The Pakistani Spectator

It is said that a camera can photograph thoughts. I would like to think my work does just that. I do not follow an agenda. My work is experimental. It relies on time and places, and most importantly, people. It depends on moods and behavior and the environment which all of these factors exist in. When I click, I break rules because you cannot always capture the perfect moment when you are bound with chains. The most important thing for me to achieve at the end of the day in my work is that it should look alive, like it is breathing.

kAy is currently in the process of publishing her first book that is to launch in March 2009. She spends her remaining time traveling and freelancing as a photographer and graphic designer, biding time by until she sets sail to US soil to do her masters in photography in August 2009. I blog here.

Could you tell us what made you decide to blog, and what was the inspiration behind it?

Ans: It was 2004 and I came across this website www.asofterworld.com . I instantly fell in love with the photo comic strip type style these people had created. Although I loved the style, the content I could not relate to because it was very western. I started making my own local version of it with my own thoughts on life and my photography-but I didn’t publish it anywhere online or otherwise. I just made them and kept them. My sister was a regular blogger- when she came across the folder that contained these photo-blogs I made, she forced me to create an account and put them up.
The rest as they say is history J

What do you think sets Your blog apart from other blogs?

Ans: The fact that I manage to convey what I want in one sentence sets me apart from most blogs.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?

Ans: I’m very hardworking. If I commit to something, I give it my heart and soul.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

Ans: Since we are talking about the blogging world, I’ll apply this in the blogging context.
Happiest blogging moment was when one year into blogging (2005), the creators of www.asofterworld.com commented on my blog telling me they loved what I had done with their concept and thanked me for acknowledging them on my blog.
Gloomiest blogging moment was when a friend whose photograph I used in one of the panels of my photo-blog thought what I had written in the blog was what I thought about him as a person. I tried to explain that the pictures I use don’t reflect my views on the people and that images were just props in my blog but he wouldn’t understand. It took me over a year to mend that rift in the friendship.

Urdu Blogs have got huge potential, when do you think they will really take on the online horizon in Pakistan?

Ans: I think it will be a while. If English is just getting started, Urdu will take even more time. I’m not talking about Roman English Urdu blogs, actual Urdu blogs….they will take some time.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?

1. Greece
2. France
3. Brazil

If I take a look inside your refrigerator what would I find?

Ans: Cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. J

What is your favorite book and why?

Ans: There isn’t one book that comes to mind, but I will go with KARTOGRAPHY by Kamila Shamsie on this one. Why? Because the book is about Karachi. I love sub-continental literature, especially women writers. Big fan of Kamila, Bina Shah and Shandhana Minhas.

What is your favorite meal, dress, and sport?

Ans: All three things really depend on my mood. I can actually have a different answer every time I’m asked this question depending on how I’m feeling. As for sports, I love world championships of any and every sport- as again, its based on timing.

Tell us about one of your worst habit or quality?

Ans: I am rarely wrong. People hate that about me It’s not that I’m arrogantly correct- it’s just that I observe things too closely and consciously before voicing any claims- just so that I’m never wrong. J

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?

Ans: Their face. I like observing facial expressions. Tells me a lot about the person even if we never actually meet.

Whose Future is more bright in Pakistan; English blogs or Urdu Blogs?

Ans: English has already started getting popular, Urdu will follow eventually.

How Pakistani bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?

Ans: Hmm. I’m not sure the prime reason one starts blogging is to make money. It’s to just candidly talk about your interests or your life, I guess if someone is interested in buying an article you wrote for a column in a paper, you could possibly get some money off it.

Do you think Pakistani bloggers tend to remain somewhat self-centered and really don’t go out of their shells? Is it the oriental style of blogging, or they are still unsure about it?

Ans: I don’t think its fair to call any blogger self centered, whether they are Pakistani or not. What is a blog anyway? It’s a space on-line you can get for free to talk about your life-to vent-to celebrate or whatever it is that you want to do. If you want to talk endlessly about yourself on that space, it’s your right to do that- I shouldn’t have a problem with it…if I do, all I need is press one button to move on to something better.

What do you think where the Pakistani blogosphere is right now?

Ans: In terms of content, the Pakistani blogsphere is just getting started. We, the ordinary people, clearly have a lot to say and are saying it through blogging. However, I don’t think we use blogging enough as a means of causing change where it is needed- so much can be done said and heard through this medium-like I said, we are just getting started!

Who are your top five favourite bloggers in Pakistan?

http://habitsandpasttimes.blogspot.com/

www.cloudkhizzy.blogspot.com

www.leaving1302.wordpress.com

www.phitaymaun.blogspot.com

Can’t think of a fifth!

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger in Pakistani blogosphere?

Ans: “Stunned” is a very strong word. I like and appreciate certain blogs but to be very very honest, no, I have not been stunned by the uniqueness of any one particular Pakistani blog.

What is the future of blogging in Pakistan?

Ans: As I mentioned above, I think we are just getting started and when you are on level one, you can only rise above!

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?

Ans: Strange as it may sound, my blog really affected my professional life. It has brought to me a number of interesting projects with well-known brands in terms of photography; a few people have approached me to with interest in turning my blog into a coffee table book! It’s fantastic actually. On a personal front, since I started blogging 4 years ago, I was still discovering my forte. Blogging helped me identify photography as a real passion because I saw so many people responding to the images I took. It’s also made me more open minded as a person since I usually get lots of varied opinions on my blog about what I have said in a particular post.

What are your future plans?

Ans: Inshallah I shall be leaving for America to do my Masters in Photography in Fall 2009 J

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?

Ans: As clichéd as it may sound, “Live and let live” is possibly the best advice to live by these days.