Click it like KV!

“Frankly speaking, CA is my other side”. I smile at his humbleness. But he still reiterates that claim a couple of times over the period of the interview.

Meet CA Ketan Vikamsey.

CA Ketan Vikamsey

Senior Partner at Khimji Kunverji & Co., a 75 year old CA firm and amongst the largest in the country. If you’ve ever had a chance to hear him speak at any of the professional conferences, you’d know how he could captivate you with his words. And if you glance through a few of the pictures in this write-up, you’d know he could captivate you even more with his real than life photographs. Photography is just his pursuit of happiness.

The bigger stones give it character. The rock is what makes the waterfall

It all began with his interest in horticulture, floriculture & bonsai. As a college intern, he was the Joint Secretary for the Cactus & Succulent Society of India. He remembers being featured on the cover page of Savvy magazine with a headline “Adam’s in Eve’s World”, since in India bonsai was more of a woman thing. Although his passion for photography goes back to his childhood days, he attributes his love of wildlife and his subsequent interest in wildlife photography to his early college days.

All life is important, no matter how small

His FB page “KV Kliks” shows how he has developed as a photographer over the years but he maintains “Irrespective of the world likes my work or not, it is important whether I like my work or not.” His genre of photography includes Nature & Geography i.e. wildlife, landscape, macro objects, birds & mammals. Other than that he also enjoys travel photography. Some of his clicks have been made as cover pages for a number of popular photography groups on social media.

An example of macro photography

An animals eyes have a power to speak great language

Quiz him on what drives him and he is quick to respond. “The adrenaline rush or the kick you get once you are into it is something which keeps you moving through the week/ month.”

He travels extensively for pursuing this passion. His work schedule is planned in a fashion which allows him to take a couple of days off to enjoy what he loves best – capturing breathtaking moments!

A scenic view – as picturesque as it can get!

Ask him about his best experience till date and he fondly remembers his recent trip to Tadoba. “Whether you see an animal or not, there are a thousand eyes watching you”. Be it witnessing a tigress and 4 of her newly born cubs at a nearby pond or capturing the fear in the eyes of an Indian Gaur in a “Tiger–Gaur” chase, I see him reliving each moment as he speaks about it.

Whether you see an animal or not, there are a thousand eyes watching you

Tigress with her cubs

I try to see how photography has impacted his professional and personal life. Ask his colleagues and staff, and they will tell you that he is one of the most cheerful partners around, always available for a word and always calm and composed. His eye for detail in photography rolls back to his work too. Give him any financials, and he will point out at few things he wants details of & in each case these would be the exact areas where issues and complications exist. Further, nature photography requires you to be fit which keeps him the healthy, upbeat & lively person that he is.  “We don’t click photographs, we make photographs”, he says. “We visualize the image & then click them & that is the difference between a normal photographer and a creative photographer.”

Even to do nothing, you have to rise up very high

With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things – William Wordsworth

Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher – William Wordsworth

When asked about owning DSLR or other camera equipment, his humble response was “It is a matter of priority. The equipment is not important, but the person behind the equipment is! A person might have 5 times the equipment as me, but his clicks might not be that great. Whereas, there might be another person who may have half the equipment as me, but his clicks might be just awe-inspiring.”

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks 🙂

Soak up the nature

Nature is the art of God

Despite his ever so hectic work schedule, he ensures to take out time to take formal trainings in photography, take trips with fellow photographers & mentors to help him improve every day. He uses  social media to connect with people of the same wavelength pursuing common hobbies. He loves his critics as much as much as he loves his followers.  He believes every critic helps him go a long way indeed.

When asked to give a message to the readers, he said:

“Irrespective of photography, gardening, nature walks, be it anything, do something creative. There are many people who are in more humble positions than we are, but all it takes is your own passion rather than the equipment. Start humble, have a plan & work your way towards it”

Lotus flower takes root in the mud and grows into a beautiful flower… Create beauty and happiness in your life, no matter where your roots lie 🙂

And that was Ketan Vikamsey, the ardent photographer for you!

You can follow Ketan’s photography through his facebook page – KV Kliks