Sunday MiD DAY grabs some great moments off Live Shots, a newly launched photographers' collective, which is the first to document the incendiary Indian indie scene

Bassist Gaurav Vaz, who performs with the Raghu Dixit Project and also designs websites, had been toying with the idea of forming a group that shared a passion for music photography. Vaz didn't have to look too far to connect. Delhi-based Shiv Ahuja who plays the keyboards with a band named Five8 was completely in-sync with Gaurav's ideas.

"If I wanted to see pictures of my favourite bands, I'd have to browse through many different websites to find them. After a couple of initial e- mails on how and exactly what we want to do, the website was up and we were rolling," says Shiv. And that's how Live Shots, a five-member group, who are fired by music, came to be.

The aim is to archive music photography and document the music scene across the country. Adds Gaurav, "I don't know the direction it will take yet, but already there are a lot of photographers who are keen to upload their photos on the site, and that's exciting."

WHO: Swarnabh Ghosh
BEGINNINGS: I started shooting one-and-a-half years ago when some of my friends, who are musicians, asked me to photograph one of their shows. It started from there and turned into one of my prime interests. I love to shoot people and I love playing music even more. I've always been interested in the independent music scene in Delhi.

Looks up to: Jim Marshall for his abrasive simplicity, Chase Jarvis for his crazy ideas and Annie Leibovitz because she has taken some of the most definitive pictures of our times.



The Circus is a four-piece alternative rock group from New Delhi. They have a fresh and unique sound driven by a heady mix of rock n roll, funk and electronica. This picture was shot at a college gig at Sushant School of Art and Architecture in Gurgaon. I caught it at the exact moment when all the lights happened to come together and resemble the hues of the tricolour, with Abhinav's silhouette against them. This is one of my favourite pictures because it was all about the timing and capturing the 'moment,' which is often very elusive.

WHO: Shiv Ahuja, student
BEGINNINGS: Iu00a0 started shooting when I was in class XI. I love music and wanted access to shows, which is why I started shooting. The musicians would let me into the gigs, and I would shoot their photos.

Looks up to: Bob Gruen, Sam Jones and classic legends like Cartier Bresson



This photograph was shot last year at Delhi's Gargi College. I was crossing the stage, right in front of the drummer. There was a spotlight on Chennai band Junkyard Groove's Ameeth Thomasu00a0 and all I could see was a silhouette, so I didn't shoot. As I moved further, Ameeth turned to look at the drummer. I was standing right between them. A light came up from behind me and hit his face, while the spotlight added a fantastic backlight. I had enough time to make about three frames before Ameeth turned around.

WHO: Gaurav Vaz, musician
BEGINNINGS: I have a close circle of friends who are into wildlife photography. It's because of my friend Kalyan Varma that I picked up a Nikon camera. I love music, and have been maintaining the Raghu Dixit Project blog for about four years now. So shooting began as a necessity. I began taking it seriously about eight months ago.

Looks up to: Kalyan Varma, who got me into photography. He gave up a full-time career for wildlife photography, and inspired a whole bunch of photographers. I met James Duncan Davidson at the Technology Entertainment and Design Convention held in Mysore, last year. I love his work because he shoots in an unobtrusive manner and documents life as we see it. Also, Chase Jarvis who openly shares details of gear and technique on his blog.



Many Indian bands that do not play regional music are often asked about their Indian influences or what makes them 'Indian', overlooking the fact that these artists were born here and grew up right here in India! Motherjane started as a brilliant rock band but, more importantly, re-invented themselves as an 'Indian' rock band. Most recognisable are the painted faces and the Indianised riffs. They are on an interesting quest with their live act and their music. This photo was shot at Rock Ethos in Bengaluru last year. It started pouring during Motherjane's set but the band played on, and I caught their bassist Clyde's painted face against the colourful confetti flying through the air. It almost looks like a camouflage.

WHO: Bobin James, music critic
BEGINNINGS: The first concert that I shot was a Remo Fernandes gig in Goa in 2005. I was using the still image option on my newly-acquired Panasonic camcorder. That was followed by some shots of Indian Ocean. These I was proud of at that time, but cannot bear to look at now. In 2006, I got my first digital camera -- a Canon Powershot S2IS -- to shoot a concert at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival that had Megadeth headlining a bill that included Testament, 3 Doors Down and Reel Big Fish (I am still proud of some images that came out of that). This inspired me to set up a blog, and shoot earnestly. I think the blog was partly responsible for my current job at Rolling Stone India magazine.

Looks up to: The late Jim Marshall, Sam Jones, Peter Yang and Todd Owyoung.



Susheela Raman is a British singer (with Tamil heritage) who renders traditional Tamil 'bhakti' songs in a manner that defies description -- you have to watch her live to experience it. Since I had misssed her the previous time she'd performed in Mumbai, I made sure I wouldn't miss her next show in Mumbai. And it was worth all the praise and adulation I've heard about her.
Word had gotten around and it was a pretty crowded gig, which meant that I was more or less rooted to one place, stage right. This moment came by when I was in position to capture an accompanying musician (who is well outside this frame, to the right). Then, I spotted this frame through the corner of my eye. I swivelled around and got a couple of shots. The inclusion of the guitarist in the out-of-focus foreground was deliberate; this seems to get extreme reactions from people who have seen this picture. I like it, but there are others who don't.

WHO: Kunal Kakodkar
BEGINNINGS: I started shooting about seven years ago, when my dad bought himself a digital SLR camera -- Nikon D70. The instant gratification of digital went a long way towards accelerating the learning curve. Warren Blackstratblues Mendonsa is a friend. I tagged along to Zero shows as a crew member. When I went to the United States for my Masters degree, I did varied shoots for the college newsletter but nothing excited me more than covering live music. I took the camera along to a show at I-Rock 2003, and haven't looked back since.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Looks up to: Jim Marshall and Ross Halfin. Of the currently active lot, I enjoy the work of Danny North, Kalle Bjorklid and the Owyoung brothers -- Todd and Chris.



I took this photo of Rex Vijayan (guitarist of the Malayalam rock outfit Avial) at a concert that was part of RGIT's college festival in Andheri last week. Most shows in the city are held indoors at venues that are often poorly-lit, which is why college fests are great. They're outdoors, and budgets are usually large enough to accommodate decent lighting and sound. They're also a good place to gauge the state of the indie music scene in the country. A decade ago, most bands that went on-stage were cover bands playing tracks such as Summer of 69 or Sweet Child of Mine. Today, bands are picked to play their own music to increasingly receptive audiences. The level of grassroots support for original independent Indian music is heartening.