After knowing that I hadn't cleared the medical entrance exam,
I decided to go back to my native village, Nargoal in Gujarat. Just by being near the beach, I found myself getting interested in clicking some pics. I clicked a few with my 8MP camera phone & posted them with some captions that I wrote myself. These caught the attention of many & the hobby continued to stay even after I secured admission into a medical college.
In 2017, I got a chance to get on a trip to Junagarh with the Gujarat Police for 8-9 days. It gave me a great opportunity to explore my photography skills. After that trip, people started noticing my work, not just because of my pictures, but also because the narration was so true to my real-life experiences.
I am in the last year of medical college now but I have started working part-time since the 2nd year, due to financial constraints. I used to work from 9 pm till morning. I am the General secretary of my college for two years in a row, so I am managing that as well. I’ve also done Corona duty for 3 months. So while it's tough, I believe that you can manage both, career & hobby, provided you put your heart & soul into it.
I have been saving up for a DSLR & I am just a few bucks away from buying it. So it should be done in 2-3 months. There are a few friends who always had my back no matter what. They kept motivating me to post every day. They would text me if I don’t post even a single day. There was a time when I had nothing but my phone to capture pictures which kept me sane in the toughest phase of my life.
I have been featured on more than 100 pages including the MI’s official photography page. Features are definitely one of the biggest motivations that kept me going. For me, a huge number doesn’t make sense. I never ran behind numbers on social media. I am grateful & proud that I have an insta family of genuine people who actually like my work & want to see me grow.
For the people starting in their journey, they should observe the audience, take inspiration from bigger artists. Try to have conversations with them & learn from them. You should be consistent, a patient without thinking about the numbers, & keep up the good work.
