-Dashboard- “Walk into the Lap of Nature”

-Dashboard-
“Walk into the Lap of Nature”

This time I am before you with a photograph titled, “Walk into the Lap of Nature”. This picture is important for me because this is full of sweet memories of Sheetla khet, a scenic place near to Almora (Uttarakhand). One nice morning I was on a walk near to Sheetla khet with my beloved friend and a renowned mountaineer, Mr. Gopal Sharma. While having a leisurely walk I noticed a beautiful tree with yellow leaves on the left of a curve in road. This was a co-incidence that my friend was also wearing a yellow jacket. The yellow leaves of tree, my friend in yellow jacket, the curve of the road and greenery all around offered a good opportunity for a pretty picture. I clicked a few frames. This is one of them.
Nature is full of wonderful compositions. The important thing for us is how we visualize a picture.
I used a Nikon D 90 Camera with a Nikon 18-105 mm lens.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma 

-Profile- In Companionship of Photography: Umesh Gogna

-Profile-
In companionship with Photography
Umesh Gogna

Born in a family of jewelers, Umesh Gogna was inclined towards arts since his childhood.  After completing his post graduation he started helping his father in his family business while also working on his Ph. D thesis on ancient Indian jewelry. He needed good quality photographs of jewelry for his thesis. In order to get good images for his thesis, he decided to buy a camera and try photographing the jewelry himself. He bought a second hand Pentax camera kit, thus started his journey as a photographer.

After some disappointments, and a lot of hard work, he was able to get good images for his thesis. After a phase of time, he discovered that he had fallen in love with photography and he started spending more and more time with this form of art. He upgraded his camera kit, brought studio lights and even set up a small studio in his house. Soon people started asking him to photograph their jewelry-products and he was happy to oblige them.  As he loved travelling, he started travelling to new destinations with his camera. During these trips he got fine images of different places. 

When he realized that he was devoting more time to his photography than to his family business, he decided to turn professional and devote all his time to photography. It was a difficult decision as he was essentially leaving a secure business for the uncharted waters of professional photography. But now, after so many years, he is glad that he made that choice. Photography has always been the main passion of his life and he feels especially lucky and blessed to be able to devote all his time to it.

Most of his professional work is in the field of handicraft and jewelry, stone and the hospitality industry. Apart from his professional work he also does a lot of travel and nature photography. Over the years he has spent a lot of time in documenting the cultural architectural and natural heritage of Rajasthan and the Himalayas. The wilderness and the open paces of the desert and the mountains attract and inspire him.

After spending many years as a professional photographer, he felt that he should give back something to the profession of photography. One area where he felt he could contribute was by educating aspiring photographers about the science and art of photography. He started helping young photographers by conducting workshops. He has conducted more than 150 workshops on different topics till date.

Today Umesh Gogna is a well known figure in the field of photography. He is among the jury members of renowned photography contests. Many organizations have appointed him as their mentor. A number of his photographs have featured in reputed publications. He is committed to help the beginners forever.

-Dr. Pankaj Sharma