What makes this site cool for us, is all of you. Without “u” there would be just “s”
OK, that was awful. Sorry.
But we appreciate the work that some of you share with us.

This week we’d like to shine a light on one of our longtime readers and a contributor to the gallery, Mahesh Shantaram

[photopress:Sri_Lanka1.jpg,full,centered]© Mahesh Shantaram

“In all my work, I try to find that something extra in the ordinary, teasing out the sublime from within the ridiculous. My primary area of interest in photo documentary lies in urban reality rooted in the here-and-now. None of that nostalgic stuff. Consequently, I’m working on a long-term photo book project on modern Bangalore. In the commercial realm, I offer a breed of wedding and architecture photography services for the discerning few.”

[photopress:mahesh1.jpg,full,centered]© Mahesh Shantaram

“Before taking up photography as a mission, I was based in Washington, D.C. slaving away in one of those jobs. Seven long years in the tech/media industry worked up quite an appetite for issues at the forefront of the photographic arts today. As an active advocate of digital photography and technology, I give camera phones their due respect and embrace Creative Commons with a bear hug. I’m always digital and always work in colour.

“Starting March 2008, my work will be on show in Delhi and London at an exhibition on Indian contemporary photography produced by Vadehra Art Gallery. In March-April, I will be based in Shanghai to work on a commissioned photo documentary project on urban culture of that great city.”

We hope you click over to his site and see some of this work in its fuller glory. The shot above has a great textural feel to the sea of fabric that is better represented on the site and, no doubt, brilliant in person.