Vijay Bellary is a young boy from Gangavathi, Karnataka, with exceptional photography skill. Gangavathi is considered to be Rice Bowl of Karnataka due to its major cultivation of Paddy crop. Vijay who aspired to be a musician as a child and was studying architecture, adopted photography as a full time job while traveling for his studies.
His pictures speak volumes about the culture and heritage of Hampi, Karnataka. He has mastered the art of street photography and have been acknowledged by various travel forums and blogs for his beautiful and colorful depiction of life on streets. The happiness in his pictures are self explanatory of him as a human being. This guy with a lens is always ready to capture a happy moment. If you are looking for a photographer who gives you happiness along with your prints, then Vj_Bellary is definitely the apt choice for you.
Priyata: Let's start from the beginning. How and when did your affair start with photography?
Vj_Bellary: Well the love for photography started while I was studying architecture. I chose architecture as my subject because I was interested in sketching, doodling, and painting. But as an architecture student, I traveled a lot and during that course I realized that I have my own world and that is very creative. I started thinking in different perspective through my travel to different places.
Back then I used to click pictures with my iPhone5s of Hampi, Karnataka.
Priyata: But why only Hampi?
Vj_Bellary: Hampi is a UNESCO world heritage site and very beautiful. It is a very small town but you can go there more than once and still can't get enough of it. The real reason was that my native, Gangavathi, is very near to Hampi, so I used to go there and click different emotions of people and architecture of heritage buildings.
Priyata: So you never wanted to be photographer since your childhood?
Vj_Bellary: No, I wanted to be a musician and at the age of 9 I also started to learn classical singing and participated in various singing competitions conducted by Bhartiya Vikas Parishad at Hisar, Haryana. At 13, I started learning tabla and gave many stage performances across Karnataka. I also participated in many international conferences for musicians in Bangalore.
Priyata: Wow! I just can not stop gushing over your achievements. Now what is next?
Vj_Bellary: Though I have done lots of shoots but to be a photographer is just part of my bigger dream. I want to be more than that..!
Priyata: What is that more in "More than that"?
Vj_Bellary: I am also figuring out.
Priyata: Okay! What is that one thing about being a photographer that other professions don't offer?
Vj_Bellary: I can answer this question without giving a second thought. It offers life. Through my photographs I can convey messages as pictures can talk. And we can show some hidden values on streets and can explore and gain experience through travel. It brings you so close to life.
Priyata: Right. I understand what you mean to say. What kind of photography excites you the most?
Vj_Bellary: I love more street photography because when I step on the streets, I can capture so many expressions and emotions and more than that we can get so much of knowledge about that particular place. We can make friends through street photography.
Priyata: Do you have any idea how many photoshoots you have done so far?
Vj_Bellary: As I started to shoot on camera one year ago, so I took time to learn the camera settings for at least 2 months and after that I got my network through meetups. I can not remember that exact number but I have done quite a few including 3-4 model shoots and countless professional street photography assignments. Recently my pictures were acknowledged by Karnataka tourism as well. I have been featured by many travel forums and blogs too. I have visited Hampi many times just to capture sunrise and sunset and believe me every time there is something new.
Priyata: Great! Your insta handle talks about most photographs from southern India. Would you like to capture more cities and countries through your lens?
Vj_Bellary: Oh yes! Absolutely. As I am from South India and did many shoots related to the south Indian culture and religious values. I would love to travel all across India and the world to capture the priceless moments.
Priyata: Hope and wish you do that. Which is your dream place to photograph?
Vj_Bellary: My dream destination is Bali, Indonesia to click pictures and street life.
Priyata: Any quick tips on clicking a decent picture for any novice photographer?
Vj_Bellary: Basically in photography we need to learn framing, balancing the image, color composition, scale of the image and the background of the picture. If you get these things right you can click a good picture.
Priyata: Okay! How is social media helping you to reach wider audience?
Vj_Bellary: Social media really helps us to connect to people from different occupations and it creates platform for creative and hidden talent, so they can show up their work without any middleman. I started with posting my pictures on Facebook but it did not help much and wasn't that safe as well. So I switched to Instagram and tried making my feed colorful and meaningful.
Instagram helped me to connect with people and participate in various online competitions and meetups.
Priyata: Do you have any other profession besides being a photographer?
Vj_Bellary: No. I don't have. I work on my craft and try honing it as much as I can.
Priyata: This is so nice! Does your family understand that being a photographer is also a dignified profession?
Vj_Bellary: Yes they do understand that and they are my backbone and a very strong support system.
Priyata: How about taking some other assignments as well like wedding or pre-wedding shoots?
Vj_Bellary: Oh I am absolutely open to those. Any one who is reading the blog can contact me on my insta handle which is Vj_Bellary.
Priyata: Thank you Vijay for taking time out for the blog!
Vj_Bellary: Pleasure Mam! Thank you for the feature.
Happy Reading!
