Gone are the days when creativity and technology were considered poles apart. Today, they go hand-in-hand. Pune, which is considered an IT hub, is a good example of this transformation.
The city, which has never seen a dearth of innovation and original content, is gelling well with new techniques to promote creativity.
In the past few years, photography in the city has not only gone digital, but has moved one step ahead and has shifted online.
Online photography groups are the new breed that are helping in spreading knowledge of clicking photos.
Photographers@Pune (P@P) is one such online photography group which caters to amateur photographers by conducting workshops and group discussions frequently.
The group formed in 2006, has over 2,000 members…2,234, to be precise. “We are a group of amateur photographers, who help each other through discussions and suggestions online. The main objective of the group is to provide free knowledge to passionate photographers and even learn from their experiences,” says one of the core members of P@P, Pankaj Zarekar.
Apart from P@P, which is active on Facebook, Flickr and other websites, there are Photography Pune, Pune Photography Club and Pune Photography Lovers on Orkut; Pune Sunday Photography Club, Pune Amateur Photography, India Art Photography Group, Pay back to Pune, Photographers, Pune Flickrbugs, Bird Photographers of Pune, Serious Photo Group of Pune and Snapshots of Pune available on Flickr.
The reason to start these websites was to promote exchange of ideas, but now many photographers are turning commercial.
“I feel networking sites are the best medium to promote your work. Today, everyone is busy and it becomes practically impossible to roam around with printouts of your work. If you want to sell your pictures, just upload them and show it to your clients,” says photographer Chaitanya Rathi, who manages Pune Fashion Photography group on Facebook.
However, with the medium is shifting focus on business prospects, it cannot ignore the social responsibility aspect.
“We organise photo exhibitions with the help of our members. We contribute some money along with the collection we get after selling the pictures at the exhibitions and donate the amount to NGOs. This brings a sense of responsibility in us,” says Zarekar.
The medium has touched an important benchmark and is ready to grow further. As Chaitanya says, “Internet group is the present, while BlackBerry group is the future. I have started a BlackBerry group that will connect photographers of Pune, who use this facility.”
So, if you thought photography is difficult to pursue, then the
time has come to surf the e-medium and explore a whole new world of possibilities. As we said, click is the word!
