Framed!

Feeling like armed soldiers,the group last year had come to attend the photowalk in Pune which coincided with all the walks world over and from then on subtly and quietly it brought together all lovers of the lens to click- start the spirit of freedom along.

Neha Hooda who has been an avid photographer since five- six years now,says “I am basically from Panipat and I was studying in Pune when I got to know about the walk. The entire experience was really good. It gave us a chance to get together and share our work.” The walk was led by Shital Seekari last year who had carefully managed to get a group comprising of students,photographers and even corporates who had come to reignite their passion for photography. Held at the Shanivarwada fort,it took the walkers around the old city where there was a lot to capture,photographically. Kavya Kasliwal who had also been a part of the event,says, ” I had hardly been to that side of the city so it was a good opportunity to capture the bright side of Pune.”

While there is no fee to participate in the event prior registration is required,which is very simple – one just needs to go the Worldwide Photo Walk site,find a walk being conducted ,and join. If there is no Photo Walk in the area one can register to lead a walk of their own. But the best part of the walk is that anyone can participate – all that is needed is a camera. It doesn’t even matter what kind of camera either. “I had no inclination towards photography,in fact I was planning on taking a digital camera,but after the walk I felt a new appreciation for the art of photography,” adds Kasliwal. While the event is something that links the city’s photography fraternity together,it is indeed impressive to see the kind of pictures that were painted by the walkers last year – from glamour and flair to urban neighoburhoods to empty eyes portraying dreams misunderstood. Nikita Sawant who won the competition last year had just come to Pune from Mumbai to be a part of the entire event. “Pune’s streets are very lively and they have a story to share. The place has a lovely history which is kept alive by the Punekars,so I wanted to capture that and meet the photographers from there too. And it surely was a lovely experience,” says she.

While the social aspect of this event has actually been a very well celebrated part,it has moved into the online world of social networks as well. Participants in the Worldwide Photo Walk post updates to Twitter,Facebook before,during and after the event.They share their pictures on Flickr too.

With the number of people participating in this worldwide around 10 million pictures will be clicked in one day itself!

(This year’s Worldwide Photowalk will be conducted on July 24)