As a poet I am an escapist, 

As a painter I am a colour freak, 

As a photographer I love shutter click. 

 

Bhushan Vartak has taken time out to speak to CameraWorld about his love for photography and share with us just some of his latest shots that shows how he sees nature through a lens.

 

 

Born and brought up in central India. I started my professional career as a graphic designer and worked in West and North India but I now work as a professional photographer and I specialise in pre-wedding, corporate events as well as model shoots. 

 

Photography is my passion, it's my first and last love. I am married to Photography. 

 

I was given the opportunity to play with camera gear since my childhood, however it was just like a curiosity. I got serious in 1997 when I asked my father to lend me his camera so that I could get a long exposure of almost 15 mins, using cable release, to capture the night skies.

 

At this point I was given my first camera, it was a Yashica FX-D Quartz SLR given to me by my father, so that I could capture the Orion constellation and Venus. I went on to buy my first entry level DSLR in 2008, which was a Canon EOS 400D.

 

My first guru is my father who taught me the basics of photography. I found that macro was in my genes; my soul was waiting for a camera and lens. I attended some workshops organised by Canon India and that gave me a good understanding of macro, product, and model shoots. I also attended some workshops by Dhananjay Moray who increased my exposure to macro and product photography.

 

As much as I am a professional photographer, I have never lost my love of looking through a lens. When it comes to macro, wildlife (especially birds) and landscape photography I consider myself an enthusiast. 

 

 

I have many photographic influences, I am very much affected by the macro work of Don Komarechka & Aeric Moskowitz. For wildlife I follow Sudhir Shivaram and Dhritiman Mukherjee and I am very much inspired by Tim Laman who takes fantastic photos of birds. 

 

I am currently using Sony mirrorless cameras and lenses. My favourite lens is Sony G 90MM F2.8 for macros. I recently fell in love with the Meyer Optik Trioplan 100 MM and Sony GM 100 MM STF F2.8. Both are special for generating dreamy bokeh. 

 

 

For landscapes and astro-photography I love Zeiss Batis 25MM F2 and Sigma Art 20 MM F1.4. 

 

I also use Sony Zeiss 55MM F1.8, Sony GM 24-70MM F2.8 and Sony GM 70-200 F2.8 for Corporate Events, Pre-Wedding and portfolio.

 

As a photographer, I have had the honour to visit many places in India from North to South starting from Nubra Valley in extreme North to Kanyakumari in South. In the West, I have covered Maharashtra, and Goa extensively and some parts of Gujrat and Rajasthan. 

 

My love of photography and travel has taken me to many beautiful places. I have been to over 200 unique places across the globe, covering both the Northern and Southern hemispheres including Iceland, UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand. 

 

For me, to plan a shot in advance is a must for an artist. I plan beforehand the kind of results I want to convey through a specific shoot. All my shoots are well planned, usually I like to go for a pilot walk/visit to specific places. I usually keep an eye on the specific locations that in turn inspires specific compositions. This helps me generate the desired results. 

 

I find that a studio gives me flexibility and freedom for creating indoor compositions where I can control and play with lights however on location I need a proper plan. Location is a tricky affair when time dimension comes into picture. Some locations demand a specific time and composition. For example, some shoots require me to climb on the hill before sunrise and I made my client climb the hill very early in the morning. As they were well aware of the desired results they agreed to go through such pains. 

 

 

 

 

There have been many memorable shoots, these tend not to be the professional ones as they are planned and assisted. However, when I did an astronomy workshop Nature had her own ideas. Despite planning to go in the correct weather conditions, it was on a high hill and the wind picked up with high gusts. Despite having extra weights added, my whole setup was blown a few feet away! Camera, tripod and intervalometer... It was a funny scene.

 

 

Anybody can learn photography with any entry level DSLR or bridge camera. It's more important to have a mindset and the desire to learn the art of photography. Turning professional is a different aspect of this art. My suggestion is to learn with someone who is already a well-established photographer. Be an assistant or intern and learn. 

 

Get in touch with Bhushan or just follow more about his work and passion by clicking on any of the links below.

  1. Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/b_vartak
  2. Facebook – https://en-gb.facebook.com/bhushan.vartak.7
  3. Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/people/118616253@N07
  4. Website - https://bvartak.myportfolio.com/

If you would like to share your work with CameraWorld and our audience on this Sunday Social slot then please get in touch [email protected]