( Header Image above, by Ankit from Adobe India. )
India’s Independence Day ( 15th August ) and World Photography Day ( 19th August ) are only four days apart. A nice excuse to plan and conduct a photo walk around India Gate and the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Even better when it is a partnership with a bunch of photography enthusiasts over at Adobe India!
We started off early in the morning, on a day before all the security cordons were put in place. A short walk from Bikaner House and some of the early morning sights included families collecting jamun from the trees that grow around India Gate. Lots of crows and pigeons and then the India Gate looms into view.
The India Gate has probably been photographed a million times, if not more. We had discussed what lenses we would carry before hand and I had decided on my 14-24mm f2.8 Nikkor. I had not photographed these monuments in wide-angles previously. I also wanted to force myself to use just one lens. Most of the photowalk participants were carrying more than one lens, for obvious reasons! One wants to capture EVERTYHING when there’s a photowalk like this!
Don’t miss the doggos at India Gate. One of whom, rather conveniently I might add, shoved a flower pot out of its spot so that there was more room for the doggo to lay down in the cool shade. The piebald doggo in front of India Gate, was also the first image that I shared from this assignment.
From India Gate, we walked toward Rashtrapati Bhavan and took a bunch of photographs on the way. At Rashtrapati Bhavan, security was a little tighter than usual and after showing our ID cards, we were allowed to venture to a point till just after North and South Block. The wrought iron gates are a good subject to photograph.
Once everyone had photographed everything to their heart’s content, we headed back to the main road, hopped on to a mini bus and headed back to Bikaner House for air-conditioning and breakfast. Since it was the Adobe crowd, everyone uses Photoshop and Lightroom to edit and I did a quick demo on my smartphone where I edited the piebald doggo photograph and showed it around the table.
Honestly, there wasn’t much to tell the participants about photography – you should see some of their photographs on their Instagram feeds and you’ll see a LOT of great imagery.
Overall, it was a nice feeling to know that the common citizen of this country can walk up to its monuments and stare and photograph as much as he / she wants. I wish they’d open up the insides of the Rashtrapati Bhavan too. Currently, you can only view on the weekend, after buying a ticket AND you cannot photograph it. A little more independence in that regard would be nice 🙂
The first photo walk that I had ever attended was in Los Angeles, at an event organized by Adobe. And this one, in 2019, is the first photo walk I have ever conducted. That it happens to be with Adobe, is no coincidence.
( Above Image by Skand of Adobe India. )
( Above Image by Harshit from Adobe India. )
( Above Image by Prasanjeet from Adobe India. )
( Above Image by Kirti Rawat from Adobe India. )
( Above Image by Vishnu from Adobe India. )
Special thanks to Divya, Zoya, Himali, Mishika and the rest of the Adobe India team that made this photo walk happen. Thank you also to Bharat for the support.
See here for my previous projects with Adobe.
Cheers to many more!
( Previous photographs of Rashtrapati Bhavan ( outside and INSIDE! ) and the National War Memorial, which is in the same vicinity. )
1 comment
on this memorable day you just showed the beauty of india
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