Visual Stories by Nishant Ratnakar

29/10/2016

Happy Diwali everyone.

Long weekend for many. Some of you many be traveling to great outdoors. And while some you may be home spending the festive season with family and friends.

Whatever you are doing, have a great time.

Make memories and photographs.

Cheers!

Nishant

27/10/2016

A walk along most streets of Bangalore city will show some art or graffiti.

They are a welcome relief from ugly sights of walls destroyed by film posters and political banners.

I like some of the paintings on walls in localities like Jayanagar and JP Nagar. Massive and larger-than-life works.

A stroll along the street that houses the Rangashankara theatre, I stumbled upon this work inspired by the folk dance Yakshagana.

J P Nagar, Bangalore. October 2016.

24/10/2016

Weekend crowd at the Madiwala lake. Bangalore. October 2016.

13/10/2016

This year, the date falls on a Thursday. But, ten years ago, it was a Friday the 13th which couldn't spook me from making the decision that altered the course of my life. Some would probably say that it was an inauspicious move to make on such a day. But, I am glad that I didn't step back from it for I love my life, the way it has turned out to be, the people I have in my life, the places I have been to, and the things that I do for a living. I love being a photographer and I love the ten years that has gone behind the lens.

This year, the date falls on a Thursday. But, ten years ago, it was a Friday the 13th which couldn't spook me from making the decision that altered the course of my life. Some would probably say that it was an inauspicious move to make on such a day. But, I am glad that I didn't step back from it fo...

09/10/2016

Today's view after biking in South Bangalore and making a pitstop at Madiwala lake.

This is a panorama created out of 4 individual frames which were all shot hand held on a phone camera using the Adobe Lightroom for Mobile app.

The best thing of Lightroom and Adobe creative cloud is that these photographs were all synced to my desktop Lightroom catalog. And after I returned home, I used the Desktop version of Adobe Lightroom to stitch the 4 shots into a panorama with minor tweaks. And the panorama file was synced back to my phone app :)

Bangalore.

03/10/2016

I try to follow a simple rule when I am away from home : Try to avoid experiences that you get back at home. Example: habits.

Whenever I travel out of the country, I avoid eating anything that is remotely Indian. I try my best to immerse into the local cuisine and savour all that is new to me or authentic to the place I am at. This was the case in too : Tom Yum and more! Slurp!

But, I guess a lot of - group travellers in general - prefer not to experiment with food.

seems to draw a lot of Indian group tourists, and amongst them tour operators with groups of 'single' Indian men travelers of all possible relationship status, age, religion, class, caste, and so on. They want the experience of being in the 'walking street' but with Indian meals only!

One of those rare moment when everyone forgets the mutual differences and sees each other as a countryman (until the flight takes them back to India) and even successfully find bottles of IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) in Pattaya. I saw many of them carry bottles of Seagrams, Royal Stag and other brands that are local to India. I wonder where they got their supplies from. 'Khana peena desi', but entertainment pardesi.

And that's why many hotels in Pattaya seem to have separate Indian buffet breakfast to cater to these Indian guests.
Also, there a lot Indian restaurants in Pattaya (also in Bangkok too) serving food, Indian food, and everything else that could be considered as cuisine of the Indian .

Walking through Pattaya roads, it kind of became a routine to be stopped by the rep representatives of these restaurants calling out to us : "Sirji! Indian food! Dal chaawal!" And my response always was: "No." When I am on a holiday, I don't want the feeling of being at home. And if that feeling does hit me, then I know it is time for me to head back home.

With ,

Pattaya. September 2016.

02/09/2016

Memories of all that fascinated or shocked me.

31/08/2016

A shot from a recent assignment for an international . The shoot required visiting their beneficiaries - mainly children with Cerebral Palsy and their families in Bangalore, India.

Along with candid images that describe the life and context of these families, I mad many too. It was mainly while making portraits I used off-camera lighting.

It was an Eye-opener for me with respect to the topic of Cerebral Palsy. I will be blogging about it soon.

Bangalore. August 2016

30/08/2016

A Photographer and his muse.
Kaup Beach. 2016

18/08/2016

I get a lot of enquiries for the opening of photography internship in my Photography business. I have created this form for anyone interested in interning with me or assisting me on regular basis.

For candidates looking to intern with photographer Nishant Ratnakar or assist him on his assignments

08/08/2016

A story behind the making of a at while on a assignment for -profit organization in

Notes from the field while working on an assignment in Bangalore for a Non-profit located in Germany. I was making portraits of few children, and this is the story behind making on one of those portraits.