My story
Hi! I'm Jack. Master of none.
I would think my arduous journey starts from the 11th grade when I started coding FoxPro. By the end of high school I was dabbling with C++. In that era internet was something you could experience only at one libraries in the city. Once I got a modem at home it was pretty clear that hard coding was never meant to be. As I entered college my first job was sitting at the cash counter of a medical diagnostic center where I lingered around aimlessly for 3 years trying to make sense of the answer to life, the universe and everything.
Most nights at home were spent toying with Photoshop and learning HTML Macromedia happened and FLASH changed everything in the early era of the early interwebs. I moved on from being a cash counter exec at a obscure diagnostic center to becoming a self proclaimed web and graphic designer. My ability to understand coding and graphics made life a lot simpler for my clients. I could think like a coder and behave like a consumer.
I would then over the years work as a studio in charge, a library assistant. As I progressed on my course I would upgrade from a teaching assistant to an adjunct instructor. My first job right out of design school was that of a junior designer and a photo retoucher.
I have had an exciting journey from a relatively early stage in my life. It took me a while to figure out what I love to do and now, I don't work a single day in my life. I am currently the Technical Director at Studio Pomegranate, a professional photography studio that I founded with my partner Nidhi Somani who was a banker. I also teach photography at Calcutta International School to grades 6 thru 9.
Getting into photography was never the plan. I was in college for my Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design for Print where I chanced upon the documentary in the library called American Photography: A century of Images by PBS. I borrowed the DVDs and watched them over and over again during the weekend and my journey into photography started from the very next Monday.
I started out volunteering at the college photo studio just helping do whatever students needed help in doing. Mopping, cleaning up after shoots, putting the equipment back in order, moving the lights. Anything that I could get my hands on I was doing it. Amidst all this I would watch Scott Hays shoot or instruct senior students about photography. I started shadowing Scott everywhere. During the lunch breaks I would sit with him and just talk. About family, the ways of India and what not. Eventually these conversations would lead to me realizing that Scott was a true photo ninja master.
These were still the days of film and soon Scott would trust me enough to leave me alone with the school's Mamiya RB 67 camera and lens sets. Few months on I was shooting the portfolios for the graduating students from the design department and assisting Scott on his shoots. Photography was consuming me in a very positive way and it was a whole new universe for me.
In 2004 I would find my self in a grueling photography boot camp mentored by photographers Steve McCurry, Steve Northup and Senior Photo Editor of National Geographic John Eschave. Each of them a legend in their own right. What this workshop did was give me a rock solid foundation and taught me objectivity and humility. It put in place a lot of lenses to look at the world through.
Early 2005 I landed up in New York working for Steve McCurry at his Manhattan studio. All these experiences gave me invaluable exposure and insight into the world of photography. Within three months Steve promoted me from an intern to a Digital Editor. Since then he has assisted workshops with photographers like Raghu Rai, Robert Clark, Fritz Hoffmann, Luke Townsend, Justin Maxon, Kousuke Okahara, Christina deMiddle and Ricardo Casses.
Fast forward to today, I am the founder and partner at Studio Pomegranate, a professional photography studio in Kolkata. We offer end to end services in the photography related segments. From fashion shoots, corporate events, private events, portraits, professional headshots, e-commerce photography, micro movies, album designs and scanning / restoration of old photos and negatives.
Pieces of paper
I have a Bachelor in Design for Print and an Associate of Arts in TV & Film Production from Collins College, Tempe, USA. I have been the communications chair for American Institute of Graphic Artists, Arizona.
Currently Rahul is the Technical Director at Studio Pomegranate which specializes in end to end photography and video solutions. He is currently the only photographer who specializes in headshot portraits In India.
Rahul also teaches at Calcutta International School and is a trainer with the Speakers Institute training speakers to take their message globally.