Sid Jindal, the scholar and the lens

Sometimes in photography, there is only one opportunity to get that perfect shot. Its another challenge that sophomore Sid Jindal overcomes and excels.

Jindal picked up a hobby in photography years ago after a vacation with his family. 

“My dad was really into photography. I always saw him taking photos on trips and I wanted to do that too. I began to watch videos on Youtube about photography. From there, I took what I learned and put it into practice,” he said. 

Jindal has since figured out his niche in photography: night images. On Jindal’s photography account on Instagram, he posts his most memorable night sky images from places around the continent, from Chicago to Colorado to Canada. 

Jindal loves the challenge. Trying to take that perfect picture on your camera becomes 10 times more difficult with the little to no light in the sky. For most of Jindal’s work, he can only do it on vacation due to the light pollution of the Lake Forest area being in close proximity to a big city.

“With a lot of these things, you only get one chance. If you’re gonna take a picture of the stars, you have to be on vacation and you have to know what you’re doing before you get there because you just have that one chance,” said Jindal. 

Jindal says he is entirely self taught and slowly has learned the technical side of things with the help of YouTube videos.

“There’s a very clear improvement. In the beginning, the technical aspects of how I would take the shots in the beginning to now. Definitely looking at the situations differently and have obviously gotten better at editing.”

Jindal’s desire for a challenge translates into his academics. Jindal takes on a more rigorous course load than any junior or senior. Alongside the standard sophomore year classes, Mandarin 3 and English 2H, Jindal takes four AP courses: AP European History, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, and AP Computer Science A. 

Despite the rigor, Jindal thrives in the classes and manages an unthinkable course load.

“You just have to stay focused on your work when you have the time to do it. I tell myself that I need to avoid doing it later, and just do it right now,” said Jindal. 

Jindal’s excellence in school and in photography does not stop there; Jindal is also a critical member for the past two years for the LFHS Symphony Orchestra as a violinist. He has played the violin since he was seven, and once he was a freshman at LFHS, he found that the Symphony Orchestra was “like a family and community.” 

If the fine arts and academic rigor, however, is clearly not enough for an active and passionate student such as Jindal. Jindal also has played tennis at the Racquet Club in Lake Bluff for the past four years, and was supposed to be on the JV Tennis team his freshman year until the pandemic .  Like most things, Jindal enjoys the fast-paced decision making when he’s on the court playing tennis. 

“I choose to take certain classes because they are very interesting to me,” said Jindal, “I want to learn more about them. I never really feel overwhelmed because I’m invested and enjoy what I’m learning.”