I was at Deer Park in Hauz Khas, Delhi, clicking pictures of a dry leaf stuck in a spider web when I heard a conversation behind me.

“Why is she photographing these dry leaves? There are so many beautiful flowers in the garden”.

“She is one of those ‘arty kind’ of photographers.”

I stopped clicking pictures and turned to look back. I saw two young girls closely observing me as I clicked photographs. I smiled at them without saying a word. After taking about twenty pictures, I thought about their conversation. Why was I clicking photos of a dry leaf stuck in a web when there were so many colourful flowers around? The conversation got me thinking about the why of photography. We all have different whys. I wonder how they can be explained.

There are millions of photographs, clicked by thousands of photographers out in the world. Some are beautiful and technically perfect. Stunning backdrops, gorgeous models, landscapes, portraits, monuments and much more. How many of those lovely images do we remember after some time?

What motivates us photographers to pick up the cameras and click pictures? What kind of pictures stay with us, leaving an indelible mark on our minds? For me, the ones that tell a story. It could be a happy story or a sad story. The image that reveals what is happening there. The picture, that also shows the state of my mind at that moment. The most technically perfect image in the world, devoid of a story, is uninspiring for me. It may be aesthetically pleasing but uninspiring. Being in the right place at the right time matters; the more crucial part is observation. A photograph is the artistic expression of the photographer’s mind.

Photos and text by Prerna Jain.