Dear Friends,
Till now, we have been discussing technical aspects of photography. While first post discussed camera controls, 2nd and 3rd posts were about lighting. But, photography is said to be a mix of 50% science and 50% art. The science part is over and we can now move on to the art.
A local photographer, having sensed my great love for photography had once gifted me a book some 20 years ago. The book showcased photographic portfolios of 4 top photographers of Germany. The publisher of the book had assigned those photographers to go, shoot Berlin and come up with their best work. Each of them submitted around 72 photographs and not a single photograph taken by any one of them was found to be even remotely similar to anyone taken by any other. In fact, each of them had his own inimitable style of looking at their subject and recording the same on photographic film. All the four were great photo-artists but they differed from each other entirely. They chose different places, different locations, different subjects, different angles, different lighting effects to produce their pictures. While one decided to cover old monuments, another one went to shoot modern high-rise buildings and stadia, third one decided to record life style of people living in Berlin whereas the last one produced an assortment of everything.
This is true of every ghumakkar. If Vishal Rathore, DL, Amitava, Ritesh, Manu, Abhee, Jat Devta, SS, Praveen Wadhwa, Nirdesh, Vipin, Mala, Devasmitha and Sushant (or any of the rest of authors here) were wandering together in a city or village with our cameras on our shoulders, each of us would aim at different objects and would shoot from different angles and for different reasons. It hardly matters whether we own a DSLR or a mobile phone as far as selection of our subjects is concerned. Well, here are a few things which I have learnt in photography in all these years. May be you would find them interesting and useful.
- Getting up early i.e. before others, has often been very advantageous to me. Here I remember my Udaipur wanderings in early morning when my wife was either sleeping or simply disinterested in going out of hotel room at those hours. This way, I get entirely different kind of lighting, different aspect of city life which results in different pictures. Buildings, specially ancient monuments (forts and temples etc.) look great in early morning Sun. Moreover, instead of running here and there, I was wandering leisurely – having ample time to concentrate on photography.
- When we are at a new place, everything appears worth photographing. If there is ample space in your memory card and the battery of your camera also is fully charged, there is no harm in taking lots and lots of pictures of everything that appeals to us. However, I have found it a great exercise if I check all of my photographs back in hotel on my laptop before going to sleep. I retain only those pics on my laptop’s hard disc which could be of some use and delete rest of the pics. I also empty my memory card every night and charge my camera’s battery also. Thus, I get an opportunity to critically examine my photographs. Recently, when I went to Dhanolti (Near Mussoorie but in Tehri Garhwal instead of Distt. Dehradun), I reached there at 1.00 p.m. Most of my pics of that evening were disappointing when I saw them at hotel before going to sleep. Next day, I woke up at 5 a.m. the next day in that cold weather and came out on the road with my camera. I took nearly 300 more pics in the morning but this time, the success rate was much higher.
- While photographing human beings, I use either telephoto or extreme wide angle. This I do for different reasons:
-
- If I am trying to isolate a person from the crowd, I zoom in as far as possible. When we zoom in, we are using telephoto settings of our zoom lens. This throws background out of focus and only the main person whom we want in our photo comes out sharp and well defined.
- Even if I want close up of a person, I stand at least 7 feet away from my subject. Taking a closeup shot from this distance improves the facial features of almost every person. If I would take photograph of the same face from 1 or 2 feet distance, the face would appear distorted. If I wish to annoy a person with my picture of him/her, I would go still closer and would use wide angle lens to take the picture. He/she would surely love to kill me after seeing the photograph.
- While taking photos of stage performers (singers, dancers, actors) a telephoto lens is indispensible. I often take photographs of stage artists performing on stage while sitting in my seat in the auditorium because my camera allows 10X zoom.
-
- When I use extreme wide angle lens, it is for the purpose to make an environmental picture of a person to show where he/she was, what he/she was doing and who were there with him. Wide angle lens allows a lot of area to be covered in the picture and it is excellent to make large groups in a confined space. For example, I use it to include the entire temple in the background while taking photograph of my wife and children standing in front of it.
-
- While taking ‘stolen pictures’ using a telephoto or an extreme wide angle lens is extremely useful. A telephoto lens would give us a close up photo of someone from great distance without making my subject aware of being photographed. For example, if I wish to take a picture of a small child without distracting him/her, I would stay at some distance and would pretend that I am least interested in him/her. On the other hand, if I am sitting very close, wide angle gives me excellent coverage and depth of field.
- Photographs of market scenes, streets, buildings, sports, crowds need either good distance or close involvement. If you are part of a crowd or standing in a shop, you obviously need a wide angle lens to show enough activity. But I would not suggest such close-range shooting to record a bull-fight or car rally. Many photographers have lost their life and also their cameraL by daring to come too close to a dangerous activity. Also, perspective becomes extremely important from close range photography while using wide angle lens. Using extreme low angle or high angle can be fun or can be used to make fun of someone. Often it is very useful to place the camera high above your head so that you overcome the obstacle in front of you. If you have swivelling LCD monitor on your camera, it is a great help in such situations. On the very contrary, a worm eyeview also gives us very interesting photographs. (a worm eyeview is obtained by putting the camera on the floor. A swivelling LCD monitor comes to your rescue here also.)
- Taking photographs of buildings and monuments : While starting this series, I had shared a story of a photographer of Mumbai and his students. The story emphasises the point that a building looks entirely different in morning, day, in the evening or when moonlit. Also, there can be limitless angles from which the building can be seen in different lighting conditions. You can take picture of Gateway of India from 10 feet, from 100 feet or from 2000 feet and the monument would give entirely different look and feel each time. Usually, a building would look interesting if its picture is taken from unusual angle, at an unusual time of the day, in an unusual lighting. If everyone sees Gateway of India standing on the road at 100 feet distance, people would find it interesting if you go on the top floor of Hotel Taj (Don’t worry, Kasab is dead now! ) and take pics of Gateway of India from there. While taking pictures of buildings, I don’t forget to take some close up shots of inscriptions, carvings, fretwork, texture found on it. For example, while visiting chhataris (cenotephs) in Indore, I took some close ups of engravings, mural paintings, figures etched out on the walls. They help me in understanding a monument better.
- I also frequently use my camera as my notebook and pen. If I find a notice board, phone numbers, names etc., which I hope to need later and I don’t have a pen and paper in my pocket, I take a quick photo of the notice board. Later, I note down the text from the picture when at my home.
- Night photography : We cover those photographs under the label – NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHS for which we didn’t use any extra light from the flash. Our aim is to record the scene as it is presented to us by available lighting.
The most important tool for night photography is a steady support because we have to use long exposures. We can’t hope to keep our camera steady in our hand for a few seconds, leave alone minutes. The most frequent subjects for a ghumakkar during nights are colourful fountains, market scenes, cityscapes, traffic lights etc. Modern digital cameras with their very high ISO speed allow us to take photographs of bright scenes even without proper support to our camera i.e. hand-held. While I do most of my shooting between 100 ISO – 400 ISO, during nights, I may go as high as 6400 ISO with my Nikon D5100 DSLR camera which is particularly good for low light photography. I also own a 50 mm. f 1.8 prime lens which allows faster shutter speeds and is a definite asset in less than ideal lighting conditions.
(If you are worrying what is telephoto lens or wide angle lens; what is ISO setting, what signifies 50 mm. 1.8 lens, I would suggest you to go back to 1st post in this series.)
With this, my Lord, I rest my case. There is no limit to how much can be written on this topic but I am following the dictum – “Samajhdaar ko ishaara kaafi !”
Wonderful series, you have emphasized on both technical and artistic side of the photography. The pictures of crowd with clear faces have come really well. I also liked the night picture of Shivratri celebrations.
Dear Prasad Np,
Thank you very much for coming to this post and for liking it. Sorry for delayed response.
Sushantji, while thanking you for this valuable post giving a lot of insights into photography… I must admire fotos 3 &4 (dhanaulti)…. these are really great fotos, technically as well artistically.
About my photographic skills you have already done my “????? ???? ” in my Baijnath post…but getting a clue from your rude comments, I corrected the mistake immediately.
In fact, I had always been an admirer of photographs…but never ever tried to be technical or artistic for the simple reason that there was no one to see and admire them…so my photography was restricted to shoot our own faces before any beautiful scene and spoil its beauty :)
After coming to Ghumakkar, I learnt how important a photo is…and I got my new camera (new gf3…not the girl friend..)… and tried my hands on some photos…and Iceland gave me ample opportunities with its beautiful landscapes.
Earlier advices from DL and your series have given good guidance… Thanks for that
(I am missing DL very much, he has not replied to any of my mails…and I am really worried)
Dear SS,
Getting a favourable comment from you is a matter of great joy for all of us ghumakkars.
I am terribly worried to discover that my comments on your Baijnath post were considered ‘rude’ by you. I am really sorry for that. I must check and double check my language in future. I did not intend to hurt you in any matter. Please forgive me.
Yes, ghumakkar site has given something or the other to everyone. For me, it was a matter of re-discovering myself after a gap of nearly 25 years. I had not been writing anything for pleasure in all these years but when I resumed writing because of ghumakkar, I became a happy man again.
I sometimes suspect that if I had not submitted my Mumbai travelogue which was satirical in handling of the topic, and if all of you had not appreciated it, I might not have adopted this humorous style of writing. 1st post led way to the other and now even when I am writing Insights on photography, I do it with a smile on my face.
Is there any way to find out about DL? Any phone numbers? I am deeply worried about his well being now. Not writing and not commenting on ghumakkar could have been explained in a number of ways but not replying to email? It is something quite uncharacteristic of him. Hope he is well.
Pretty useful insights about photography, Sushant Ji. Never been able to understand much of the science…:(…but art lesson was a bit easier one & helpful…i could relate some of the things what you mentioned above like early morning photography, taking pictures from an unusual perspective, using camera as notebook (i click & keep maps or any other relevant information available on internet or books to keep it light while setting on a wandering) etc & recently tried some hand held night photography during sound & light show at both Old Fort & Red Fort…it was learning & fun!
Thank you for sharing this precious info with all of us here, keep these gems coming!
PS: Yes, SS ji, we all are missing DL ji (& other fellow ghumakkars) here for a long time…hope all are busy exploring some wanderful gems on earth. We wait for all to come back from holidays and to share their exciting tales with us soon!
Dear Vipin,
If you or anyone could not understand the scientific part of photography, I consider it my utter failure. May be when we sit together with our cameras in hand, it would be easier to explain those things.
Thank you for liking my effort, though.
?? ?????-???????????? ??? ?? ????????? ?? ???? ????????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??, ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?????????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ???-??? ?? ??? ??, ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ????-???? ???????? ? ????? ??? ????, ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?????, ???, ????. ?????????, ???? ?????? ?? ????, ???? ??????? ? ???? ????-???? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??????-?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ???. ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??.??.3 ?? ?? ????? ?? ????, ???? ??? ???…??..??..
???? ?? ?????????? ???????, ??????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??-?? ??? ????..??..
??? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? !
?????? ??????? ??? ??,
???? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ????? ? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??, ?? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? :)
Your insightful insight on photography was an interesting read coupled with good technical jargon’s. All of them will be very instrumental for an amateur like me. Getting up early in the morning and capturing the pictures is a wonderful idea because the natural habitat(birds,animals etc..,) wakes up with the rising sun long before the maddening crowd of humans start to infest the whole ambiance.
I particularly liked the picture of the girl wearing the Anna hazare cap… she seems to be oblivious of the fact that she’s been clicked …
I was reading your post while travelling to alwar with Vipin Gaur this sunday…Both of us were talking about your great style of writing and suddenly i figure out your story on ghumakkar.
Also we were talking about missing Silent Soul whose presence has become scanty these days.. … huh what a respite ..i see him here.. Silent soul sahab has forgotten the rest of the ghumakkar brigade. Aajkal aapki khathi meethi insights kahan hai SS.???
Also the absence of DL from the scene is making me impatient…i used to particularly love his research and immaculate sense of writing .. If you are hearing me ..do consider to make a comeback sir.. we really miss you.
Sushant Ji,,.. Hope to read and learn a lot from you in the near future.
Regards
Giriraj Shekhawat
kya Shekhawat ji….Gayab to aap huye pehle…I just followed you :)
Happy that you and Vipin… he must be a good co-ghumakkar
Dear Giriraj Shekhawat,
Since you are already a great photo-artist, getting these comments from you is really unbelievable. I know except one or two, none of the pics on this post are extra-ordinary. As I mentioned earlier too, I wrote it just a few hours before the deadline and I didn’t even have the time to search for suitable pics from my archive to serve as visuals. Whatever came in front of me, I posted here.
Still, thank a ton for your endearing comments.
Hi Sushantji,
Great informative post and nice looking photos as usual.
Yes, will agree with you. Recently, I and Vipin have been visiting monuments early in the morning. The photos come out best in the soft sunlight. Afternoon sun makes the photos harsh and lifeless. Also there is no one around so you have the monument to yourself recently in Safdurjung Tomb, we had arrived before the ticket wala came; in Sanchi last week I was the first one to enter!
I used to take photos and delete the ones I did not like. But now I take lots and lots of photos from every imaginable angle and keep all of them. Recently acquired 1TB drive is storing all that.
Its true about going back to the same location; I was in Bidar and came across some unexpected tombs, went back to the hotel, did some research and was there again early morning, shooting more photos. Every time, every moment, every few minutes of changing sunlight brings out different looking photos.
You think I can fit these wide angle lens on my bridge camera? I dont think I am ready for SLR. Also, the 30X zoom comes in quite handy and the results are quite good.
I need to learn to take night photos without the use of tripod.
All your tips are great. Will be using them.
Yes we all miss DL.
Dear Nirdesh Ji,
Thanks a lot for the appreciative comments. I have been possessing a Bridge camera (Sony Cybershot) till very recently and have again switched to DSLR in the end of March, 2013. If you can get good, sharp pictures with 30X zoom lens at its farthest setting, you are already a dedicated amateur photographer. If you are shooting at around 1000 mm. focal length hand-held, you should also have a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000 or should have a really steady hand to support your camera well.
If you want night photographs hand-held, you will need to enhance ISO speed of the camera which may result in very grainy pictures. When we enhance ISO speed, the camera gains only artificially, rather electronically. While the picture is captured, the dark areas of the picture appear as if having a lot of dust. Same thing used to be experienced in film days when we exposed on high ISO film. In those days, a film of 400 ISO or higher was considered too fast and grainy and thus unfit for large blow ups. But now I am taking pics at 6400 ISO with my Nikon DSLR 5100 without apparent grain.
The problem with Bridge cameras is their delayed shutter response. If you can live with that, you can go on using your Bridge camera. But when you start taking pics of moving subjects in low light, you start appreciating the difference between a DSLR and a compact camera. Instead of face, you get the back of the dancer or the empty stage some times – the dancer already reached her green room before the picture could be exposed !!!
Dearest Sushant – Acknowledge the Ishara. I liked this one most because it talks about you and your own experiences :-).
@Tridev – Ram Dhall and Prof Khamesra are all very much around and I meet/talk to them. Infact Ram has written a story and it is pending at my end for photos etc. Your comment definitely gives it a push. Sandeep, Manu are busy with their Ghumakkari. I check their new blog site once in a while so they seem to be doing fine. Now that leaves our loving DL. hope to hear from him soon. Wishes to all.
Dear Nandan,
Your comment reminds me of your email whereby you had suggests me to write in this way only while writing Insight on Photography. When I deal with art section of photography, I can relate my experiences but what to do, if I have to explain the shutters, apertures, ISOs, focal lengths, kelvin etc. etc. ? Your suggestion was perfectly valid and I tried to adopt that style in this post. Thanks a lot for the guidance. :)
Please try to find out phone numbers of DL and if you can have them, please share the same with me too.
Great work…you took the pain to educate us on the different aspects of photography. The entire series will be very useful for many of us here.
So, what’s cooking…posts on Dhanaulti…I guess. ‘ll wait for that. Regards,
My Dear Amitava,
Glad to have to back from your home. How enjoyable has been the family union?
Dhanaulti ? Yes, why not? shall try to start writing about it soon, though I am awfully busy with bank these days. May be after a week or fortnight.
Seeing Delhi and Gurgaon with you has been a great experience. I haven’t seen your pics of that day but would like to.
Hello Sushant ji,
What an informative post. Saari photography ki post me ye post sabse jyada dimag me gayi hai.
Thanks for giving your time and effort to make everyone understand about Photography.Looking forward to get more tips on photography in our post as well.All pictures are beautiful especially Saharanpur temple picture.
Even I had send 2-3 mails to DL sir, but no reply.Really missing him in Ghumakkar.
Thank you Abhee for the nice comment. I will try to offer whatever I can through my future posts even though the Photography Insight series is over now. If I had had ample time, I would have loved to include some more visuals to explain the highly technical concepts but due to haste, not much could be done.
However, I can suggest you to visit some of my old posts on my blog. I haven’t written anything on the blog during past 2-3 years, but even today, I get some ‘thank you comments’ on it for the photography tutorial posts. Here is the address – http://sushantsinghal.blogspot.in
Dear Sushantji,
Firstly, compliments for creating this right balance between contrast and brightness, i.e. – ???????? ??? Hindi ?? ??????? ??????.
The series has been very enlightening and surely would help any ghumakkar who wants to get more out of his/her camera.
I have had one pestering query – pics like; Dhanaulti early morning, young girl on shoulders with ‘mai anna hoo’ cap, kathak dancer, etc, where a full/ identifiable face is depicted, what is our local laws/rules/ethical acceptances about using as well as publishing such pics ? Many sites/ books (inevitably western) propagate that one should have a documented paper and get the same signed by such subjects before/after being photographed. Now, that may be ok for a pro-photographer who is likely to gain financially by use of these photographs, but like, for instance, I take snaps of many people coming my way during the travel and do not get a paper signed for photographing them. Can I use such photographs on sites like this ? Importantly, I would not, myself like my photograph to be plastered by anyone on any common space !
How does one get past this conundrum ?
Thanks again for such an informative and relevant post.
Dear Aurojit,
Thank you very much for coming to the post and raising a very pertinent question.
I may classify people in my pics under 3 broad categories – i) my family and friends ii) total strangers (means those appear in my pictures without their knowledge or implied or express permission given by them) iii) who have entered into a contract with me for getting their photographed taken and published for commercial purposes. I think you are referring to the people who fall under ii) category.
Well ! Whether the people will object to their pics being published or not, depends upon certain factors – i) the standard and public image of the publication where pics have been used. ii) Does the picture have the potential to defame the person? iii) Has the photographer tried to make money by selling that picture? iv) Under what circumstances the picture was taken?
When a person is attending a public event like cricket match/ Anna hazare’s procession, he/she knows it very well that there would be scores of photographers covering the event. They expect and welcome to be photographed. They would never object if their picture is published in a newspaper / electronic media as a news item. As soon as a camera zooms in on some faces in a stadium where cricket match is being played, people become ecstatic and start waving their hands, start making their faces happily. Obviously, the news crew does not get their Model Release Forms signed.
The family of the Anna baby would have a right to object if I attempt to use the picture of the child on some product packaging. By cropping a picture and using it out of context is certainly objectionable since that picture can be used to convey presence of that person at a place where he/she never visited and can involve him/her in an activity which he/she never did.
Now coming to the Dhanaulti picture – The lady had come from Delhi with her children and grand children and had become sort of friend. When I found her sitting there, she declined my request to take her picture – thinking that I was a professional photographer at the hill station and was considering her as a potential client. But after learning about me and my purpose, she posed for me. Thereafter, we went to see the Sunrise Point together. Although she didn’t sign a Model Release form nor I asked her for the same, she knew that I am an author and whatever photos I was taking, could be used with my write ups.
Kathak dancer – She is my niece and very dear to me. However, it was a public performance and several photographers were clicking her picture and had published their pictures in next day’s newspapers. However, if I try to crop the picture and use it on packing of some product, even my brother would feel bad about it. Pictures can be used for any commercial purpose with express, written consent of the people who are in the picture and the model is a minor, then her parents should sign the release form.
“Main Anna Hoon” Baby and the two activists in car – These are news pics and can be used with a news story / tutorial.
Dear Sushantji,
thanks for the exhaustive explanation. It really puts things in perspective and imparts in great detail knowledge about handling the pics. Model release form, is there some fixed format for it ?
Thanks for making us wiser.
Auro.
Dear Auro,
Sorry for much delayed response. I am not much active these days on ghumakkar. I had read your reply on my mobile when it had appeared above but couldn’t reply at that moment being in a bus. Thereafter, it just slipped out of my mind.
There are hundreds of websites offering specimen for model release form. You just have to search for the test string “model release form” and instantly, there is an endless listing. Just now I found one – http://www.creativephotobook.co.uk/ModelReleaseForm.pdf.
Thanks for everything.
?????? ??,
??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???, ?? ?? ??? 22 ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????
??? ?? ??? ??? ???, ??? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????, ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ???? ???
??????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?
?????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ????
??, ??? ??? ! ????? ????? ?? ! ???? 4 ?????? 2013 ?? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? 21.7.2014 ?? ?????? ??? 11 ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????????? ?? ?? ???? ! ?? ???, ???? ???? ????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??, ?? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? !
?? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ??? 2012 ?? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ? ? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ! ??, ??? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ! ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ! ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ??? – ??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? – ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ! ??, ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ! ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ! (??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ? ?? ???? ???? ?? ! )
?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????,
??????? ?????