Hi, I'm Sheetal!
I'm a Still-life photographer & the Founder of Stillness by Sheetal.
I grew up in the "old" Pune, India in the 80s and 90s when it was a small charming slow town.
In the era when buildings weren't tall, my 1st floor home was surrounded by Gulmohar, Jackfruit and Coconut trees. My small 550 sq.ft. humble home never felt small.
I'd wake up to the sound of birds chirping, get ready, and cycle through empty roads to school.
On weekends, my friends and I would slowly walk back from our dance class, picking tamarinds from under the trees, plucking mulberries as we walked back home.
We’d return with our hands stained purple and red, laughing, unbothered, carrying the afternoon with us.
As Pune grew, buildings rose and filled the horizon. Traffic replaced birdsongs. I began to miss the nature that once held me. Those early days of my life shaped me.
Life felt simple back then. Nature asked for nothing. Slow living needed no name. Joy lived in dirt-stained hands and open afternoons.
I’m grateful for every flower and leaf. Every tree and twig. Every bird that sang. I remember fresh air in my lungs and wind in my hair as I cycled. I remember mud on my skin and walking home at sunset, happy for no reason.
Over time, these simple pleasures slipped away. Now the world asks us to earn happiness. To prove we deserve peace.
I don’t believe that.
Peace isn’t a reward. Happiness isn’t a goal. They belong to us. All we have to do is choose, and Nature gives, freely and unconditionally.
My still-life photographs are my way of expressing gratitude to nature. They come from the childhood that gave me so much — moments of magic, raw beauty, and light.
Through Stillness, I bring to you the effortless beauty I see in nature as a reminder of the beauty that already exists — within you, within your life, and within the world around you.
I wish my photographs bring calmness to your home, and inner peace and happiness to your mind.
