“Wings Over Concrete” Announced as 35AWARDS Photo Project Winner at the 10th International Edition

I still remember the day I sat for hours by the Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad, quietly watching a Grey Heron. The year was 2019. I had no audience, no gallery dreams, just a camera and a quiet hope that maybe, just maybe, something I saw would be worth capturing. I wasn’t chasing perfection. I just wanted a frame I could be proud of.

That image felt like a win long before I submitted it anywhere. When I entered it into the 7th 35AWARDS, I believed, maybe naively, that it stood a chance. It didn’t win. But it was ranked among the Top Photographers in Hyderabad. It wasn’t a grand title, but it meant something to me. It whispered: You’re not invisible. You might just belong here.

But then I made the mistake that many artists do, I started COMPARING.

I looked at the winners. Their visuals were jaw dropping. Their execution? Flawless!!! They weren’t just photographers...they were visionaries, mentors, magicians with the lens. I felt miles behind..like a hobbyist who accidentally wandered into a masterclass. There were moments I thought, maybe photography isn’t for me. I wished at least one picture of mine to enter the Catalogue alongside those fascinating works.

But somehow, I never stopped!

Even when the images turned out badly, even when I doubted myself, I kept capturing. With whatever gear I had: DSLR, phone, point-and-shoot, borrowed mirrorless. It didn’t matter. If it had a lens, I used it. If it saw light, I followed it. "All Alone"!

It wasn’t about being the best. It was about showing up. That quiet, stubborn act made all the difference.

Each year the bar rose high. The global competitions evolved. The art went beyond just beauty, it became poetry, design, thought. And I kept learning. Watching. Clicking. I tried everything: weddings, macros, portraits, and landscapes. But deep inside, nature always called me back, especially the quiet language of animals and birds. Their movements, their moments. The kind of stories that don’t shout for your attention but whisper, look closely.

Then came Canada! A New Land, A New Thought!

The wildlife here felt.. quieter. Subtler. Coming from the rich biodiversity of India, where spotting 30 to 40 bird species and an occasional reptile on a single day was normal, this new landscape felt unfamiliar, even empty at times. I couldn’t find the subjects I was used to. I couldn’t feel the same rhythm. For a while, I wondered if this was where my journey with wildlife photography would fade out.

But nature finds its way in. And so did I.

I began to adapt to the silence, to the winters, and to the stillness. I found comfort in minimalism, silhouettes, and shadows. I spent more time thinking. Reflecting. Noticing. I watched other photographers travelling across the world, capturing incredible frames. And yet, something inside me kept saying: You’re missing what’s right in front of you.

Then came the 8th edition of 35AWARDS, and with it, a quiet sign that I was growing. That year, my photographs progressed from the 2nd stage to the 3rd, a milestone that felt like more than just a ranking, it felt like momentum. And the following year, one of my images made it into the main catalog. It wasn’t a headline moment, but it was a proof that I was getting better. The work was evolving. And maybe, I was starting to find my voice.

So I stopped chasing. And I started noticing.

And one day, I found my answer, not in a forest or a mountain, but in the city. In the way birds carved patterns across power lines. In how their flight curved through cold air, echoing the shape of concrete streets below. That was the birth of Wings Over Concrete.

The Work Behind the Win

At the same time, I was working on other long-term projects like the Amish horse buggy during winters, celestial compositions under the northern skies, and minimal frames pulled from fog, snow, and silence.

"If there is light, I chase birds and wild. If there is fog, I find subjects sneaking out of it. If it is dark, I chase the stars. If there is nothing, I Learn. Practice. Write. Edit Stuff..."

And Wings Over Concrete, a project that taught me more than any single image ever did. It taught me patience. Stillness. Discipline. And most of all, that the world may not always understand your work. And that's okay. People may not notice your work. They may notice but not recognize it. They may scroll past, or critique it, or ignore it altogether. Still, keep creating. Work like a saint. Quiet. Relentless. Unattached to outcome. Because this kind of art is not always easy to understand. And maybe it’s not meant to be. All you can do is show up. Frame by frame.

Fast Forward to 2025…

This year, I won the 1st Place in the Photo Project (Series) category at the 10th 35AWARDS.

Out of 470,000+ photographs from 123,827 photographers across 174 countries, Wings Over Concrete, my series on urban bird life, rose to the top. Not just one, not two but ten of my photographs are being featured in the official catalog!

The very competition that once made me question my worth... had now recognized my work at its highest level. Its a privilege to be one of the very few photographers representing Canada or India to receive this top honour in the competition’s history. The 10th edition of 35AWARDS brought together 50 jurors from 50 different countries, offering a truly international lens featuring experts from the USA, Belgium, Greece Italy, Brazil, India and beyond. I feel truly grounded, No pride, just gratitude. This milestone feels more like a starting point than a destination.

If someone had told me in 2019, sitting beside the Ameenpur Lake, that this would happen - I wouldn’t have believed it!

Why am I sharing this?

Not because I have figured it all out or I achieved the ultimatum. But because I didn’t. Because I kept clicking through the doubt. Because I kept experimenting when things felt pointless. Because I believed that even “crappy pictures” were a step forward. And because maybe you, the one reading this, are sitting in your own version of the Ameenpur Lake, waiting, doubting, and wondering if this path is for you.

If that’s you: keep clicking and trying. You never know what might take flight.

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