Rural Roots in Southern India

A 'place' I have visited

jbatryn — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 03:13:43 GMT

In school, I study mechanical engineering, but my real passions are with travel and photography. I love being immersed in the unknown, seeing everything with fresh eyes, and of course trying to capture everything with photography –from nature and animals to bustling towns, hidden markets, and all of the people along the way. Everything and everyone has a story to tell and I believe that a major job of photographers is to capture those stories and let others see things in a new perspective.

I have pursued photography as a hobby for a number of years now. In addition to capturing stories and memories both in my travels and at home, I volunteer at a local animal shelter, taking pictures of the animals so they have a better chance of being adopted. So far, I am completely self taught but I am ready to go to the next level and would embrace the chance to learn from an expert such as Jason. While my studies sometimes put my photography on hold temporarily, it is a big dream of mine to take the leap of faith and pursue photography on a more professional level and I would love more than anything to work for National Geographic someday. Please help me realize that dream.

Photos: My Scholarship entry - Rural roots in Southern India

jbatryn — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:48:00 GMT

In school, I study mechanical engineering, but my real passions are with travel and photography. I love being immersed in the unknown, seeing everything with fresh eyes, and of course trying to capture everything with photography –from nature and animals to bustling towns, hidden markets, and all of the people along the way. Everything and everyone has a story to tell and I believe that a major job of photographers is to capture those stories and let others see things in a new perspective. I have pursued photography as a hobby for a number of years now. In addition to capturing stories and memories both in my travels and at home, I volunteer at a local animal shelter, taking pictures of the animals so they have a better chance of being adopted. So far, I am completely self taught but I am ready to go to the next level and would embrace the chance to learn from an expert such as Jason. While my studies often put my photography on hold temporarily, it is a big dream of mine to take the leap of faith and pursue photography on a more professional level and I would love more than anything to work for National Geographic someday. Please help me realize that dream.

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

jbatryn — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:49:51 GMT

The Lofoten Islands in northern Norway make up a remote and hauntingly beautiful area. Despite their location north of the Arctic Circle, they are in no way inhospitable, and instead encapsulate a hardy group of people and animals. The people are more in touch with the nature that surrounds them and work with the changing seasons to make a living out at sea. Through my pictures, I tried to capture some of the unique beauty of the islands and the story of the culture and daily life of the people who call it home. Despite my schooling as a mechanical engineer, my real passions are with travel and photography. I love animals, being out in nature, experiencing other cultures, and meeting people and hearing their stories. I also really enjoy trying to preserve all of those in photography. Photography has an incredible power to capture stories and events, promote understanding, and even inspire people to care just a little bit more about the world we live in. I have been experimenting and learning about photography for a number of years now, but I know there is so much more to learn – how to really capture the mood and break out of my own barriers to see things from a different mindset and perspective. I would love, more than anything, to use this opportunity to grow and develop my skill set and hopefully prepare myself for an eventual career in the field. Perhaps odd sounding coming from an engineering student, but we’re all allowed to dream. And even if my career path doesn’t lead me directly to field photography (at least at first), I know that the things I would learn would be invaluable in letting me better capture the beauty and intricacies around me, both at home and abroad. I want to share my story and help show what a fascinating world we live in.