Ridhima Singh (00:00)
Just being in presence of something bigger than yourself evokes the feeling of humility, inspiration and just gives you that shift in perspective. And I could be having a bad week, a bad day, but as soon as I step out in nature and those big landscapes, I think I feel nothing but just gratitude for limited lives we have on our planet and just so beautiful.

Angela (00:27)
Hello and welcome to the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I'm Angela Nicholson and I'm the founder of SheClicks, which is a community for female photographers. In these podcasts, I speak to women in the photographic industry to hear about their experiences, what drives them and how they got to where they are now.

Angela Nicholson (00:42)
Today, I'm joined by Ridhima Singh, a landscape and cityscape photographer balancing a full-time career in IT finance with her love of photography.

Since moving to the UK, it has become a way for her to connect with places, people and

Although she only picked up her first mirrorless camera a few years ago, Ridhima's work has already been recognised, including winning the landscape category of the British Photography Awards and having success at the International Garden Photographer of the Year and the Neutral Density Photography Awards.

Angela Nicholson (01:09)
Hi Ridhima thank you so much for joining me on the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast today.

Ridhima Singh (01:14)
Thank you. Thanks for having me on.

Angela Nicholson (01:16)
Oh, you're very welcome. Now, when we met at the British Photography Awards, you mentioned that you'd only picked up a camera for the first time relatively recently. So I wondered if you could give us a bit of background on what led you to photography?

Ridhima Singh (01:31)
So it's just over, I think, four years, five years now. Early on, like, growing up, my dad's, you know, old Kodak film camera, 35mm point-and-shoot design, that was a big part of our family vacation, birthdays, festivals. So, and we would wait for our dad to bring the prints home. We would sit around and, you know, talk about and relive those memories like a month ago maybe. So...

Early on I started valuing the idea of taking photos and creating memories from it. But it was not long ago when I moved to UK, I started traveling more. And I always loved watching sunsets, sunrises, night skies. So I would travel, I would do a quick research on the viewpoints, there and just watch sunsets and sunrises. And I think I started just taking, because phones were like relatively good

at this time, I started taking photos and started sharing and that's when I started my social media. But I think the moment which really pushed me was the solo trip in Nice, France in 2019. I was at this vantage point watching this gorgeous light, sun going down, and I took this photo from my phone. And don't get me wrong, it was a nice photo, but I felt like it doesn't translate to what I'm feeling right now.

and I want to share it because it's a solo trip. I want to share back home with my friends. I mean, it's such a beautiful thing and I'm not able to share exactly what I'm seeing. So I came back home, I started kind of reading, you know, how to take better photos, what I'm missing, what mediums I can use, and that's when I bought my first mirrorless camera. That was 2019, I think I bought my first mirrorless camera. was mainly I started with like travel photography, I would say. But I didn't get very serious

about it until 2021 when I had my first big landscape photography trip with a of my photographer friends and that's when I fell in love with landscape photography. So yeah, it's just been like I think over four years I've been doing this and shaping my artistic vision ever since.

Angela Nicholson (03:33)
wow.

So that was a photography trip rather than the trip that you took photos on, if you see what I mean?

Ridhima Singh (03:45)
The Iceland one, yes. Because by the time since I moved to UK and joined the social media, I made some lovely friends through Instagram. So we would hang out and just do photography and that's when we planned 2021 Iceland. But before that it was like I would shoot anything or everything. But after Iceland, I just, yeah, since then I've been just

pursuing beautiful landscapes. So it's more of I travel for photography now.

Angela Nicholson (04:11)
Yeah. What is it about Iceland that particularly fired you up, do think?

Ridhima Singh (04:17)
I think just the big landscapes, right? Everyone says it's like another planet.

Angela Nicholson (04:22)
Mm-hmm.

Ridhima Singh (04:23)
Less people, just like stunning big landscapes. And I'm like, is my wide lens wide enough for this? So yeah, since then, I'm like landscape is what I want to do. Obviously, I do a bit of, I enjoy challenge of wildlife. And I would say I dabble in astro

Angela Nicholson (04:30)
you

Ridhima Singh (04:43)
but landscape is what I gravitate ⁓ to.

Angela Nicholson (04:46)
Yeah, that's your thing.

I noticed it was interesting because when you were talking about, even when you were using your phone, you said that it wasn't capturing what you felt. And I think that's a really important step in photography to think about what you're feeling, rather than what is immediately in front of you.

Ridhima Singh (04:56)
Hmm.

Definitely. In fact, that's the feeling I think most of us chase all the time. I think for me, it's just the feeling of awe. If I have to describe it,

It's just being in presence of something bigger than yourself, it evokes the feeling of humility, inspiration and just gives you that shift in perspective. And I could be having a bad week, a bad day, but as soon as I step out in nature and those big landscapes, I think I feel nothing but just gratitude for limited lives we have on our planet and just so beautiful.

I think I was reading something about this because there's this book from this author, if I remember the name correctly, it's Professor Dacher Keltner. He describes this feeling of awe as something vast that transcends the current understanding of the world. And it just makes you wonder, it makes you question, right? If you're in that mental state of openness, even embracing the mystery,

and that experience which comes out of that feeling is I think what photography is for me. in fact, like I would go as far as saying that I have tackled hardest or darkest times of my life through photography. And yeah, and through people I connected to photography. It's just not photography. You meet people on your ways. So yeah, that feeling of awe and I want to be in that state, right? That's the only way I know

how to live.

Angela Nicholson (06:41)
Yeah, I think it is interesting, isn't it? You talk about processing some of the worst times of your life, that you can do that without consciously thinking about that. You're thinking about something else and that's something being photography and that, you know, the greater purpose that you've got with your camera. I find that really fascinating.

Ridhima Singh (06:59)
Yeah, it's a form of meditation, think, because at that time, I'm just so focused and you just zone out in a way, you're in your small world. And obviously creating something beautiful out of that experience is a bonus for me, the way I see it. And then I can share the world with my friends. But that's just a bonus. But it begins with just being in that state, photographing the nature or landscapes.

Angela Nicholson (07:29)
Yeah. Have you done any formal training in photography? Or are you entirely self-taught or maybe using, you know, what's available on YouTube and the internet?

Ridhima Singh (07:38)
definitely this. So when I started, I started from those box sets, digital photography, think Scott Kelby. I'm reading and reading. like, I need to go out and do some practical, right? I come from an engineering background, so I'm good at reading. But still, when you go out and like, what I'm seeing, what I'm photographing. I did like, I think initially I did just one meetup class.

for a fiver in London and we went out and this guy is helping us out with the settings in the city and I'm like, okay, this is how you do it. But yes, since then, I rely on YouTube, all self-taught. Obviously I have friends, they help you. But yeah, and then obviously you have your few favorite photographers, you buy their master classes. I have learned a lot.

from the master classes, exclusive content. YouTube is our biggest source, of course.

Angela Nicholson (08:35)
Yeah. Do you do much planning these days before you go out for a shoot? Do you know before you go out, for example, how you're going to shoot a location?

Ridhima Singh (08:43)
Yeah,

I think I am a biggest researcher. I like things organized. I have spreadsheets and whatnot before I go out. Obviously because I'm working and so I have a full-time job in IT in London. So I've been working for the last eight years in London. So I know London City pretty well. I don't need to plan too much, but still I would like to open photo.

Angela Nicholson (08:52)
really?

Ridhima Singh (09:06)
just see the moon or sun direction, where it's setting, where you're going to stand. So it's spontaneous sometimes, but really for me, I would like to plan where we're standing, where we're shooting from, what we are shooting. It's a big kind of a homework for me before I go out and

Angela Nicholson (09:26)
And how do you keep it personal, keep your work feeling personal when you're going to places which perhaps have been photographed many times?

Ridhima Singh (09:33)
It's a good question because that's a lot of people and I think including me struggle because it's London. People have seen thousands of photos, But sometimes it's just in the... I feel like even with my friends,

five of us are standing and shooting the same thing. We come back and we edit those photos and we post. Every photo looks different. So I believe everyone has that personal touch of post-processing is a big part of my workflow. I like to spend time. I like to kind of have that, you know, the feeling I started from when I was standing there to bring that to the viewer or whosoever is looking at it. I try to make it personal with my post-processing skills, I would say.

Angela Nicholson (09:56)
Yes.

Ridhima Singh (10:16)
And also sometimes just the shooting techniques, right? Like middle of this year, there was a super moon and I've been shooting that moon alignment with Shard, which is a iconic building in London, like a dozen times. I've done that, we have all done that, right? And it was my work day and I'm like, I don't want to go out and shoot the same thing again. What can I do to make a difference? So I just like got some pen and paper and I had like a 30 minute exposure of that moon crossing the Shard.

And I was so proud of that photo later in the evening because I'm like, I've never seen this photo. This was the familiar place, but I tried something different and actually it came out because most of the time it doesn't come out on the first go attempt. So I was pretty happy. So like this, I try to think if I can change my technique, if not, then just the post-processing, I guess. Otherwise, everyone has seen photos so many times. It's very challenging.

Angela Nicholson (11:10)
Yeah. Now you mentioned that you work full-time. How do you balance photography and traveling for photography with a full-time job?

Ridhima Singh (11:18)
Yeah,

it is hard. It's hard, but that's what I wake up, I tell myself, I'm working because I need to go on my next holiday. I need to buy this photography equipment, right? And don't get me wrong, I like my job, I love my job. because I've been doing this for the last 20 years, what I do in my IT field, I'm pretty comfortable.

Angela Nicholson (11:27)
Ha

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Ridhima Singh (11:40)
So it gives me, and I happen to work in a great place, so they give me this flexibility where I don't have to be at work on weekends or after six, for example. So my evenings and weekends are pretty free, and then we get annual leaves, which I have to really plan in a way that I can kind of align it with spring, I can align with autumn season. So a lot of thinking goes into it, but yeah, sometimes you can't balance. But most of the time, I feel like I'm lucky to...

have a balance or like a work-life balance basically.

Angela Nicholson (12:11)
Oh good, that sounds very good. So what made you start entering photographic competitions?

Ridhima Singh (12:16)
Mm-hmm.

think it was a light bulb moment for me. I was having a stroll with one of my photographer friends at King's Cross area, or I might not be remembering the area, but it was Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition, and I really just browsing photos. At that time I didn't know what competitions are. Okay, this is a good photograph. But why it's here, right? People are walking and we have this exhibition. And I see this photograph of Taj Mahal.

where there's this long exposure photograph with colorful people swirling around the monument. So it's a long exposure, you can see lot of colors with a white monument. And I'm from North India, not far away from where Agra Taj Mahal is. And I've seen thousand photos of that place, right? I've even photographed it. But when I saw that photo, it just stopped me in the tracks. I'm like, this is what competitions are about. They just bring out that unique vision.

And they kind of award people to have that unique vision, which can make you stop in the track, make you think, wow, what a photograph, right? So at that time, kind of, it started from that. It was an inspiration, you know? I want to have my photographs here one day, where people can feel exactly what I'm feeling right now, hopefully, one day. So that's how it started, but now I think it's...

more of learning for me because it's such a big part of me in the sense where you asked how do I grow and evolve and learn. I competitions are that learning process for me. Every year I look back at those photos which I submitted last year and you see you've changed your style, maybe you've become better. I know I still have a long way to go and that's the most exciting part. I think I look forward.

you know, how far I can go in this.

Angela Nicholson (14:07)
Would you say then that's the main benefit of the competitions? It's basically the learning experience?

Ridhima Singh (14:13)
I would say in addition to having an external validation. So for me, I was like, am I good enough? You you question that. You have imposter syndrome most of the time. Like lot of photographers, I know they have this, right? So that external validation is such a nice thing to have to know that, you know, industry experts in your area kind of telling you that, you've got it, you know.

Angela Nicholson (14:38)
Yeah.

Ridhima Singh (14:39)
they've seen your work. So it's a big kind of thing for me, but apart from that I would say definitely. mean learning, mean even if I won something I think I would do that again and again just to kind of push myself and try some different techniques and produce some better photographs.

Angela Nicholson (14:57)
You've had quite a bit of success recently because you were successful in the International Garden Photographer of Year, Neutral Density Photography Awards and most recently the landscape category of the British Photography Awards.

feel that puts you under more pressure?

Ridhima Singh (15:12)
⁓ not at all. I think it eases the pressure of proving myself, right? Like, and not to anyone else. I think it was how it started. It was I had to prove it to myself that I can be good at this or even like decent, right? I wouldn't say. So just like having that validation internally and external validation, I think had eased that pressure off from me that, okay, you know, I can do this and it's just, it's going to go up from

Angela Nicholson (15:26)
Mm-hmm.

photographs with competitions in mind or do you just use your archive and enter the best pictures that suit the categories?

Ridhima Singh (15:48)
I think, not quite, not quite, but because I've been doing competitions for like four years now, it's become like a second nature for me. So when I'm shooting, keep, I know my main competitions I have to enter throughout the year. I know the guidelines by heart now. So I'm like, I don't want people around it or I don't want any debris because I won't be able to use, you know, the remove tool, for example.

So I have that in the back of my mind, but I'm not shooting for a competition, but I'm just shooting to make my portfolio basically.

Angela Nicholson (16:22)
Okay, do you have any advice for anybody who's thinking about entering a photographic competition?

Ridhima Singh (16:28)
think just do it. Just do it. think just do it. Like once you start entering, you start noticing things. I feel like you start noticing, ⁓ let me see what were the past winners, which you necessarily wouldn't, right? You wouldn't go to those websites to see the winners unless you come across an exhibition like how I stumbled upon at King's Cross. But when people start doing it, I feel like you would just sit down and look at winners photo. You would sit down and actually evaluate.

How's your work compared to, I wouldn't say that you have to produce the same style or same photos, but you push yourself. You push yourself thinking, okay, it's a competition at the end of the day. Can I make this photo better or can I try that technique next time? So the biggest step is just sit down and do it and kind of, it's only an art until you're good at it. So just research, practice, and go out and shoot it, even if you're not selected.

you know next year when you're submiting where how much you've evolved from last year because some of the competitions they have this dashboard where you can actually go like as far as like 10 years worth of photos you've submitted. And I think for me every year it's a ritual when I sit down and I browse through I'm like why did I even like submit this photo? How did I edit this? So that retrospect session for me that competition brings that retrospect.

Yeah, I think that's a big part of growing, right? If you are not retrospecting. And in fact, some competitions like Garden Photographer of the Year, they also provide you with feedback. if you have, let's say, for example, I had this lovely garden photo I was so proud of. I'm like, this is winner. This is straightforward winner. And it wasn't even shortlisted, two years ago.

I'm like, so I found that way to, there's a, on a dashboard, there's a way to ask for a feedback. And actually, you pay a fiver for a feedback, because it's obviously judges' time. And the feedback I got just was a reality check. I'm like, I didn't even see that. I didn't even, so I feel that retrospect plus the feedback, if you can get by the judges, that's like, I don't think so you can get in any of the masterclass, because that's your own work you're trying to learn and evolve from.

Angela Nicholson (18:46)
Now it sounds like you're very happy with the position you're in at the moment, so perhaps you're not looking to become a professional photographer, but what is next for you, photographically speaking?

Ridhima Singh (18:58)
So right now I think I'm in a good position because I can be free, I can be creative and still not worry about money because that is very separate to my day job. That makes me feel comfortable doing and pursuing creative side of my life. But yeah, I'm always potentially interested to kind of become semi-professional and maybe lead workshop one day and I've been talking to some of the workshop leaders and

But again, because I limited annual leaves, I have to really think, I want to explore new places? There's only one autumn in a year. Or do I want to go to the same place again? So short term, I'm happy where I am. Long term, maybe, potentially, I would want to just go on workshops and just lead some workshops,

Angela Nicholson (19:52)
Fantastic, that sounds great. Have you got your next trip planned?

Ridhima Singh (19:56)
No, not really. So I'm going to India to be with my family for Christmas, but I haven't planned anything for winters. I have few places in my bucket list, but it's less of a bucket list situation, more of a full blown barrel situation. have so many places in my mind, ⁓ but I think in...

Angela Nicholson (20:16)
Okay, yes.

Ridhima Singh (20:22)
Over my holidays, I will sit and do some research and think about what I want to do next winter. This winter, let's photograph some snow or northern lights.

Angela Nicholson (20:29)
up with the plan.

Sounds nice. Okay. Well, I think that is a good time to go to Six From SheClicks and I've got 10 questions from SheClickers and I would like you to answer six of them please by picking numbers from one to 10. So could I have your first number please?

Ridhima Singh (20:40)
Yay.

Okay, let's go with my favorite number three.

Angela Nicholson (20:50)
Number three.

Has there ever been a planned shoot that didn't go to plan, but something good came out of it anyway? That question is from Ann.

Ridhima Singh (20:59)
Ooh.

Yes, so many times, but this time, I mean this is the time I remember vividly, we were with one of my female photographers at Stonehenge. I have this in my bucket list, this shot where I can have a moonrise at Stonehenge, right, like in between the stones. And I've been there so many times, so I was just.

at this place, we are waiting, we are in my car, there was fog

my language, and we were sitting in a car and just discussing, like, should we head back to London, it's a two hour drive, or should we just wait here? And we were talking and we just fell asleep, it was such a long day at work and then waiting for the moon. But I know, I think it was summertime, so it was like four, four, five o'clock.

We wake up from this nap and we look. Because of that fog, we had the most beautiful sunrise that morning. The sun was just like glowing orange from that fog and my god, that's like one of the best sunrises but in only, like we wouldn't have done that if we would got a moon shot because we would have had back, because I had work next day. But because the moon thing didn't work, we slept, we were just like disheartened.

Angela Nicholson (22:15)
Yes.

Ridhima Singh (22:21)
when we woke up to the most beautiful sunrise, I think.

Angela Nicholson (22:25)
fabulous.

Okay, could I have your second number, please?

Ridhima Singh (22:29)
six.

Angela Nicholson (22:31)
Number six, is there anything you believed a few years ago about light or locations that you no longer think is true? That's another question from Ann.

Ridhima Singh (22:39)
I think up until recently, it will resonate with lot of people. I never used to shoot in summer on a bright day.

I would never do that. I'm like summer is not for photographers, what I'm even doing. I would just take a like, it was a hibernation period for me. But this summer, I think I went out more than I've ever went out in summer. Like a bright day, I'm doing some long exposures of black and white photographs. And how did those photos turned out? You know, having those street photography, for example, in Barbican. And it came out lovely. All because I'm like,

Angela Nicholson (22:51)
Mm-hmm.

Ridhima Singh (23:14)
I should go out more often, I should challenge myself even if it's not the best of the lights. So yeah, now I think I've started to believe that if you have a vision and you go out, you can find something interesting in any light, I think. Might not be your best photo, but there's definitely always something to photograph.

Angela Nicholson (23:33)
Yeah, and you'll learn something along the way.

Ridhima Singh (23:36)
definitely, it was new for me.

Angela Nicholson (23:38)
Yeah. Okay.

Can I have your third number, please? Number nine, are there any lessons about photography that you learned the hard way? That question is from Marie-Ange.

Ridhima Singh (23:42)
Nine

Initially when I was entering competitions, I would just look up at the winners' photos and I would even go far as going to the judges' profile to see how they shoot, right? What's their style? And I tried to replicate that. But I think I've learned this in a hard way in the sense that it took probably three, four years for me to realize that they're not looking.

to see their photographs. They're not looking to see past winners because what's the point then? They're looking to see if you can produce something unique, your style, right? And if it resonates with them, you get lucky. So that's something that I think I would say.

Angela Nicholson (24:25)
Okay, could I have your fifth number, please?

Ridhima Singh (24:28)
Number one.

Angela Nicholson (24:30)
What's the craziest thing you've done to get a shot and did it work out? That question is from Liz.

Ridhima Singh (24:34)
Hmm.

I am a very law abiding person.

Angela Nicholson (24:39)
Hahaha

Ridhima Singh (24:41)
I've never done anything, I would say I've almost never done anything illegal. I'm trying to think what's crazy. I think this is the time when I tell you I am a landscape photographer but I am scared of like everything. I am scared of heights, I'm scared of being in middle of water, I'm scared of speed. So early this year I went on this workshop to chase storms, tornadoes in Texas basically.

Angela Nicholson (24:47)
Mm-hmm.

Right?

Ridhima Singh (25:09)
for which I think I've got this third place in India Awards, that series from Texas. And we are chasing tornadoes, right, middle of like extreme conditions. We are also photographing but also running away. Like people are running away but we are photographing it. putting myself into those situations, like in Iceland we are sitting in front of an active volcano, not even like a kilometer away from the crater, right, chasing tornadoes.

Angela Nicholson (25:14)
Well done.

Yes.

Ridhima Singh (25:36)
in the of water. That photograph from British Photographer Award is from the Lake Caddo, so we are in middle of water, right, on a moving boat, basically. So I feel when I look back, in hindsight, all of the things I've done to get a good landscape photo is putting myself into crazy situations most of the time.

Angela Nicholson (25:55)
Okay, it does sound like it, especially the tornado chasing and the volcano bit. That sounds quite worrying. Yeah, be careful. Okay.

Ridhima Singh (26:00)
Oh definitely, definitely. No, always,

that's is the first priority.

Angela Nicholson (26:07)
Good, I'm glad to hear it.

Okay, could I have your fifth number, please?

Ridhima Singh (26:11)
⁓ five.

Angela Nicholson (26:13)
If your photography is time limited because you have to do it during the weekends and for holidays, how do you deal with disappointing conditions during that precious time? That question is from Paula.

Ridhima Singh (26:17)
Hmm. Hmm.

Because that happens most of time in UK, the weather we have got here, so I would say eight out of ten times it's disappointing, right? It's not according to how you want. You can make something out of it, but at that time I feel it's just time to connect with your friends. So usually if I were out with my photographer friends, we would just go and have a drink, right? ⁓ I feel like you don't have to come back disappointed just because you didn't get the photograph. You can have a nice quality time with your friends instead.

Angela Nicholson (26:28)
Hahaha

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Ridhima Singh (26:52)
or most of the time if I'm, like we know where there's gonna be not that great, but we just go out anyway and we say, let's get our steps done today. Why not just, yeah, so sometimes you go out because of photography, but you achieve something else, which is as good as getting a good photograph.

Angela Nicholson (27:11)
I think that's a great attitude because actually if you always went out and you always had perfect conditions and got the shot you've been dreaming of, there's no excitement in that, is there? There's no sort of determination. There's no experimentation or anything.

Ridhima Singh (27:25)
And nothing to look forward for next time. For some shots I've been waiting for like five years, right? I haven't still got it, but that's exciting because I know I have to look forward for that shot. So yeah, it's worthwhile not having perfect conditions every time because then it's gonna get boring, I think.

Angela Nicholson (27:42)
Okay, so your final number please?

Ridhima Singh (27:45)
Number 8

Angela Nicholson (27:48)
This is another question from Paula. How do you select images for competitions?

Ridhima Singh (27:54)
It's a very good question because I come from an engineering background, right? Initially I thought there has to be a formula, right? To win this, there has to be a formula. But after four years, I've realized there isn't one. So as I was talking about this, having a feeling of awe, right, initially. So all I do is just look at my photographs and if it's evoking that feeling of awe, like it could be even feeling of sadness, fear.

you know, joy. If it's evoking some emotions in me, I feel it's a decent photo too. It might move, you know, the viewer or judge as well. But if I don't feel anything with that photograph, that's a feeling side of it. How, what do you feel when you look at that photo? But also obviously go through the guidelines again and again, again and again. This always a fine print, right? Like, especially for...

⁓ the wildlife competitions. There shouldn't be any live bait, for example. So when you read the guidelines, you're like, okay, five out of my ten photos are not even eligible for this competition. So the technical side of it and the emotion side of it, you can use those criteria to say that, okay, this is decent enough to enter.

Angela Nicholson (29:07)
So, Ridhima, thank you so much for joining me on the Podcast today. It's been absolutely fantastic hearing from you.

Ridhima Singh (29:12)
it was a fun conversation. I had a really nice time. Yeah, I feel that time is short. Yeah.

Angela Nicholson (29:15)
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It has, it has shot by.

All right, well, bye bye, enjoy the rest of your day.

Ridhima Singh (29:21)
You too. Thank you.

Angela Nicholson (29:23)
Thanks for listening to the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to everybody who sent in a question. You'll find links to Ridhima's social media channels in the show notes.