Bright are images of the future

When I joined DNA in August of 2008, the launch was still four months away. I knew little of the organisation that had just sprinted into the leading pack of the country’s newspapers with fervour in just a short period of four years.

But as the launch approached I knew that the editor would ask the photo department to pitch in by putting out a picture page to keep cheques balanced till the advertisements started to flow into the newspaper. Then, or so I presumed, the ‘much-vaunted’ picture page would shut shop with a sign on the front door, saying, ‘no space’.

The design process was set in place, and the name ‘Pic Me Up’ suggested by a former senior editor. And the rest, as they say, is history. Visual themes, photo essays, and news in pictures, would run six days a week. The sign stayed firmly in the box.

Of course the page has had its fair share of hiccoughs, as is to be expected when you are trying to up the ante in terms of quality on a daily basis. But for Indian journalism a daily photo feature page was pathbreaking, and the readers stood up in their support of the initiative.

In September, 2009, Pic Me Up launched the i-Pic, a daily space where readers could send in their photographs, and win a prize. I take this opportunity to thank them for the great response we received, right up until the competition closed on November 15. We received more than 1,000 entries.

But if you were to ask me what Pic Me Up epitomises…it’s the spirit of the team. This page would have been impossible without the tireless efforts of DNA’s photographers, and it is a testament to their resilience and their talents.

As I sign off, I humble request the picture-loving readers of DNA’s Pic Me Up to keep watching this space as we enter another year. This page is yours, and the future is going to be brighter than ever.