Name: Vijay Barse

Profession: Photographer

Sun Sign: Libra, 1 October 1968

Educational Experience
I was never really academically inclined. After HSC, I joined commercial arts course at Raheja. Ever since my childhood, I have been fascinated by camera. My father has an TLR camera, whenever I did get the time I would take it and start clicking. Later, I also did a photography course from JJ School of Arts.

Professional Experience
After completing my commercial arts course, I started freelancing for advertising firms and also doing some live photography. But I soon realised that my interest wasn't in the photography, I just loved shooting live pictures and I was pretty good at it too. So I joined Zee in the year 1995 and started doing their press pictures. But my first, so to speak, big break came when I was hired to do the photography for teleserial Shanti. Ever since then started my association with Mandira Bedi. At that time, I did not have an idea that Mandira Bedi would be such a hit. Neither did I think that I would be able survive in the industry. What I knew for sure that I did love working for television, I liked the people.

While was working with Zee, I started getting lots of offers to freelance. I thought it was great opportunity, so I left Zee after almost working for a year and half. In 1996, I started freelancing for In house productions. I used to do the live shots for their programmes for Sony, Star Yaar Kalakar and Harmony.

I still remember, Sony officials really liked the pictures that I did for Sudesh Bhosle's unplugged. They approached me to do their pictures and frankly it has been going great ever since. They give me a call whenever they need me. I work on hourly basis. Rest of the time I am free to take up any other assignments. I have also been working for production housed like UTV, In house and Polygraph, plus some studio and live shots for Agencies.

I have also been doing some portfolio for wannabes and established Television acts. Amongst my celebrity list includes Mandira Bedi. We often bump into each other. In fact, I have been doing her pictures till date. Even now, while I am at Sony, she is MAX's mascot.

Television as career choice
I have been also freelancing for film production houses as well, but I not usually very keen working with them. Be it a starlet or an established actor, they have an attitude problem. Where as television people generally avoid the filmi act.

Plus, I think my specialty is live photography. It is the kind of photography that has greater scope in Television.

Present and future of Photography
Broadly speaking, there are three types of photographers: industrial, commercial and glamour. Glamour photographers like Jagdish Mali, Gautam Rajadhyaksha, Subi Samuel are well known and often in the limelight. But despite of being talented lot, the industrial photography has few takers.

With advent of digital photography, the art part of the photography is slowly dying. You can easily mix and match few stuff with just a click. Photography needs to be treated like art, but I guess we have a long way to go.

Current Television scenario
I don't watch television, so I can't help you there. But one thing is for sure, my family does watch a lot of television. Besides the saas-bahu dramas' on the Hindi entertainment channels, which are a must watch, they also catch a lot of regional television. Both at home and my village in Ahemadnagar, Alpha Marathi, DD Sahyadri are regularly watch.

As for the television as the work place, the scenario is far from good. What has kept me going in this industry is my speed. I can deliver thousand prints, in few hours. You can never afford to relax, even after a decade in the industry I never rely on anybody. I personally supervise the wash and check the pictures as soon as they are done. The industry is so fickle that the moment you lax, you are out. You have to be punctual as well as patient.

Right and wrong about current television scenario
In the current television scenario, where daily soaps are the flavour of the season, the production values have become dismal. In the previous set up, just prior to the channel boom, there was a system in place. You had a set of veteran professionals and their understudies who made sure that the work is done well.

In the soap land, where the priority is on fast and cheap production, they were soon replaced the middle men, who with their production houses and channels contacts, got the work done cheaply. In came the gullible souls, the newcomers who were willing to work for lower wages, the middle men got work done for say Rs 5000 that would have otherwise cost 10000. Undoubtedly, the work was shoddy and the newcomers were paid as low as 1000, sometimes not even that.

Five years from now
While I am good at live photography, I would like to experiment with the art aspect of photography. I would love to open up my own advertising firm in another five years.

Hobbies
Though I did love to travel, I rarely get the time to do so. If I can manage, I take off with my friends for weekend. In last eight years, I have just managed to take my family out once for a ten day trip at our native place. I like taking my parents and family to Nasik or Lonavala.

Idea of enjoyment
Drive out of the city or catching a good movie with my friends