Ramdas Devadiga

If there exists a -photographer category- under which I can modestly categorize myself, it should be ‘Street photographer’ - more aptly as an ‘amateur-street-photographer’.

A very short, bland introduction for myself: Born and brought up in Mumbai, happily married to a strong, beautiful woman, father of two minions, who has a knack for learning things, and forgetting them even more quickly, adore stoicism and anything that helps me broaden my understanding of us humans and the living world we inhibit - here comes photography in play for me - in the form of an observatory ritual - that helps me dig deeper into understanding myself and the world around me. It has become a medium for me to connect the dots within, to what is around. I believe this process of connecting the right dots, expressing them in a correct framework, and being able to consistently engage in deeper, meaningful observational pursuits will determine the quality of work I will be able to produce.

Photography, I believe, has empowered my observation skills to a point where I now happen to process any visual information around me differently, wherein enabling me to see, observe and soak beauty from the scenarios that spontaneously play out in my daily life - surprisingly so, especially when I am not making any photographs. As and when an interesting scene unfolds, when I happen to be in that place, with a right frame of mind, in the right moment, absorbed, I am usually (95% of the time) struck with an irrepressible dilemma - should I pull out my phone or the camera from my pocket and capture the drama as it is unfolding or should I let the scene tangle my attention in a riveting manner and just savor the beauty of this moment?. I am more than often left with a pang in my heart, with a revolting feeling that utters, “You should have captured that!”. But alas, behaviorally and regretfully so, we tend to think more about the options we do not choose to take. Somewhere whilst juggling between the options from such dilemmas, I do manage to capture moments, moments where I chose the less comfortable option i.e. to pull out my photo-capturing instrument and record the moment. I am still at a stage where I have to trudge through and force myself to grab the camera and take the damn shot - shy? self-doubt? overtly critical about my own skills? Possibly so. But once I do capture the photo, this is where the magic happens for me - the space between recognizing the scene and capturing it into a photograph in a meaningful way - in this small, fleeting moment comes immense focus, adrenaline, dopamine - a blitzkrieg of hormonal rush. When I end up taking the shot - I naturally look for ways to repeat the extraordinary, yet simple process of making another photograph. The process becomes positively addictive - I say positively because, when I do not make photographs, I do not go into any sorts of depression or rage fits or any such troubling symptoms - the photographs I captured help me, and shall always help me cherish and re-live the entire scene that played out whilst making any respective photograph I refer to. Consciously I want to re-do the whole process - without being overtly satisfied with the photograph I already have recorded. I wholeheartedly agree to what Shakespeare once eloquently said, “Things won are done, joy’s soul is in doing” (Troilus and Cressida, Act I Scene II).

I believe I have a long way ahead of me, possibly looking at few years of consistent, diligent photographic routines that I hope and strive to follow. Creating this website I believe is one of the foundation-building steps in this journey.

In the meantime, the photographs that I have already uploaded and the ones which I shall capture and upload on my website are open to critique. Do try and share your thoughts with me, do let me know what you feel when you see any of the photographs and what as per you are my weak points where I can improve. I would love to hear anything that you might consider sharing with me.

Stay healthy!

Ram.