From the Mulky waves to Gold Coast
Surf photographer Rammohan Paranjape , who spent two weeks in various parts of Australia skydiving and scuba diving, is back with stories of freefalling from 14,000 ft
India’s only surf photographer, as Rammohan Paranjape likes to call himself, found his niche when the Mantra Surf Club was established at Mulky (about 30 kms from Mangaluru) in 2004. An adventure sports enthusiast with a passion for photography, the Bengaluru-based Paranjape has been “fiddling with the camera since 16”. But once the surf club opened, he along with a couple of friends picked up surfing skills from the club founder Jack Hebner, also known as the Surfing Swami. The name comes from the fact that apart from surfing, the latter would also teach meditative techniques at his ‘club-ashram’.
As the 26-year-old Paranjape found himself gravitating more and more towards the waves, he gradually started experimenting with photographing surfers (from both land and sea). “I had to fill up the surf club website with pictures and gradually people and media houses also started requesting for surfing pictures,” says the self-taught photographer. Since he started out, Paranjape, who is the Vice President of the Mulky-based Surfing Federation of India, has published his photographs in National Geographic Traveller India, The Outdoor Journal and various other International publications.
From skydiving at 14,000 ft at Cairns to bungee jumping from 165 ft to scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef (“it was like being amidst a garden of flowers”), Paranjape says he was “indeed living my dreams”. “I was the only Indian in this group of 11 people who were mostly from the UK and Australia. There were many firsts on this adventure tour.”
While he finds it hard to pick one activity that he enjoyed the most, Paranjape says surfing theGold Coast was significant. “I saw 60-100 people surfing at the same time which one never sees in India. Nearly 80 per cent of Australians stay 50 km from the coastline. In India too, we have a vast coastline but the activity is often restricted to visiting beaches. In Australia, it is a different scene, someone or the other from a family will be surfing, fishing or sailing. It is common for families to own fishing gear and speed boats.”
Back in India, Paranjape is already planning his next expedition – a two-week surfing trip to Lakshadweep along with professional surfers from Australia and US. Here, the surfer shares pictures and memories from his Australian adventure.
Fraser Island
This is where the tour began. It is also known as the largest sand island and has rain forests. People mostly camp here as there is no infrastructure. We camped at the island for two nights. We had a long drive for 60-70 kms on the beach in a SUV. One can ride non stop for 120 kms. We stopped at fresh water lakes that were crystal blue and also did some swimming. The Island is indeed beautiful with the wildlife mainly comprising reptiles. We even spotted dingos.
Great Barrier Reef
With no formal training in scuba diving, Paranjape still managed to dive for almost 30 minutes in the Great Barrier Reef. “I was very comfortable and it was the longest dive of my life. Unlike India where you have an instructor constantly behind you, here we had two instructors for 6-7 people. We just needed to follow them. We had the freedom to stop, swim and even take pictures. The coral system is like a garden with different colours and shapes.”
Sky diving at Cairns
It was a tandem jump with an instructor. We were briefed for 10 minutes about the technicality involved, following which we were taken in a flight for 20 minutes and one by one everyone started jumping. This was at the end of my trip and it was a good way to end it. I was not scared but more concerned about getting my videos and photographs right. However, you are allowed to take your camera only after 100 jumps. The first few seconds of the fall can be scary, but the free fall is certainly the best part. Once the parachute is pulled, it is calm and they teach you how to navigate.
Surfing Gold Coast
I went to Australia a little earlier than the tour could begin. I met my friend Jamo Borthwick, one of the main international presenters for International Surfing Association and an instructor. He took me to the Gold Coast which is the surfing hub. He showed me the surf spots and breaks and, of course, we went surfing. It was a different experience because it was winter and I was surfing in icy water. In India, the water is always warm and there is no crowd.
India’s only surf photographer, as Rammohan Paranjape likes to call himself, found his niche when the Mantra Surf Club was established at Mulky (about 30 kms from Mangaluru) in 2004. An adventure sports enthusiast with a passion for photography, the Bengaluru-based Paranjape has been “fiddling with the camera since 16”. But once the surf club opened, he along with a couple of friends picked up surfing skills from the club founder Jack Hebner, also known as the Surfing Swami. The name comes from the fact that apart from surfing, the latter would also teach meditative techniques at his ‘club-ashram’.
As the 26-year-old Paranjape found himself gravitating more and more towards the waves, he gradually started experimenting with photographing surfers (from both land and sea). “I had to fill up the surf club website with pictures and gradually people and media houses also started requesting for surfing pictures,” says the self-taught photographer. Since he started out, Paranjape, who is the Vice President of the Mulky-based Surfing Federation of India, has published his photographs in National Geographic Traveller India, The Outdoor Journal and various other International publications.
Recently, the surf photographer returned from Australia where he was on a two-week adventure trip. Among 12 Indians to be shortlisted by Cox & Kings and Ezeego for their Grab Your Dream: Season 2 – India’s largest online hunt for adventurers, Paranjape was selected on the basis of his photographic submissions. “I got to know about this contest through a friend who writes about travel and food and I made my submission in September last year. It was one of the 50 entries to be shortlisted among 15,000 entries,” the excited lensman says.
From skydiving at 14,000 ft at Cairns to bungee jumping from 165 ft to scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef (“it was like being amidst a garden of flowers”), Paranjape says he was “indeed living my dreams”. “I was the only Indian in this group of 11 people who were mostly from the UK and Australia. There were many firsts on this adventure tour.”
While he finds it hard to pick one activity that he enjoyed the most, Paranjape says surfing the
Back in India, Paranjape is already planning his next expedition – a two-week surfing trip to Lakshadweep along with professional surfers from Australia and US. Here, the surfer shares pictures and memories from his Australian adventure.
Fraser Island
This is where the tour began. It is also known as the largest sand island and has rain forests. People mostly camp here as there is no infrastructure. We camped at the island for two nights. We had a long drive for 60-70 kms on the beach in a SUV. One can ride non stop for 120 kms. We stopped at fresh water lakes that were crystal blue and also did some swimming. The Island is indeed beautiful with the wildlife mainly comprising reptiles. We even spotted dingos.
Great Barrier Reef
With no formal training in scuba diving, Paranjape still managed to dive for almost 30 minutes in the Great Barrier Reef. “I was very comfortable and it was the longest dive of my life. Unlike India where you have an instructor constantly behind you, here we had two instructors for 6-7 people. We just needed to follow them. We had the freedom to stop, swim and even take pictures. The coral system is like a garden with different colours and shapes.”
Sky diving at Cairns
It was a tandem jump with an instructor. We were briefed for 10 minutes about the technicality involved, following which we were taken in a flight for 20 minutes and one by one everyone started jumping. This was at the end of my trip and it was a good way to end it. I was not scared but more concerned about getting my videos and photographs right. However, you are allowed to take your camera only after 100 jumps. The first few seconds of the fall can be scary, but the free fall is certainly the best part. Once the parachute is pulled, it is calm and they teach you how to navigate.
Surfing Gold Coast
I went to Australia a little earlier than the tour could begin. I met my friend Jamo Borthwick, one of the main international presenters for International Surfing Association and an instructor. He took me to the Gold Coast which is the surfing hub. He showed me the surf spots and breaks and, of course, we went surfing. It was a different experience because it was winter and I was surfing in icy water. In India, the water is always warm and there is no crowd.
