Meet Lalit Deshmukh | Explorer, Photographer & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lalit Deshmukh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lalit, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have enjoyed my career in Computer Software Development in the past. My decision of moving away from the Software career to a Professional Photographer / Instructor was in fact a most common denominator of the needs of my family and my own. I had recently moved to India [The year 2008 ]. Both I and my wife working in the IT industry made it very difficult to give time to my children and also take care of my mother, who also lived with us then. My wife is a terrific Project / Program Manager and loved working and wished to continue working. I possessed an immense passion for both Travel/Explore and Creating Photography Art. I also enjoy sharing my knowledge. I decided to give photography education to develop students in that field, take photography tours and give experience. Photo Workshops helped me create enlightenment and joy of being creative in my students. Photo tours made beautiful memories in the lives of many, gave them a chance to explore with me and create art. These activities created earnings for me and also created opportunities for me to see new places, meet new people, learn about new cultures, and make new photographs.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe my photography is entirely a product of my love for nature. Hence I give all the credit to mother earth. When I think about my pictures, this is what comes to my mind – “ I speak my heart out to the earth.
Earth responds back with love.
I then paint it in my pictures…

I feel, the photographer in me, trying to create art based on nature and landscape is nothing without nature itself. I feel Earth herself is my artist. I truly want to consider myself as a “messenger of the earth” rather than an “artist” myself. I feel when I photograph nature, my photographs should reflect the emotions of nature itself. They can be in the form of the landscape, light, or the weather! Fog, rain, storm, snow, or sunlight convey and affect very much on us humans! I feel my efforts should give nature itself a chance to express through my images, as natural as it gets. The tools, techniques and artistic compositions, and post-processing of the images are just the vehicles to make those images and not the final destinations.

Making a career as a professional photography Educator / Instructor was not easy. I say this, so it does not give any false understanding of this transition. My PASSION and drive to make my dreams come true were much stronger than any PAIN that I had to bear. Hence I have never felt about giving up. In my previous job as a computer software engineer, I had seen one motivational poster, in my manager’s cubicle, the poster had encouraged me to always think of any problems as challenges, immediately changing to a positive, fighting tone! I left my career in the software industry that paid much more handsomely, but I had to make a choice between Money and Life!

STRUGGLE:
In the beginning of my business as a Photography Workshop leader in India, I sometimes did not get enough response. That would hurt me and would create doubts about my own abilities. I would brush off those thoughts and give my entire heart and soul to teaching. Not every initiative I have taken has yielded me the results in terms of monetary gains. However, they gave me invaluable experience and learning that helped me in the forthcoming ventures.

When I wanted to establish myself as a photography teacher, I made a promise to my students at that time and also to myself. I told them that I would not hold any exhibition or gallery of my own art until I feel that my students’ work is not worthy enough to be presented to the public. My organization’s activities were geared toward the process of creating the artist/art towards the mission of “Learn – Explore – Create”. “Learn” allowed them to gain more knowledge through the workshops and classes we organized. “Explore” – allowed them to visit new places through the photography tours we conducted and also through any personal travels they made. “Create” or “Make” allowed them to make the masterpieces based on the above two, process them, and present them. I, with my students, held the first Exhibition called “Impressions’’” for the first time in the year 2013. My first solo exhibition “Art by Earth ” was held in Mumbai, in 2015. In subsequent years my students have conducted many exhibitions with me that have not only helped them grow confidence, happiness about sharing and selling their work, but also allowing them to contribute a good part of their profits to the betterment of children deprived of food and education. I felt that such commitment towards my students helped form a strong lifelong bond between me and them.

PERSONAL CHALLENGE:
One of the major challenges I faced after my business picked up was keeping my passion for photography alive. While my photography tours helped me get back into nature, I was always on a mission to teach and also ensure the safety of my participants. I planned various personal photography trips, with my close friends, hiking groups and sometimes with family. They gave me a chance to explore diverse locations in India, at every corner from deserts to mountains. There were times I explored the region with the ruins of 5000 year old culture, walking in the pouring rain in the evergreen forest. There were also days, when I hiked above 16000 ft in the Himalayas, in the brutal cold and when the altitude is causing breathlessness, headache and nausea. Many times I would slip and fall, stop and would want to give up, but the drive to move forward , explore was much higher than any of these. Physical fitness is absolutely necessary in the mountains, however I experienced that when the body wants to give up, your mind would take control and push you through that zone. And when you see the tall peaks above 22000 ft, glaciers and valleys, all the perseverance seems to pay off.

MY ORGANIZATION:
My organization is very much geared towards self-dependency. We have six associates, who were my students and then my mentees who learned about business as well, made their career as Professional Photographers and are now part of my team. They run these activities and are trained on every part of the job starting from Research, Marketing, Teaching, logistics management, and more.

In all, we have taught more than 2000 students and organized and taught dozens of workshops and photography tours. All this could be possible because of a single motto – To cultivate the art of photography inside them and that has been an immensely motivating factor still today ten years after I first began teaching photography.

TODAY:
Today, I live in Seattle. I moved here to support my family when my children have made a choice to come back here for their education. My team works on the same principles from India. The sudden transition brought me away from what I had built for the last 11 years. This had a significant emotional impact on me. I also faced an issue where I was partially incapable to travel, drive or photograph. The right treatment for my physical health and belief in nature as the source of my positivity. I now enjoy exploring the Pacific Northwest and broadly, many beautiful places in the USA. I am also excited to explore the possibilities to expand my photography business, to show the beautiful rugged part of India and Southwest Asia to those who enjoy, respect my work, and trust in my abilities to provide a safe and enjoyable experience. I also want to give opportunities to my hundreds of students to come and explore this part of the world as well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I prefer going to the national parks, ocean shores, and forests around Seattle. However, I also enjoy some places, where I can see, meet people, which helps me rejuvenate!

1. Seattle Space Needle for the 360 degrees views of the city and landscape around
2. Pikes Market for the Art, Street food, and Experience, visiting historic first Starbucks location
3. Seattle Downtown with a Ferris wheel, Maritime Aquarium
4. Experiencing water sports in Lake Washington
5. Sunsets and sunrises from Kerry Park and Alki beach
6. Beautiful cherry blossom in Spring and architecture of the University of Washington
7. Visiting Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades, Olympic National Parks
8. Taking a hike up the Mailbox Peak or Poo Poo point
9. Ferry ride to the Olympic Peninsula
10. Exploring the forest of Snoqualmie River Valley
11. Shopping in Seattle Premium Outlets
12. Tulips Festivals during the Spring in Skagit Valley
13. Eating food at many Indian restaurants in Seattle, Redmond, and Bellevue
14. Checking out the Seattle Woodland Zoo, Rhododendron garden

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Undoubtedly, I would not have been able to do this without the support of my family, my wife Purnima, Two Children, and my mother. My wife Purnima, who always understood my passion, encouraged me to dive in, helped me in my initial days of struggle, took the responsibility as a prime bread earner. My children let me travel, which took precious time away from them. My mother always stood there as a backbone entirely during my challenging times to balance both my passion, work, and family, until her last breath.

In the year 2000, I was watching a Nature Documentary on TV, in our apartment. During that program, I got extremely emotional and said to my wife, “In my next life, I will do this too!”
I was referring to spending time making photographs and videos about nature. My wife instantly said, “Why next life, you can do it now!” I had started my career in software just two years before. Sportively I told her that it was not possible but her response continued to chase me to chase my own dreams.

Website: www.lalitdeshmukh.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lalitdeshmukh/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitdeshmukh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LalitDeshmukh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lalitsdeshmukh

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZRKJN4oovqYFwEJHdmRnvQ

Other: https://www.facebook.com/lalitdeshmukhphotography

Image Credits
Manasi Chaphalkar for my photograph [ Frontal Profile ]