KOCHI: The Ernakulam Press Club and Southern Naval Command had recently organised a military photography exhibition at the Press Club, Kochi. “The exhibition is an exposure to the public regarding the events happening within the Navy. It is also an encouragement for the photo journalists,” says Commander Sridhar Warrier, the Navy PRO.
The first prize winner received a memento, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 10,000, from Vice Admiral A. R. Karve, while the second and third winners got cash prizes of Rs 5000 and 3000 respectively. Participation certificates were given to all the photographers.
The jury comprised Rear Admiral R. K. Nadkarni (Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command), Commodore G. Prakash (Commanding Officer, INS Venduruthy), and Commodore R. R. Iyer (Commanding Officer INS Garuda). The selection criteria: how vibrantly did a picture speak.
Among the photographs, there was a moving frame, by K. Shijith, of The New Indian Express, of a Navy officer lifting a differently-abled child to board a warship. Prashant Nadkar took a photo of the INS Vikramaditya, India’s largest warship, which was anchored off the coast of Mumbai. Then there was Nithin Krishnan’s picture, ‘My Defence’, taken at the Rajendra Maidan during the Navy Week celebrations last year. Because of a heavy downpour, a boy holds up a red plastic chair, to protect himself from the rain, while officers nearby offered salutes.
In Pradeep Kumar’s photograph, you can see colourful sailing boats, arranged in a line.
Another striking photograph is by Indranil Mukherjee. This is about an Indian army drill, with the soldiers jumping up and down, at Nasik. The second photo is of the firing of a 122 mm Multi Barell Rocket Launcher, during ‘Exercise Sarvatra Prahar’, at the School of Artillery in Devlali, Maharashtra. “I missed getting the picture during the first shot, but after adjusting my camera speed, got a perfect second shot,” says Indranil. “I am trying to take better photos every day, In essence, I am competing with myself.” Some of the other participants included E.V. Sreekumar, Rijo Joseph, Indranil Mukherjee, Jayaram Rajagopal and Jipson Sikhera.