Hobby Blog

A hobby is indispensable in any busy living. It is not one’s main business but it is one’s important preoccupation. A living without any hobby is very dull. Different people have different kind of hobbies. Some like philately some are found preserving coins and some need autograph of famous celebrity.

Photography is not just like another interesting hobby but it is also a wonderful profession. What does it mean by photography? It is not just to go out with a camera and take some snaps. It is far more than that and rather a well combination of fine arts and the fundamentals of science. Many people think that it is a waste of both time and money. But, they are wrong. Photography is healthy medium of communication – it communicates peoples from all over the world. There is no age bar for the hobby. It is a process through which a person can express his or her views to other people of any language. A well taken photograph tells the story to the whole world.

Photography is accepted today as a medium of people’s look on different subject. The subject of any photograph is very important. Black & white, color – whatever it may be, it should have a subject. If you want to be professional in this field, you need to pursue some courses in a reported institute. But it is not the minimum qualification for a professional photographer. He or she needs some creativity in mind to be a great photographer. A good painter is naturally a sound photographer as well. The photograph is as beautiful as his painting.

The greatest satisfaction of photographer is exhibiting his collection and being appreciated by the audience. Once you have started photography, you should aim at publishing them which can be displayed and evaluated at publication. Start you photography by setting up some subjects. They can be hill-tops, rivers, landscapes, waterfalls, nature and wildlife or even the small things like bees, birds, butterflies etc. It is called micro photography.

Digital images are very easy to share through the internet. The digital pictures are very real and colorful. Some typical photographers are not interested in the digital cameras. They think a digital camera is not as good as the old SLR ( Single Lens Reflex)film camera. But using a digital camera, a youngster can also take some excellent snaps. The wildlife photography is as adventurous as hunting. You have to hoot the right frame at the right time. So that, it looks like alive. For that you have to travel a lot. There are a good number of highly paid photographers who are working with renowned group like Animal Planet, National Geographic channel and Discovery Channel. Youngsters love to watch their works and get inspired. Thus our ace photographers of the future are born.

Stamp-collection is a universal hobby. People collect stamps not only for what they are worth themselves but also for their designs, the stories they tell, the events they commemorate, and the sidelight they throw on the events they commemorate, production of stamps. In fact, postage stamps are “the window of a nation through which people overseas may behold its heritage and nature”. They reflect every aspect of a nation’s life including its trade, history, art, crafts and natural history.

The earliest story of stamp-collecting is of a young lady who had a strange fancy to cover her dressing- room with cancelled postage stamps. She collected 16,000 stamps herself. In 1841, she advertised in the London Times requesting readers to send her more stamps. This craze for collecting stamps was widespread in the early years when postage stamps were introduced. Gradually indiscriminate and chaotic collection was replaced by careful and systematic collection. Stamp-collecting also acquired  a respectable name called “philatelie”, which is made from a combination of Greek words ‘philos’ means ‘fond of ’ and ‘ateles’ means ‘exemption from tax’.

Stamp-collection is now far from just a hobby; it is a subject of serious study. The study of stamps leads its enthusiast’s life to the study of geography, history and the natural life of various countries. An album of stamps can therefore, be a book of knowledge as well as a book of original research.

“What to collect” and ‘How to collect’ are problems which face all beginners. Hundred years ago, it was easy for a collector to have a complete collection with all the stamps of the world. But with growing popularity of stamp-collection, countries found stamps a good medium for publicizing their cultural, industrial, landscape, geography and achievements in various other fields. There is hardly any subject or theme which has not been depicted on stamps. Some of the popular themes are animals, arts, birds, butterflies, communications, fishes, famous men and women, flowers, medicine, paintings, postal history, railways, religion, scouts, space, sports, ships, etc. It is impossible today to have a reasonable collection of stamps from all over the world.