Ordinary people, ordinary location, ordinary day and an ordinary statue. But, put them all in one perfect setting, and you get an extraordinary shadow! Enjoy!!
Category: Photography
Topics, prompts, or occasions, which make me take the photos as an assignment!
A Happy Place
Happiness, is subjective. Varies from person to person. We all have our special place where we feel happy. To me, happy place is one, where I can put my plans to action and can get desired results. The following shot has been taken at Lohagarh Fort, near Pune. The shot had been planned ages before and was awaiting a perfect location. On a recent trip with friends, the opportunity presented and the shot was taken. I was happy.
Cheers!
Breaking boundaries with Siftr
As the word comes up, boundary, the first thing that strikes us, is a limitation, a control and a certain censorship. It can be physical, emotional or social but there is a restriction. With this though in mind, I shot this.
I would have posted it, and that would have been the end of it, but then, one of my friends asked me if I could put 15 of my best photos together. Now, we all have our favorite ones, maybe a couple, but best 15…that’s though. You ll need to sift through hundreds of photos if not thousands to find out which ones are the most appealing ones. Instagram needs to searched, Fb needs to be sorted and 500px and Flickr need to be peered into. And even then, we might not be sure if the ones selected are the ones that look the best. An easy solution must be there.
That’s where Siftr (http://siftr.co) came into play. This unique website, created by ex-Adobe and ex-Samsung folks, is responsible for crawling through the photos of Flickr, Facebook Page (yup, the photography page, not your direct timeline) and Instagram, with your permission off course and finding out the ones that have gathered the best views and most exposure and puts them in the forefront. The photos are neatly arranged into folders like Recent, Best Shots, Landscapes, etc and you have the total control of what is visible and what is not. Decluttering of photography is here. And the best part, I felt, it’s a self updating website. I don’t need to keep a tab on it to keep it updated.
Since, photography is an art we take seriously, and cannot let a machine decide what is good or what is not, the website provides an editor with wide range of customizations available too. The process of creation of a new personalized webpage is easy. You choose the platform you would want to be your primary one, mine is the instagram account. Then, while uploading a new photo, put in the tag as #getsiftr and that’s pretty much it. The autocrawler will find out your post and will respond back in the comment section within minutes. Then you get the link to your webpage. Login via the id of your primary account and you have the customization options right in front of you. The total time taken from uploading the photo to customizing and being happy with the product, 30 minutes at a maximum.
Have a look at my webpage here: http://senk91.siftr.co
This, to me, is a breakthrough product and I am certain, that in the near future, this one shall shine. Give it a try, you’ll love it.
Cheers!!
OCOL: Early Morning Watch
Now a days, it seems there are photo opportunities everywhere. Slowly, the 50mm i.e 75mm on my Nikon D3100, frame is getting set on the eye. I can guestimate the rough frame even without the camera. Guess, the regime has begun showing its effect already.
This was the scene today as I woke up and went to brush my teeth. The lone crow, keeping watch.
Exams begin tomorrow. Next post, might be delayed.
Cheers!!
OCOL: The Mess Hall
We come here every single day to eat, chat, chatter. Sometimes with our friends, or maybe solo. It’s always full and buzzing. This hall sees us more than our classrooms and maybe knows us better too. Calm, serene and all absorbing, the mess hall.
I feel, a mess hall is an apt example of change in progress. Year after year, batch after batch, they come as students, and depart as business professional. That, is some change.
Cheers
OCOL: Exams are approaching
Hi there all,
Am beginning a regime, and also a new category of posts named One Camera One Lens (OCOL). This has been inspired by a lot of amazing photographers and is a tough thing to do too. But then again, this is the only way I ll ever come close to mastering a focal length. My camera is Nikon D3100, and the lens, 50 mm f1.8 D manual focus prime.
Here I begin with the first photo of the regime.
The only way to improve, is to strive hard. And yes, dont smoke, they kill, eventually.
Cheers!!
Grid Play
Grid..most commonly seen in squares and rectangles, but any repetitive pattern of closed geometrical structure might be termed so.
The emphasis on the structure being closed is high. So comes the word gridlocked. Yet, once a while, through the grid, while in proper conditions, we get to see the outside world in a very different and refreshing way. Here’s my take to it.
And you might ask, wheres the play in all this…do you notice the blinking dots at each gird intersection? Let me know if you could decide that those blinking lights are real or not 🙂
Cheers!!
Shades of life
Monochrome, the first thought that comes to a lot of people is a black and white picture. Some others think a bit more and realize that it basically means containing of a single colour tone. So technically, painting a rainbow to a sepia tone, will make it monochrome too, but then, that isnt what we want to show. When I say monochrome, I understand the picture to be made up of natural elements which share a common colour, in variation of shades. Let me show you what I mean.
Hope you like my point of view to monochrome.
Cheers!!
The previous Saturday….
Almost every other day, after attending classes till 1730h, little energy is left to pursue the passion, so the previous Saturday, I called out to three of my closest friends at college for a impromptu photoshoot. Having a photo shoot with friends is one of the best ways to unwind, I am sure you would agree. Also, I had to shoot for a competition, the themes I chose were Silence and Fear.
Silence, can be very very loud if portrayed correctly, and I wanted silence to ring out loud and clear. Hence, the following photo.
Here, a commendable job by Gowri, my model here. Such expressive eyes are very rare and she understood the scene to the letter. She featured in the next photo, for Fear.
Again, such vivid expressions, that too from an amateur model is simply awesome.
While shooting these, it did take a toll on us. The mood had turned a bit depressing. So, we changed the location and went to the lawns for another shot of Silence.
The best part I feel here is the beginning of the smile that has started to creep on Laxmi’s face. She is calm, peaceful and is happy. Agreed, we needed to take a few retakes as we would all keep on laughing, but she managed to hold on to the smile for just the right amount of time and the shot was done.
One of the prettiest photos of the evening was of Rishika, who is to credited for the shot ideas for fear and the second shot of silence.
Some more impromptu shots were taken too and the mood became much much lighter and better.
Then, as evening descended, hunger crept in. So, we left the college premises for some snacks. And with this final shot, my camera went in the bag for the day.
Lots of thanks to Rishika, Laxmi and Gowri. You guys are amazing.
Its been quite some time that I havent gone out to shoot the nature around Pune, lets make a plan soon.
Cheers!!
In touch..
In the digital world, when we say connected, the first image that comes to us has something to do with the phones.
Look beyond the phones, and do remember that being in touch with your loved ones is very important. So, go on, make a plan right now, and go meet up with the ones who are near to you 🙂
Just remember, do not lose touch!
Immense thanks to Rishika and Gowri for being my models for the evening and to Laxmi for being the helping hand. Thanks a lot you guys! 🙂
Cheers!!
New Award :D
I shall begin with a huge thank you to Deeksha and Arun for nominating for the Liebster award. It is really an honour. I apologize to Deeksha for not responding sooner.
So, the answers to Deeksha…
1. Which is your favourite book? The Immortals of Meluha
2. Describe yourself in three words. Curious, Dependable and Resolute.
3. Cat person or a dog person? Dog person, any day! But wont mind cuddling the kittens too :p
4. Who is your role model? My father for being sharp and calm. My mother for instilling the sense of right and wrong.
5. What is your ultimate goal in life? To be satisfied and be at peace with life (get the job that pays well, spend my life with my love, have a Labrador, have a Jeep/Thar…..)
6. What are your hobbies? Photography, and talking to people, making them comfortable enough to be my models :p
7. Which is your dream travel destination? Loved the Andaman Islands, would go there times over.
8. If you could meet one person from the past, who would it be and why? Jiah Khan. She would be an awesome model.
9. Favourite movie? Eight Below.
10. Favourite quote/ proverb? I took the road less travelled, and that has made all the difference – Robert Frost
11. Favourite song/band? Yesterday once more – Karen Carpenter.
And now to answer Arun…
- Dream travel destination? Andaman Islands
- Preferred mode of transport? Self Driven car and walking
- Facepalm moment in any trips? To go to a monument to find it closed for the day
- Most beautiful place that you visited? Shillong
- Has traveling changed you? In what way? Yes it has. It has taught me the importance of being able to gel with people and the power of a smile. A smile does open up a lot of avenues.
- Solo Trips or Friends group or Family trips? Why? Small group, max of 4 members, else solo. More the merrier works only while splitting the bill, otherwise, more clashes of opinions and indecisiveness.
- Have you ever thought of quitting job for travel? Will you do it? Thought, yup! Will I do it….dunno. Need the money to plan the future trips :p
- Have you Ever forgotten to carry a camera to a trip? What was your reaction? Nope, never done that mistake yet. Forgot a memory card though, had bought one immediately.
- What is your reaction when you see people posting every minute of their life on SM? Its a way to keep people informed of where they are. Loved ones worry less. I post regular updates to keep my mom from worrying a lot.
- Have you cancelled any travel plan last minute because something came up at work? Reaction? Yes, had to. The reaction was a bit of sadness and the plan to go out the next weekend.
Rules:
Thank the one who has nominated you.
Answer the questions thrown at you as honestly as you can and make 10 questions of your own.
Nominate at least 5 members who you think are deserving the appreciation and go on spread the love. Let them know by commenting on their posts.
My questions..
- Travelling solo or in a group? Why?
- Backpacking or Luxury trips?
- Planned trips or spontaneous plans?
- Local food or food chains? Why?
- Do you take a guide or an audio guide or trust the internet?
- The hills or the oceans?
- Do you try out the adventure sports? Which ones have you done?
- Bikes or cars to travel around?
- DSLR/Point and shoot or Go-Pro and variants?
- Do you take a lot of selfies? Why and why not?
My nominees are:
1. Nimmi
2. Rutuja
3. Shreya
4. Subhashree
5. Raksha
6. Soumya
7. Jasan
Feel free to use the following Image as your badge, for you have earned it for sure. Congratulations.
Cheers!!
Varying Angles
It is indeed true that with change in perspective, the feel of the object under inspection changes dramatically. True for all animate and inanimate objects. Here, my subject was the boat created by my fellow college mates for the Onam festival which was celebrated just a few days back. The change in angles, made quite some difference.
In terms of day to day photography, it reminds us to look from a perspective, that is not normal to us. Climb up high, get down low, or maybe, try the immensely used and re used, tilted shots. They come as a welcome refreshment to the photo styles we generally follow.
A plan for a trek to a nearby hill is on the chart. Hope it materializes soon. Till then..
Cheers!!
TRAVELOGUES AND TREASURES 