Skill Ride 

Nineteen-year-old Jeevan Saju found a way to use his photo morphing skills to purchase his beloved bike
Skill Ride 

KOCHI: What does a 19-year-old teenager love the most? No need to guess! Bikes, of course! However, most boys realise their dream of zooming past the city roads on their very own motorbike by pestering their parents. Not in the case of Jeevan Saju. After getting a stern ‘no’ from his father Shaju Enai, this youngster from Angamaly decided to get one by himself.

“My father told me I could get a bike with my own money after I secured a job,” said Jeevan. So he acted on the words and decided to use his passion for motography (a portmanteau of motorbikes and photography) to earn money. “I have been dabbling in photography for a while. I love editing the pictures I take to make them stand out,” said Jeevan whose father and mother are artists themselves.

So, Motography? According to Jeevan, it is a huge craze all over the world. “It involves editing photographs which have automotives like motorcycles as the main subject. You mix two or three different themes to set a background giving the photograph an all-new look making it stand out. The photos become very vibrant,” he added.

Jeevan started by uploading the modified photographs of bikes on his Instagram page. “At first, I used to get likes from my friends. “However, all that changed with more and more people following his Instagram handle. “Some people approached me asking whether I could do similar work for them,” he said.According to him, the edits are done as per the specifications of the customers. “They provide the main photograph and brief me on the details they need on the modified photos. The fee is discussed according to the work,” said Jeevan.

“I might have done more than 3,000 projects till date,” said the youngster who has more than 35,000 Instagram followers and counting. Jeevan has worked for clients based in 24 different countries apart from India. “I get customers from Russia, the USA, the UK and other European countries,” he said. 

So did he buy the bike? “Oh yes!” said Jeevan. In just a few months after he began motography, Jeevan earned `1.83 lakh. “I used that money to buy a Yamaha bike,” said Jeevan. “Since motography has become my passion, I decided to join an animation and designing course at Kothamangalam Yeldo Mar Baselius College after Class XII,” he added. Now, Jeevan goes on bike rides with his friends and also clicks photos on the trips which then he uses in his motography works.    

Follow him on Instagram @motorgrapher_kid_

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