ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY.....post no.(180)

Choosing lens: Finding out or using a perfecting camera can be daunting for many photographers...In case of ABSTRACT, it can be more so.

ABSTRACT photography does not limit itself to the different cameras or tools.........however it certainly favours 50mm prime lens....The lens can be available as an extra accessory, which is more beneficial in abstract photography. It is compact, lightweight and easy to carry. in ur camera bag.....They are low cost and extremely sharp e.g. at f1.8, it is considered one of the sharpest and fastest prime lens.........It is finest in rendering bokeh, yea 'bokey master'.....Bokeh is an aesthetic blur that can be used and create abstract effects.

The 50mm gives great control over DOF.....IT ALLOWS U  to photograph objects closer to u with great sharpness. Besides u can use the manual focus while shooting at aperture priority and keep a shallow DOF fixing attention on the object........................................................to continue

Sunset at 300mm of Sigma lens. (post no.179).

THE STOCK AGENCIES make a mention that pl. do not upload sunset or flower photographs...My meaning to say this is that these two subjects are more photographed and agencies have plenty of them....Anyhow my concern here is to show u sunset in a different perspective, because most sunset photographs are shot keeping the sun direct in the camera, and if a lake is there, the reflection within it, beautifying otherwise the monotonous sunset. Here with the above picture in mind, my intention was to shoot the sun in confinement, with reflection in the lake. Moreover a good addition in sunset photographs are clouds, which were absent when I shot this. There were so many trees around and it was a joy to take as many sunsets as possible, which I did...Yes here I am...I was some 1 kilometer from the sun on a road with 300mm lens on my DCAM...I found good silhouettes of plants, trees when viewed through viewfinder. So here is one picture I caught when we started in the car and I was at rear seat, as the scene came around, I clicked a second beforehand in Aperture priority mode and luckily I got sun correctly placed with horizon too in good position. I liked the multiple of branches and leaves on the tree,making a good silhouette...so it was a good moment for me and may be for you too, when you go to shoot more of sunsets.

FOTO FAIR 2015 Held recently in our town.That was a good Sunday.(post no.178)

------------Stage photos of PHOTO FAIR recently held in our town. First pic is a long view of the stage.....different companies from Mumbai, Delhi and Bhopal showcased their products....In second, organizer Mr Pahuja is entertaining the audience......we had discussed a lot as on one occasion close friends gathered at one place....STALLS FROM VARIOUS PLACES WERE ALSO MADE A PART OF THE FAIR.....ACTUALLY I WAS MORE BUSY IN MEETING people after a long time so less exposed the more photographs.....it is good to have some platform like this, in a year....but shop owners hardly take risk. ..shot by D3000.

MANNEQUINS---THE HEROINS OF THE DAY...(post no.176).

They are real stars ........Do u feel? Mannequins.......Yes they r the stars of the shop. You cannot pass in the shop without having a look at them.....When I first saw these, I was enamoured, as though they are really standing before me. However.......I said 'Hello' and had few minutes chatting with them.....The shopkeeper and the ladies around felt amused, when I clicked them...Now they understood, why I was talking to them. ......For their light, hairs, their curves, it was all attracting.

---FIRST is a  frontal portrait, lighted very nicely with diffused light from the inside window....This is side lighting enhancing her right features.....This light we obtain in studio from the soft box, which I did hundreds of times by self or demand of the ladies, after viewing other portraits. .....
.------Her face is half oval...that is her beauty....however in lighting terms, it is broad light, making her face a bit more wide. The short light suited her best, but that needed change of angle slightly.She is conscious and has silent emotions........An obedient girl.

2. Here comes the heroine......she has normal face, with side lighting enhancing her feature....This is short lighting making her face more charming.....I love her more than her cousin sister above.She has that grandeur, which makes her apart from normal women......This is her dress too. The color is 100% suiting to her personality, with her calm face........The bust level suited to her photograph....I wish she had life in her. The garlands makes her more live as though she is in a party.....envy of other women.....The beauty level on her face is no less than a star, who commands photographers to her flashing hundreds of lights.............................................to continue.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY....a preview....(post no.175)

WHAT can we presume here......yes STREET PHOTOGRAPHY.....one of the difficult tasks, though there is no dearth of pictures, but without emotions and treating it as a piece of art, there needs to be some qualities worthy of Street photography.

2. There is a classical style which is always associated with an era gone by. In 1960, earlier and a bit later the period was treated to be a golden time when a lot of photographers documented street cultures around the world. For example photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and William Eggleston who captured American life in the mid 20th century, hv come to be regarded as the founders of street photography today.

3. Their style was largely documentary and characterized by striking a balance between form and subject, using camera as a way to document the social conditions of that time. 

4. There are styles defining street photography e.g. going close, depends upon ur subject's importance rather than more powerful bg.  Besides striking realism, there are chances to experiment producing truth in the form of blurs, shadows, silhouettes and reflections. It moves away from other documentary styles of photography that strive to be objective.

5. It may include various aspects, which u hv to take in consideration like abstracts, graphic style, patterns, structures, shadows, tones, textures, color, b&w. Angles do play a good role to achieve a good street photograph.....It depends mostly on the subject and ur satisfaction to  have a demanding effect. Exploring distinct cultures will give opportunity to have varieties to choose and shoot....................

6 The above shot is a good example of man's earning so moving on road, the items, the guy in curiosity and the movement of vehicles and other objects.

 Exposure under sun 1/80, f5.9, and ISO100......from my Canon.........................keep up and listen more......to come.

''Fast'' food....food u take when u observe fast..post.no.174

We Indians, however modern we look, think, still, there are lots of festivals and other important days, like Ekadashi, teej and many more days when our men and women folk observe fast, eating once in a day and generally i.e. evening. Besides there r bigger festivals like Deepawali, DUSSEHRA NAVRATR., Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi etc. So I think, our India is the country of fasting day, small and big festivals when the ''fasts'' are observed.............

Naturally, the days, festivals are very important and dear to India, and Indians keep the flag high in abroad observing these fasts and festivals, making Indians a different community, still at core of heart, they are Indians, may be American, Russian, Canadian, Australian etc................ So come the special food, as regular meal are prohibited, as being breaking of the sanctity of the fast......So in homes, hotels special food is prepared, from Singhada, Rajgira, Potato, other fruits which checks THE REGULAR DIET ENTRY on the day of fast........This is small history, I put forth before u in support of my dish above, where the ''Vadas'' are made of Saboodana, Potato 'Halva' and chatney.....

I generally shoot food pictures in natural light supported or coming from doors and windows.or in Verandahs where good shadowed light well illuminates ur subjects and changing the subjects' position, some light and shadow is created easily......since we are after the ultimate result, which observe the norms of good lighting of studio and other areas. ........The exposure has to be changed and a tripod is must as there are less movements and u can adjust camera for proper lighting..............................

The exposure above is using ISO 800, Aperture of f8 and shutter speed of 1/15. ......I do not stay here but keep changing exposures according to light and depth of field...............................................

Shooting against light...most enchanting part of photography.(post no.176)

Shooting against light brings out the subject from the background and make it stand on its own strength.....i.e. separation from bg is easy and powerful......You will hve to be on the knees, since the flower plants are small except few like sunflower, stand like king in flowers....THE IMP.ASPECT OF AGAINST LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY IS THAT THE SUBJECT MAY BE UNDEREXPOSED.......SO INCREASE APERTURE OF ONE TO TWO STOPS TO GET DETAILS IN all areas of the subject, until and unless u need to tone down part of it for some special effect.

Giving or using bigger aperture will help to diffuse the background......The most important benefit u get while shooting against light is the easy transparency of details in flowers and in many objects.................................................Here I used shutter speed of 1/200, aperturef8 and ISO200.

U can go on my back posts on many subjects as I viewed the subject  and  wrote on it.

Flower Photography-Easy Steps...post no.175.

I have not seen my previous titles in this blog...As I continue posting, there are chances of repetition of photo headings......like flower here.
----I consider it the best angle for flowers if taken sideways......the flower has good contrast with its counterparts i.e. green leave, while the flower shows its pink tone......There is a good framing support to the main flower from top to below right, the it is well framed within the frame. Yes the other growing flowers may be bodyguards. 

The camera focused on flower and there were no distractions behind except some wall portion, which has become diffused because of some distance from the flower. 

The diffusion of background depends upon the aperture u are using in the camera. As is understood, the wider the aperture the more diffused is the background so vice-versa, the narrow is the aperture the more prominent will be the background. 

Distance also plays its part.....if the camera with bigger aperture is used, the background --say a distance of one feet will be more diffused in comparision of the small aperture with same distance, there may be some details in the back ground. This u have to decide, if u want a sharper bg or a diffused bg......Sometimes there may be some useful elements connecting with the subject, using small aperture will be a good idea. The smaller the aperture, the more depth of field and more the background objects gets clearer.

------------Here in this picture I used SS of 1/80, aperture f2.8 and ISO200......................jUST CHECK THESE BEFORE U START TAKING PICTURES.

ONCE, I BECAME PREY OF ABOVE HABIT OF NOT CHECKING THE CAMERA SETTINGS BEFORE ENTERING INTO THE ARENA SHOOTING FOR SELF........I started clicking, irrecspective of knowing the settings.......In half way, I found out in the viewfinder that I am a bit more engaged in objects, thus forgetting the settings....Then I awarely shot rest of the pictures and the previous picture, being at wider aperture gave more of the DOF than needed so I lost some of my best shots.....u cannot help TIME GONE CANNOT BE STRETCHED BACK......U CAN ASK any queries.

Prayer Wheel in Laddakh. (post no.174).

This is the PRAYER WHEEL situated in Laddakh......the pic is shot from a museum.
Preserving the legacy thru camera is most important a subject........this help people in their studies......below is the close up of the wheel, that will help to understand the dimention of the subject. That is nearly 4 feet in height.

Macro of stamens of a flower........

When chance applies, I like to shoot macros.......as I hv earlier mentioned....this time a great pink comes in camera.
.............................Camera Canon compact....(compacts work well with macros as their closeup distance is 1cm to 3cm).....................1/200, f2.8, ISO80...diffused sky.

Star-trails by Bartosz W.....a real hard work.(post no.173)

We value other photographers' great work....This is one of them.....Just read yourself.....

“Star trails over Observatorio del Teide” by Bartosz Wojczyński. (Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Photographer Bartosz Wojczyński took the photographs at Teide Observeratory, which is located on Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands. The observatory’s prime location (close to the equator) and clear, dark night skies offer stargazers and astrophotographers full views of the northern hemisphere. Here, Wojczyński was able to position Polaris, the North Star, at the center of his star trail rings.

He used a Nikon D5100 camera with a Samyang AE 10mm lens at f/4.8 and ISO 1600 on a Baader Astro & Nature tripod.

MOST memorable BENEFITS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.(post no.172)

MOST MEMORABLE BENEFITS OF PHOTOGRAPHY......

1. Photography affords immortality.

2. Photography documents your journey thru life.

3. Photography is a wonderful stress reliever.

4. Photography inspires your imagination.

5. Photography as a career is possible for anyone.

6. Photography is a wonderful, safe and natural self-esteem booster.

7. Photography brings closure to ur spirituality.

8. Photography helps the things that you may never notice otherwise.

9. Photography preserve old and new memories.

10. Photography helps you to have Camera as your best friend in happiness & sorrow.

Macro/closeup photography......(post no.171)

The only magic of MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY lies in usual objects appearing unusual....Such stamens will be found in different shapes in different flowers....but bringing them closure has its own charm, as we never see all flowers from stamen point of view, but in general looks.

I have already mentioned somewhere in other post about the gear used....However here I will take this as shot from a reversal ring......the kit lens attached to the ring from front. This allows going near to the objects.

Though macro photography looks extremely tough, requiring better technical knowledge., it makes us wonder anew. It brings out an exceptional level of detail and makes it easily visible, thus letting the viewer feel texture. Natural elements that have rhythmical and beautiful lines often help create lyrical emotion in this genre of photography......Macro photography has more human touch as the photographer remains in close contact with the object, using various angles constantly.

Being feeling close, observe the subject and ask urself what fascinates u. Isolate the most interesting aspect and find ways to highlight it. To the thing u are attracted, will certainly attract a viewer as well.

Remember, being closure the focusing may becomes difficult  Use tripod, some sturdy supports, beanbags to steady your camera, while shooting macros......If u hv an SLR, USE YOUR CAMERA'S MIRROR LOCK UP FUNCTION AND a shutter release cable  or self timer to prevent shake/blurs resulted by camera movement.

It is always better to use manual focus as it offers precision over which area of ur subject is in focus. Besides, manual focus system works quicker than auto focus system.............

Kathal's surface makes good patterned image. (one inch area of a Kathal fruit). Can be used as a pattern on a fabric.

Tribal portraits....b&w and color.(post no.170)

The tribals in a dance programme.......both are cropped images.....means from one photograph, u can make 2-3 photographs, selecting ares which contains the best part of scene or images.

Many photographers are interested in b&w images of the color photographs......b&w will look good when there are almost less elements emphasizing on one whole area of a photograph.....may be a portrait of an old persons with wrinkled face...........................BUT IN CONTRAST here the lady above has her face blouse, dupatta and bindi, nosering......in color and that all suit in color....Right side background provides good depth.....Now u can view B&W in single tone turning so many beautiful color things in monotone........To me that also looks good.....to some extent.

The first image impressed me, as Indian women fill their forehead line with 'sindoor', being a married woman.Beauty of dress u can imagine.

        SHOT ON D3000, 55-200 Nikkor----1/200, f5,6, ISO800.......................just shoot something like this.

USING FILL FLASH WHILE SHOOTING ANY PICTURE.(post no.168).

Using FILL-IN OR FILL-FLASH........IN A PHOTOGRAPH, which is otherwise commonly underexposed  if  it is  exposed against light.....may be morning time or evening or the noon time under shadow, as in case of above photograph of the labour......He is moving under the shadow of tree and next his color is dark.....Thus ur camera reading in Aperture Priority will read correctly but the skin tone as u see in the photograph is not upto correct exposure.

There are other techniques.....Use Manual take the reading from his face keeping shutter speed of suppose 1/250.....turn the aperture setting and where it is in between + or - sign, u can click the shutter.....The result will be almost same as my camera on A.P. read the face and exposed correctly at f6.3, which may perhaps be your aperture at Manual setting. ....In both ways there is an alternative......exposure compensation, towards + or - (minus)......On Manual setting come to exposure compensation mark and increase the aperture by one stop i.e. 5.6 and the picture will be more brightly lit. That is ur correct exposure. Still if u do not wish to alter the aperture, bring down the shutter speed at 1/125. You are getting the same result.....the best time is evening when u hv soft light and subject is against the sun.

As in case of Aperture priority I choose exposure compensation towards plus side, the picture will be rightly exposed if I set the aperture at f6.3.....In this case the aperture is stable and the compensation affected the shutter speed to give me a correct exposure, which may have come down to 1/100.   .............................. In these cases still we feel that because of shadow of tree the details of man's face are not that much clear or visible, since his skin is dark

Now we come to our point of using a fill-in flash.........the example is given below. The camera flash did it work good.......There is no artificiality on his face as may be having some sunlight on his body, yea u can view his abs..........The moral is have a sharp eye, understand the exposure, and cleverly use the fill-in flash, bring out the finer details of the skin of person, animal, birds or anything u are exposing.....remember this small thing rather than being tensioned.

I think this will help u a lot.......THE EXIF DATA IN CASE OF ABOVE PHOTO WAS SS 1/200, AT F6.3 AND ISO at 400.........................I keep my camera setting at ISO 400 in expectation of the situation I may encounter.....but at leisure I experiment on ISO100,200,800,1600,3200. Latest cameras are even providing ISO6400.....yes due to some loss of quality.

Portraiture again......(post no.165)

The picture is taken at a carnival....the winter sun is always wonderful, throwing good shadows on ur subject.....However, while shooting portraits, the person in the picture may be ur close friend, but a viewer of the photograph may not know this. THE TRICK is to capture mood and emotions that make a universal appeal. What is in the photograph makes it universal, is the glow of the face with a soft smile and the viewer is compelled to give his attention to the picture...........

-----FURTHER to give face a longer look, I used the long shadow on his face, which is more evident below his nose. Besides, from his sitting straight, I moved myself slightly and asked him to look into the camera, thus he turned his face to his right, putting more balance on his face in comparison to his dress, which is evident from his tie, that is not in line of the face as normally we look towards a face. Besides, to show a carnival look, there are people moving behind, somebody is sitting in the chair visible at right......In normal course, we will say, these things distract from the face. But many a time u cannot go stereotyped and taking risk of making the picture successful thru his/her plain background.

--We generally encounter two types of portraits.....Portraits taken in studio or generally with plain background....The next will include the local surroundings, consisting of many thing as u face at that time. It helps to know ur subject really well, thus the actual personality is taken out in a portrait.

---Such types of portraits are best taken in winter, when the sun is low even during noon time...The picture above is taken at 3pm and the sun is well casting shadow at nearly 45degree. The best angle mostly used in studios. Here I cud add a small thing a reflector of white newspaper, hanky etc.....but as I have to say...these things can be balanced in studios.....but are rather difficult where public movement is there and nobody knows, somebody may jump on u, while  u are shooting.

----It is generally ISO400 I use....Thus the shutter speed used was 1/200 and aperture f16. Light's intensity was low as it was December in winter.

----Sorry, I write straight and do not have time to edit, pl do not mind language, as it may go sometimes not of editorial language.

Good study in PORTRAITURE......(POST NO.166)

Portriture is the craze of the day.....with entry of mob-cams, every second, photos are taken may be in India and the world over.....The trend starts from birth to the end when the person is departed and going to his new abode.......Well said.....Still they are unable to give a fight to the professionals......There is lot of difference in raw/amateur photography than the professional one. There are every minute an occasion and the PROFESSIONAL are hired to photograph any occasion, worth preserving for long, with all its beauty depicted in their photographs.

However, in portraiture photography, every moment is as precious as gold....this it is to be taken seriously and the moments are preserved for ever.............As I said it starts from the birth till departure, every care is to be taken for preservation of the photographs......NOWADAYS, despite introduction of cameras in many forms, the INDUSTRY thrives limitlessly and the professionals have their own  share in the marketting. So, if u are one of the upcoming candidates in the market, there is no need to nervousness, as newcomers will feel.Only it will take some time to establish, if u deliver top class work, maintaining time and quality with reasonable rates in the beginning..........AS WE INDIANS have lots of festivals round the year, there will be no dearth of work.

Further talk next time, now let's see the portrait of great singer Anup Jalota, taken long time back by using two flashgun in the Green Room, during interval. I asked his permission and he was too happy to permit me for his portraits. I did take one portrait and he had a call from stage....He begged sorry....but I got my photograph. On film camera, perhaps Pentax, I mounted one small flash and with a 10ft long cord, attached another powerful Vivitar flash hand hold at the left side with some aide, then maintaining f8 aperture, clicked the shot.....The exposure was spot on having good details in shadow areas of half his face and half lighted well with good tonal range......The cameras were synchronized at 1/60 or 1/125 when using flashguns.

I sent this photograph to him and he acknowledged and made sure to meet me at his next visit to our town. Notwithstanding the fact, I also took his permission for morning shoot and he obliged me,...........that is another story......haha..........Carry on with ur camera working on portraiture with different lights, inside, outside, flash using various angles, to get novelty everytime..................

EARNING money from PHOTOGRAPHY: (post no.164)

THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS IN GOING ECONOMICALLY SOLID WITH UR BATTERY OF CAMERAS, flash and other accessories........Practically there are several branches which will provide good sustainance with ur equipments.......Sorry, I am not taking photography as topic for lecture, but the experience which also provided good money. Here is the example and the description, how the situation was dealt by me automatically......Just see.......how photo-journalism works:

While in office at about 1 PM, I heard the news of a train derailment some 15 kms from my residence......or office.....Office I cud not take leave. I reached home at 5.30pm and decided to go to the site of accident...As it was drizzling, I took my FIAT and reached the spot which was one & half KM from the road. I side-parked my ''gadi'' and went on foot with umbrella. As is said, it is not permissible to take photographs of public property. Therefore I watched. There were Engineers and other rly staff with stray people.. The light was dull.Long shot I managed, thinking to take permission from staff. However, there was a derailed wheel and I wanted closeup. I mounted the flash and took the shot. AS THE FLASH sparked off, the staff became conscious and one fellow rushed to me. ''Sir, Sahab bula rahe hain''. I was a little bit taken aback. Anyhow as I reached to the GM/Incharge on the spot, he asked me, ''Can u take some photographs for us''....I was thrilled. They wanted the tracks, the wheels and some more of the affected portions,close to long shot.

He asked me to handover some 20 photographs  to the Station Master (20kms) next day and take money. It earned me 1k......next day as I handed over the photographs, with lot of thanks.....so there are innumerable opportunities in photography, depending upon ur approaches and the expertize, I mean top class prints in time.

''MY ANSWER to queries in the forum......................thnx tapobrata.........to some extent u are right, taking pix by mobiles then and there saves time and the incident cud be viewed instantly.......this helps them later in the office.....this is a great boon for general public provided by the modern tech..........but also as they hv photographer friends and have to submit the bill, they generally hire the pro., who on their directions best portray the scene with his skill.

well Jasii, thnx for ur opinion.......  THIS HAPPENED FIRST AND LAST TIME IN MY LIFE....I was so close to the incident, it took 15 minutes for me to come to my senses after moving half a km area. the ghastness cud be understood.....it is some 20 yrs hence. For some time I was upset viewing the compartments, 2-3 more affected.....casualties were less as well as injured.

My heart started to jump when they asked to cover the incident with them.....it is here how difficult the job they put into with scales checking the rugged tracks in closeups and long shots. train wheels dug the earth.....it took 30 minutes as the darkness gulfing in, but with emergency lights their work was faster with two cranes to clear the line and within two hours they gave clearance.(.)''

NOW LET US BE READY THAT THERE ARE MANY BRANCHES which will yield money or may be income, if followed sincerely-----keeping in touch with the editors of newspapers, Magazines and brochure printing companies.......etc.

IN PHOTO-JOURNALISM, u have sufficient time----not rushing like a press photographer, who has to submit images as early as possible for morning issues of newspapers, particularly......P-J provides u few days time till that time u can get a write-up of incident (may be dance or dramas or other community activity), and make prints ready, as they publish the articles generally on weekly/quarterly/monthly basis, so once u cud come into contact with top quality work, they will certainly publish them and pay as per terms.

Examples are the foreighners who shoot continuously and when back, they are in touch with the journals/editors (may be already friendly) and since the bizzare photographs belonging to an unknown nation's culture, they are giving priority and without hesitation, with good paymens, publish the photographs for their readers, something new for them.................so there is no end select branch one or more and persevere. The result has to come positive.

A religious place, shot at dusk time....a tribute to departed souls.(post no.163).

VISITING any river, lake or pond may benefit u with a picture......In rivers, there r number of boats, people swimming.......at the lakes there or boats, motor boats, cruise with lots of activities with gooses roaming around and in water......Pond will help u with trees or peoples shadows, making a good silhouette, besides, frogs, fishes etc giving u company in closeup photography.

The example is of faith in holy rivers where it is thought that the lamps carry their message to the departed souls of their near ones.....Thy boy let the lamp flow, while at sife ----a good example of pinkish red, stopping the eyes, going out of frame....they were taking bath with the rivers cold water.

The light was dull as sun had set and it was dusk time.........Nikon D40 demanded the exposure of 1/25, f4.5 and ISO 400...... I MADE IT SLIGHT LIGHT ON PP......THUS FULL DETAILS ARE VISIBLE which are required if u send it to some photo exhibition or a newspaper or magazine......
TITLE MAY BE ----- Paying tribute to the departed.

Action performance in a Tribal dance....(post no.162).

CLICK PHOTO to view bigger size,

THIS is an action photograph....Dance is also action performances----yea they are dancing here, the man in front, moving the ring with fireballs at each end of sticks.......Here pl first think of lighting, Can u catch more fire from the balls without using flash......It mean under this lighting situation u will have to come down to shutter speed of 1/30 with f5,6, ISO800......increasing ISO to 1600 will give u shutter speed of 1/60,,,,,,however, if picture gets some underexposed, then the noise has to come up. this is the risk....still, if ur camera is on tripod u can get good fireball with more of the firelines showing......and also the man with some blurred moving action.

I didn't have tripod, and handheld my pix with slow shutter speeds get shaky......Therefore, I thought of freezing the whole action thus using the oncamera flash......and got some fire shown on the balls, as the man  was moving the circles very fast, which was not possible without flash (may be whole seen blurred.without flash in low lighting and slow shutter speed)........The flash helps sometimes, let not the movement go.I am happy with their dresses and the contrast picture got........any query

a DISCUSSION ON MY POST-IN A FORUM--MY replies(post no.161)

Jasii....thnx for ur points......yes that I missed while composing.....thnk for getting me on line......THIS may be a good understanding too.

well Devi....the man is fast enough and on the settings of the camera and also to get shake-free picture(this is my weakness), fast movements are caught only once ..Even u put it on ''continuous'' shooting mode, all wii hv  different poses (also that is not possible handheld)..........yea to get fire balls more blurred, which was the intention too, I swear I cud not come down to ISO400 or below 1/160 shutter speed......The small blurs are my satisfaction.........(other shuttlers beside me trying to stop, rather than blur the movement on the fear of a shaky picture, thus sing 1/500, 1/1000 SS. I had to smile and showed my screen......they wondered; 1/160-shakefree.....THese are small instances which teach us a lot.

thnx Vyasji for kind appreciation.

thnx Mukund.....there was a programme of tribal dance in local community hall. IN THE LAST PHASE, these classical singers  sang bhajans and the dancers were well active.................SOMETIMES even in tribal dances, there are few calssically trained city girls.

thnks AD for ur kind liking.

thnx Das......Of course, when we are on stage with DJ crying out, even we cannot talk to our friends. I beg pardon for the half cut lady and that is an omission while having full attention on the dancer........

Reg full pose, pl remove misunderstanding, we are on the stage to cover as many facets of their beautiful performing body, from closeup of face to toe, then it is desirable to catch the facial movements. However if we go only for full pose, unnecessary bg is included and a small look of the body, as can be seen in the multi-artist dancers below, the physical appearance.

That I like with a 200 mm and a single danseuse performing classical dance in close the full body......This can be achieved in ''lavani'' too, much faster that other art forms, but with flash, may be direct or bounced.........my explanations are long, and I don't feel anybody bored. ''ART IS FOR ART'S SAKE'' for us.

ACTION BLUR in a dance performance

A beautiful pic from a Dance programme.....i.e. tribal dances....the man performs fireball circling......

Check the composition...there are two ladies behind supporting the picture and they do not allow ur eyes ri distract from the man in front.

Exposure:  1/160, f5, ISO800...................Why I used ISO800........? Whenever there is low light or drama/stage lights and u do not have a tripod.....hold camera tight to ur eyes above shutter speed of 1/100 and above and click the picture.......to get the best of one picture, click 3-4 frames holding patience.
And u come the winner...........SEE SLIGHT blur on the fire balls...that is the action blur, makes the picture worthy of publication.

SALT & SILVER--Early PHOTOGRAPHY--1840-1860 (post no.158)

The new exhibition dedicated to the earliest form of photography – salted paper prints that were taken between 1840 and 1860 — is set to open at London’s Tate Britain Museum. William Henry Fox Talbot unveiled this unique photography process in 1839. This beautiful collection of images, curated in association with the Wilson Centre for photography, charts the infancy of the art form. Join us as we look at a selection of the amazing historic images from the show.

2....HILL AND ADAMSON

Newhaven Fishermen (Alexander Rutherford, William Ramsay & John Liston), c. 1845

3...JEAN-BAPTISTE FRENET

Thought to be a Mother and Son, c. 1855

Photograph, salted paper print from a collodion negative transferred from glass to paper support 

4.....WILLIAM FOX TALBOT

The Photographer’s Daughter, Ela Theresa Talbot, 1843-44

Photograph, salted paper print from a paper negative.

5.....JEAN-BAPTISTE FRENET

Horse and Groom, c.1855

Photograph, salted paper print from a glass plate negative

6......JEAN-BAPTISTE FRENET

Madame Frénet et fillettes, c.1855

Photograph, salted paper print from a collodion negative transferred from glass to paper support 

7.....JAMES ROBERTSON AND FELICE BEATO

Pyramids at Gizeh, 1857

Photograph, salted paper print from a glass plate negative

8.....JOHN BEASLY GREENE

El Assasif, Porte de Granit Rose, No. 2, Thébes, 1854

Photograph, salted paper print from a waxed plate negative

9.....WILLIAM FOX TALBOT

Nelson's Column Under Construction, Trafalgar Square, 1844

Photograph, salted paper print from a paper negative

10.......EUGENE PIOT

Le Parthénon de l’Acropole d’Athens, 1852

Photograph, salted paper print from a paper negative

PERSPECTIVE effect in photographs or in general life(post no.156)

''The appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer'', is the definition the word PERSPECTIVE holds......Can u measure the distance....but the effect of perspective is very much clear.....looks there is no end.

This is more clear when we view the long  two railway lines, stretching in the same way TO THE FARTHEST END...

However perspective may be of shorter distance as well, take example of two trees distanced from one another.....other example.....THE PERSPECTIVE FROM ONE MOUNTAIN TO ANOTHER.......so it is visual and a matter of calculation in ur mind......Just try and feel the effect of eye distance from the ear....!

The picture above adds the boundary of a river bridge....feel the distance to the farthest distance and also included the vehicle for the same purpose which is at short distance, but the viewer feels the distance.

Reflection....(post no.155).

I got this beautiful image from my archive.....finding out something, I put my hand on it.......The leaf is nicely lit by the sun from opposite (backlighting)......The reflection made it a charming image. However, many have liked the starburst effect, which becomes the second focal point and make the picture stronger.....This is an addition from photoshop....thus creativity never ends and refreshes the memory.

Perspective effect while shooting or in photoshop..(post no.154).

This is the game of angles....U use various angles to photograph an object differently---may be high,low,side angle......HERE I used low angle to show the dominance of the vintage car....this is a type of wide angle effect too with ur kit lens at 18mm......In this way the middle portion onwards looks receding back, providing full attention to the front. This can be achieved while shooting live the image or in photoshop.The grandeur of the vehicle remains enhanced.

Three musketeers.

three musketeers....haha.......just shot in a park.....my compact Canon worked here,

Portrait with side lighting....the most imp aspect to enhance features .(post no.152).. )

Come to portraiture and u will enjoy more....Since photography is the management of light and shade, it depends for the picture to be outstanding, how u handle to bring or getup the mood of the picture.

2.A very very simple bur powerful portrait.....it does not make any difference that u photograph more of children or adults....They should represent the variety of light and shade, which will make a portrait different from one another----changing and handling the lights carefully, giving emphasis on every part of the face subdueing or enhancing the features.

3.....THERE ARE WAYS U get the light artificially or from nature.....In case of above, it is simple light from window at left, which provides less contrasty and soft light.

4....U can move ur subject all sides where the light suits according to ur requirement, sitting him/her on a stool. Since there is low light in homes, a sturdy support to avoid camera shake is necessary.....U can use tripod or improvise from some goods/hard/stiff material/beanbag to support the camera steadily.

5. Background is as important as the subject which I did here in photoshop to liftup the face and I feel I was successful in that. There are very important whites behind the guy which help lifting up of the face surrounding with dark areas of the frame......Do it urself and let me know.

HAPPY VALENTINE

JUST LOVE YOUR VALENTINE AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.(FROM NIKON KIT LENS).

AGGRESSIVE -(the two pigeons-analysed)..(.post no.150).

                                    

AGGRESSIVE

The picture of two pigeons........one is silent while another seems aggressive or angry------may be just like husband and wife!!!!!........................the background is clouded sky therefore almost pure white. Thus the bg is in highkey against the lowkey subjects.
----The position of the angry one is dominating in the picture, which justifies his placement....he is at rule of thirds shot by 300mm telephoto lens.    it is not tight in frame so both look comfortable ....left one is also looking into the frame .
 ----Next to match the perch of the left on on stone, which is generally heavy in weight, so this well contradicts the higher pipe supporting the aggressive bird........see into his eyes-the expressions---they r also contradicting with the left who is rather silent.....(nay be giving reply by her/his gestures or slow voice.......the postprocessing done is slightly reducing the noise, as the image is cropped 3/4th and shot at ISO400....aperture f5.6.

-----Light - no flash but depending on natural light, which well suits the picture. ....Framing is natural and done in the viewfinder.......There is hardly any question of depth of field, which is short covering well the birds......the picture suits in rectangle frame and easily viewed from left to right as we are habitual in writing from left to right.

----The is slight tilt of the pipe, which being slightly diagonal adds strength in the picture......(imagine it in upright position).

----In cloudy sky, filter are unnecessary to be used except the UV filter, which cuts ultra-violet rays in the atmosphere and also work as lens protection.

----The aggressive bird by shaking badly its wings breakes the monotony in the picture, in comparision if both were silently sitting on their respective perch then u had less interest to view it as a creative picture.          
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Portrait-------2. with a piece of folk art on brass metal.(post no.153).

Again a portrait....the man has good features and a good smile too.....used my compact as there was no chance to carry a SLR in a marriage reception.

2. Why can't u find out such beauty  while moving in the market.....From a hotel window, 8'' in height, it gives the natural effect the artist wanted to convey being a folk art piece.

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