OCOL – The TPTC Blog!!

Goddess in Progress

Saraswati Puja 2018 convened a few weeks back all across the country and abroad. Saraswati, being the goddess of knowledge and art, is cast into idols with care, affection and respect.

I was in Dhanbad, my hometown for a week, preceding the puja and it gave me an opportunity to capture the goddess being cast and in progress.

I was with one of my teachers whom I admire and look up to, Mrs. Chaitali Sarkar (CA Maam for the DPS Dhanbad alumni out there), who is now a Youtube Vlogger. She has an exceptionally pretty terrace garden and she lets you in on her secrets in her channel; check it out here.

Am still working on the next batch of photos from PetFed 2017. They shall be up soon. Here is a link for the Part 1 of the same.

January 29, 2018 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: Dhanbad, Goddess, Idol, Idol Making, Saraswati Leave a comment

Bokehs and Starbursts!

There are some amazing things one can shoot during night. Long exposure shots of light trails, amazing bokehs, starbursts, star trails, and much more.
Tonight, like many before, I was at office past sundown, and I had camera with me. Had a concept to try out too. So, off I went to the terrace to try out the shot.

While I was up there, the Mahim bay glittered and tempted me to take the long exposure shot. Looks damn nice, right? Worth climbing up to the terrace for a peek!

Something I noticed, while processing the photos, if you suspect that there may be some dirt on your lens, shoot a bokeh at night, the dirt ll show up as a shadow in the orb!

Guess I need to clean the prime!

Cheers!!

November 8, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: 50mm f1.8, Arabian Sea, Bandra Worli Sealink, Bokeh, Lenovo K6 Power, Long Exposure, Mahim Bay, Mumbai, Nikon D7200, OCOL, Starbursts Leave a comment

The face of God

The phrase, seeing is believing holds true for the majority of the population. To believe, one needs to have an image, a face to relate it to.

To the thousands, who visited the Lokhandwala Pandal during the Durga Puja this year, god looked like this.

Next up shall be one about a break from the daily grind and a breath of fresh air.

Cheers!!

October 6, 2017October 6, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOLTags: Asura, Durga, Durga Puja 2017, Face, God, Good vs Evil, Lokhandwala, Mahisasurmardini, Mumbai 6 Comments

Ganesh Visarjan, Mumbai, 2017

Undoubtedly, Ganesh Chaturthi or Ganesh Puja as you may call it, is the biggest and the most grand event every year pan Maharashtra. The entire week pujas are held in the pandals, and then, on the designated day, the grand murtis are paraded through the city and then immersed in the waters of either the ocean, or a river or big lakes. Here, in Mumbai, Juhu chowpatty and Girgaum chowpatty are famous for the visarjan ceremonies.

Along with the idols, there are throngs of crowd all along the way. The spectators cheer and give the god a proper sendoff. The chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya!! Mangalmurti Morya!!” fill the air quite often.

Me and a friend, we were at Chinchpokli, waiting to catch a glimpse of two of the most famous idols in the city….

Laalbagh cha Raja (King of Laalbagh)

and Chinchpokli cha Chintamani (Chintamani of Chinchpokli)

Despite the crowd and the shoving and pushing, it was quite an amazing experience. I must add, this event, this visarjan coverage, also served as the field test for my newly acquired Nikon D7200. I had been meaning to buy this camera since quite some time, and now that I own it, I am absolutely in love with it. The quick 6fps burst in the CH mode, ensures that no frames are missed. The best bit of it all, my 50mm prime lens, auto focuses on this body.

Let me know how you find the results.

Until next time,

Cheers!!

September 10, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: 50mm F1, 8, Camera Review, Chinchpoklicha Chintamani, Ganesh Chhaturthi, Ganesh Puja, Ganesh Utsav, Laalbaghcha Raja, Nikon D7200, Visarjan 4 Comments

Chor Bazaar Encore

One of my oldest friends, Tanaya is in town for her internship, and from the day she saw my post on the Chor Bazaar of Mumbai, last year, she wanted to go.
So, after loads of requests and tantrums, we went! She was besides herself and got herself a pretty hourglass and a compass. What mattered the most was that we got some photos, of which we would definitely be proud of.

The thing about the Mumbai Chor Bazaar is that, more than smuggled goods, you can find old and used goods or very accurate copies. You may have a vintage typewriter and may have damaged a key, head over here, and you shall definitely find a replacement.

Shops sell all kinds of stuffs! Whistles, bells, wheels, timepieces, clocks, watches, etc.

There’s one particular shop on the Mutton Street which has a collection of vintage cameras. No guarantees on the working conditions, but, amazingly mesmerizing collections. The dual lens reflex ones, old generations of SLRs, video cameras galore the shelves, and lenses. Manual prime and zoom lenses of varied focal lengths. Most shall invariably be damaged or dirtied beyond usable condition, but they look damn pretty! No doubts there!

The above photos struck me as a time lapse of sorts! One can spot walkmans, old dvds, a portable TV, and also Playstations and digital cameras! This is what I love about the chor bazaar, the sheer diversity of merchandise up for sale.

The following photo was taken last year:

And this one, this year!

Not a lot has changed I believe.

Like I said last year, If you come to Mumbai, and want to get yourself some antique stuffs, the Chor Bazaar on Mutton Street, Mumbai is the place to be. Have a list of things that you are looking for, or else, you might return spending way more than you planned, and have you craving for more.

Until the next time.

Take care all.

Cheers!!

June 24, 2017June 23, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: Camera, Chor Bazaar, Guitar, Lens, Mumbai, OCOL, Old, Playstation, Polaroid, Rollei, Second Hand, Type writers, Vintage, Whistles 6 Comments

Decks on the table!

They named it, Homecoming Of Terror! If you know what am talking about, it ll make you happy that the season 5 is up and available already. We join Underwood family as the hunt for the ‘one that got away continues’ in the brand new season of House of Cards. The season has been a highly rewarding watch, with the ins and outs of politics, often dirty, being portrayed just the way they are. The cutthroat competition, the zeal to move ahead, no matter what, and all that goes behind the scenes to make a whip, a president.

What follows here, may spoil your suspense, so proceed at your own risk, you have been warned!

“I will NOT yield” is what the president says to the Congress and he sticks to his word. A smart man is one, who knows the play, has something to trade, is one step ahead of the game, and drives the game, or terror, whatever you name it here. He gets heckled at the congress and cursed at the funeral, she said, “I hope you die, and she becomes the president”, but he stays true…he does not yield. He ensures that he has the final word and let’s the people know, in person, that they shall be safe. This is a no holds, all out war. War against terror. There are parties at play, who cant back away from the war on terror, but also want to persecute the president for his crimes! Best bit, the President knows it all. This is not all, LeAnn seems to be rattled about something and so does Aidan! What are they so scared of? Or rather who are they so afraid of? Only one way to find out!

The deck of cards is out on the table, the future is uncertain and it shall be a winner takes all!

Still going strong in the 5th season, HOC is absolutely killing it out there with the amazing portrayal of the politics and drama that enshrouds the Underwood family.

Frank Underwood is coming to India with the television premiere of House Of Cards Season 5 on Saturday, 3rd June, 5 PM onwards, only on Zee Café!

On a lighter note, let me show you something….Once upon a time, I had made my House of Cards too.

This here is Aakash, one of my old buddies from college, carrying our house of cards to be put on display!

I would want to know of your views in the comments below.

June 2, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: Assignment, HOConZCafe, House of Cards, OCOL, Politics Leave a comment

F8 at Infinity -1

Hi there readers,

Agreeing to the fact that my posts have been few, of late, you ll be glad to know, that it has not been only work and no play. I did manage to get some time to go shoot too.

When you use a DSLR, taking one handed shots are not what you predict yourself to be doing. But what if, you were to use just one hand to shoot? What would be your go to settings?? I am working on a series ” F8 at Infinity” to test just that. Here, the shots shall be one handed, aperture set at F8, focus at Infinity, 50 mm lens, Nikon D3100 body. The shutter speed and ISO shall be variable. Might even use the Aperture Priority mode for the same.

Here goes, the first one!

Shot somewhere between Andheri and Dadar, in Mumbai, India from the daily suburban train I travel in! Shows a grim picture of the cleanliness front. We are not perfect, still getting there!

Follow for the future posts. Let me know what you think of the this series in the comments, I will love to hear from you.

Cheers!!

May 24, 2017 by SenK Categories: F8atinfinity, OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: 50mm f1.8, F8atinfinity, Indian Railways, Litter, Mumbai, Nikon D3100, OCOL, Railway Tracks Leave a comment

The Cat Cafe Studio – Part 2

In the previous part, you saw what makes the Cat Cafe Studio special and stand out of the crowd. This part is a special post dedicated to a couple of kittens who waged a war against each other for a toy. They stalked, pounced, bared their teeth and tumbled together in the fight. The winner, you may ask… lets find out!!

Without further ado, lets become spectators as two mighty warriors fight it out!

In the beginning, this was the one happy with the toy..

And Then….someone else spotted it!

And Stalked the target

Pounce…and the battle began

Success!

Scoping for revenge…

Attack!!!

I feel, in the end, they kinda decided to reconcile and chew each end of the toy! We hoomans ought to learn a few things on sharing from these kittens!!

Let me know in the comments below what you found interesting and what you would like to see more!

Till then,
Cheers!!

May 13, 2017May 13, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: 50mm f1.8, Cat Cafe Studio, Cats, Furry, Kittens, Nikon D3100, OCOL, Pets, Playfights, Toys 2 Comments

The Cat Cafe Studio – Part 1

In one of my previous posts, a fellow blogger, The Krazy Butterfly, suggested that I ought to visit the cat cafe that exists in Versova, Mumbai. It sounded quite interesting, so, on 1st of May, I made the trip.
The Cat Cafe Studio has a seating capacity of about 50 to the brim, and has a tad expensive but good food. But that is not the main attraction.
The attractions are in a well aerated and barricaded room which houses the cats. They range from tiny kittens, to full grown, battle scarred cats. Each one has their separate temperament and attitude towards the guests. Some would playfully come close and cuddle, while others would observe you from a distance, then maybe, MAYBE, come close to you and let you touch them, for a microsecond and then purr off. It was absolute fun, and I am not the one who would go to an interesting place, and let the camera back. So, here goes…kitties galore!!

I spent about three hours in company of the cats, and loved every moment of it. Apart from being fun to watch, they have the ability to suck away the monotony of day to day life and make you happy. This applies for all the furry pets I know of though. What are your thoughts on this, dear reader? Let me know in the comments!!

In the next part of the post, I have for you, two kittens get into a fight over a toy!

Until then,
Cheers!!

May 7, 2017May 7, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOLTags: Cats, Furs, Kittens, Moody, OCOL, Pets, The Cat Cafe Studio 1 Comment

Surprise Surprise!!

A week back, I was at Pune for my post graduation convocation ceremony. As a rule, I had my camera along with me. After all was over, as we were packing our bags to return, I notice this kitten, sleeping soundly. Approached her a bit and stroked her fur, she purred contently. I pulled out my camera, fired off a few shots, and she was surprised at the sound, a bit curious too I guess! Loved the expression on the face 🙂

My schedule has restricted me to shooting quite occasionally. The stream of posts has become shallow but by no means dry! New post shall be up soon!
Cheers!!

April 30, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: 50mm f1.8, Black and white, Kitten, Nikon D3100, OCOL, Pune, Surprise, weekly challenge 10 Comments

Wedding Bells : Raveena and Amiy

Am at an age, where, slowly and surely my friends are getting married. Some are having kids too though :p It has been about a couple of years since I quit my previous job, and I missed my friends. So, when one fine day, Raveena, one of the first friends at CapGemini, let me know that she was getting married, I was happy. Happy that she’s getting settled with someone she loves and also that I’ll get to meet with my old friends after quite some time. So, I packed my bag, along with the camera…and I was off to meet my friends, and the bride to be.

Amid all the fun and frolic that followed, as all of us decked up and ready for the events, I went ahead with what I do best.

Without further ado, I’ll let my photos take you on a tour of the wonderful wedding.

Here’s wishing Raveena and Amiy a very happy married life.

Cheers!!

February 8, 2017February 8, 2017 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: bride, family, Friends, groom, indian wedding, OCOL, Pretty People, raveekishaadi, wedding Leave a comment

The ones that didn’t win – II

The minute you put a face in a photograph, you put a story to the photo. One must, maybe for just that one instance of the shutter click, relate to the face on the other side, know that person, know the story; this is my opinion while making portraits.

This old lady said shes been in business for the past 30 years and is quite happy with the income. She isn’t camera shy, just dedicated to her work. We managed to have a conversation in two different languages, she cant speak Hindi, and I, Gujarati, so the conversation was quite animated. Just out of frame is, who appeared to be her grand daughter, helping her with the rest of the vegetables. Oh yes, before I left, she gifted me a carrot 🙂
-Ahmedabad, 12/2016

This is a part of an ongoing series, posts of which can be viewed here.

Till the next story..
Cheers!!

December 10, 2016 by SenK Categories: OCOL, Photo AssignmentsTags: 50mm f1.8, ahmedabad, Carrots, Gujarat, India, Lady, Nikon D5200, OCOL, Old, theonesthatdidntwin, Vegetable Seller 2 Comments

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