Swirling Colours Of Nature

Nature Colours

- Andrea Rodrigues

1. Please tell us something about yourself, your background, to introduce you to our readers.

I am Gaurav Agrawal. I am a scientist at a biotech company in San Francisco. I did my Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, studying Cell and Molecular Biology and continued my research work for over six years at University of California, San Diego.

2. What sparked your interest in photography, and how did you begin your journey as a photographer?

Though my dad was a good photographer and cared enough to well document my childhood, it never happened that he really passed on his passion to me. He took some amazing photos of our family and preserved them with so much care. Now when I look at them, emotions flow free. In my mind, I thank my dad and his love for us but also a bit to his camera!

I got my first camera, well a phone with a camera, in 2006, and loved taking pictures so much that I annoyed my friends particularly on road trips. I loved composing my shots to get a good perspective and later edit them with Picassa. But it sort of ended there as I got more busy with my research after coming to the United States. During that time I met my would-be wife, and she expressed an interest in photography. We started looking for a D-SLR. I was fortunate that one of my friends, Rahul, who was obsessed with photography, moved to San Diego and helped us buy a used D-SLR from Craigslist; a Nikon D90 with an 18-200 mm lens. My gracious friend also gave me some basic lessons on camera settings which got me started. Sometimes though I realise that I sort of hijacked my wife’s passion and made it my own. I guess I owe her an apology!