It’s no secret that India is a country where education holds a lot of significance and value in its people. Nor is it surprising that most people tend to emerge as doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. There are some people, though who feel like taking the road less traveled. Careers like photographers, artists, musicians, writers aren’t seen frequently because although people have a deep passion for the arts, they choose the mainstream professions due to the fear of often not being ‘stable’ or ‘respect-worthy’.
However, some people are so passionate about the art that they love, that they turn a blind eye to everything else and decide to throw themselves into their work and art. Societal or peer pressure takes a backseat in their mind and they focus on nothing else. Mohd. Danish is one such person.
A Delhi based photographer and influencer, Danish graduated from Jamia Milia Islamia university in Delhi with Tourism Honors. There were days during his graduation, where he used to rifle through pages of National Geographic magazines and dream of being a professional photographer.
He claimed the movie ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ as his inspiration in a shift in perspective as to how he viewed his life and how he wanted to live it ahead, and of course, it helped that he loved to travel.
The one thing that always piqued his interest in photography was the ability of the camera to capture fleeting moments from running away, to forever store the essence of the depth of human emotions, and to somehow showcase how vastly different landscapes can seem in different parts of the country.
Freelancing is always a struggle, no matter which part of the world you’re in, and danish was prepared for that mentally. In a world of photographers with DSLR cameras, he started his journey with a humble ASUS_Z010D smartphone. It catered to his needs and helped him in honing his skills as a better photographer. It never took him long to realize that the magic resides more in the photographer than the camera.
He started traveling soon after his graduation and wanted to make it known that one could travel to any place on a lesser budget simply by minimalizing the luxuries. To date, he has traveled solo close to 20 cities on a pocket-friendly budget and strongly believes in minimizing the materialistic luxuries while traveling and focus on the essence of the places you’re traveling to.
This unique combination of his minimum – budget traveling and incredible photographs of the places he explored, started attracting a social media presence and captivated hundreds of youngsters. Danish currently has 17.4 thousand followers on Instagram and is still going strong.
It wasn’t long before official Instagram pages of NatGeo, Google and others started noticing his strong online presence and began showcasing his work on their accounts and the recognition followed slowly but steadily.
In a country dominated by engineers, doctors, and lawyers, parents always feel apprehensive when their children pick a career outside the box, Danish’s parents were no strangers to this concept but his passion and accolades spoke for himself. They claim they’re now okay with it, but he has a hard time believing it sometimes!
I asked him for one of his favorite memories while traveling and shooting pictures. He reminisced about the time he was 19 years old, traveling to Death Valley in Faridabad for a quick weekend getaway when he and his friends were robbed by goons! They were lucky enough to be left unscathed as they obediently turned over all the money they had on them. The irony was, that the photographs he took of the very same Death Valley were published in the Times of India, and it was the first time his work had been published. So I suppose, there really is a silver lining in a grey cloud after all.
Danish has come a long way since then. He now uses a Canon 80D camera and still loves using his Pixel 3XL phone for photography. His work has been featured in many pages including Tripoto, Google India, NatGeo, Lonely Planet, and others, and recommends Snapseed and Lightroom CC for editing photographs.
Coronavirus has brought an overwhelming change to the world and the people and everyone including artists and photographers have been affected, especially the ones who relied more on travel photography. But Danish believes that this rough phase too, shall pass.
He has now begun discovering the joys of exploring macro and food photography and attempts to perfect his skills in those areas. In a day and age when photography is being more and more accepted as a career in Indian society, so is the increase in the competition. Danish strongly advises to always keep updating yourselves with the recent advancements in technology. The world hasn’t seen enough of Danish yet, and we have a feeling it isn’t getting over anytime soon!
Also Read : Street, Silhouette and Monochrome with Moises Levy
When asked what words of wisdom he would pass on to the budding photographers out there, he believes that passion is the most important thing, in any career and always to let your work speak for you. Content is the king, and nothing precedes it. He implores everyone to constantly update themselves with the recent advancements in technology and claims that the continuous process of learning and evolving is the key to success. Seek inspiration. In anything and everything.
The article is written by Sanjana Saxena. Her Instagram id is @sanjanasaxenaaa
The article is Curated by Vaibhav. His Instagram id is @frameshade
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Great to read about one of my favorite photographer Danish, Always loved his works, Awesome photos. Keep inspiring.