The document contains submissions from photographers for different categories in the PHOTOQUEST 2010 competition held by HERCULES MTB Himachal. For the category "Experiments with Nature", Sumit Sond's submission titled "closer to god" discusses capturing a serene temple in nature that made him feel close to God, despite not being able to capture the ambient sounds. For the category "Interesting Abstract", Neeraj Jain's submission titled "got the nerve" discusses wanting to capture the difficult terrain through an image to showcase the ruggedness, and enjoying discovering Himachal and meeting locals and photographers on the trip.

1. HERCULES

2. PHOTOQUEST
2010

3. Category 1- SPIRIT OF SPORT
PHOTOQUEST

4. 1st
w(h)iping-off

5. Profession-Student (College of art, New Delhi)
Passion- Photography
Life's philosophy- Be happy, Live happy
Favorite photographer- Sumit Sond , Amit Sond
Favorite style of photography- Silhouettes and nature
Dream place to click- Ladakh
Why MTB Himachal- A solid platform to showcase one's talent
The experience of MTB Himachal
It was a awesome trip for me and learned a lot with some experienced
photographers. Enjoyed the experiments with nature and sports. I found MTB
Himachal a nice platform to show my talent and the 8 days were unforgettable. My
"W(h)ipping off" photo depicts the spirit of sports the rider shows how the rider
tames his mean machine in the middle of the stream to get the rotation of pedal
right.. salute to that spirit and not to forget to mention I got lucky with the light,
colour and contrasts nature to give that amazing feel to the whole picture. I will love
to come on this adventurous trip again.
ANKIT SOOD

6. 2nd
the never setting sun

7. Profession- Translator &Teacher
Passion- Photography, Movie, Art, Culture, Travelling
Life's philosophy- God helps those who help themselves
Favorite photographer- Helmut Newton, Mario Testino, Diane Arbus...
Favorite style of photography- Landscape, Macro, Self portrait, Nude
Dream place to click-the world in my lens
The experience of MTB Himachal
Adventure packed, Beautiful landscapes, high spirited participants, just awesome.
The Hercules MTB Himachal is an unforgettable adventure tour. Every place of the route
has a flavor and its own character which excites the photographer in me.
There is a strong emotion and spirit that the picture talks about, off course it’s about a
race and there has to be a winner at the end of the day . Yet at sunset the racers were very
exhausted, many were sweating, and still straining every nerve for the arduous uphill, yet
no one gave up. That moment Peter (Peter is a racer who is in my photo) looked
exhausted and I felt like he will give up.. we all kept motivating him to keep on moving,
don't stop keep move....i was trying to capture that moment of surrender. But I realized
that Peter hadn't stopped, and was out of the view finder!
Thus the thought of the picture was a perfect divergence between
the setting sun and the never setting spirit to complete the race..
I'm happy that this photo is selected, because it has a nice little story. :)
JIMSEE BOLD

8. 3rd
anonymous

9. Profession- Brand Communication professional with a Masters Degree in Business
Management and Communication.
Passion- I have always been intrigued by nature and the great outdoors. My attachment with the camera started
with curiosity about things and people around me and the desire to record some of them. Taking photographs
became an instinctive, at times almost primitive urge. Over time this urge has evolved into a form of
enjoyment and creative perception, opening up a door of non-linear thinking and visual storytelling.
Life's philosophy- You are unique..just like everyone else
Favorite photographer- Photo Journalists and Wildlife Photographers for their tenacity to capture emotions
and reactions of life.
Favorite style of photography- Outdoor – nature and life.
Dream places to click- South America, Africa, Sunderbans
The Experience at MTB Himachal-
There is no better joy than capturing instinctive reactions and random moments in nature. MTB Himachal
presents a wonderful opportunity to experience firsthand the emotions and passion behind the superhuman
effort all riders make to compete in this event. It is an excellent outdoor platform for photo enthusiasts to
portray action and adventure photography in a scenic landscape setting.
while capturing the emotion and spirit of participants in MTB, who together with their mean machines
compete in extreme conditions, hiking and biking their distance to the finish line.
This blur of a passing cyclist encapsulates that spirit of every rider and the courage, determination and the
energy that travels along with him in pursuit of that moment to be called a champion.
The treacherous terrain takes its toll, on both man and his machine. This circuit tests the resilience of every
participant to compete and complete 8 days of relentless cycling across various kinds of courses. However, one
needs to be present to capture the perfect image and emotions along the trails. MTB Himachal organizers
provided the camera crew a wonderful logistics support, often in the most unassuming places to help capture
and freeze these moments.
VINEET CHOPRA

10. Category 2- EXPERIMENTS WITH NATURE
PHOTOQUEST

11. 1st
element of surprise

12. Profession-As per Delhi University a STUDENT of Applied Arts ( College of Art).
But if u ask me Im an artist, a freelance photographer & a designer.
Passion-my work my way.
Life's philosophy- Journey is the ultimate destination.
Fav style of photography- automobile & adventure in all possible ways.
Dream place to click- Spiti Valley- Himachal
Why MTB Himachal- adventure, photography, mountains. What more can a wandering soul ask for!
The experience of MTB Himachal
Each & every moment…was an experience in itself… The travel, camping, photography..
Adventure came in handy.. New faces, new places.. A trip of a lifetime…
In short.. waiting for the next MTB Himachal..!!
While I was busy capturing the stars. I noticed the smoke and couldn’t resist capturing it..
The result came as expected…the element of surprise, the smoke the colors the stars and a lot more
that makes the picture intriguing and thus A piece of art, a moment of colors and an element of
surprise was created in the experiment with nature.
..a sense of joy.. a rhythm to life.. a colorful paradise. That's what nature means to me…
So, I believe, I captured a part of life.. not just mine.. but lives of people around me..
SUMIT SOND

13. 2nd
closer to god

14. Profession- I am a Software Engineer by Profession currently working with Adobe Systems.
Passion- Photography, of course. It has progressed from being an area of interest to a being a hobby and,
finally, to becoming my passion. Close association with products like Adobe Photoshop help me explore the
many aspects of this art.
Life's philosophy- I believe in giving my best to every task however big or small it may be. It makes every
ounce of the effort I put towards each task, count. My Favorite quote is "Quality is never an accident; it is
always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the
wise choice of many alternative"
Favorite photographer- It is difficult to pick one photographer as my favorite. I follow many photographer
and try to learn as much as I can and normally its difficult for me to find out favorites.
Favorite style of photography- I keep my focus on the kind of composition and color that I like the
photograph to capture. Rest of the elements more or less fall into place
Dream place to click- A few amongst many are the Grand Canyon in Canada, the Great Wall of China and the
Egyptian Pyramids
The experience of MTB Himachal
Himachal is my hometown and, therefore, very close to my heart. The event was very well organized and all
participants and contributors were well taken care of. I got to meet people with similar interests and have made
some great new friends on the event. The mountain biking was fabulous and I was really amazed at the skills
of all participants.
Nature and that temple in the hills, attracted me simply because of the serene setting and the gentle tinkling of
the prayer bells, can be, perhaps, the most enlightening sight to behold. Even though it was not possible to
capture the rustling of tree leaves and the prayer bells in a photograph, I thought that the sight of this
picturesque little temple in the lap of the surrounding hills, will help me capture and share
the gentle spiritual burst that I felt within myself and my experiment with nature had succeeded.
I think I have never felt this close to God before.
VIJAY KUMAR SHARMA

15. Category 3- Consolation (INTERESTING ABSTACT)
PHOTOQUEST

16. got the nerve

17. Profession- Consultant (Innovation & Design)
Passion- photography
Life's philosophy- you got one life.....make the most of it
Favrorite photographer- Steve Mc curry
Favorite style of photography- portraits
Dream place to click- Haridwar
The experience of MTB Himachal
It was wonderful to shoot in difficult terrain, being part of team overall.
in this particular image is wanted to capture the difficult terrain & showcase the
ruggedness of the ambience.
Well the experience was truly delightful. Apart from testing my capabilities to constantly
think what to capture & how can my pictures truly reflect what's going on, the trip also
gave me a chance to discover beautiful interiors of Himachal & meet locals. It also gave
me a chance to meet fellow enthusiastic photographers & cyclists. I look forward to be a
part of next season also.
NEERAJ JAIN

18. cheers to the team!