The Apple' of his eye

It was literally a shot in the dark for this ace photographer who is now trending worldwide. Ashish Parmar took a random picture of his wife Raina and it’s now the face of the Apple Billboard.

And he is only one among 53 across the world, the only Indian! The Bengaluru photographer’s photograph of his wife has now reached millions of people across the globe and hoardings carrying the picture shot by him are across India, US, UK and France.

“It was her first Diwali at our house last year, since we were married and as she stepped out with a tray of diyas in her hand, I walked into the room and saw her. Her face was alight from the light of the diyas and the husband and photographer in me couldn’t resist it. I had an iPhone 6S and made her stand against a white wall, pick up a diya and hold it up. I took a few pictures, thought they came out well and posted them on Instagram with the #shotoniphone6s.

A few days later, when I received a call saying that a picture of mine was selected by a company for its promotions, little did I know that it was Apple and that my favourite one of those pictures was going to be plastered across hundreds of billboards in so many countries.

And that too without any filters. I was in Tanzania when it released and I showed it to her on the phone and her face lit up without the light of any diyas and now people are walking up to us at social gatherings and showing us selfies with the hoarding,” states an ecstatic Ashish of Ashish Parmar Photography and Tours.

He has taught photography to many students and affirms that teaching is his forte. Recalling some fun incidents from his stint at music festivals and wild life photography, the versatile photographer shares, “Since I’m a self-taught photographer, it’s challenging for me to stay on top of my game. I’ve never had a student that I’ve not made friends with.

The Future Music Festival Asia 2014 was one of my biggest breaks when I met Paul Van Dyk who was playing a brilliant set at the music festival. I’ve shot him before and he loves my pictures. When I went closer, he yanked my camera, turned it around to face him, pulled me into the frame and took a selfie with me with thousands of people as the background.

On another incident, in an Indian Tiger reserve, I heard a distant alarm call and instructed my driver to rush towards it and was caught unawares when the world’s most expensive DSLR, swung out of my hand and bumped roughly on to the mud road, but it was in working condition and soon I was shooting three playful tiger cubs frolicking in the water. That image was sold at an exorbitant rate to the highest bidder at an exhibition and was worth the effort!”