by Editor Marius Cinteză 
Published the 4th of June 2021

“I don’t photograph what I SEE, I photograph what I FEEL” – Bobby Joshi

Bobby Joshi is a full-time traveler, entrepreneur and photographer based in Bangalore who calls himself a “world traveler and nature admirer”. While for the others, photography can be a way of life, for him photography is life itself!  Travel and nature photography that he pursues allowed him to explore the world, connect with nature, express himself and make new friends!

I invite you to enjoy Bobby's work and personality through the interview below!

Bobby, I would like to thank you so much for taking your time to answer my questions! To begin, please introduce yourself briefly!

My Name is Bobby Joshi, I am a travel and landscape photographer based in Bangalore India. I am also the founder and Chief Mentor at GoodShotz Photography Lvt. Ltd., a photography learning, and company based in India.

Let’s start from the beginning: when and how did you start your photographic journey?

I have been photographing since I was in 8th grade. Started out with film-based photography and moved to digital in 2010. I used to be in corporate world earlier (have worked with tech giants like Ingram Micro, IBM, Dell, etc.) Most of the roles I did was global in nature and provided me lot of opportunities to travel around the world. That allowed me to pursue photography. In 2016, I moved into photography full time into photography and started GoodShotz Photography. Today I am a full-time traveler, entrepreneur, and photographer.

For many of us photography is either a hobby or a way of life. How would you define your relationship with photography

For others photography may be a hobby or a way of life, but for me photography is my life!  It allows me to do so much in life. It has allowed me to explore the world, connect with nature, express myself through my photographs, appreciate the nature and beauty, friends I have made in the world of photography, income that I generate for my living. Everything!

What would be the most important experience so far that has influenced your steps in photography?

Of all the things that I have learned in photography one thing that has helped me more than anything else is “The Art of Slowing Down”: patience is a big teacher and teaches a lot of life lessons. I am by design an impatient man. I like to “get on” with everything in life. I realized quickly in photography that impatience can be my biggest pitfall. I had to learn to be patient - for the right season, right light, right timing.

Art of slowing down also allows me to best “See-Absorb-Compose” the shots I want. It allowed me to appreciate more, absorb more, observe more and photograph less. That has not only helped in the frames I shoot, but also in the hassle of storing those big fat RAW files. It has helped me to hone my skills better.

How do you maintain and grow your passion for photography? What inspires you?

I think PASSION is directly related to PURPOSE. I find newer purpose in photography. One of the keys is not to look back and be content with what you have shot and achieved. If your best work is behind you then you won’t find a purpose (because you’ve already been to the pinnacle), and hence you will lose your passion and your inspiration. I am inspired by nature, the sheer diversity and beauty it has. I won’t rest until I have each frame of it in every possible way. And I know 7 lifetimes won’t be enough to do that. So, for this life – I have a solid purpose in photography. That continues to drive my passion and inspiration!

Can you please describe in a few words your photographer philosophy and mission?

My philosophy and mission in photography hasn’t changed since the time I started it. It is: “I don’t photograph what I SEE, I photograph what I FEEL”. I know that I will get older and older – but time will always stay young. My memory will start to fade, I’ll lose touch with lot of those feelings. A photograph will then be a moment frozen in that time – that I can always revisit. It will remind me of the place, people and time that’s never coming back again. I want to be able to see those pictures and FEEL what I felt when I photographed them. An offshoot of this philosophy also helps in connecting with my audience. I want them to feel what I feel when they see my images. I have often got feedback that my audience has found my photography emotional and evocative.

You are exceptionally proficient in landscape and travel photography! These are the areas where many photographers try to stand out, but very few even succeed. What first attracted you to these photography types?

From my childhood I have been traveling, and to some of the most beautiful and scenic places. Every summer and winter holidays, we used to go to beautiful mountains and lakes. It was therefore normal and natural for me to gravitate towards landscape and travel when I picked up my camera and started photography. I have been into photography for a long time now and I was one of the earliest adopters of social media platform to showcase my work. Thankfully, my audience has stayed with me and grown over the years!

What do you think are the top three secret ingredients for a remarkable landscape photograph?

Powerful pre-visualization,
Chasing the right light,
Post-processing in perfection to create a frame that looks almost 3-Dimensional.

What do you think that makes your photo works different?

What I have tried is to evolve a distinct style in photography. That be the landscape, travel or even portraits that I do. Also, I try and stay off from the “touristy spots” when I travel to a place and photograph. Driving around endlessly to find a previously unexplored places (even in a famous destination) helps making “different” images. I also think that I have a distinct post-processing style.

Can you please tell us something more about your workflow for landscape and travel photography?

I think my work is marked with bright, contrasty, and vibrant highlights and muted shadows. I pay attention to the flow and fall of light in each element of the frame. I strive to make viewers feel as if they’re part of the frame. Almost like a 3D scene. My workflow is based on the principle of “Follow the light – Create the light – Enhance the light”. Everyone knows it is important to get the right light while on the field. But if you don’t know how to process it later in the post then it'll fall flat.

What would be the main features of a successful landscape photographer in your opinion?

Besides a solid technical knowledge and a skill – both photography and post-processing (that can be learned), landscape photography also requires you to continuously develop and improve your skills. Besides that, landscape photography also requires you to develop the right MINDSET. Some of the mindset that I think are important:

Develop Patience;
Don’t be lazy – learn to push yourself and push boundaries;
Spend longer hours in observing than photographing;
Learn to work with nature. For every beautiful light, there will be many more washed out or bad weather. Learn not to get disheartened;
Develop strong pre-visualization. That will automatically lead to better composition;
Train your eyes to not just LOOK, but to SEE. This will help you pick out more elements around you that you can use to create better frames;
Learn to read light that you can use in the best ways for a scene in your images;
Don’t stop at “good photo”, strive to get a better (if not best) photo. This might mean coming back to the same spot or place;
Wider lens and narrow aperture will help you create more striking images;
Always create depth in your frames.

Good knowledge of the location for shooting travel and landscape photography is a must. How do you approach a new location when shooting for the first time there? Are there specific subjects or compositions you are looking for during your trips?

Preparing a trip for shoot is the most important part and the first step towards getting stellar images. I begin by choosing the right season and weather conditions that I think is best suited for my kind of photography. Then I spend a lot of time studying photographs and maps of the region. I divide my time in any place into morning and evening shoots (and nights if I am looking to get some astros). I pay attention to the position of sunrise and sunsets. It allows me to place sun in a best way in my compositions. I sometimes connect with photographers and travelers who have been to the place before to figure out best places to park the car, best vantage points for shoot and “must haves”. I go as far as marking GPS coordinates so that I minimize my time when I am in the field.

'Stone Chariot of Hampi'

What would be your favorite location from the last years and why?

I have been to many countries in last few years (pre-COVID era). It’s hard to pick a favorite from so many beautiful locations. But two places that remain my all-time favorites are Kerala in India and Italy. I am always ready to go back and spend time there photographing to my heart’s content!

'Bali'

Many are of the opinion that the gear is not very important when the passion for photography is strong. However, can you please share with us what gear do you use (camera, lenses, tripod)?

I think that right gear has its own place in photography. Gear may not dissuade you from pursing your passion, but without the right gear you will also not be able to create images that require advance controls and features. I am a Nikon user. I have both mirrored camera - D850 and mirrorless – Z7. Most of my landscape lenses are completely manual. I have slew of wide-angle lenses (11mm, 12mm, 14mm, 15mm, 16-35mm) and few mid-range zooms and teles (24-70mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm and then big zooms. My fav travel lens is NIKKOR 28-300mm. It’s one lens that does it all.

'Tanah Lot Bali'

I’m sure that many of the beginners in travel and landscape photography would like to follow your way. What is your advice for them?

Travel and landscape may be a relative easier genre of photography to start because we all travel sometime or the other. But as you start to get serious and up your game, it can get seriously expensive. It is also a genre where physical fitness is important (all those hikes, climbs, long walks require you to be good at cardio). As a beginner it is important to learn to be patient. Patient in your photography, patient with growth, patient with social media proliferation. Don’t look for shortcuts. Respect the nature and understand its way. Connect with as many photographers and industry peers, keep learning, keep horning your skills. Always have goals and purpose. Have a short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. Plan for each of them. Your short-term goal could include things like buying the right gear, learning photoshop skills, doing 3 courses in photography and post-processing. Your mid-term goal could be something about places you want to cover first (hopefully near your city/country), may be to expand your social media presence, get published in at least 10 international publications. Your long-term goals could be about expanding your photography scope, going commercial with your work etc.

Which aspects of your photographer life do you find the most challenging? How the pandemic influenced your photographic activity?

Weird it as may sound – I find the ability to detach myself from places the most challenging as a photographer. Let me explain why and how. As I said, I photograph what I feel and not what I see. To be able to “feel’, I need to connect with the place. I need to fall in love with it, I need to be familiar with it, I need to vibe with it. And every time the project is done, and it’s time to move on, I find it hard to immediately emotionally disconnect and move on. I walk away with a longing, a nostalgia and with a promise to myself that I will be back. I leave a piece of me everywhere I go and that’s the hardest part. As for the pandemic that has changed all our lives: initial months were very hard. I couldn’t condition myself to stay indoors and not travel (something that comes naturally to me). But gradually over the months, I have started taking smaller steps and travels with utmost carefulness and protection. One thing that pandemic has taught me is to appreciate and cherish more than ever the gift of nature and freedom that we have, and we take for granted all the time.

Who are your favorite photographers or mentors whose works have influenced you and your photography?

It’s hard to name a few of them here. Spending time on Instagram and Facebook, I get to see lot of photographers and artist’s work. Young and old. And I think I don’t get influenced with personalities anymore, I get influenced by the work. So, in my head I have thousands of images from artists all around. Having said that, some of the photographers who’s work I continue to admire over the years consistently would be Marc Adamus , Max Rive , Mindz Eye (Michael Sidofsky), Ilhan and few others.

'Autumn Afternoon'

Now, since we almost reached the end of this interview, please share with us your plans or photographic projects you would like to involve.

Before COVID hit us and shook our lives, I had two tours to Europe, and 1 to USA. Once this is over and we can travel freely, I’d like to resume where life has gone into a PAUSE mode and finish those pending projects!