Women Power – Breaking Barriers, Building Nations 🚂✈️👩⚕️👩🔧
As a Picture Editor and Visualizer, I once had the privilege of working on a special assignment for International Women’s Day. My task was to curate and capture images of women who have made remarkable contributions in their fields—women whose journeys inspire countless others to dream big and achieve more.
It wasn’t an easy task, for the simple reason that women today are everywhere—shattering stereotypes and leading from the front. From flying fighter jets, helicopters, and long-haul aircrafts to driving buses, trucks, and even operating trains, women have made their presence felt in every sphere. They are engineers, doctors, lawyers, scientists, entrepreneurs, builders, and changemakers, contributing immensely to India’s growth story.
To highlight a few inspiring examples:
✨ Gunjan Saxena, a courageous helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force, whose story reached the silver screen.
✨ Dr. G. Madhavi Lata, who played a key role in designing the Chenab Bridge foundations, stabilizing one of the most complex terrains of the Himalayas.
✨ Surekha Yadav, Asia’s first woman train driver and the first woman to operate the prestigious Vande Bharat Express.
✨ Joya Agrawal, Air India pilot who made history with an all-women crew by flying the world’s longest non-stop flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru in 2021, crossing the North Pole—a feat that earned her a place in the SFO Aviation Museum.
And the list goes on. Across India and beyond, women continue to push boundaries and leave their mark on history.
As part of my assignment, I had the honor of photographing a woman train driver Deepali Amrit in Jharkhand. Watching her confidently operate a massive train engine was a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come. For this particular shot, I wanted to capture both the energy of the moving train and the focus of the driver at work. Using a Canon EOS 1D Mark III with a 16–35mm lens at f/22, ISO 200, and a slow shutter speed of 1/15s with a fill-in flash, I was able to balance the daylight outside with the cabin’s interior lighting. The result was an image that not only portrayed motion but also celebrated the strength of the woman behind the controls. And at the same time depth of field increased to its maximum due to wide angle lens and closed aperture, which is shown in picture from cabin to outside enfinity.
International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, is not just about applauding achievements—it is a call to action for gender equality, women’s rights, and the elimination of barriers that still exist. While we celebrate milestones, we must also recognize the road ahead.
Through my lens, I witnessed not just a train in motion, but a symbol of progress powered by women. 🚆✨
Text & Picture by – Ashok Karan
📍 ashokkaran.blogspot.com
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