

Concealing Glow

Exams are always a pain, especially when you're give the timetable just one week ahead and then you scramble for your books and barely manage to finish the syllabus the night before.

Sometimes in life nothing seems to be work out no matter what you try or how hard you work. I know this is something I've said before but it's exactly how I've felt for the past few weeks/months. However, ever so often I'm reminded of God's love and grace. Ever so often there are little things that remind me of how beautiful life is and keep me carrying on.

Someone called me a tree-hugger before as a joke but I think that might be true to a certain extent. The world around me fascinates me and God's creation is just amazing! Today's picture is another reminder of that. We were returning home after a rather not-so-exciting trip to the hills and the driver suggested we make one last stop before the final leg of the journey.

After much deliberation we agreed and I'm so glad that we made this stop to take in the view. The sunset did look amazing as we were travelling but I'd never seen this view before. The previous times I'd been here had been really cloudy and you could barely see a few meters ahead of you so this view was stunning to say the least and I hope the picture does it justice.

Things might not always be going the way you want to go or how you want them to be but you've always got to remember that clouds move and eventually they part enough to let the sun shine through and when it does you realise that it's going to be OK because at the end of the day you have a God who loves you and cares about you and only wants what's best for you.

Now I should start studying to tomorrow's paper and stop boring the few of you who actually take time to read my blog. Thank you guys! :)

Vilasita

Let's take a break from black and white.

There are rare moments when clients give you creative freedom and allow you to do your thing and those are clients I absolutely love working with because it's not suffocating.

I went into this shoot not know what I was going to photograph or even how - all I was told was that it was a product shoot and it had to be done outdoor. Now, I absolutely love shooting outdoor using natural light so that was an interesting offer that I couldn't turn down.

This is one of my favourites from the shoot. What do you think?

Broken Frames

It's been a year since earthquakes devastated Nepal so I asked a good friend of mine to write a little something to go along with the pictures as a message to and from the people of Nepal.

Article by Upashana Gurung
Pictures by Daniel Raghu

Life was never "normal" after that day, and even if we wanted to we could not forget the unimaginable loss we suffered. It has already been a year since the devastating earthquake hit Nepal. One of the most beautiful countries had been turned into pieces of ruins. As we look back upon that day, there is no way we won't feel the sorrow all over again.

Even though words cannot describe the unbearable agony we had to go through; even after everything we lost, we were still smiling with tears in our eyes and with the hope that one day it would all be alright.

As I'm writing this, I really cannot express the pain and grief of someone who lost everything in the remote villages of Nepal. I really cannot. And if for one second I put myself in their shoes, I could not bear the heaviness of my heart.

The pain and anguish they must have felt is beyond mine or anyone's conception.

But YOU, you are a warrior who survived a great catastrophe.

You are the brave one.
Don't ever forget that.

The hope, the strength, the unity that we all have, let's not let go of that. Because when we look back, these are the only things that kept us going froward. We're fixing the ruins, we're reconstructing buildings, we're helping the ones in need - providing food and shelter and clothes; most of all we're giving away love and hope to the ones who lost it.

Every country, every organisation, every individual from all over the world that has been helping us in these darkest days, we are profoundly grateful for all that you have and are doing for us.

 Because we have each other we have the courage to believe that we can move forward.

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

For you are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. - 2 Samuel 22:29

Vilasita

A while back I had an opportunity to shoot products for Vilasita They make "hand crafted luxury soaps and cosmetics". Usually I wouldn't take on a product shoot because that's not really my piece of cake but this was different. Since their products are organic they wanted something outdoor.

I'll be honest and tell you that I've only taken on a handful of commercial product shoots so this was exciting because it was a challenge. They wanted something that was unique and something that made their products look good. Plus I love shooting outdoor in nature under natural light so I just couldn't refuse.

We spent an entire evening out shooting products and it was a lot of fun. It was really tiring in that my hands were literally shaking towards the end of the shoot but it was a challenge and it worked out well.

It's always a good feeling when a client tells you on their own that they love the pictures. Here's one of my favourites from the shoot. These are bath salts.

If you live in India and want to try out home-made organic stuff definitely check out their page on Facebook and get in touch with them - Vilasita I haven't tried out their products because I'm the kind of person that will use whatever is cheap because I couldn't be bothered but going by the reviews they have they seem to be doing a good job.

Have a good week ahead! :)

Wandering Loss

Today's post is kinda related to my last post.

When you have major decisions to make and your future seems uncertain - so uncertain, in fact that you don't even know where you'll be the following month or what you'll be doing; that's when things can get scary and you really start to question where you're at. At times you might seem lost in the crowd, struggling to stand out and make your presence felt in one way or another - that's when things can get tricky. You have a decision to make - give up or carry on. Like I said last time, the right thing to do would be to carry. It's not going to be the easy thing to do because, I think, it's a lot harder to carry on than to even start in the first place.

As a Christian, one of the results of falling on times like this is it teaches you to rely more on God than yourself or people around you. It's never easy to hand over the reins to someone else but you've got to do it since that's what's best for you.

This picture had been lying on my drive for years and it wasn't until recently that I got to working on it. Each leaf, twig, branch is part of something so much bigger than itself and yet it's always lost among all the other parts that are almost identical to it. Sometimes life's like that. You're wandering and you're lost in the crowd. These twigs would have been lost too if I shot them head on but a slight change in perspective and a different angle and VOILA! it stands out and is separate from the others around it.

What if God's like a photographer and we're those twigs? We've got to let Him do His thing and carry on trusting Him.

I hope the people in Myanmar are OK. We felt the tremor hundreds of miles away from the epicentre so I can only imagine what it must have been like there.

If Hope Dies

If you follow me on Instagram ( @danielraghu ) you would have seen a BTS picture I posted right after I wrapped up shooting with a local band. We had a great time and we created some beautiful images that also pay tribute to the natural beauty of the place they live in.

One particular image really stood out and today I can finally share it with you all. I think it perfectly captures the band's persona as well as the quality and beauty of the forest there.

I would love to know what you think.

Exquisite

It's my friend's birthday today so Happy Birthday, Upashana!

You've probably seen pictures of her before as she is my favourite model and I love working with her.

This was taken during another one of our explorations. A few of us friends would go to new places and explore them. It was fun and we would always come away with pictures we were happy with.

This is one such moment.

Gleam

It's been far too long since I was last online. Getting caught up with all the emails, messages and comments might just be the hardest part.

Anyway, it's Valentine's Day and since I realised that too late to create a picture specifically for today I decided to process one of my pictures to mean something for today.

So, how about some much needed warmth and glow that generally comes with the feeling of being loved?

How do I know this? Easy! God's love really warms you up and I know those of you in relationships can attest to that fact but let me tell you that the love of God supersedes anything you've ever know before.

I hope you're having a great day and I hope you have a great week ahead. I shall not keep you any further :D

Phantasm

Oh wow! It's been a while since I last posted here. My inbox was flooded with emails and notifications and I promise I'll get to them in time. I apologise as I haven't been online lately because of my exams and other work but hopefully I'll be more active now that I actually have holidays

After posting so many pictures of people I think it's time for a break.

Anyway, I just finished working on this image and I think it's one of my favourite images I've worked on yet. This was taken in October but it's been lying on my hard drive just waiting to be processed.

It wasn't until I came recently read Proverbs 3:6 which says "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." that I actually knew how to process this image.

I used a couple of different techniques to add the additional light to this image and make it look like something right out of a dream. My computer could barely keep up and what should have taken less than an hour ended up taking more than three hours to finish.

Anyway, let me know what you think. If you want more details I'd be happy to post a "layer Breakdown" video for this image on Youtube. Just let me know :)

Take care!

Hitch

Wow! It's been quite a while since I uploaded anything and I kind feel guilty because this is what I've always wanted to do and I haven't been spending much time with my camera or even editing.

A few days back a friend of mine got in touch and asked me whether I wanted to go to take pictures. How could I decline that offer? So we spent the better part of 4 hours on a bike and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures too.

We missed the sunset but I did get some pictures of the trees among other things.

Anyway, I promised him a picture of him and his bike so this is really for him.

The editing on this one is something completely different. I don't know why but I just felt like taking this route although I've never done it before. What do you think?

Reticence

Here's a quick portrait of my friend at a ceremony in college.

I thought the light through the door made for a nice frame especially as the colour balloons added some sort of interest to the frame. I asked "Does anyone want a new profile picture?" and then proceeded to take this picture.

It's nothing special but I did promise to edit it and hand it over to her so here it is.

I didn't have my camera with me so I had to use my friend's Canon 6D which is a really amazing piece of equipment. Way better than the 650D I usually shoot with.

Ardent

Man! Oh! Man! It's been crazy busy with classes and a few photoshoots too. It's amazing but so very tiring. Been working late nights on pictures.

Things were starting to get a little monotonous with editing so I decided to work on a portrait I had put off for far too long. This one is of a friend who shares the same name with me haha

He's pretty awesome and I really wanted to take a good portrait for him. He hasn't seen it yet but I do hope he likes it.

I took a more artistic approach to this one and decided to go with a kind of gritty look. This was taken using light that was streaming through a window in my room.

Shooting with people has been a challenge but has also been incredibly fun at the same time. It's amazing!

Blissful Elegance

It's been crazy busy these past few months and I've found very little time to actually update my blog and other social media profiles regularly and for that I apologise. I doubt anyone actually reads this blog so that might not matter a whole lot but if you do I can't thank you enough. It really means a lot to me :)

Now for today's picture and one of my favourite portraits. This was not planned or posed for at all. I was shooting for an online saree store called Jhumoor and while waiting for the other model to get ready I quickly got this image of my good friend and model. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

Now I hadn't shot any ethnic fashion before but I figured it wouldn't be too different from other fashion shoots. That turned out to be partly true but not completely. The weather was horrible and we shot for four straight hours. Needless to say the models and I were exhausted at the end of the day but my clients were happy with the results so it was worth it.

I showed this picture to a few of our mutual friends and they went absolutely crazy over it. They loved it so much that I kinda wish I had kept it as a surprise hahaha

Anyway, for technical details. I was shooting with a Canon 650D and a 50mm 1.4. It was wide open as I was testing a few things but I really really love the light and the overall shot. That fact that she looks beautiful just adds to it.

BTW if you're looking for a good 50mm for a Canon body I would most definitely recommend the 50mm 1.4 if you can't afford the 50mm 1.2L lens. This lens is amazing. The unit I have has a few focusing issues but that's not a big deal once you get used to it which, I'll admit, might take a long time. I wouldn't use it for quick shots but for shots when you have a moment or to focus and compose it's just great.

Wistful

This is part two of last week's post about the animals I saw in the zoo. This monkey (different from the one in last week's post) look incredibly sad and distraught.

He just seemed to stare into the distance without blinking as if reminiscing of good times past or perhaps imagining what it would be like on the other side of the fence.

It didn't even flinch when this group of local boys were being really rude and trying to tease it. I'm not saying zoos are a bad thing - definitely not! I've learnt so much about animals from my visits to zoos. Granted there haven't been many visits but I have learnt a lot.

Sometimes animals are mistreated because they're lesser beings or so we think. Honestly, the only reason I think we are still alive is because God wants us to be. Think about it - we aren't the strongest, nor are we the fastest or even the most agile of creatures and yet we're still thriving on this planet. All because God have given us amazing intelligence and is with us.

Don't ignore animals. Listen to them. Animals have a lot to say. They have a lot to teach us if we only just take a moment to listen and learn.

Control

These past few weeks have been intense! I don't just mean in terms of how busy it's been but also the emotional and physical stress. We were able to spend some time in Nepal and that really taught me so much. I'm working on a series that should be out by the end of the month.

I'm photographing products for a start-up that's launching their own app to sell groceries online. I think it's a great initiative. That's what's keeping me busy along with driving lessons. I can't say I like those pesky animals and some humans that just run wild.

Anyway, now for the image. I've been to zoos numerous times in the past but this last visit to the zoo in Kathmandu, Nepal really made me think about the animals there. Until this visit I'd never actually seen animals in zoos so emotionally active. This time I decided I would capture emotions. It's not easy capturing emotions in humans so doing that with animals was incredibly difficult. We also had a very tight schedule which added to the challenge.

One of the first animals that caught my attention was a langur. He kept baring his teeth and screaming. I don't know who or what he was screaming at but he seemed genuinely angry. Then he stopped and just raised his left hand and held the fence with his head hanging low as if he just wanted to get out but knew that any attempt to do so was futile. This is his hand. If it was a human I'm sure that person just wanted to be held and loved, which I'm guessing holds true for the langur too.

Query

What a week this has been! Busy yet so so so very fun!

My apologies for not posting regularly. I have a huge backlog of files that need editing and with the photoshoots and videos that need to be done soon that's just going to increase. I need to get on top of it and hopefully will succeed doing that in the next few weeks or so.

Now for the picture since that's what you're here for. I had planned to shoot the sunset from the new spot I discovered recently and set out as soon as I got back from my exam because it looked like the sky was about to explode with amazing colours. Unfortunately dark clouds began rolling in and it looked gloomy but I kept walking towards the spot. This particular bull seemed rather interested in what I was doing and decided to follow me. It stopped when I stopped and I saw the sun just beginning to peak from behind the clouds, giving out this magnificent glow that really lit up everything. The bull was still staring right at me which made for an interesting shot.

I decided against removing the annoying and highly distracting power lines and houses because this is Salbari. Or at least what it's becoming. I remember when we first moved here with no houses around us. There were just animals and rice fields. All that's rapidly changed in the last decade and it's sad to see nature being destroyed like this. Part of the picture is what Salbari once was while the background shows you what it's becoming. This isn't even the part with the most houses. It's so difficult finding a good spot for pictures nowadays when once all you had to do for a good view was step outside your house.