Last year when photographer Jordon Mary took a train from Talegaon to Pune, while on his first trip to India, he never imagined that the journey would set his professional career on the fast track. A photograph clicked on an impulse at the railway station has got the 19-year-old the Young Environmental Photographer Award of the year given by UK-based Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).

The CIWEM, that is a leading examining body for scientists, engineers, other environmental professionals, announced the awards last month.

Mary, who has keen interest in social documentary photography, is currently in London pursuing Photographic Arts. Most of his pictures are clicked while travelling. “I love to meet people, spend time with them, find out about their lives and take photos to show who they are,” says Mary.

Looking back and remembering the moment when he clicked the picture titled ‘Train Station Arrival’ at Pune railway station, he says, “On arrival, the train stopped just outside Pune station. Everyone got off and started walking towards the station. I was talking to a schoolboy during the trip, who told me to get off with him and follow him.” While walking on the tracks, Mary asked the boy to turn around for a photo and then quickly captured his expression. Of course while submitting his entry to CIWEM, Mary had no idea that the photo would bring him such an acknowledgment. “But it was always one of my favourites, so it was an easy choice among the ones I wanted to submit,” he says.

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