Collected Things

The images in this set of things, has been collected by me over the years and each one of them hold a special place in my heart. For the purposes of strong photography, detailed textual information is not necessary but often I find myself looking at images and wondering what must have been the real story behind this image? For the purposes of a study course though, I thought I will provide a small background for each one of them for whoever is interested in reading further about it.

The images are presented against a plain black backdrop in a B&W and coloured set first, to notice the differences that colour can make to an image, and then in the final set with natural golden light against different backdrops. For this section I have taken my images and put them within a frame of a vintage polaroid frame. The individual exif information is given with each image and the common camera info and settings are once again:

Camera Settings

• Nikon D5
• ZEISS Otus 55mm f/1.4 ZF.2 Lens | ZEISS Otus 135mm f/1.4 ZF.2
• ISO 100 | ISO 64
• Aperture Priority Mode
• Exposure decreased by one or even two full stops to get the correct exposure
• f1.4 | f2

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1. Fig 1- Round Magnifying Glass – This magnifying glass was my maternal grandfather’s who was a magistrate and a man who loved reading. He had developed some eye problem which led him to use these magnifying glasses to read. He passed away some 37 years back and this magnifying glass, handed over to me, now sits proudly in my study.

2. Fig 2- Pendant on a chain – Many years ago, I found this necklace on the floor of a hotel I was staying in. Futile efforts to trace the owner of this, it eventually stayed with me. there was something about this stone that really fascinated me and though I never wore it as it belongs to someone else, it remains in my collection ever since.

3. Fig 3- Nautilus Shell – Something I bought in Thailand two decades back, when I wasn’t really aware of the implications of wildlife and natural resources trade. It stays with me as an honour to the animal that once possessed it; with a promise and reminder to myself never to buy anything that puts wildlife at risk.

4. Fig 4- Square Magnifying Glass – Another one of my grandfather’s magnifying glass, even though it does’t magnify very clearly now as the surface is extremely worn now after years of usage and just lying around, they hold a very special place in my heart. Every-time I pick them up, I remember my grandfather’s face and him giving me some pearl of wisdom.

5. Fig 5- Old Navy baby shoes – These Old Navy baby shoes were bought on my visit to the USA, right before my daughter was born in the year 2000. They were the first shoes she wore and have stayed with me since then as a reminder of how little she was and how exciting that part of life is when you are preparing to welcome a new born into this world.

6. Fig 6- Jerry’s last sip – This story is going to be a little longer as I will have to fight my tears writing this one. I have grown up with several dogs at any given point while growing up and they are all extremely special beings. Jerry was a rescue St. Bernard whom I brought into my home several years ago when my children were quite young. Abused by his then owners, when I went to bring him home, this giant dog was already 14 months – still a puppy though. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react and to be honest his size scared me a bit. Apprehensive of his reaction, I was amazed how effortlessly and quietly he came with me in the car on our way home. He was the most special dog that I ever had and I don’t know what it was – the fact that he remembered I rescued him or something else- but our attachment to one another was mutual and unusual. He took so well to my entire family but whenever he saw me, he just reacted differently and left everything to come and sit in my lap. This giant baby’s little nudge was enough to make me fall on the floor and then he would happily come and sit in my lap.

Within 5 years, he developed a cancer which spread so rapidly within two weeks in his entire body that nothing we did could control it. He stopped to eat and every day I took him to the hospital to get a glucose drip to keep him alive, even though It didn’t work. He lived on for a few days. Then one day suddenly he started to eat whatever I fed him. Taking it as a sign of him getting better, I became so happy and remember telling my son that he will make it as he has eaten today. That was the first day I actually left him to go out for some work, happy that he will recover now. Within half an hour of my leaving, I received a call from home saying that he is feeling unwell and I must return immediately. I asked my family to take him to the hospital and that I will meet them directly there, but they insisted I came home first. I reached home praying that he feels better, but actually he had passed without me with him. To this day, I believe that he ate that day to give me happiness and he passed without me to avoid bringing me grief to see him breathe his last. It has been 7 years since he left us and I cant still control my reactions when I think of him. Everything is so fresh in my mind as it happened just now. Strange it is as I struggle to sometimes even remember things from yesterday.

When he used to lie down on the hospital bed during the drip he used to get every day in his last days, I used run to the tap to fill this little plastic bottle with a few drops of water it could hold and bring it to his mouth. I used to do this for the entire time he laid there getting his drip. He used to wag his tail and smile at me with his eyes every time I would do that. The hair belongs to him which I cut just before he was cremated. The polaroid was taken by my daughter during one of the times when he nudged me and made me fall as usual so he could sit in my lap. He was my soulmate in the truest sense of word. This has been the longest and most difficult piece of writing for me. He remains the most integral part of my life.

7. Fig 7- Cord of Life – These two little clips hold the umbilical cords for both my babies, my first born in 2000 and my second born in 2001.