nostalgia: flash

Monday, February 18, 2013

Still learning.......

Looking back, one more year passed......

This is my third year with DSLR. I had set few targets for this year; few are achieved and few are not. Last year I also wondered that, how long this hobby does lasts. ( aarmbha shooratva). I was not really sure about this would last for three years!! Since I am not an inherently artistically oriented person or I never drew any good drawings. Somehow, I am crossing this third year and going to fourth year. I must admit that unlike first and second year third year was less eventful. I wanted to learn lighting and hence the flash. I got two used flashes, but it was bit more complicated than I thought and more demand for time and space. With my daughter running around, forget about the setting up a light stand. So hopefully this year I will do that.

I noticed that, I started taking less number of photos and fewer crops. Still pre-visualization is beyond my capacity. Meanwhile I also observed that bit of ego and I am great feeling creeping in, fortunately I was observing that carefully, I was able to get over with some difficulty (here). Unlike last 2 years, I became extremely choosy about what I take. Even many times I find something beautiful nice or interesting I avoided that since it was already a cliché in internet, nothing new I could add into it. Doing new more creative rather than repletion is extremely difficult. Unlike regular shoot , thinking new making unique above that making a story and most important adding emotion to it – I felt bit too much for my current level of creative maturity.

This year I did good amount of street photography, especially portraits. The time has changed, and people don’t like their photo taken by a stranger. Many times I was asked to delete the photo. Luckily camera/lens was not broken by them!! Good street photography is an ideal mix of daring and timing. Well, I need to add light and composition to those photos.

Missed opportunities – or did not carry camera- un-photographable ( a site my cousin suggested) – but photography taught that lesson , yes missed opportunities ( low light, wrong setting , abstractions, photography not allowed, fast moving subject , many more) but more opportunities wait in the future.

Not to crib about the last things, make new things, think above the crowd, make it possible, look for opportunity and be prepared to grab that and use it.

Life is all about journey not about destination.

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Ganesh visarjan -2012

Many things have been written about Ganesha festival in Mumbai. It is an integral part of Mumbai culture. Immersion after 11 days is a big event. Even one percent of Mumbai population participates in this event, then participation is around 1.3 lakh people!!! It is just an unbelievable thing for someone who has not seen such a crowd. Every road, area, housing society go on procession.Children, teen, teen+, twenty five+ , thirty+ sixty+ all are there in this event. Bollywood music and dance are the major part. Many people use drums and bhajan. BUT DANCE REMAINS THE SAME. You can see in these photos.

As a photographer, it was challenge to shoot with low light or in focus lights. Shutter speed , ISO and aperture- I played around but not with great success. I started to shoot with 70-210-3.5-4.5 Canon USM lens, without flash. Most of the shots were blur or dark. I changed to 60 mm 2.8 macro, even that was not very adequate to capture the movements, being a macro lens it hunts lot in dark area and focuses slowly. Finally I used my 580 ex flash with 60 mm macro. For wide angle views, Canon S100 P&S camera. For most of the photos- Camera setting was f 2.8/3.5/4.5-iso1600 (max on my camera),1/200sec and flash was set to TTL (with exposure bias occasionally ).

My daughter was afraid of the crowd, and hence I made her to sit on my shoulder and tried few shots, but she was moving rhythmically and adding to the camera shake!!. After an hour or so, she was tired and went back to home with my wife. Now I am free (but exhausted) to do bit of photography. My aim as a photographer was to bring the feel of the event and the energy of the people mass to viewer. I don't know how much is achieved. I found it truly difficult to compose and make sharp or intended shots. I appreciated the photojournalists lot more that day and I saw the photos in the news paper with more respect.

This Ganesha visarjan was held in my residential complex, Mumbai. Total four big mandals are set in different locations. All will start procession around 7 pm and they will cover 1 km in 3 hrs!! and move to sea for the immersion. I did not go to see the final immersion since it was too late and photography in that particular part of the sea was not allowed!!.

Ganesha .............. close up.......

Sitting on the lorry and waiting for the journey... crew are checking final arrangements!!

He is in his manadal uniform and started the dance and encouraged the children to start the dance...... adults are bit hesitant so..........

Here are girls and old girls dance in mass.

Hands up in the air and move move and move..........

These few shots to show the crowd, I used slow shutter speed to show the movement.

These are the children- opening dance-men

Aarati is offered............

Common to see the shoulder dance, here is one.............

Oh, mother is showing her kid the dance and other onlookers

Good hair style and dance style too

Elsewhere, out the world ............

Too bright light.........

Oh look at that, bit shy to dance............

Friends cheer................

Oh look at me how I lead this dance.....

Ha ha ha ... dance shout and dance

His favorite song played and he is singing and dancing along ...........

He was true character.. tall boy and seen in many photos

He got this whistle and adding more decibels to already loud music

Three idiots watching around- may be bit sophisticated fellas- we dance only in pubs!!!!!!!!

Middle age is the golden age- we dance too

I liked this one a lot...... happy friends

Now DJ has given a break and girls are in serious talk , what steps for next beat

Oh these chaps that I am a journalist and posing for a photo

Tired taking rest on sidelines , meanwhile their friends are doing some twists

Nasha ( intoxicated by music and dance)

ha ha ha , go go go

One more character- he had unique steps by face and feet!!

This group I followed quite sometime and they were joy to watch.

Look at the batman -

Kar ke dhikaya!! we did it ........

Hidden deep in the crowd- saying wow wow ..

This one I liked a lot - after many shots of the hands in the air - this one was the best of the lot

It was a very humid day- after a long dance taking rest - covered with sweat

This guy seems to be a regular gym goer- he will dance for a while and go to side and do some stretches, checks his tight shirt and get back to the crowd............

Aajaa, come one .............

ooooooooooo .......

Again batman in full swing .......

What happened? some pain, someone stepped on his feet- I checked - nope, his slipper's bar ( Hawaii slipper ) was out, he was trying to insert that back in position..... don't give away to wild guesses as I did!!