Mangalore : Vivek Sequeira Wins Best Wedding Photographer Award
By Vinod Prem Lobo
Mangalore, Apr 21: City's pioneer photographer has done it again! Vivek Sequeira of the famous Vivek Studio has won the Kodak Better Photography Wedding Photographer Of the Year 2010 award, one of the ost coveted titles for good photography, beating a total of 16, 584 entries from photographers from India and aboard.
April 14, 2011 was Vivek’s day as he humbled himself on the stage while receiving the award at a grand ceremony in Hotel Novotel in Juhu. Apart from this Vivek won the Best Bridal Portraiture award while four of his photographs got nominated under three different categories, Bridal Portraiture, Couple Portraiture and Behind the Scenes. Vivek won two trophies and a cash prize of Rs 1 lac. Each of teh six final nominees including Vivek has received photography equipment worth Rs 25,000. “I was totally surprised. I could not believe it when I heard my name announced as the WPOY of the Year. I never thought I would make it there. The competition was tough. Four photographers among us six finalists were of international repute. I could not believe it and the thought just did not sink in quick,” said Vivek recollecting the moments of that wonderful award night.
Vivek dedicated his award to his parents and was also accompanied by his wife Vinitha Sequeira.
On an equal footing the other five finalists who won awards in the various categories are Mahesh Shantaram (Bangalore) in Couple Portraiture, P Vijay Kumar (Nellore) in Family & Friends, Ankit Singh (Bangalore) in Emotions, Abhinav Sah (Mumbai) in Behind the Scenes and Dinesh Madhavan (Mumbai) in Photo Series on a single wedding.
Vivek is also the winner of last year's Couple Portraiture award. To his glory, Kodak and Better Photography magazine have used Vivek’s award winning picture of 2009 for its entire publicity campaign for WPOY 2010. Lakhs of prints have gone around India during the publicity months.
The ceremony also saw the unveiling of an exclusive coffee table book which showcases the best entry pictures of the WPOY contest. Vivek’s award wining picture took the cover page slot – a worthy honour to Vivek’s talent.
“The few days spent in Mumbai for the contest has been a great learning experience for me,” admits Vivek. “Apart from winning the contest what I also won is lots of friends. All appreciated my work and I was humbled and wanted to learn more from them. The rest of the contestants were so advanced in technology and I realiszd that there is great deal of learning for me. They also shared their technical knowledge and this was valuable learning for me.”
WPOY 2010
The quest for India’s best wedding photographer began as early as September 2010 through a grand scale pan India hunt, where entries were called across six categories namely Bridal Portraiture, Couple Portraiture, Family and Friends, Behind the scenes, Emotions and Photo series on a single wedding. Around 16,584 of entries were received etching a jump of 100% over last year. The participation was seen from 544 different cities and towns across India.
Award winning pictures
After several rounds of elimination by a jury of eminent photographers comprising Bipin Mistry, Bankim Jain, Maz Mashru, Venkat Ramana, Sephi Bergerson and Jagdish Agarwal, the final 6 category winners were chosen. These 6 winners then competed in a unique Face-Off round that took place in The Wedding Cafe Lounge, Andheri (W). The finalists shot a mock wedding complete with a bride and groom.
Vision
Back home from the event, Vivek revealed his plans for the future. He plans to set up a state-of-the-art studio in Kulshekar, Mangalore, one of the biggest studios in Karnataka with 5,000 plus sqfeet exclusive studio space. Camera and other equipment sales, repairs will also be housed in the studio complex which will have a special spot for portraiture photography. He also has an ambitious plan to set up a studio/office in the Gulf (Dubai). He also plans to conduct workshops for beginners and amateur photographers.
While enhancing the quality of the service at his current studios, Vivek aims to deliver quicker service and cater to the mass and class customers.
“This award has increased my responsibility. I now carry more expectations entrusted upon me. I am game for it. I want to work more on contemporary and candid style of photography rather than traditional styles. I am looking at more focus on Destination weddings which is more challenging,” says Vivek.