This self portrait, I believe, accurately represents not only me and my origins, but also my love for various cultures. Since I had the opportunity to travel a lot, it exposed me to different cultures and traditions, which I've grown to really like. The 5 objects are really the key parts of this collage. The tiger's eyes represents my love for nature and wildlife, and also my love for wildlife photography. The Himalayan mountains represents my love for trekking, backpacking, and exploration. The skyline of Florence, Italy, represents that very love for foreign countries and cultures, and finally the Guitar; which shows my interest in Music as a guitarist. The most powerful part is the Indian flag; It helps my show my own roots, cultures and traditions, and displays my patriotism. Using photoshop, I created the images as transparent ones as I feel they show that they are 'part of me'. I think this is why this very selfie collage accurately depicts that I am a person full of cultures, colors, and character.
Mountain of a Man
This self portrait relates very closely to me. The mountains are the most important parts of the picture in my eyes. It truly represents my passion and love for mountaineering. The mountain on top in Mount Stok Kangri, in Kashmir, India, a mountain at 20,000 feet, which I summitted. The one on the bottom is the scenery at Kedartal, in North India.
I guess the feeling I was trying to evoke, was a pulse of adventure. I want people to see this image and think, "Wow. Why haven't I been there?". Not only does it match the theme of travel, but it also relates closely to the things I said in the above statement. I'd like to think of the positioning of the mountains in a way where; both mountains are at my heart but they both also point towards my mind, which why I say that I am incredibly passionate and proud of the fact that I am one with the mountains. This idea of adventure and travel relates very close to my theme of my visual ethnography. After all, how can one experience new cultures if they cannot step out of their comfort zones to have an adventure.
The editing was quite challenging. I made the mountains on top easily blend in with the color of my shirt, creating a smooth transition. But the ones on the bottom were a little tougher, due to the stark contrast between the white snow and my gray shirt. Nevertheless, I tried my best to make a smooth blend. There was no real reason I used the kaleidoscope effect to include two me's, I just thought it would be an interesting way to include both mountains.