/> Shreyas Talpade, who is in the process of setting up an online gallery to display his photos, talks on how his chance encounter with photography transformed into a serious hobby

"I had taken a digital camera, which I still own, to Rajasthan while shooting for Dor. During an unexpected break, my D.O.P. Sudeep noticed me taking random pictures and got down to explaining the basics like aperture, shutter speed, framing and composition.

That's when I realised what an interesting composition and the right lighting can do to a picture. Of course, the fact that Rajasthan has one of the most photogenic landscapes also influenced my interest to a great extent," recalls Talpade about the episode that changed his outlook towards photography.

With Rajasthan being his experiment ground, is it landscape photography that fascinates him the most?

"I am a people's person. I like faces, candid emotions, laughter... Of course, I mostly end up shooting when I am outdoors, be it in between on the sets or otherwise.

And yes, the landscape helps," offers the actor who last undid the shutter on the sets of Hook Ya Crook in Hyderabad. Pointing to a set of frames, he says, "While shooting at a jail set in Hyderabad, I caught Sharad napping during a break.

It made for an interesting picture since his face had an extremely serene expression even as he rested against the bustling prison backdrop. And yes, there was also an artificial potty right behind him!"

With moments as priceless as these in his portfolio, the actor, who has so far shied away from public display, is now working on a website to showcase his works.

Though knowing well the embarrassing situation that celebrities often find themselves in when it comes to being caught off-guard by shutterbugs, Talpade is determined about taking permission from the people concerned before uploading exclusive photographs.

Talking about exclusive, the actor maintains that his favourite works continue to be ones that he shot while working on Dor.

"I vividly remember this one frame where a man is standing on a dune and drinking water with the background sun adding to the moment. What made for another interesting picture was this group of people carrying away a small round bamboo hut that we created while shooting, with one of the men instructing the others."

So while human actions and reactions continue to be Talpade's favourite, who has had the rare opportunity of shooting stars unplugged, who is that one actor he would love to shoot?

Talpade guesses, "It would have to be Mr. Bachchan. First, I completely idolise him. Second, I feel, as a photographer, you just have to kind of brief the person in one line and that should bring many expressions to his persona. There are not many others who I think would be able to do that."