Tag: 18-55mm

AtoZ Challenge: N – Normal Lens

A normal lens is one which produces images corresponding to the normal viewing span of a human eye. Generally this focal length is taken as 35-50mm. So, photos taken at focal lengths beyond the range are termed to be wide or telephoto and hence the wide and telephoto lenses.

The 18-55 mm kit lens, despite popular disregard, is one the most versatile lenses out there and can be used for shooting landscapes to portraits with ease and still produce quite amazing results.

Bandra Worli Sealink, 18 mm

Bandra Worli Sealink, 55 mm

The photos above have been shot at 18mm and 55mm respectively from almost similar viewpoints.

Comparing the results against dedicated lenses for the same is not a fair game though. The dedicated lens, such as a 35mm or a 50mm F1.8/1.4 are meant to be high performance and have immense light gathering power, but they lack the versatility of a zoom.

The photo of Laxmi here shows why it is worth investing in a prime lens, despite whatever limitations it may have.

Portrait, 50mm

All said and done, a normal lens is not fit for shooting landscape while I would go about shooting portraits on a normal lens all day long happily! Tell me what do you think about the judgments in the comments.

Last time, N was for Noise Reduction.

Cheers!!

by Categories: AtoZ Challenge, PhotographyTags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Fire works on Diwali Night at Marine Drive Mumbai

Diwali Night – 2017

This Diwali, I was at Mumbai. Had just a day of holiday, so it was out of the question to go home then. Instead, I came to office that night, went to the terrace, which is on the 42nd floor for a view. Looked quite nice, I must say, the photos didn’t come out to be that amazing though.

But, I wanted good photos, so, I went to the Marine Drive to watch the fireworks. With the rounded curve of the road, it is always amazing to watch the light trails. The glow from the lights add to the beauty, and the occasional police van on a patrol, makes it an interesting picture.

Fire works on Diwali Night at Marine Drive Mumbai
Fire works on Diwali Night at Marine Drive Mumbai

This, here is a composite image of 5 to 6 photos, each of 30 seconds exposure, and then stacked on photoshop. While I am not very deft at photo manipulation, it does help to know bit of retouching.

A bit of advise dear readers, always use a tripod and remote while shooting long exposures for stacking. No matter how stable the surface is, each time you press the button, the position shifts just a tiny bit, and that shows up blurred in the final stacked image.

Cheers!!

by Categories: Photo EffecctsTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Mumbai Nightscape Encore

A few weeks back, I posted a few photos of the city of Mumbai, at night, shot using a Lenovo K6 Power here. The photos were not of the quality that I would have wanted, hence, a few days back, when the opportunity presented itself, I was there with the camera. The location, the terrace floor of L&T Realty Crescent Bay.
We waited from dusk to nightfall and thankfully, it didn’t rain this certain evening.

Silhouette of Mumbai Cityscape

Wide angle shot of the Mumbai Cityscape

Bandra-Worli Sealink and nearby areas at night

Tall towers of Worli, Mumbai, India

Long Exposure shot of Wadala and Freeway, Mumbai, India

The next post, dear readers, I shall introduce you to something new. Do keep an eye out, the post shall be up soon!

Cheers!

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From up high, Mumbai

Dear readers, I apologize for not being as consistent as I used to be and would have loved being. Honestly, after pulling a 8 hour shift and another in travelling, the energy left in me, is not much. Hence, the delay.

I am also guilty of being inconsistent in posting for the Weekly Challenges on wordpress, so when today, when I came across the prompts of Dense and Atop, there was this one shot, that came to my mind.

It is old, a year old almost, shot from one of the floors of a high rise, during my internship days.

slums and high rise buildings sea ships and the sky, Mumbai, India

This photo reminds me of contrast. What do you see in this photo? I would like to know 🙂

Cheers!!

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TTL: Delhi: The Lotus Temple

Post my visit to the Red Fort, I made my way to the Lotus Temple, on the other side of the town, using the metro. Well, I am all praises for the metro, for it is highly convenient and economic many times over than a cab or even the buses.
The Lotus Temple is a Baha’i House of Worship, which, being in line with the code, is a temple which welcomes people, irrespective of religion, sex or any other distinctions to worship at the giant hall. The only request they make, please be quite. It is considered to be one of the most visited building in the world.
Architecturally, it is a marvel, being a 9 sided marble lotus flower, along with 9 pools on the sides. The hall can house 2500 people at a time.
Nearest metro station is the Kalkaji Temple Road on the Violet line, which can be tapped on to at the Central Secretariat. It stays closed on the Mondays, while being open 0900h-1900h, rest six days. No entry charges are levied. There is a strict prohibition on carrying food inside the premises.

Lotus Temple, Delhi, India

Arches of Lotus Temple, Delhi, India


Lotus Temple, Delhi, India

I was tad hurt to see that a huge chunk of the people who come at this place, have no idea of what they are visiting and also, why they are doing so. There are men screaming from one corner of the yard to the other, ladies cutting lines feeling entitled, kids running around, complete pandemonium. Also, once you reach the hall, you have tourists, not just Indian, but also foreign ones blatantly disregarding the request to not shoot indoors.
In my opinion, a ticket system must be put to place. Tickets for the ones who want to visit the inner sanctum, sit and pray, and tickets for the ones who would want to roam about in the open, take the photos and be done. It should also be made very clear that within the hall, there is absolutely nothing to gaze and marvel at, so that there is an auto filtration. I had been to the Lotus Temple, when I was about 3 years old. I remember sitting on the hall, and contemplating at the silence and peace. I had gone to revisit the place, after about 22 years, to find a similar peace, and all I found chaos.

With a heavy heart and irritated head, I boarded the metro back. My mood was improved soon for I met with my dearest muse, Tuhina shortly for dinner.

Next day, would be fun. Keep an eye out.

Cheers!!

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TTL: Delhi : The Red Fort

Last week, I was at New Delhi, the capital city of India.
It is an old city and has been a seat of power for various rulers over the history of India, most significantly, the Mughals.

Red Fort, India, Tricolour flying

The first place I visited, was the Red Fort. Made using red sandstone by the emperor Shah Jahan, this majestic fort, currently serves as a frequented tourist spot. It has a museum, used to be a garrison for Indian Army and also features serves as a ceremonial and political centre in the modern times.
The nearest metro station is Chandni Chowk, which is almost a kilometre away. The distance is very much walkable. If not, take cycle rickshaws, but do bargain hard with them.
There are ticket charges. ₹35 for Indians (including the museum pass) and ₹200 for foreigners (kindly confirm). No extra charges for cameras though.

One enters the fort by the Lahori Darwaza.

Lahori Gate, Red Fort, India

The gate opens to a small courtyard, following which one enters the Chatta Chowk. In the ancient times, this place would sell gold, silk and other items for the imperial household, today, there are shops which sell souvenirs.

Shops in Chatta Chowk, Red Fort, India

Crossing the Chatta Chowk, one should find themselves in front of the Naubat Khana and the house of the commons, the Diwan-e-Aam.

Diwan E Aam, Red Fort, India

Moving on, one gets to see the quite magnificent Diwan-e-Khaas, which was the house of the lords, as one may say. The walls are quite intricately carved and they have paintings, which look marvellous even now.

Painting on the wall of Diwan e Khaas, Red Fort, India

Beside the Diwan-e-Khaas, the Khaas Mahal is located, which would serve as the emperor’s chambers and is made in white marble. It is indeed a sight to behold.

Khaas Mahal, Red Fort, India

Moving on, one finds a dried out reservoir with a red sandstone structure in its centre, this is the Zafar Mahal, added by and named after Bahadur Shah Zafar. On either side of the Zafar Mahal, one can see pavallions, Sawan and Bhadon, named after the Indian seasons.

Zafar Mahal, Red Fort, India

Sawan Bhadon Pavallion, Red Fort, India

With this, my tour ended within the Red Fort. I took nearly 45 minutes for the round. I didn’t visit the museums, which I would have, had there been some more time. I would recommend it be checked out.

Map of the Red Fort, India

There are pay per use toilet facilities available outside as well as inside the fort premises, which are maintained by Sulabh, hence they ought to be clean.

Once I was done with the Red Fort, I took the metro, from Chandni Chowk station, changed at the Central Secretariat, and went on towards the Kalkaji Temple Road, to visit the Lotus Temple.

Stay tuned, for the Lotus Temple post.

Feel free to reach out for further information.

Cheers!!

by Categories: TravellingTags: , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Star Trails: What is and how to..

Shooting at night, and in long exposure is quite fun, one must agree. With a little tweak, the night can be turned  into dusk, if not bright day.
This shot, 0230 h. 30 seconds of exposure does this trick.

Long exposure photo of lake with landscapes mirrored into the lake.

We get enamoured by the photos of trails of lights across the sky, often in round or elliptical patterns about a stunning landscape. Some of my readers may already know what it is. What you have seen, is a star trail.
What is it? Well, as the earth rotates, from our point of view, fixed on the earth, we find the stars shifting. If we capture this shift, over considerable span of time, we shall get the path traced by the star. That illuminated trail, is the star trail.

Star trail photo over landscape. Multiple long exposure photos combined in one.

Things we need are quite minimal. We need a tripod, a camera with a means to take a certain number of shots over a period of time, a landscape and a starry night.

Set the camera appropriately on the tripod. In the settings menu, make it take photos till the battery runs out or at least 8gb worth of photos are captured. For the exposure settings, you ll have to take a couple of cold shots. Try with the minimum ISO and shutter speed at about 15 seconds. Take a shot and inspect it, if you can see at least one star in your display screen. A few trial and errors and you shall get the exposure right. Once done, set the camera on the interval shooting mode, and wait.

Now, what you shall get out of the shots is a series, where the only movement, preferably, will be of the stars. Get hold of the software, StarStaX, and load up the images. Follow the instructions and let the software process the photos. If done correctly, you should get yourself a beautiful star trail photo.

If you have reached till here, you have definitely earned the right to know what may go wrong. Take a look at the photo above, once more. Zoom it. Do you notice that there are tiny gaps between each trail. That gap is what 5 seconds looks like. Between each of my exposure, I had set a gap of 5 seconds. If you want a continuous trail, ensure, no gaps. You may have to shoot on JPEG for that, turn noise reduction off, so that as soon as the camera shoots one image, it can continue to the next one. You have got to ensure that there are no movements on your end. Before you put the photo into StarStax, it is advisable to convert them in JPEG, if you have shot in RAW. And while you are at it, make the uniform changes in all the photos using sync (Lightroom) or similar functions.

My exposure is about 120 photos, half an hour long. This was a proof of concept shot, to try out whats and hows. Now that I know, in near future, better, seamless shots should be expected.

Till the next post.
Cheers!!

by Categories: TechnicalTags: , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

TTL: Tamhini Ghat

It had been planned by the group that we must go on a trip. So, a group of about 40 photographers, varying from novices to professionals, we made our way towards Tamhini Ghat. About 60 kms out of Pune, this place is known for the lush greenery and the numerous waterfalls.

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It is here, thanks to one of the members, that I got to use the Tamron 90mm macro lens for the first time, and I simply loved it. The lens is not a speedster at acquiring focus, true, but once you manage to focus it right, you are in for a treat. The following images ought to convince anyone who would be doubting whether or not to get a macro lens towards the lens.

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Now, this lens can also be used for shooting the perfect frame too. Its all about how you choose to use it.

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A huge thanks to the Pune Photography Lovers group for the trip. Special thanks to Medha for lending me the macro lens and to Rutuja for being my model 🙂

Till the next trip, cheers!

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Predetermination and Mystery

Sometimes, we have a shot stuck in our head. We know what we want, how we want it, and from where we shall get it. The following is one of such shots, predetermined, preconceived and executed, just the way I wanted it to be.

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Once the shot was done, I turned around, on my way back, and realized, the setting was quite amazing to shoot, one more frame, with a little mystery, this time.

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No, it didn’t rain 🙂

These are my entries for Blogging University: Developing Your Eye I : Streets and II: Mystery

Cheers!!

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Glimpses of Mumbai – 200 M above earth – 2

It has been quite some time that I haven’t posted the photos. Here I am, back with the promised photos.

Its easy to see miles after miles into the city from the vantage point, atop a 51 storied building. Once you get there, you can see, that yes, the city is growing, rising skywards, and that that the slums are diminishing by the hour. The slum dwellers are shifted to newly constructed  slum rehab towers and on the hence vacant land, come up skyscrapers. I guess now this is how we shall define development, the phase of construction, when slums are converted to high rise towers. Squalor and luxury, opposites together, C’est la vie.

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These are the last of the photos that were taken from the internship site. As per the posts, there are still two places to publish. So, stay tuned, for next iteration of Glimpses Of Mumbai 🙂

Cheers!!

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Glimpses of Mumbai – Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)

Continuing with the coverage of the icons of Mumbai, this place is one of the first places you shall visit when you make it to Mumbai, the CSTM railway station, earlier known as VT station. Its one of places which look simply amazing, and are kind of hiding in plain sight. Most of us have seen it looking amazing and grand in the daylight, here is how CST looks at night.

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On the other side of the road, is the municipal corporation, which too has a grand look to it.

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About the next post, I cannot make promises. Schedule is packed tight. Lets see what I can pull up.

Cheers!!

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Glimpses of Mumbai – Nana Chowk, Grant Road

In my previous post, I mentioned that I take a tiny hop to a place to shoot a very particular signal, well, this is the one. Whats so special about it, you may ask, well, it was a pre decided and pre conceived shot. I knew the angles, knew the locations, just went in and took the shot.

Here are the results.

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The first photo is a product of a merging of 4 photos shot in quick succession from the same location, settings unchanged and then merged in Photoshop.

The next post, is one that is long overdue. I climbed the top floor of the site of my work, with the camera and shot Mumbai. The results, shall form the next post. Keep an eye out.

Cheers!!

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