Nayantara N| The The Newsminute| November 7, 2014| 16.00 pm IST“I slept outdoors to shoot the night sky when the temperature was 6 degrees in Himachal Pradesh, guarding my camera throughout,†Arjun Menon recounts his journey. “There were no restrictions. I would land up in some place and rely on google maps and seek information from local people. I had to sustain with whatever was available,†he narrates.After travelling endlessly and taking over two million pictures, Arjun made the ‘India: #ChangeThePerception (Part I)’ video which went viral shortly after release. It had 1.3 lakh views in just six days. “When I entered the travel photography industry, to many, India was a country of just snake-charmers and bullock carts. I wanted show the other side to all, including Indians, and break down the stereotypes.â€Coming from an Army background, Arjun hopped from one place to another, changing 16 schools over a span of 12 years which gave him an opportunity to explore the beautiful places. It was dream to highlight the unknown or the unknown unseen. So he took up wedding photography for a year during which he collected over ten lakhs to fund his project. He finished major part of his shoot in four months.“I completed my degree in Life Sciences and decided that I did not want to spend the rest of my life in a lab!†There began his quest on travel photography. He would tag along top international photographers like Tom Parker to learn the craft. “They have been so encouraging, always pushing to achieve great heights. They are my mentors.†He further took up a job as the creative director for MTV India.Currently basking in his new found success, Arjun is looking for crowd funding to fuel his second project. In the five part series, he aims to break stereotypes that India and Indians are commonly portrayed as.