A rusty, dilapidated train resting in a railway car shed, a view from a skyscraper under construction in Parel with a solitary person gazing at the city, a dear peeking from the foliage at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, spiral staircases in Art Deco buildings…These are some of the images that feature on Divyesh Vadgama’s Instagram page.
Vadgama (22) is a commerce graduate working with a brokerage firm in the city. He started clicking photos with his smartphone camera at the age of 17 and has now switched to DSLR. Instead of hackneyed depictions of Mumbai, his images juxtapose old-world charm with modern architecture, and showcase the quiet corners that lurk within a chaotic city.
“I like to paint and what better way to freeze moments than with photographs. I always wanted to highlight aspects that people usually don’t see in their daily life,” says Vadgama.
{{/usCountry}}“I like to paint and what better way to freeze moments than with photographs. I always wanted to highlight aspects that people usually don’t see in their daily life,” says Vadgama.
{{/usCountry}}For the images, Vadgama doesn’t go scouting for specific locations. “I go to places which are accessible and won’t get me into much trouble. I explore the places early in the morning before the first light gets in. So, I don’t get much attention and can capture the things peacefully,” he says. That perhaps explains why there is a certain serenity in all the images with barely a few people in sight.
In the process of shooting, Vadgama says a major challenge has been to convince security guards. “In Mumbai, it is difficult to go out with your camera in public,” he says.
Next up, Vadgama is keen to explore more cities and capture their historic monuments and local culture.
View some more images from his Instagram page:
Follow his work on Instagram.com/divdvs
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