As Dnyaneshwar Vaidya
Photography has been a hobby for me since 2015.
Photography has taught me how to live life. I learned how to scour for new places, meet new people
and understand new traditions from various cultures because of it. I learned how to empathise with
people’s feelings, may it be happy or sad. I learnt how to live my life through others by living for
them. I travelled in and around the state of Maharashtra and explored new places and met and
understood people’s lives and also photographed them.
What really fascinated me and also made me feel proud as a human being was that even though
there is an advent of the digital age, they haven’t forgotten their cultural roots.
When I was in the stages of learning photography, I was blessed with 3 mentors and the effort that
they extolled on me for giving me the ability to become who I am today is something that I am
eternally grateful for and the debt that I have towards them can never be repaid for this.
I am a part of the Warkari community and hence, I spent my entire childhood under the blessing of
this culture which expresses the idea of giving to the people generously. This influence meant that I
was never told candidly to help anybody; it came naturally to me. Photography gave me an agency
to understand the troubles of people and consider them my own and feel them with the same
intensity.
As a photographer, I have never forgotten my boundaries or hurt anyone’s sentiments in order to
get a shot. I have always followed a code of conduct where I don’t commit any action which will hurt
someone’s feelings in order to get a good photo; in that case, I promptly let go of that opportunity. I
feel like this quality of mine allowed me to be the first person in Western Maharashtra to ever
receive 2 national and 2 international degrees as of today. My father, in his bout of happiness,
felicitated me with a garland when he read this news in the newspaper. It was a very special and
proud moment for both me and my family. As my work in photography gained traction, I started
seeing my photos gain respect in various countries and one day, National Geographic Magazine
published one of my photos from Pattankodoli in their issue. Till today, 15 of my photos have been
published on their website and 60+ photos have been added to their favourites. My photos have
been exhibited in 36 countries as of now.
My passion as a photographer also taught me to be sensitive to nature and I started exploring nature
through jungles. I have also taken an initiative in increasing awareness about deforestation, man-
made fires, hunting animals etc and how they are harmful for our environment.
My main subjects for photography are street and cultural photography, and I have met some
amazing people because of this passion.
19 Photos
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