The Making Of…

Photography Tour Hampi

The Making Of “Lost City – Hampi”

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As I repeatedly say in my Art Of Seeing Photography Workshop, “Remember this: you’re not making documentary images (unless that’s your goal). You’re communicating your FEELINGS!”

 

It was a relatively overcast day in Hampi when I shot the image. With the promise of rain quite apparent, I decided to leave the DSLR behind in the guesthouse and instead chose to explore the place with my Panasonic point-and-shoot. And when I landed up here, there wasn’t enough contrast in the scene. And so I let the history of the place wash over me, and what kept coming to mind was the “Lost City” bit.

 

I saw, I felt, I visualized, I shot – keeping in mind what I wanted to convey. The rest was a matter of the science and art of post-processing, dictated by what my heart kept telling me: “How do you make it seem like one is transported back in time to a Lost City?”

 

Here’s the before-after:

 

And to those who think it’s all about image-editing software and the camera, I’ll steal a leaf from Mr. Miyagi’s book (The Original Karate Kid movie, skip to 29 seconds into the video): “Photography & Editing here (tapping my head). Photography & Editing here (taping my heart). Photography & Editing never here (indicates finger used to click mouse button), never here (pointing to image editing software), and never here (pointing to camera).”

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It Really Wasn’t So Blue

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It wasn’t. So Blue. I mean it was blue, but no so much.

 

But it really was Blue. As much as it comes out in the photograph. It really, really was as Blue. As I visualized it.

 

So there I am humming “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream” (well OK, that may seem a bit out of place considering it was the river Ganges at Varanasi) when I see something: streaks of reflected light in a mass of what was otherwise not-so-blue (or, should I say “really, really as Blue”?)

 

And a light goes on in my head.

 

You know what they say about light in photography. That it’s everything. I believe there’s something more important than the light that illuminates a scene. And if that something is missing, it really doesn’t matter just how gorgeous the light is, you’ll still end up making a ho-hum photograph.

 

I don’t believe in taking ho-hum photographs.

 

Switch on DSLR – check! Set White Balance to Tungsten – check! Compose – check! Trip shutter, and voila!

 

I just – to quote Ansel Adams – “Made a photograph”. Well almost, there’s just a tad bit left that I know I’ll need to do in the digital darkroom.

 

Did I mention that I set the White Balance to Tungsten? Oh yes, I did. The reasons thereof are because “It really wasn’t so blue”, but I really wanted it so Blue!

 

Setting the WB to Tungsten essentially nullifies the horrible yellow cast to an image that one ends up with while shooting in scenes illuminated by tungsten lighting. It does this by adding Blue. Put simply, WB set to Tungsten adds Blue to the image. Irrespective of the lighting condition.

 

And that’s what I was looking for: more blue. It really wasn’t so Blue. But it really was so Blue in my mind. I just needed to convert Thought to Image.

 

But adding blue to the entire scene resulted in the yellow reflections losing their “yellowness” to some extent. And I wanted that yellowness…

 

Load image in Lightroom – check! Add some more saturation to the yellow reflections – check!

 

And now, the image was well and truly made! Well actually, it was well and truly made even before I raised the camera. It was made in my mind. As I said, all that remained was converting Thought to Image.

 

Now, you may at this time be tempted to rush off to learn how to “Master Your DSLR”. Or maybe “Learn Lightroom”. But trust me, the role played by both my DSLR and Lightroom in the making of this image is less than ten percent (five percent would be more accurate).

 

The fact is that I could as well have taken this image on a point-and-shoot camera. Heck, I could have as well made this image on my cell phone. And if my point-and-shoot or cell phone didn’t have White Balance controls, I could have added more blue (and boosted the yellows) in post-processing. Put simply, “camera not matter!”

 

The fact is also that I could post-processed this image as I did in any photo-editing software. Heck, I could have done it on Snapseed on my cell phone, and ended up with the same effect. And I kid you not on this front. Put simply, “photo-editing software not matter!”

 

Which brings me to the bit about the most important thing in photography: it is the light. Not the light illuminating the scene, but the light that needs to go on in your head!

 

What matters is Your Mind: Its ability to perceive what lies in your field of vision. Its ability to recognize it (what you see for what it is. And to recognize it for what it can be.

 

What did I see? Or rather, what did my eyes look at? I’ve said it before: streaks of reflected yellow light in a mass of what was otherwise not-so-blue.

 

What did I see? The potential of color. And that’s that about “The Making of It Really Wasn’t So Blue”

Varanasi Photography Tour India Photography Tour

It Really Wasn’t So Red (Or, “How Do You Really – to quote Ansel Adams – Make A Photograph?”)

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the making of

"It Really Wasn't so Red"

(or, "How Do You Really- to quote Ansel Adams -

'Make a Photograph' )"

It Really Wasn't So Red
(Or, "How do you really Make a Photograph?)

Perhaps the most famous of all photography quotes is the one by Ansel Adams, the one that goes “You don’t take a photograph, you make a photograph.” Now, the internet is full of famous photography quotes and sayings, and this famous  Ansel Adams quote tops the list. If you ask me, it’s also the least understood of all photography quotes out there.

 

I should know; been there, parroted words I understood little – if anything – of, and appeared all knowledgeable and wise while doing so. Oh, the follies of youth!

 

I first came across that quotation by Ansel Adams in the nineties, when the internet just about came into India. I’d signed up for what was then the first photography forum on the net, and that’s where I encountered it, I think. And on reading it I went “Oh yes! What that means is that the camera takes a photograph, but it is the photographer that makes the photograph, and this he/she does by exposing correctly and composing well!” In hindsight, that was my ego speaking (along with tons of inexperience!); given that I was bloody good at nailing my exposures (I used to shoot on transparency films then, and that really needed a certain mastery over exposure) and was fairly good at composing a photograph — or so I thought!

 

As I said, that quote by Ansel Adams is the least understood of all photography quotes out there. And the most misunderstood! It’s been twenty-five years since then, and I still find that quote being brandished around on forums, mostly by over-eager photographers trying to impress others, and yes, I plead guilty to the charge of being one too at one point of time. Oh, the follies of youth!  Woe the imprudence of inexperience!

So How Do You Really 'Make a Photograph'?

So how does one really “make a photograph”? Ansel Adams’ famous quote (the complete one, which I reproduce further down in this post) actually lists four elements that one brings to “the act of making a photograph”. But before I get to them, let me narrate a few “stories”, vital as they are to understanding both how this image was made, as well as understanding how any photograph should be made! And yes, I promise to keep each short; a few lines at best, a few paragraphs at worst.

 

What’s a story? Nothing but the retelling of an experience; here I go retelling a few of mine.

Story #1: It was Varanasi. And It Really Wasn't So Red

OK, yellow-red actually. Or red-yellow, whatever you wish to call it. But I wanted to make the photograph look that way. And therein lies the tale. Several actually.

First things first – where this image was made. Or rather taken I should say. Making a photograph – in its entirety – is another matter, one which I’ll cover further on in this post. So yeah, regarding where this was taken… Varanasi it was, and that is central to the  the making of this photograph as you’ll see. Three days after Christmas of 2016, and there I was on a private photography tour to Varanasi & Rajasthan. And as all good visitors to Varanasi are wont, the evening saw as at the banks of the river Ganges, waiting to witness the spectacle that is the Ganga aarti.

Now if you’ve been to Varanasi and witnessed the Ganga aarti, you’ll know that the ghats – at that time of the day – are illuminated by mixed-lighting, mostly tungsten in nature. This renders images – whether on film or digital – as quite orangeish- yellow. Not a nice yellow really, it’s quite a jaundiced yellow as you can see in these images of the Ganga aarti at Varanasi to be found on Google. It’s precisely to overcome these types of horrible color casts that film manufacturers came up with films suitable for various types of lighting; Tungsten Balanced Film for example, mitigates the orangeish-yellow cast when shooting under tungsten / halogen lighting conditions, rendering colors as more ‘natural’.

Digital cameras, of course, have no film. Their sensors, however, are designed to see along the lines of what film did. Put simply, just as each type of film was ‘balanced’ to a certain lighting condition, so can your camera at any given point of time. This is achieved via the “White Balance” setting on digital cameras.

Now I could have set the White Balance on my camera to Tungsten or Auto, both of which would have “normalized” the colors and gotten rid of color casts. But that would have been quite… conformist. But I didn’t want it that way, I wanted it red. So I underexposed the shot a bit, saturating the colors as a result. In post-processing I added more red, because that’s how I wanted it.

Put simply – and this is only thus far – I brought to the making of this photograph my experience of lighting, film, exposure, and post-processing. But wait, that doesn’t explain why I chose red, and there’s more I brought to the making of this photograph…

Story #2: It Wasn't So Grainy

Look at the photograph in detail and you’ll see it’s quite grainy. Grain is a throwback to the days of film; it is nothing but the appearance of random optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from light-sensitive silver halide that have received enough light. It is an optical effect, the magnitude of which (amount of grain) depends on both the film stock (make, age, and batch number) and the definition (magnification/distance) at which it is observed.

Now film grain was a given in the early days of photography; films then were quite grainy, which is to say that grain was quite visible. As film technology developed, the emphasis changed to developing film with finer and finer grain (making grain less noticeable). Another thing worth noting is that the concept of film grain is intrinsically tied to the sensitivity of film; the more sensitive to light (higher ISO) the film was, the more susceptible it was to the increased appearance of grain.

Grain was also a by-product of film being “pushed” – a process of exposing a film at an ISO higher than its rated one (for example shooting ISO 100 film at ISO 400, mostly done in poor lighting conditions to mitigate the effects of camera shake). This would effectively under-expose the film, which would then be compensated for in the chemical darkroom by overdeveloping it (a process known as push-processing). This invariably resulted in the pushed film displaying more grain that it would have if rated – and developed – at its normal specifications

The image sensor in digital cameras isn’t susceptible to grain, lacking as it does the presence of any light-sensitive silver halide. Digital sensors do however manifest digital noise – unwanted (well, mostly!) visual distortions that look looks like tiny colored pixels or specks in a photograph, and sometimes resembles the grain that you may see in film photography. Much like the early films, early digital sensors were exceptionally prone to noise, and just as it was with film, the noise was more manifest at higher ISO ratings. With technology, the focus has been to reduce the amount of noise (just as it was with reducing grain in film); the cameras of today display very little – if any – noise at exceptionally high ISO settings.

When I took this shot, I had bumped up the ISO on my decade plus old camera up quite a bit. As such, there was manifest noise / grain in the image. But it wasn’t so damn grainy! Now I could have easily cleaned up that noise in post-processing (as is the norm), but I actually chose to – and you’ll forgive the pun – go against the grain and actually add more noise / grain to the image. Tons of it actually!

 

It wasn’t so grainy, but I wanted it to be so! Why on earth would one choose to add more noise / grain to an image, when it’s more “acceptable” to reduce noise?? The reasons for that call for a telling of the next story, and the ones after that.

Story #3: I want my... I want my... I want my NGMs!

As a child of the sixties, I grew up on a learning and entertainment diet that mostly comprised of books, magazines, radio, and the occasional movie. Television in India was a state-run single-channel affair; to say that most of the programs they beamed back then were drab would be putting it kindly. Things be as they may, color televisions happened in India, and the first color program that was beamed was MTV! I’m talking mid-eighties here, FYI.

There was that number in the late eighties, one by the British Rock Band Dire Straits – Money For Nothing. And there’s a line in there that goes “I want my… I want my… I want my MTV!”

I, wanted my NGMs – National Geographic Magazines. Of old. I grew up on them. And the photographs had character. Of place, of people, and of the photographers. The colors weren’t over the top, but they had a characteristic warmth to them (see this, this, and this for examples). Almost red, mostly (it depended on the film used, and that in turn was dictated by location and story). Yes, the warmth had to do with the light in some measure, but mostly it was a characteristic of the films of the time.

 

And, they were grainy. It gave them a certain rawness of character, a roughness of sorts. No smooth-as-silk-oh-we’re-so-polished stuff, those-there photographs – their grain – were reflective of life itself, shorn of pretense. They were as real as Life can be.

 

IMHO, they were far better than the images of today.

 

I wanted my NGMs of old. But those are not the only reasons I decided to add red and grain in the making of this photograph. There’s more to the tale, yet another story.

Story #4: Sucker for Color plus Sucker for Contrast equals a 'Slideshooter'

I love color. And contrast. And the standard print (negative) films I started shooting with in the mid-nineties just didn’t reproduce them as I wanted them to. Which led to me shooting on slide (transparency) film. Which led me to really have to master exposure. And when you really managed to expose a frame just right with transparency film, the results were nothing short of magical.

Oh, the colors! Oh, the contrast! They were to die for! Of course, each film had its own unique characteristics in the way they rendered colors, contrast, and grain, but all said and done, they were magical.

Drawn as I am to warm colors (I want my NGMs, remember?) and low to medium-high contrast, it was a given that I’d gravitate to those transparency films that exhibited these characteristics. Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Ektachrome VS (Very Saturated) were my standard choice, with an occasional dabbling in Fujichrome Velvia (which actually was more suited for green vegetation, had tremendous contrast, very deep blacks, and boasted incredibly fine grain).

Now the thing with transparency film was What You Shot Was What You Got! Unlike negative (print) film where errors in exposure or unwanted color-casts could be compensated for in the printing phase, the only thing that could be ‘compensated’ for in the development phase with transparency films was deliberate (or at times, accidental) pushing or pulling at the time the film was loaded into the camera. If you’d pushed (rated the film at a higher ISO at the time of loading it), the resulting underexposure had to be compensated by over-processing; if you’d pulled (rated the film at a lower ISO), the resulting over-exposure had to compensated for by under-processing. Either way, if you’d pushed or pulled film, this had to be communicated to the development lab in advance; there was no fixing things post that if you were shooting on transparency film.

Put simply, we T-Rex’s from the film age – especially those shooting on transparencies – literally brought to the exposed frame our choices of color, grain, contrast, exposure et al… things that went into ‘making a photograph’. Of course, nowadays we bring Digital Editing tools to the process.

But that’s still not the half of what you really bring to the making of a photograph! There are still more stories, two to be precise!

Story #5: Of Varanasi, Shiva, a Hymn, and Shiva's Dance'

It was Varanasi, remember? And it wasn’t so red, nor so grainy. But then…

 

Varanasi – according to Hindu legend – is Shiva’s city, and while the evening aarti is primarily devoted to the river Ganga, part of the ceremony involves the worship of Shiva. Shiva – as one of the trinity of the three primary gods (the other two being Bhrama & Vishnu) in the hindu pantheon, is symbolic of both destruction and regeneration. Things come of him, and are destroyed by him in turn, so that the Rhythm Of The Cosmos is maintained ad infinitum.

While – according to hindu belief ( and there are psychological & philosophical reasons that drive those beliefs, btw) – the other gods actively participate in the affairs of humans in varying degrees, Shiva mostly stands aloof. He does not participate, merely choosing to observe. Until circumstances dictate that he intervene. And when he does, he manifests as Rudra (The Howler), Virabhadra, or Mahakali; all leave behind destruction in their wake, all result in transformation.

Transformation – whether physical, mental or spiritual – is anything but a passive process. It is both energetic in itself and calls for tremendous energy. Transformation is violent (think Newton’s First Law Of Motion). Transformation is active, transformation is arousing and moves to action…

Speaking of destruction, transformation, arousing and moving to action — associated with the legend of Shiva is a hymn known as “Shiv Tandava Stotra”. Describe as it does Shiva’s power and beauty, the ninth and tenth quatrains of this hymn conclude with lists of Shiva’s epithets as destroyer, even the destroyer of death itself. Alliteration and onomatopoeia create roiling waves of resounding beauty in this example of Hindu devotional poetry.

While there are many performances of this hymn to be found on the net, the most energetic and awe-inspiring rendition I’ve heard is the one that forms part of the Ganga aarti along a  ghat where this photograph was taken; it comes closest to describing the Tandava – The Dance Of Endless Destruction & Regeneration that Shiva (as Natraja – The Lord Of Dance) dances in his role both as The Destroyer & Regenerator. Shiva’s Tandava is not an event; it is an endless, on-going process. It is The Very Rhythm Of The Cosmos itself!

The photograph in this post – call it chance maybe, was taken during the recitation of the Shiv Tandava Stotra.

Transformation, Destruction, Energy, Energetic, Violence, Active, Arousing & Moving to Action... all these are some of the emotions and feelings both triggered by and associated with The Color Red!

The Red Belongs There In That Image, That's Why I Wanted - and Made - It So Red!

Shiva is also described – and portrayed – as a disruptor; one could say he’s the original maverick! While all the other gods (and mankind) have their rules and codes of conduct which they strictly adhere to, Shiva stands out like a sore thumb, seemingly mocking the artificiality of rules, laws, and all societal constructs. While the other gods – and mankind – deck themselves with expensive clothing and jewelry, Shiva just wraps an animal hide around his waist. While the other gods and men seek engagement with society, Shiva prefers the solitude of high mountain peaks and forests. While the other gods and men seek to have a beautiful roof over their heads, Shiva spends the night in charnel houses and crematoriums. While the other gods and men seek and surround themselves with things they like while avoiding things and people they dislike, Shiva is surrounded by society’s rejects.

Shiva goes against the established practice. Shiva does not conform, he goes against the grain! While the other gods and mankind seek smoothness and polish, he is rough and course.

 

Kind of reminds you of grain / noise in a picture,  don’t you think?

Shiva – a worshiper of his would say – is akin to the the very essence of film: silver halide that sometimes manifests as grain in an image. Shiva – one could say – is akin to the very nature of digital sensors:  statistical quantum fluctuations that manifest as noise. Grain / noise – like Shiva – may not always be visible, but it’s there!

 

And that’s why I added more grain to the image. Because – what with the location being Varanasi, Shiva’s omnipresence, courseness, roughness , being the very essense of things manifest etc.,  the grain  belonged there!

Story #6: Back to Ansel Adams' Quote. Or, How do you Really "Make A Photograph"?

Towards the beginning of this post I stated that Ansel Adams’ quote is probably the most misunderstood of all the famous photography quotes out there. The reason, I believe, is two-fold: (a) The quote that is mostly thrown around is a fragment; incomplete, not giving any clue of what Adams was referring to, and (b) as and when the quote was reproduced in its entirety, many people fail to realize the sheer depth of its scope.

 

So what is the quote in its entirety? What did Ansel Adams have to say about making a photograph? This:

We don't take a photograph, we make a photograph. And we don't make a photograph just with a camera, we bring to the act of photography all the books we have read, the movies we have seen, the music we have heard, the people we have loved."

Ansel Adams

Sounds very good. Definitely worth brandishing in forums and seeming to appear all wise. But what does it really mean?  As I like to put it,  it simply means this:

WE BRING TO THE ACT OF PHOTOGRAPHY -TO THE MAKING OF A PHOTOGRAPH (AND EVERYTHING AS A MATTER OF FACT) THE SUM TOTAL OF THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR LIFE!

It’s that simple, it really is. What you need to bring to making a photograph is yourself. Your beliefs, your likes, your dislikes… everything you’ve experienced! Now I could have said this right at the beginning, that this is what Ansel Adams’ quote means. I could have skipped narrating those experiences of mine. But it’s quite possible then that you wouldn’t have understood the scope and depth of just how much of oneself one can – and if needed – should bring to the act of photography and the making of a photograph!

So how much of oneself should one bring to the making of a photograph? That totally depends on you. I personally bring a lot of myself to the process, and consciously at that. How much you choose to is up to you.

 

If the truth be said, one is subconsciously always bringing a little bit of oneself to the making of a photograph; even if all that one is [seemingly] bringing is the camera and knowledge of things technical, one is bringing a dominant (albeit mistaken / incomplete) belief (i.e. oneself if you think about it) that it’s the camera that makes an image. One is bringing oneself even then, but an extremely little bit I’d say. Really not done, and it won’t get you far.

 

By the way, do you know what one of my favorite photography quotes is? It’s one by a photographer who’s influenced my photography the most. Quite relevant – extremely so, actually – to this post. it goes:

All you have to do is Live, and Life will give you the pictures"

Henri Cartier-Bresson
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The Making Of “The Woman in Red, India”

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rajasthan photo tour india photo tour

The Making Of The Woman In Red – India

 

Or, How the hots a certain lady has for me helped in making this image”

YUP! OF COURSE IT IS. About Luck. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

So, there I am on one of my photography tours to Rajasthan, Canon EOS around my neck, strolling around in Amber Palace in Jaipur, India. I round a corner, and that’s when I see her, this woman in red, striding towards the door through which she disappears in the next two seconds…

Luck. Pure luck. To chance across this scene as it unfolds before me. Luck. Pure Luck. To recognize it for what it is: Cartier-Bresson’s Decisive Moment in the making. Luck. Pure Luck. To nail what The Master (HCB) described photography as – “a supreme moment captured with a single shot.”

I’ll be the first to admit it: I consider myself one of the luckiest photographer’s alive, what with Lady Luck time and again providing me both ample opportunities to capture moments such as this, as well as ensuring I nail the moment in a fashion that is pleasing to the senses and tells a story.

The question then is how do some photographers get so damn lucky? And all the bloody time, at that. It just isn’t fair, is it?

So I’m gonna let you into a little secret:  that Lady called ‘Luck’ – she also goes by the name “Chance”. And she’s got the hots for anyone with a Prepared Mind!

“Chance Favors the Prepared Mind” ~ Louis Pastuer


So if you’re looking for a tip – or three – on how to ensure that Lady Luck has the hots for you, you’ve come to the right place!

 

TIP #1: YOU GOTTA BE A SMOOTH OPERATOR, REAL SMOOTH
(Or, Chance doesn’t like fumbling fools)

She doesn’t. No lady does. Like fumbling fools, that is. I mean just imagine this: a lady out wherever, and she needs a door to be opened, or she’s crying her heart out at a table at a restaurant or whatever. And there you go instead of being perfectly chivalrous and holding that door open for her (or offering her your  kerchief), end up slamming that door in her face. Or, instead of a nice clean kerchief, you go ahead and give her that still damp smelly rag your dried your dog with. Or maybe, tripping over your own two feet and crashing into her at that door, or sprawling over that table…

Not done. It’s just not done! Not with Lady Luck, not with any lady!

The smoother you are, the more polished you are, the less you fumble, the better any lady – Chance included – is gonna like you. And she likes me because I’m invariably prepared for whatever she throws at me. Not hesitating in the least for a moment. Smooth. Real Smooth. That’s the name of the game.

What does this translate as in photography? Well, it encompasses decisions leading to pre-determined camera settings made before hitting the location. These decisions are based on a whole host of things — the weather, the light, the environment, location etc., all playing a role. And of course, there’s the bit (which is a lot!) of vision, but for the sake of this-here post I’ll restrict myself to one – My Exposure Mode.

MY EXPOSURE MODE OF CHOICE

APERTURE PRIORITY MODE. That’s what I employ almost a hundred percent of the time. To the extent that I ensure that my camera is set on that mode before I head out into the field. It works like a charm for me as I prefer to directly dictate to my camera the Depth-of-Field I wish to employ (via the f-stop) rather than the shutter speed. Besides, I’m extremely comfortable shooting at very slow shutter speeds if it comes to that, sometimes hand-holding the camera at slow at 1/6th of a second if it comes to that (which is not very often).

Of course, I will – and do – switch to Shutter Priority or Manual Mode if the situation dictates. But that isn’t really called for often as I mentioned.

That being said, you can’t totally divorce Aperture Value (f-stop) from Shutter Speed and ISO. Which obviously means that if I’m more focused on the setting the f-value (and letting the camera take care of the shutter speed), I must be having a preferred ISO of choice. Quite right there, I do. Again, it’s preset before I head out into the field (or, is set when I enter an environment where the lighting differs from where I was previously). The question is what my ISO setting of choice is – that, I’ll reserve for a future post. For this post let’s talk about my Aperture value (f-stop) of choice – the one that’s set by default before I head out into the field.

It’s f/8.

 

Being in Aperture Priority Mode – and f/8 at that – by default ensures that I’m working at my optimum. Perfectly in command to dictate to the camera precisely the depth-of-field I want rendered, reducing to the barest minimum any button-pressing and or dial-turning antics that would come between my subject and me. Smooth, real smooth. No coming across like a fumbling fool. Ready for whatever Chance throws at me, whenever she throws it at me. And trust me, she really has a thing for the guy – and gal – who can pick up the proverbial ball she throws at random and run with it at will. No wonder she has the hots for me!

As for just why I’m set at f/8 by default; again it’s all about being smooth. Real smooth – I cover that f/8 thingie in a separate post linked to at the end of this one. But before we head to that post, lemme share another tip with you…

 

TIP #2: DON’T TREAT HER LIKE SHE’S ‘ANY OTHER GIRL’
(Or, how not to be left holding your you-know-what in your hands)

Want to know the fastest way to tick any girl off? Yup, that’s right — keep telling her how similar she is to all the other girls around. Keep talking about your ex-flame / girlfriend / spouse. Keep giving her that same tripe, corny compliments every other guy who’s trying to woo a lady does. Put simply, do nothing original, treat her like any other girl…


Get this in your head, guys! You wanna woo a lady? Stop treating her like any other girl. She isn’t. She’s special. And she wants to be treated as the most special person on earth!

It’s the same with Chance. She’s gonna creep up on you when you least expect it, and the worst thing you can do is look at her like you do ‘any other girl’ (read that as fail to see the beauty in the most so-called “everyday / ordinary things”). The worst thing you can do is fail to see just how special she is. And the worst thing you can do is pay her the same crappy compliments that everyone else does (read that as making the same images everybody else does — put simply, copy the compositions of others, make the same cliche images you’ve seen before, failing to see and compose for yourself).

Do that one time too many — screw up in the ways I pointed out above, and guess what? She’s gonna do what any self-respecting lady would: Say “good luck to you mister!” and walk away, leaving you holding your you-know-what in your hands…

I’m referring to the camera of course!

And if you don’t want that to come to pass, learn to see and recognize the beauty of everything. Be ready to spot Chance whenever she appears. And do justice to her. Your way, not the way you’ve seen others do it!

 

TIP #3: SHE WANTS YOU TO TAKE CHARGE. OR DOES SHE?
(Or, Sometimes you follow, sometimes you lead)

Guys, if you’ve been – or are – in a relationship, you should know this by now. You may not have acknowledged it, but that’s the way it is.

You’re not in charge. She is. Period.

Kinda depressing, I know, but the faster you come to terms with it, the better you can deal with it. And trust me, it ain’t that bad actually.

It can – and will – be very depressing if you’re a control freak, which is where that desire to “be in charge” comes from. But trust me, that’s the fastest way to have things go downhill – you trying to control things you have no control over.

It’s not that she’s a control freak either – far from it. She just knows what she wants. Whatever it be. It doesn’t have to be something big and expensive, it could be something as “ordinary” as having the garbage put out. In that context, she’s in control. As for you, it’s your business how you get it done; she doesn’t really care about how you do it, as long as it’s done. That’s your department. In that, you’re in control.

And once you get the above clear in your head, you and the lady of your affections can really have a wonderful relationship. One that really works. One where she’s in charge, and you’re not.

But wait a second. Didn’t I say that “Sometimes you follow, and sometimes you lead”?

Well, here’s the trick: In relationships, with the fairer sex, you can sometimes get away with leading, as long as you make it seem like you ain’t being too clever by half about it. Essentially in the midst of all that following that you haveta do to maintain the peace, suddenly lead, only to slip into follow mode again. Whatever you do, don’t kid yourself for a moment into thinking she didn’t notice it; she did. She just chooses to let it pass. Don’t try it too often!

That girl called Chance is no different.

She’s in charge, you ain’t. You don’t lead, she does. You never know what she’s gonna do. All you can do is wait for what she throws at you, recognize what she wants done, and do it. How you do it – how you make the shot – is your business. Can’t do it? Tough luck, kid.

But sometimes – just sometimes – you can slip into lead mode with her. Essentially, you anticipate what she’s gonna do, what she wants before she enunciates it, and set things up so they work in your favor. Just don’t get overconfident and too cocky about it as I said, Chance – like any other girl – doesn’t take too kindly to that.

As for example here’s how I employed that “Sometimes you follow, sometimes you lead” principle here in the making of the shot: I was out there at f/8 as I said. I made this shot at f/5.6. Quite a narrow depth of field. Given that the woman in the photograph is walking away from me, I focused on her and took the shot, knowing that she’d still be in focus despite that she’d have moved in the interim between me focusing and tripping the shutter. Why? Because Depth of Field is greater behind what you focus on than in front of it. That, is “following”.

Had she however been walking towards me, I’d have focused not on her, but a foot or so in front of her (towards me). And I’d have taken the shot before she got to where I’d focused? Why? Because Depth of Field is smaller in front of what you focus on, and what with my small aperture (f/5.6) and the fact that she was moving towards me, it’d be quite possible that she’d be outside the Depth of Field area between me focusing on her and taking the shot. That, is “leading”.

And that’s how this shot was made — thanks to the hots a certain lady called Chance has for me. And my untiring efforts to keep her in good humor. Photography – as you can see – is simple: It mirrors real life!

fine art india

Fine Art Print: Kashi – City Of Light, Colours & Mystery

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“For an image to speak to me, it must be an image of something; the role of color is to accentuate that thing and the emotion triggered in me. It is only then that I can communicate what I felt; to begin to truly understand color is to begin to understand the many hues and emotions of Life itself.” (an excerpt from my Artist Statement)

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The Making of “Kashi: City of Light, Colors & Mystery”

Sometimes it happens: You’re there with your camera and something astounding comes to pass. And you have but a split-second to capture it. People say I’m lucky to encounter such moments as regularly as I do. My reply is that Luck favors the prepared mind…

And there I was in a boat on the river Ganges in Varanasi when the events that went into the making of this photograph came to pass: this lady, who’d probably just finished taking a dip in the holy river, a shawl thrown over her as she changed out of her wet clothes, the better to protect her modesty.

 

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What caught my eyes were the colors. The emotions triggered – had I not known the setting and the circumstances in which this photograph was taken – would be one of a deep sense of Mystery: Who is that? Why is she covered like that? What is she doing? And where is she? And while I – in the paragraph preceding this one – have answered many of these questions, there is still such a deep sense of mystery to this image; one cannot help but want to know even more about that woman.

Such is Kashi – The City of Light, Colors, and Mystery!

In post-processing I strongly boosted the contrast to better give the feeling of depth and mystery, while boosting saturation. I also gave the image an impressionist feel, resulting in a fine art print that is more a painting than a photograph.

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fine art print, india, photography tours ladakh

And Buddha Showed The Way – Wall to Wall Print

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The Making of “And Buddha Showed The Way”

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” ~ The Buddha

The Photograph

I’m not much into Buddhism, I must admit. Even less so into buddhist quotes. But I have always believed in that old universal saying from the east that goes “The teacher shows you the way to the door of understanding. But the act of walking through the door the student must do themselves.”

It was an early morning in December 2004 when I made this image at the Shanti Stupa at Leh in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, India. Put it down to the biting cold (twenty Celsius below zero) and the fact that there are very few visitors to the region at that time of the year), and I had the place pretty much to myself and my workshop participant. That meant I could really spend time looking around without having people creep into the frame – ah, Luxury!

What really caught my eye was the sweep of the ascending staircase. I immediately looked around for elements that could add to what I saw at first glance and observed the frescoes. Put together, they immediately brought to mind that universal quote I talked about – the rising staircase is all about going somewhere, the diminishing perspective of the frescoes is about a guide walking with you part of the way, but leaving the pinnacle for you to summit for yourself.

Visually, the yellow and blue in the image makes for a great combination; they really complement each other. Great importance was paid to the precise composition to get all those lines in the frame just right, as was the choice of how much of blue sky and mountains to include for balance.
Post-processing was minimal and restricted to boosting the colors a bit, along with contrast.

I must admit I was extremely pleased with the way this image turned out when printed – it was one of the first of my Wall to Wall prints (my Magnum Opus series) and really looks great up large hanging on a wall.

The Fine Art Print

This fine art photograph is available in three product formats: (1) as a ready-to-hang Stretched Canvas Print,(2) a framed Canvas Print, and (3) a framed Fine Art Paper Print. All materials used in the printing and framing process are acid free, making the print especially resistant to aging. Prints are produced using the highest quality papers / canvases using the best inks possible.

To purchase this fine art photograph, please contact us.

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A priest - his early morning dip in the river Ganges over and done with - climbs the steps to a temple - Varanasi, India

Pattern, broken – Varanasi, India

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The Making of “Pattern, broken – Varanasi”

As I mention in my Artist Statement, one of the driving forces in my fine art photography is Contrast; and it was the contrast at play here – between lines horizontal & vertical – that made me raise camera to eye and trip the shutter.

The place was Varanasi, India. The event – one of  the photography workshops and tours. My guests and I were at the fag end of  our boat ride on the river Ganges when I saw this man walking up a flight of stairs on the ghats after taking a dip in the river Ganges.
Now there’s nothing extraordinary about a man walking up a flight of steps that would prompt one to raise camera to eye, let alone spending precious time in processing to end up with a brilliant fine art photograph. Nothing at all, if I hadn’t seen what played out in front of me differently…

This photograph is all about horizontal lines, you just can’t miss them. A pattern of sweeping row upon row of red and white bands make this panoramic fine art print ideal for wide walls. And then that pattern is broken, and that is what really makes this image work: The small yet so very significant visual impact of what is essentially a vertical shape across those horizontal lines.

In post-processing, I actually added a bit of black to the reds (deepening them) so as to ensure that that particular colour did not end up taking away from the man; red has that impact – it is an attention-grabber if ever there was one, and one must know when to do what with it. I also accentuated the lines that define the shapes of everything but the steps themselves, the better to make them stand out. The end result is a fine art photograph that looks like an impressionist painting with some of the shapes (such as that of the man) emphasized by the use of charcoal on their edges.

 

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Fine Art Photography India : A Day in the Life of India - NH 8

Fine Art Print: A Day in the Life of India – NH 8

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“A kind of golden hour one remembers for a life time… Everything was touched with magic.” ~ Margaret Bourke-White

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The Making of  “A Day In The Life Of India – NH 8”

National Highway 8 (NH 8) is a highway that connects the Indian financial capital Mumbai with India’s capital Delhi. According to estimates, it is the busiest highway in the subcontinent.

I’d started off very early that day from Mumbai; my final destination was the picturesque hill-station of Manali in the Himalayan region of India, with a night’s stopover each in the cities of Udaipur and Delhi. By late afternoon I’d passed the city of  Ahmadabad in the state of Gujarat, and it was then that those few moments that defined this one day in the Life of India on NH 8 came to pass. The huge – and I mean HUGE – herd of cows, with several cowherds in tow trundled onto the highway. Step on brakes – check! . Leap out – check! Grab camera from backseat – check! Stop drooling long enough to make this  fine art photograph of A Day in the Life of  India on NH 8. Check!

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The Photograph

Apart from the sheer spectacle that presented itself to me, what really caught my eye was the play of light that was perfect for photography – soft , golden angular light, the magic of which was accentuated by the dust kicked up by this bovine herd. The pattern of U-shaped horns of these magnificent creatures does a lot for this image. I needed something to break the pattern, something that would yet provide context – the two herdsmen. I made several shots of the spectacle as it  played out before me before settling on this one.  On the technical front, it was vital I get my exposure right, mastering your dslr and exposure helps.

In post-processing I adjusted contrast to do further justice to the play of light and shadow. I also gave this image an impressionist touch. To be quite frank the image as viewed here does no justice to the final fine art print; if there was ever a fine art photograph that portrays the essence of India, this is it!

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fine art print, ladakh, india

Doorway to a Monastery, Ladakh – India

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The Making of A Doorway in Ladakh, India

Color. I just can’t miss it. And color positively exploded from this freshly painted door leading to the courtyard of a monastery in Ladakh.

The Photograph

It was an overcast day, and that helped actually. The entire sky was like one big umbrella, diffusing the light and lighting everything evenly without casting shadows. Shapes were clearly delineated owing to the color contrasts, and the warm tones really helped. The picture, however, felt too heavy and weighted to the left, which is what led me to compose so as to include the thin strip of the black paint on the right. Overall, I really like this image; the vertical format and the warm hues signify strength, power and movement of sorts. Yet, the circular yellow shape balances that power out. Yellow is a friendly, inviting hue. The circle is a symbol of smoothness and infinity. Post-processing was minimal and restricted to boosting contrast a bit while saturating colors. Sharpening was added to bring out the texture in the rope and wooden door.

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The Fine Art Print

This fine art photograph is available in two formats: (a) as a ready-to-hang mounted canvas print, and (b) a framed image printed on either canvas or Fine Art Paper.

The print is available in three size styles: Decorator (12×18), Collector (16×24), and Connoisseur (20×30). Sizes are in U.S. inches and are approximate.

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