Old-world charm

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Poland | Saturday, October 16, 2010 | 4 photos

I call this series of photographs 'Old-world Charm'. It was the summer of 2010 and I was on a day-trip to Warsaw's Old Town. The first photograph in the series is of the Old Town Square. It was afternoon and the Square represented for me the joy of a typical European summer. The colourful tenements, the roadside cafes, the relaxed tourists and locals, and the frolicking children were a far cry from the busy, metropolitan life I had seen on my way. A few steps into one of the alleys and I was charmed by the strains of Vivaldi played by the amateur violinist seen in the second photo. She seemed to enjoy the music she was playing and why not? The setting and the music complemented each other in their old-worldliness. The next two photographs were taken moments later in another wondrous alley where a period piece was being shot. The actors chitchatting between shots evoked a bygone era. Their costumes and vehicles added to the illusion. It was one old world in another. How beautifully the real and the reel coalesced.
I am a new entrant in the world of photography and mesmerised by it. As a passionate traveller who has been on the go for the last two years, photography has given me the opportunity to learn about the world and its people through the lens. Capturing people and moments has been both challenging and an adrenaline rush. There is no way I'll put my camera away in a hurry.
Apart from all the things I'll get to learn if I win, this Scholarship will help me understand whether I have the potential to convert my twin passions of travelling and photography into enriching experiences for myself and for those I share them with.