The Art of Connection

So, wassup peeps?

I know that's not the most appropriate or a very pleasant way to commence a professional blog. But guess what? This blog post is all about connections and analogies, so it's really important for me to establish a similar connection with my readership as I do on my social media. On Instagram or any other social media platform, as a matter of fact, I talk about being eccentric and quirky, I ask you to go offbeat, accept strange and bizarre things, add colours and what not? That's me in real life so I choose to stick to my natural self in this blog post (makes life a lot easier). Also, me trying to extract the hidden literature student shall definitely take you to the world of Bronte Sisters, Joyce and Hemmingway. I think let's keep that for later blogs (although I love being a literature student and more than that I secretly enjoy the vast literature universe). By the way, you just saw a glimpse of me being a literature fan-a-tic (Shhh...stay inside you geek). Now that's called digressing on a major level. Caution: Throughout the write-up, you might encounter Me the Wildlife enthusiast, Me the literature buff, Me the serious poet and also Me a plain-sailing woman who loves to explore, click and write. Let's stick to the later me and save the former ones for future.

After a long hiatus, I was finally able to spend some time on myself amidst all the chaos. When I picked the pen today I was at a complete loss of words (being dramatic) so I thought to switch to my Laptop (pun intended) (DM if you didn't understand) (not to be taken literally) (major digressing, get back, get back). I tortured my tiny brain to come up with some 'Plato's magnitude ideas' (I just invented this term) and constantly pestered myself with what should I write about that is not already there on Google and then there was the moment of enlightenment. I realised why to blabber about technicalities when you can write about your personal experiences and add pictures to them, voila,  adding a cherry on the cake (perks of being a photographer). Why am I dying to talk about connections and consistencies? Being an artist that's what we think about the most while creating any piece of art. Be it the self-connection or connection with our art or the connection of a stranger with our piece of artwork. Why is it that we admire certain people and follow them while others with a gigantic fan following drastically fail to inspire us? Why is it some paintings speak, some photographs tell tales, some movies make us forget the world around us and some poems take us to the old world. Of course, it takes a lot of hard work, teamwork, sleepless nights to carve a successful artwork but all this effort becomes fruitful if that particular artwork is able to connect even with a single person.

Sometime back I did a series of photographs on exploring the Other Side of Self. That work received a mixed reaction. Some people found it eerie, some denied such other sides and advised me to capture only the rainbows and all happy things while some people connected with the work on a deeper level just like I did. One of the pictures from the entire series even made it to one of the renowned exhibitions.

Neha and Ashwini

To cut the chase, what I realised and learnt (a blessing) was the importance of connection. The art of connection is quite an extensive topic to be covered. It would not be justified to cover it in one go. The connection has multiple meanings to different people but here I am focusing only on connecting with art on a basic level. Talking about photography, be it any genre from wildlife to fashion to the street to weddings and so on, establishing a connection with your subject is very important.

I have been observing that a lot of people are asking and are panicked about the gears, the technicalities, the post-processing etc but where most of us are lacking is in "creating connections and infusing emotions". Precisely your gear, your knowledge, your skills contribute a major part in forming a great picture but what makes a great picture; a talking picture, a conveying story is a connection. Something so basic and yet ignored. Be it any genre of photography or any other field, if you aren't connecting with the subject, it would be foolish to expect the viewers to connect with it. Aesthetically it might be pleasing but a work that misses connection cannot be sustained for a long time in mind's eye.

What's so important about this topic that compelled me (not the Vampire Diaries' compelling) to deliver a complete write-up on it?

My only motive behind all this is to remind all of us of this simple yet forgotten thread. For all the artists struggling to become better and for all the people wondering what's missing in their pictures is the simple word "feel". And this is something inherent in human beings, the need to establish connections, the need to feel (don't digress). We don't need to go for some short-term courses or google tips, we just need to recollect the basics and then see the magic happening. When you see emotions rushing in a picture, connection happens!

I strongly believe in creating connections and would love to share a few images where I connected with the subject on a way deeper level.






Pragati

Sneha



Deepshikha
Oshin


Khushboo





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