The Loneliness of Being a Photographer ..

My journey as a digital artist was not an easy one I gave up analogue photography learnt photoshop a little bit some internetting e mail etc I paid Rs 4000 to a guy whose father was a tailor like me but he had his tailoring shop at Peddar Road .

This was 2004..

 

I took help also from a PSI friend Atul Choubey master in digital media the best in his line .

 

I started my internet humble beginnings at Buzznet as Photographer no1 later as Commentator no 1 ..here I learnt to talk to write and to shock people with my blood gore pictures of Moharam..

At first I thought I would only document Shiasm but later posted pcture of other Faith..

 

I actually started unlearning photography thans to this young American kid Tom Andrews from Hollywood ,, I decided I will shoot like him...he inspired me to push myself into digital dry lab of BW .

 

I met other good friends Benn Bell Friar Tuck Richard Higgins Bernie Aguirre to name a few .. there were a lot ..till my Buzznet got hacked my Shia sets werre infiltrated with hardcore porn..

I could not delete my account but Tom Andrews helped in deleting my account with the Buzznet folks .

 

I was not even net savvy .

 

I had a Blogspot and my oldest Fotothing Xanga Webshots ..

 

I moved to Flickr in 2007 it was here I met late Fred Miller who told me I was a street photographer I shot this genre did not know about it ,,

I became a hardcore Blogger on a photo management site Flickr .

 

I joined Indiblogger I fought defended blogging for a few years ..than I realized I was getting stunted living among bloggers I cut off the umbilical cord killed the blogger within me and reverted back almost burnt out as a photographer poet and storyteller .. and the journey has been great .

 

I kept evolving as a photographer but I decided to use my photography to redeem lost souls beggars hijras others ..

 

I stopped posting at my Blogspot I have 5 blogs ,,,

 

Flickr is my archive inching towards 500000 images .I am short of 200.

 

I cut down on my photography I stopped shooting Moharam in Mumbai I just shot a few Hindu feasts .th Sufis happened in 2005 ..I wont be shooting Ajmer or Makanpur ,, so only a few Sufi fests in Mumbai and documenting Bava Gor and The Siddis Black Sufis .

 

Nowadays I hardly use my camera ..rare occasions I have not upgraded my cameras and I will do it once I cler of a few debts and our home loan that my eldest son is taking care of .

 

This year with a film assignment that I am committed to my Moharam plans are on hold ..I leave it to God above .

 

My Naga Gurus death hit me hard or I would be with him at the Ardh Kumbh in Feb..Basant Panchami.

 

I am also doubtful about Kamakhya in 2019... if the Goddess calls me I will go.

 

So what I really wanted to say all this writing has come through photography ..but I will never revert to blogging .in my life .. for me

 

Blogging died

of overdose ..

RIP Blogger Firoze .

a path I chose

Shut the Door

I am what I am

But not what I

was before ..

 

 

Done