If I had to list top ten inventions of mankind, then Photography would certainly be in top 5. It is astonishing that some people discovered how light formed images (camera obscura – pin hole camera) and followed by some others who found how it altered certain chemical compounds and how this alteration could be fixed on paper and used the technique to capture the real world! History of photography and history of cameras is very fascinating!

We have come a long long way indeed – now is the era of digital cameras and mirror less cameras. One can think that this long technological and creative march has had a single intention – to freeze the Time and Moment, to reproduce reality like it is – the pursuit of perfect image which can be stored for posterity! Along with the image – the history and historical facts get stored too.

I am lucky to have been born in a family with a legacy of photography. My grandfather, Narayanrao Kulkarni who lived in Bijapur, had made foray into the world of photography, travel and photo-journalism. He traveled with Mahatma Gandhi to Noakhali too. He extensively photographed freedom movement from close quarters apart from choosing musicians, historical monuments as his subjects.

Unfortunately, much of this legacy and his work is lost, but we do have some heirloom to cherish and talk about. Recently we were amazed to discover his photo-journalist work on a German website(link). Here I share some of his cameras and photographs. I hope all random puzzle pieces about his life and work will fall in place soon and we will have an amazing story of a forgotten photographer and his works.