There stood the writer at the Gateway of India, amid an oblivious crowd indulging in countless selfies, very few getting photographed. By looks of it, it seems like Mumbai’s this iconic heritage is where every visitor comes to polish his photographic skills. A striking frame that captures the writer’s attention however, is a group of men wearing white shirts, black pants and backpacks standing idle with their cameras in one hand and photo albums in the other – each also wearing an identity card mentioning ‘Tourist First’.  
 
For decades, the photographers at Gateway of India have been an intrinsic part of Mumbai's tourism. Sadly, due to smartphones, these photographers are going out of focus. 

 
Warm, jolly, polite, hopeful and determined, these cameramen graciously engaged in a conversation with the writer while scanning the premises to look for a potential customer. 
 
Pramod Kumar Choudhary (44) has been capturing smiles at the Gateway of India for the last 28 years. “High-quality cameras in phones have taken away our business from us,” laments Pramod. He has seen both technology and time evolve. From using a Yashica Electro 35 to digital cameras like SLR and DSLR, Pramod has witnessed the highs and lows in his profession.  
 
He reminiscences, “People earlier used to love getting clicked by us. We used to get a lot of business. The era without mobile phones was good. But times have changed tremendously.”