Yuyi's Carnaval Portrait featured on San Francisco Arts Commission website

It was a pleasant surprise to see my photograph of Yuyi featured on the website of San Francisco Arts Commission.

Maybe one day, I will get a grant to pursue my photography projects too. :)

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Mirror conjures dreams
dreams mirror the inner self
the simple, muddled, lucid dreams...



I see you...
looking at me in my dreams
Mirror, mirror on the wall
am I dreaming after all?

Invoking the Spirits: Happy New Year 2007!

Driving back from Lake Berryessa, I saw this beautiful oak tree shorn of the leaves. So, we decided to stop and invoke the spirits for all happiness everywhere. Here's wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!

Apache Indian at Scorpio Ball

I have been guilty of keeping too busy yet again. Couple of weeks back, I attended the Scorpio ball in San Francisco as a photographer. Although, I would love to be dancing but taking pictures is what I love more than anything else. The decor by Bonnie and folks was fantastic...a rainforest had been created and superb music permeated the mind.

Till I post the pics, I thought I would share a picture of an Apache Indian at the Scorpio ball. The red and green light coupled with no flash is what makes this photo for me. I loved it! What do you think?

Surya: Burning man 2006

The last couple of months have been incredibly busy. Just haven't had the energy to post anything for a while. It's halloween and this time I did not go to San Francisco to take pictures.

This was also the first year I went to burning man in Black Rock desert. I have been to two Kumbh melas and this was the closest to Kumbh mela. I was there for only two and a half days and sure hope I get to go again. There was so much energy and art around; I loved it! I slept about four hours each night getting back after my feet hurt - tottering back to my tent with my camera bag which felt even heavier. I met some real nice and cool people at burning man. Having had this experience, I can officially call myself a 'burner'. :)

At the belgian burn, I met Surya, resplendent in a dazzling silver dress. She is a rafter and a real estate agent and very kindly agreed to pose. I am posting two images that I took of her. More pictures of some cool people to follow on my website...hopefully soon!

Happy Halloween to you! Take pictures and don't get spooked.

Spreading happiness around...

A few days back, I photographed my friend Henrik and Mina's wedding.

Henrik was a lieutenant in Swedish air-force and looked dashing in his airforce dress. Mina, tall and pretty, complemented him. The wedding was a small family affair in a quaint little church in Sausalito. Henrik called me last month to ask if I would photograph his wedding. Ofcourse, I was more than happy that he would ask me to photograph their special day. After the wedding, I took them to Marin headlands overlooking the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco bay area for a few portraits. As usual, it was windy and cold. I was hoping to see a golden gate swathed in sunlight. But, when it is warm inland, the cold rushes in along with fog. So, braving the wind and cold and accepting compliments from the usual swarm of tourists, they posed for a few pictures. Happy and so in love with each other, they spread the happiness around. Henrik and Mina - I wish you both a very happy married life!

The feeling Called Love

The Feeling Called Love...certainly shines through in this photo I took last year at Tim and Giuliane's wedding. I had been going through some of the photographs and portraits I took at their wedding last year and thought I'll share it with you.



Photographing a wedding is fun, yet stressful and tiring. One needs to be mentally alert all the time to capture the fleeting moments that would not come again. A photographer really does not have any time to relax during a wedding except maybe during a quick dinner interrupted by more pictures. So why shoot a wedding? Just because...for a people-lover like me, a wedding is a chance to capture some spontaneous moments filled with love and happiness. And that's the reason why I shoot weddings sometimes, mostly for friends and acquaintances. It is hard work but very satisfying when the couple like your work. In this post, I'll just share some portraits that I liked of Tim and Giuliane.





We had gone to a beach next to Golden Gate Bridge where I wanted to capture their exuberance. This was after the wedding day as they wanted some more portraits. We stopped at Lucas Arts Campus in Presidio for some photographs. I really wanted to photograph them with Golden Gate as a backdrop. After Presidio, we went to the beach. Light was getting low and had me wishing we had more time. And, it was cold as usual in San Francisco. Tim and Giuliane braved it all and I got to capture some dynamic portaits along with their happy, sporty attitude.

I love this shot of the couple in the church with Jesus seemingly blessing their vows. The light in the church is usually dim and here's where the fast lenses come in handy. The lighting inside can be daunting but ofcourse that's where one rises to the challenge.



The next two portraits were taken after the ceremony when we were off to reception at the Golden Gate Yacht club. Oh, and this was the first time I actually got to ride in a limousine. That could be another reason - shoot a wedding and got to ride in a limo. :)

I really like this B/W portrait of Giuliane with the veil happily fluttering with the wind. There is something about B/W that imparts a timeless feel to a frame. Just two minutes before this, Giuliane was very cold and feeling tired; wanted to rush to the reception. I told her that I would like two really nice shots and we may not have a chance to shoot their portrait again. Suddenly, she was not cold anymore and took charge posing with effortless ease of a model. I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the energy that was being revealed though my camera shutter.


This portrait shows a tenderness as they are about to kiss, a kiss full of love.


And that is precisely what I love when shooting a wedding...all that energy and the air filled with this feeling called love.