WOW... what a year it has been.... Soooo much travel (10 countries, numbered in the brackets), moving contents, filming a documentary, and of course photography... Well, it is that time of the year when I sit back, and look at what I have achieved this year, and make plans and goals for the coming year of 2017!
So, here is my month-by-month round-up of my 2016 activities! :) I hope you all had a great year and that the next will be truly excellent! :) Cheers!
January
I started my year off in Bangalore, India (1), which was 'home' at the time. I started a small series of videos where I would edit submitted RAW images called YIME. I was still shooting art events for the AFB as part of a year long project, and I also shot the pinkathon in Bangalore. To top it all, I was interviewed and featured on front page of the Bangalore edition of the Deccan Chronicle.
February
Last month was a warm-up compared to February. It started off with another trip to Kabini in Karnataka (one of my favorite places), closely followed by trekking in the western ghats of Goa on the boarder of Karnataka. I then did a photo-shoot for SoulSlings, a baby wearing company, and ended the month in Delhi. It was a strange month, as I found out I had been published in August 2015 in Wild Plant Photo Magazine without being aware! :)
March
Continuing from Delhi, we ventured into Rajasthan, heading to Jaisalmer! Wow, I loved that city, FANTASTIC for photography! Back to Bangalore and another photo-shoot for the Alliance française de Bangalore, and then heading to Paris, France (2) for the end of the month!
April
I teamed up with Anshul from 'ClicksToRemember' and we organised a very successful FREE portrait session in Bangalore! This was followed off with a quick shoot in Nandi Hills, north of Bangalore ,and then off to Sri-Lanka (3) and Wilpatu National Park, before heading back to Bangalore to start work with the Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences filming a documentary.
May
Another photo-shoot in Nadi Hills for a different baby-wearing company, this timeCuddle n Care. This was followed by a trip to Thailand (4) and then upon our return to India, we went to Munnar to shoot the amazing, but endangered Nilgiri Tahr! During all of this, I was also on the Jury for this years Fondation Alliance française International Photography Contest.
June
June started off in Kabini (again) with a fantastic dream sighting of the black panther. This was then followed off with a prolific trip to Tadoba national park with some great time spent with a sub-adult tiger. A large print of one of my pictures was gifted to the departing German Consul General Jörn Rohde (soon to be Ambassador in Sri Lanka) at his leaving event. This month was concluded with another jaunt to Sri Lanka! :) Again, I got another publication in Wild Plant Photo Magazine!
July
This month was dominated by the FIFA world cup being held in Japan. I was the official photographer for the French Consulate in Bangalore Starting with the semi-final against Germany that they won 2:0, and then the final against Portugal that they lost 1:0. A preview of my Water Cell documentary was shown at the Bastille Day celebrations hosted by the French Embassy in Delhi and the French Consulate in Bangalore. Nature InFocus, a fantastic wildlife and nature conference, was this month, and I was in the final selection of images for Wildlife Photographer of the Year. If this month was not packed enough, at the end we headed off for a 3 week jaunt into the jungles of Borneo, and Malaysia!
August
The first half of this month was spent in Borneo/Malasyia (5), including a cheeky trek to Indonesia (6). I use the last few rolls of film I have left and process them. A selection of my images were chosen by the Canon Master Service Center in Bangalore to be displayed in for International Photography Day.
Then the rest of the time was spent editing the water video and moving out of our apartment. After 4 years of India being our home, we left and moved to Paris, France. My Black Panther was published in Wild Planet Photo Magazine.
September
We move to Paris (no easy feat). The Water cell video is finished and published. I start a 3 month long series of blog posts on advice for improving your wildlife and nature photography, that will culminate in an eBook composed of all the posts. A quick trip to Belgium (7), but no major photography this month... Ikea, moving and settling only! It was a hard month!
October
An amazing start to this month, two publications in one day. The first was another image in Wild Planet Photo Magazine, the second a piece for Sanctuary Asia related to my water documentary. My documentary also made appearances on the CEFIRSE website and on the India Water Portal Twitter feed. Canon France showcased one of my images on their Instagram page. After moving to France for two months, I actually manage to get out and shoot, with a quick visit to the UK (8), and spending the end of the month in Washington DC, USA (9), where I also picked up a Canon 5D Mark IV! :)
November
Spent a lot of time this month testing out my new 5DIV. Wrote a post for babyfoote.com on taking better images of your kids using your phone. Another cheeky trip in Belgium. This month also saw the release of my FREE ebook "Advice to Improve Your Wildlife & Nature Photography".
December
December was a great end to a great year. It started off with a quick trip to Armenia (10). This was quickly followed by my water documentary was screened at the International Science Film Festival in Dehli. The cherry on the cake was that after many many months, the book that I helped make by photographing young talented artists in Bangalore for over a year was finished and published!
Other than that, I spent this month with family and friends, enjoying the mild Parisian weather! :)
I hope you all had a great year, and will have another great year to come in 2017. All the best, and remember, a click a day, keeps the psychiatrists away!