Howdy, I’m Aniket

Yep, That’s Me

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Primarily, I’m a Data Scientist & Analytics Manager. Photography is a hobby or may be more than that. I have grown interest & at times it has helped me a lot to keep my mind focused on my job. As much I’m obsessed about photography, I cannot deny my affection for ice creams. I am happily married to love of my life, Anuja & most of the trips after 2018 are with her. I have been to 33 national parks & counting. Help me out to make it to 58 & I will pass on the information I’ve gathered to all of you.

I learn & do

• Photography
• Videography
• Editing
• Travel Plans

Growing up

I was born in Mumbai, India & immigrated The United States in 2012 to pursue my Masters in Data Science. I was always fascinated with the concept of camera although I didn’t own one while growing up.

From my first paycheck ever, I bought a Nikon D5200 with kit lenses in 2013. I practiced a lot with this one. Although, anything I captured can theoretically be deleted (terrible shots). Everything was Auto Mode without knowing a bit. I read lot of articles, watched countless videos & spent weekend sunrises practicing photography. In 2017, Instagram proved to be game changer for me. I met several photographers on the platform & I was inspired when I became familiar with their work.

Concept of composition was unknown to me for first few years. Manual mode dial was never turned.

Winter of 2017

I was still holding Nikon D5200 but upgraded my lenses to Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 & Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
One of my trips to Yosemite was extremely frustrating when I could see neighboring photographers are able to get razor sharp night shots while I was struggling to focus in dark. ISO on my camera was useless. I experienced the need to upgrade.

The Upgrade

With a 24 month of payment plan, I bought Nikon D810. I was blown away with the low light capabilities. The same year, Nikon D850 was launched.

That year, I traveled the most. After the upgrade, my 2017 turned great. I learnt how to use the camera technically, followed by compositions up to an extent that I knew the settings for a shot just looking at the surroundings.

I got obsessed with Milky Way photography. With power of Nikon D810, I could achieve the night sky. I bought Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 now.

The Fall in 2018

While I was paying my installments for the camera, in the 11^th month (Feb 2018), my backpack along with my friend’s was grabbed at Treasure Island. I remember paying installments even after the camera was stolen.

It is difficult to get back to normalcy after such incident. I did not tell this to my family at that time to avoid their turmoil. For the first time, I had lost something of monetary value. I didn’t feel like buying a new camera, even though I was missing mine. I had experienced a tad bit of demotivation.

The Rise after the Fall

The silence…..in my photography came to an end in Jun 2018. Who’s gonna stop because of few thugs? Just to avoid the thought of missing my camera, I started collecting my gear again. Only better, this time. Got a Nikon D850, all the lenses, carbon fiber tripod & an awesome Mindshift backpack.

To this date (Jun 2023), I am still uncomfortable going to San Francisco for photography. I guess the loss of D810 did make a hole in my soul. It certainly has lowered my enthusiasm as I used to carry before. But who knows, this might just be me being lazy after getting 4 years old in the hobby.

Alright, I think, enough about me, I want to know how do you like my work after 2018. Most of this website has pictures after 2018. If you want to know more about my story beyond 2018, drop a comment.

The Final Upgrade

I finally moved to mirrorless in 2022 to Sony A74 & it has been delightful. I now have good lens collection to shoot landscape & portraits.