Around the World #001 Welcome to Sagar Parikrama II

Let’s think of this post as the christening of my new 180-day project, roughly the period of time my friend, Lt. Cdr. Abhilash Tomy of the Indian Navy will take to complete a non-stop, solo circumnavigation of the World. And, although I adore him, I won’t actually be posting all 180 days – too lazy for that, & I don’t receive updates from him often enough to take time out from the worrying.  Once a week should be just fine, right?

So, here’s the plan:

I’ll give a quick update as to his whereabouts & all the trouble he’s had getting there.

Then I’ll move on to what I discovered about sailing that week

I’ll finish off with a ‘Photo of the week’ so that the dumb ass will know exactly what to do with that expensive camera he’s sailing around with.

Sound interesting? Let me know.

THE 35MM LIFE #006 Black & White Portraits

I don’t think I need to say it but I will, for all the slow learners out there – I LOVE Black & White Photography. No, not because it makes me seem more intellectual. No, I am NOT a photography snob. And NO, it’s not to make up for the bad quality of my compositions (it might be unintentionally done but I like my photographs).

I have 4 cameras at my disposal, for whenever I’m in the mood. One’s a phone camera, which every neurotic picture-taker like myself should have (see a funny sign, take a picture. see a pretty dewdrop, why not?). Next is a layman’s digital camera (you know, for those touristy shots that all of us have to suffer through once in a while to keep us grounded). Then there’s the DSLR, the bane of my existence, the reason for my bankruptcy (for those who want to be taken seriously as professional photographers and, more importantly, want to be offered well-paying jobs based on the size of their lens rather than any talent in the field). Then last, but certainly not the least, my precioussss Pentax film SLR (one that owns you NOT the other way around. One that you will cherish forever, even when it looks like a pile of scrap metal to everyone else. One that makes the most beautiful photographs you will ever have the privilege of claiming as your own). It is my SLR, which I was forced to use initially for my Photography class, that has made me such a big fan of black & white photography. And with portraits (which are my specialty), together they hold a special place in my heart. So, you will be subjected to these sorts of posts from time to time. No complaining though!

So today’s first photo is by http://www.flickr.com/photos/43468568@N05/ I like it particularly because most underwater photographs make the subject seem like they’re holding their breath under water, which is not the case here. In this photograph, the subject seems almost suspended in a dream-like state & the reflection on the surface of the water almost looks like the divide between the dream world and reality. I would have liked it better if the subject had been completely motionless but, even with that slight blurring of her hand (which is distracting), she seems ethereal & the soft light upon her face makes the well-exposed photograph even more beautiful.

The second photograph is by http://www.flickr.com/photos/hildarandulv/ I like the old world feel that comes through. If you’ve ever seen a photograph made with one of those box cameras, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Also, I’m a big “eye” admirer & they’re always the main feature in any of my photographs. And the artist has also captured them beautifully, although the expression is a little too vacant for my liking. Nicely exposed, although the flowers may be a bit over but I think this one’s gone through a bit of artificial blurring in post-processing. If it’s natural, then that’s really great but I doubt it is. And the long leaves, in the bottom left of the frame, should have been left out of the composition because they add nothing to it. All-in-all though, a well done (if a bit commercial) portrait.

THE 35MM LIFE #005 Back to Photo Appreciation Class

This frame-within-a-frame shot by Clemens Fantur is particularly wistful because of the soft light around the subject, whose presence is emphasized by such a tough looking exterior frame – almost like the description of a person. I would have preferred the sunlight to be a little less over-exposed, since staring too long at the subject makes the eye water.

This photograph is by Sarah Hermans, a piece I think most angst-ridden teenagers would relate to. The high contrast adds to the dramatic effect, almost making the leaves look like blades & making the shadows cast on the person of the subject look like knife wounds. If you step back a little further, you will miss these shadows but the stems & leaves so close together make the set-up look like the bars of a prison, one from which the subject is trying to escape, if her intended motion is anything to go by.

I’m Back! For Good? Not Sure :-(

Although I’d like to say I’ve been reading, I have not. Although I want to say I’ve been flitting around town, making beautiful photographs, I can’t do that. Although I need to say I’ve been living every single minute of my life like it was my last, I’d have to let myself down.

Home > Work > Home – the never ending, forever renewing cycle continues & there’s nothing I’m doing to change that. Sometimes, I don’t even feel like I want to. I feel safe & contented in my routine, almost like a middle-aged person that doesn’t like change. I don’t mind it but I certainly don’t instigate it myself.

If I could only feel like a 25-year-old,  be as young & carefree as I’m supposed to be, then life would be worth trudging through. Right now though, I’m ALWAYS bored & don’t really care about it too much!

I HAVEN’T GONE ON AN INDEFINITE LEAVE

I’m just biding my time until something intelligent pops into my head – something that happens a little too rarely nowadays. English Literature is to blame, I say. Writing assignments, reading the material & studying for the exams means that every other aspect of my pitiful life has been sent to a dark little corner for now. But there’s always hope, right? Remember “This too shall pass”?

Freedom of speech

Reblogged from artismysanity:

Before leaving, I wanted to share this poem with you. We read it in Contemporary Lit. I, and I pinned to my bedroom door years ago, to remember every day. We have to stop them from robbing us of our voice and our freedom!

Do whatever is in your power to stop SOPA/PIPA, even if you don't live in the US.

Read more… 105 more words

Although I'm not from the U.S., I'm not naive enough to think that this narrow-minded, unimaginative piece of legislative rubbish is not going to affect someone like me as well. So everybody please sign the non-US petition against the SOPA & PIPA!!!

THE 35MM LIFE #004: Flickr Hot-shots

I think the best way to discover what can & cannot be done, in your selected field of photography, is to check out what other people are doing, learn from their mistakes, see what generally works &…do the exact opposite. And I think Flickr has emerged as an excellent medium for an amateur photographer like myself to do exactly that. So, I’m going to review a Flickr peer’s work from time to time for my own benefit as well as that of other like myself. Oh, & also to show my appreciation for that user’s work.

Let’s kickstart with an old favourite – someone whose work I follow regularly & whose photos I’ve re-posted on another blog  of mine before this: Lindbergh http://www.flickr.com/photos/lihonger/

Now, I’m brave enough to admit that although I love landscapes, I can’t make good enough photographs to save my life. But Li Honger sure can. This is a person who knows just when colour can be advantageous & when to play it cool with monochrome & almost always to their advantage. The mysterious, almost lonely, feeling in the landscapes is what makes these photos truly memorable. A little too much post-processing for my tastes like the use of the sharpening tool & textures but still..lovely photographs.

THE 35MM LIFE #003: A Photographer’s Handiest Tool

I’m not going to draw up a list of terrifyingly expensive equipment that you just HAVE TO HAVE if you don’t want to be a bad photographer! What I prize above all else is Knowledge &, in my opinion, only when we have read up on & understood everything photographers that came before us had to deal with – what they felt about photography as a medium of expression, what advancements in the craft their observations have brought about – can we truly master the basics, harness our own potential & move beyond it to heights they’d probably never even imagined.

This was supposed to be a very short (as in one line) post but I’ve ranted on as usual. So, let me just get down to the point of this particular post. I’m a quote-crazy person &, as such, believe that all knowledge can be summed up in one profound sentence. So, it is quotes from my predecesors that I value the most & take into the field with me everyday. And here’s the first one by a man whose talent truly shaped the way the world looked at dreary landscapes.

“ You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” - Ansel Adams

THE 35MM LIFE #002: Home for Christmas

I think I’ve mentioned on my “Project Page” that although I love photography, I’ve got fewer photographs in my own cache. I did, however,whip out my trusty Rebel Ti at Christmas because my mum gave me a portable little studio of my own. No people photographs, since they might sue me for how bad they are. Just a little festive fun!

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THE 35MM LIFE #001: Appreciating Women of Steel

I’m a day late starting my 365-day project, which I hope to make up by having
2 posts up today. As I’ve mentioned in my Project Page, I’m going to try &
make 1 post about photography everyday, & I’ve named my project
‘The 35MM Life’ which most of you smart alecs out there would have figured out by the title of this post So, let us begin, shall we?

I usually prefer Black & White to Full Colour photographs because colour to me
distracts the viewer from the real subject in the photograph. With a lack of
colour, a person is forced to used their head & really “see” what the
photographer is trying to show them.

I’ve always admired strong women & so photographs that feature them, without being too blatantly profiles of such women, are ones I appreciate above all others. Being a portrait photographer myself, I feel that although wrinkles & dramatic lighting are all well & good if you want a real portrait of a person, you photograph them in a way that shows you exactly who they are. This biker is still feminine, despite the masculine machine she’s sitting on as well as the stereotypical “bad boy” bikers that surround her. Yet somehow, you still sense that inner core of steel that makes this woman so comfortable in what is clearly an all-male arena.

[image source: http://www.them-thangs.com/%5D