She has been rightly credited with bringing cheer to many a soul with her shooting skills. And she sheepishly acknowledges her photography beginnings to “poor memory” which made her carry a camera where ever she goes! She is the beautiful Neeta Shankar, a young photographer whose passion is framing and freezing moments.

Neeta Shankar Site | Facebook | Twitter Technique: Portraiture Achievements: Official Photographer for “Tour of Nilgiris 2010″. Her short film U-turn was ranked as one of the top 6 films at International Short Film Festival, Bhubaneshwar. Official photographer for Celebration Run – Mysore Marathon.

Q. How did you get into photography? Was it a natural progression from your travels?

A. Yes. It was a natural outcome of traveling. I love traveling and been doing it quite extensively since I started working at HP. I used to trek quite frequently too. On all these trips and treks, I carried an old point and shoot camera (belonging to my brother) to capture some memories. My photographs were most often appreciated by my fellow travelers and I developed an interest in the art and science of photography. I started reading more about it online and put the concepts I learnt to practice. The more I learnt, the more I loved it.

Q. What does your gear consist of ?

A.
Body – I still have an entry level DSLR Canon 500D and I am quite happy with it.
Lens – I use the following lenses – Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5, Canon 50mm f1.8, Canon 100mm f2.8 macro, Canon 24-70 f2.8, Canon 70-200 f2.8, Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 (Some of them I own, some I borrow on rent for my shoots).
Filter – I have UV filters for all my lenses and Circular Polarizer for my wide angle lens.
Tripod – I don’t own a tripod yet. I usually rent it out.
Backpack – I have a Lowepro Pro Runner A350 which allows me to comfortably fit in all the gear I use and my laptop. But I cannot really say that I can comfortably carry it around . I also own a Lowepro Mini Trekker.
Flashes – I use 2 speedlites Canon 580 ex ii with wireless triggers for triggering them.

Q. Which is your favorite lens? Why?

A. 50mm f1.8 lens because it is inexpensive, fast and sharp. Also because it is lightweight and easy to carry. Because of its small size, it doesn’t draw much attention to it. I also like the 70-200mm f2.8 lens which I rent out time to time. But it weighs a lot and carrying it around mounted on the camera is a pain.

Q. When you go for one of your travels, what all will you take with you?

A. I tend to overpack and carry most of my gear along as you never know what kind of photo opportunities will present themselves during travel. I carry my camera with 3 or 4 lenses and their filters, external flash, my laptop and external harddisk, protective rain cover for my camera bag, spare batteries and chargers, lots of spare cards. A small sling camera bag to carry the camera easily.

Q. Among the gadgets that you own, is there anything that you regret buying? If yes, can you mention why?

A. Wireless triggers. I should have probably saved up for a good expensive set. Mostly because the cheap triggers don’t work all the time. Out of every ten fires, one may work. They have a limited range and a weak success rate.

Q. How do you post process your shots?

A. I generally use Photoshop CS5 and sometimes Lightroom. I play with color tones depending on the mood that I want to portray in my image.

Q. I see that the models in your photos are at their natural best (except him, maybe). How do you build the rapport with your subject?

A. I smile at them!

A smile is the best way to communicate.

Especially kids warm up to me very easily.

Q. When you are on a photo session, what leads you – your instincts or the model?

A. Mostly my instincts but it is very essential for the models to be comfortable with the poses too. Otherwise it may appear unnatural. Sometimes its a team effort where the models have their own ideas. I generally start with their ideas and then go by my instincts.

Q. Do photographer’s block happen to you? If yes, how do you overcome it?

A. Sometimes, Yes. I travel to get my creativity going. Also I discuss photography with my peers. This year I have also taken up 366 project to keep myself motivated every single day of the year. You can find the shots on my facebook page.

Q. How do you educate yourself to take better shots?

A. Read. Read. Read. There’s a wealth of information online and numerous blogs explaining the technical aspects as well as the rules of composition.

The most important thing however is to practice what you have learnt.

Q. Where should a newbie start, according to you, if he/she is interested in pursuing portraiture ?

A. Start off with a 50mm f1.8 lens which is not an expensive buy. Learn about the rules of composition and the use of light. You can look at some beautiful portraiture in 1x.com or flickr for inspiration.

Q. Who or what is a nightmare when you are on an assignment?

A. My biggest nightmare is camera break-down amidst a shoot. Once this nightmare did indeed come true. My camera shutter broke while I was shooting a wedding and luckily I had a second shooter with me that day whose camera I could borrow and another photographer friend of mine brought me his camera in less than half an hour!

Q. What is the one thing that you wish you knew when you started photographing ?

A. Self learning has its benefits. Trial and error is time consuming but since we learn from our mistakes, it is more effective in the long run.
I wish I knew how important it is to keep your images organized. I have thousands of images from my early shoots just lying in a hard disk and not really in an organized structure which has made it hard to find the ones I want.

Our favorite Neeta Shot

Align Center – Eyes straight

An insane close-up of the face with the eyes staring straight at the viewer can be both captivating and menacing.

Align Side – Eyes sideways

In this type of framing, subject’s eyes lead you out of the frame’s border from one corner to the other. Normally eyes will be placed according to the Rule of Thirds. Also, most of the time, the subject itself fills the canvas in its entirety in the direction of the eyes.

Align Side – Eyes straight

The subject will be placed in the right or left corner of the frame with eyes looking straight at us.

This post is an attempt at generalizing the approaches of better photogs to help photogs like us to make a better and learned judgement about the shots we are about to take. Keeping in mind that the key to better portraits  is to keep on experimenting, I would like to hear your observations on the topic.

Q. Is there anything you wish you knew when you started photographing?

A.

Sriram Guruswamy (Style – Potrait)

I never had the luxury of a mentor or of a formal training. My Photography style is totally self-taught and it took years to get evolved. I realized late that photography is not just about capturing something that is already beautiful.
There is a bigger dimension to it as being an honest perspective into those real moments of truth depicted in an aesthetic way.

Fabien Bravin (Style – Macro)

He he… On my side, there is nothing that comes to my mind right now. But, I think my wife wish she knew, when I began photography, that macro was a kind of drug and that you can become quickly addicted to.

Richard Gastwirt (Style – Stage Show)

If I didn’t learn by trial and error, the lessons probably wouldn’t have stuck. So I’m not sure that if there’s anything I wish I knew. But it took me a while to realize that the histogram was more important than my exposure needle and that cameras aren’t very intelligent and their metering isn’t suited to concert photography.

James Brandon (Style – HDR)

In the beginning, I wish I had surrounded myself with other photographers. I’m currently a part of a local photography group through meetup.com and it is awesome. I think a new and aspiring photographer should surround themselves with other photographers to learn from them and grow.

Mukul Soman (Style – Street)

I wish I knew how to anticipate a moment and wait for it, before taking that photograph at the right time.

Phalgun P (Style – Wedding)

Yes! There is one thing which I came across very late. It is the podcast series of the photographer Brooks Jenson called Lenswork. Each of them is just three minutes long and it leaves you thinking at the end. I wish I’d started listening to his podcasts before.

Enjo Mathew (Style – Visual Art)

I am painfully self taught, so yes, there are a lot of things I now know, that I wish I knew back then. I have never gone for any formal photography classes nor have I gone to anyone to formally train me. I just had the will and a lot of patience to discover things around me on my own.

Nidhin G Poothully (Style – Wildlife)

I usually travel to the jungles in Karnataka as they are nearer since I stay in Bangalore. In my earlier days, I used to get excited a lot while seeing a bird or a mammal. I have tried to capture them in my camera as soon as possible. I used to chase them away as they see the sudden flurry of my activities. Now I know that I need more patience to get the click without causing the least disturbance to the subject.

In all wildlife encounters, there are a thousand possibilities to take a bad photo and there are only one or two opportunities to take a good photo. A nature photographer learns to be ready for that perfect moment. This needs years of patience and practice.

Jyothy Karat (Style – Photo Documentary)

Ayyo! I can’t think of anything specific at the moment.

When you are starting out and learning the photography basics in the Academy, you will be flooded with the works of other master photographers. They are the references that will inspire you.

The study on the history of a painting or an object of art can also have a profound influence on your photography style.
That’s something I could have started earlier. Nowadays I am reading a lot on these subjects.

Recently a friend of mine asked me to help his friend buy a DSLR. To be frank, it left me scratching my head as I was at a loss as to what to tell him. Then I realized that the posts that have been published in antzFxWay are indeed a great place to start, if read in the right order. Once I sent him the mail, I figured it could help more people. So here is the post from where you can start your research.

	A Beginners Guide to Buying a DSLR (from a Beginner) I wanted to make a transition from P&S to DSLR. So I asked Google, my all-knowing ever-faithful friend, “What should I do?”. The keeper-of-all-knowledge promptly dumped thousands of camera reviews in front of me to choose from. “Oh my!” - I pinched myself.
	Photography – Reliable DSLR and Lens Review Sites Trust is a little hard to come by – especially in online sector. I spent the last two weeks in search for a “good’ DSLR. (Read More)
	Half A dozen Stupid things people will do after buying their first DSLR It is astonishing to see that newbies buying their first DSLR (including me)have hit on a sequence of spending behaviours that is not exactly helping them. (Read More)
	Realizations of a DSLR newbie It’s been almost 10 months since I bought my first DSLR.Given below are a few realizations I had in the last few days. (Read More)
	A dozen sites for Photography Inspiration – Part 1 and Part 2 A collection of sites that will help to run your imagination run wild. Enjoy.

An aeronautical engineer by profession, Fabien Bravin is a macro photographer who has chosen to walk a path rarely trodden by photographers of similar interest. A self-confessed addict of macro photography, he tries to emphasize the beauty and poetry of nature in his shots. Here we are in talk with the man who has produced an array of stunning pictures.

Fabien Bravin Flickr | 1x | Blog Technique: Macro

Q. Your macros are a celebration of colors. What influenced you to take up macro photography?

A. Even before I started photography, I’ve always been attracted by nature and its inhabitants. It’ s so appeasing to be alone in the meadow watching and enjoying the moment. So, when I started photography in 2008, I already knew the kind of photography I would be doing. But taking sharp insect photographs and present them in a documentary format was not my aim. All along the way, I learned how to take macro photographs, constantly asking myself what could make an artistic picture and what I would’ve to do to get them. All my attempts have been towards achieving that goal.

Q. How do you go around looking for subjects? Are your images pre-arranged or mostly by chance?

A. From my beginning and up to last year, I just went in my garden (which is a very good spot for mantis) or in the meadows looking for some subjects (mainly damselflies and butterflies). I tried to work and improve my technique choosing some simple composition and easy subjects. So during these 2 years it has always been by coincidence that I found my subjects.

From last year, i decided to increase the challenge and to try some more complicated compositions with multiple subjects. To do so, I had to arrange some meetings

Typically, the series of pictures with ants and my latest picture with the mantis and the spider, I would like to emphasize that, I took great care while manipulating the insect to bring it to where I want it to be. I never manipulate the insect directly with my hands because they are fragile. So I just take the support on which it is and bring it near the support where I want it to be. I’ll wait for a few seconds to let it climb on the dedicated support and that’s it.

This requires many tries. You can’t just ask an insect to do this or that, stay here, turn your head, look at me and smile.

Q. Do you have any preferred time to shoot macro?

A.

As I’m really keen on natural light, I prefer the early morning of a sunny day or sunset.

So spring and autumn are my preferred season. During summer, sun rises too early for me. So I prefer the evenings. This year was more complicated as I’ve had some difficulties to manage all my activities, so I shot only when I could. But this has led to a change in my setup.

Q. Most of the people I have seen take macros in an indoor, controlled environment. But your approach is completely different. Rather than an insane close-up of the insect, you seem to be able to bring out the character in the nature through its subjects. Can you explain your setup while taking a macro?

A. Yes, you are right. I do not like taking insane close-ups of insects. I would rather like to show the insect in a natural environment.

I always perform my pictures outside.

I tried once or twice to make some indoor pictures but quickly realized that it is not my cup of tea as I didn’t succeed in getting good results. From my point of view, it requires complicated lighting system that I don’t have. So, all my shots are taken in the natural environment of the insect.

Also I’ve no pre-established recipe. I go outside, look for a subject, evaluate the situation, the direction and intensity of light. Then I try to find the best angle to compose the picture taking into account all these parameters. I especially focus my attention on the background quality (the bokeh). Considering all these things, I select the suitable gear parameters (aperture, shutter speed and ISO). I also try to vary my angle and composition as much as possible. When natural light is not good enough, I often use an additional flash lighting to create some nice rim light effects.

Q. What kind of gear do you use?

A.

Body – A canon 7D since the last two years; I started off with a canon 400D
Lens – The Sigma 180 mm f/3.5 macro lens since the last two years and I started off with a Canon 100mm macro lens. I also have a wide angle lens, Tokina 11-16mm, Canon 50 mm f/1.4 for portrait. Sometimes for macro, I use a Kenko extension tube. For long distance shots, I use a canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens.
Tripod – I prefer to use a monopod which is easier to use and easily mobile. I use my Benro tripod only for long exposure shots.
Filters – None for macro. But I’ve some BW filters for landscape and long exposure – a circular polarizer filter and a 10 f-stops filter.
Flash – As an additional lighting source, I use a Canon speedlight 580EX II. I also have bought a macro flash – Canon MT24 EX. But for the time being, I find it too complicated to use.
Camera bag – LowePro Slingshot.

Q. Which is your favorite lens? Why?

A. The sigma 180mm macro lens; because I am more involved into macro. Compared to a 100 mm, I find it much better because of its long working distance and the beautiful bokeh it gives.

Q. When you go in one of your travels, what all do you take with you? Why?

A. I often take all my gear, because I never know what kind of picture I will do.

And I don’t want to miss an opportunity just because I’m too lazy to carry my gear.

Q. Among the many gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought? Why?

A. Maybe one – a ring flash head to be adapted on a speedlight flash that I do not often use.

Q. What kind of tools do you use for post processing?

A. I always shoot in raw format. At the beginning I was using Adobe Photoshop software. Since I’ve discovered Adobe Lightroom, I use it extensively. First, to manage my library and second to develop my pictures.

To process my pics, I have no pre-established recipe. It depends on how the original image is, the light, the colors and the way I feel, the mood I want to convey or emphasize. I like to play with white balance and colors cursors till I get the expected result.

Q. Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?

A. It’s hard to answer. There are many pictures which have a story behind and some nice encounters. If I have to pick one, it would be “Last Night On Earth“. It is simple and feels ethereal. I like the strange and fragile aspect of this tiny mantis larva.

Another favorite would be “The fable of the ladybug and the empusa“.  This picture brought me a lot of satisfaction and happiness when I made the encounter.

Q. Whose work has influenced you the most?

A. When I started doing macro, I joined a French photography forum website where I met an artist from whom I have learned a lot; technically and artistically. He – El Justino – is a talented artist.

Once I discovered 1x, the amazing works of Marta Grzesiak and Magdalena Wasiczek have totally blown me away.

Q. What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking macros?

A. He he… On my side, there is nothing that comes to my mind right now. But, I think my wife wish she knew, when I began photography, that macro was a kind of drug and that you can become quickly addicted to.

Q. Your pictures have influenced me so much that I tried my hand at capturing the macro world. Can you please criticize my attempt?

A. It’s a very good start and the picture really pleasant to the eyes.Focusing is  sharp, colors are very nice and I love the bokeh.

For me, one thing could have been better is the composition. I would have prefered to see a bit more of the face of the bug (with a more lateral point of view). Also I would have framed the picture in order that the bug is located on the upper left third part of the picture instead of the center. Remember to adhere to the rule of the third when composing.

You are on the good way.

Q. To an aspiring newbie macro photographer, what would you like to say?

A. At the very beginning, put all your attention on getting the focus right.

Whatever the depth of field you have (linked to the selected aperture), it is very important to have the bug’s eyes in the focus.

Once you have this under control, next think about framing and composition. Don’t start with a complicated situation. Try to find subjects with light background placed at a distance from the subject. This will allow you to go to smaller aperture (giving you longer depth of field and more chance to get the eyes in the focus.)

Heavy and close backgrounds require large or full aperture to get a nice bokeh and here it is much more complicated to get the focus point precisely on the eyes. Take as many pictures as you could. Once the first shot is in the bag, go to picture viewer in the camera and make sure you get the focus point right. Practice a lot to improve your technical skills.

To learn the artistic aspect, study photographs of other artists . Then make your own way by developing your own artistic fiber.

Our favorite Fabien Shot – Hidden … Well almost!

Image by Piotr Bizior

It’s been almost 10 months since I bought my first DSLR. The days so far were both beautiful and challenging as well as immensely educational.

The time I spent juggling with my camera have given me some insight into the intricacies of this business. Given below are a few realizations I had in the last few days.

1. What you see is not what you get.

2. To get what you see you need to understand light. That takes a lot time, effort and patience.

3. The best asset a photog needs is anticipation and readiness to capture a moment.

4. There is time and place for every gear.

5. Some of the best photographs you see are not accidental. They are the end result of careful thinking and planning.

6. Overcoming the inertia of using a DSLR is not enough. Always remember to keep learning and try for improvement.

7. Possesing a DSLR doesn’t warrant you to be in manual mode always. Importance should be given to capturing the moment. Explore your creativity only if the situation permits. [courtesy - urvesh]

8. Even if you don’t realize it, most of the photographs you see online are post processed. Take time to master some techniques. It will pay off nicely in the long run.

9. Be gracious about your success rate. Only a few among the many photographs you have clicked will be useful.

10. Costly gear does not necessarily equate to better photographs. Know your existing gear like the back of your hand.

What do you think about them? Tell me what was your experience in the comment section below.

Rich Gastwirt Site | Twitter Special Mention: 2010 Billboard Magazine Ultimate Music Moment Fans’ Favorite 2009 Billboard Magazine Ultimate Music Moment Fans’ Favorite Technique: Concert (Professional)

Q. What influenced you to get into concert photography?

A. About 5 years ago, I was given an all-access laminate for a Bob Weir and Ratdog concert and I happened to have a DSLR in my car. So I brought it in and thought I’d try my hand at concert photography. It was a new camera to me and I had always shot it in ‘Auto’ mode with decent results. So I figured that I’d have good luck at the concert. I had a great time but the results were horrible.

That’s when I decided that I needed to learn how to do better. I researched online forums, checked out works of other photographers (and the EXIF information when available) and practiced like a mad man until the exposure triangle was of second nature to me.

I love the challenge of trying to make iconic images, given the difficult constraints of unpredictable and often poor lighting, limited time and fast motion.

Q. What kind of gear do you use?

A. 

Body : Canon 5D Mk II (x2)
Lens : Canon 16-35mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 IS Mk II, 35mm f1.4, 85mm f1.2, 15mm f2.8 fisheye.
Flash : Canon 580EX II (I don’t use it for concert shooting.)
Others :  Spider Holster, Camdapter Prostrap, Luma Loop sling, a Crumpler bag, a ThinkTank beltpack, a Pelican travel case and custom Etymotic Research earplugs.

Q. Which is your favorite lens? Why?

A. It’s the 85mm f1.2 lens. I don’t use it too often but it’s a lot of fun and the image quality is remarkable. My other favorite is the 70-200mm f2.8 IS Mk II which I use in any venue larger than a small club. I had the original version and liked it a lot, but the optics on the Mk II version seem every bit as sharp as a prime lens, or at least as sharp as my camera’s 21MP sensor can resolve and the versatility of a zoom is important to me as I often can’t zoom with my feet.

Q. Among the many equipments that you own, is there anything that you wish you didn’t buy?

A. One item that didn’t meet my needs at all was a backpack-style bag. Sometimes photo pits are pretty tight so it’s bad form to wear a backpack while shooting a concert. This particular one was the type you have to take off to access. It made no sense for my use and quickly found a new home.

Q. When you go for shooting a concert, what all gear do you carry with you?

A. It depends on the venue. For a lot of the smaller clubs in town, I’ll bring two bodies – one with a 16-35 zoom and one with the 85mm f/1.2 or 35mm f/1.4. For the majority of shows at a venue larger than 500 people, I’ll have the 70-200mm zoom lens on one body and the 24-70mm on the other with the 16-35mm in a pouch on my belt and possibly the 35 1.4 in my bag, if I use a bag.

If it isn’t raining, I’ll typically skip a bag and wear the camera with the wide zoom on a Luma Loop sling strap and the camera with the long zoom in a Spider Holster on my belt. I have two regular gigs in which I bring in all of my gear. One is a small club that saves me a table directly in front of the band, so it’s easy to fill a shoulder bag with everything. I could easily cover those shows just with one or two lenses, but I use the shows there to practice techniques, such as focusing at f1.2 at the minimum focal distance, which can leave the eyes in focus but the ears and nose soft.

I’m also the house photographer for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts summer concert series. For those shows, I bring all of my gear in a hard rolling pelican case. When I shoot a festival as media, I typically bring just my 3 zooms. When I’m hired as a house photographer and can shoot without restriction, I bring the primes along as well.

Q. While shooting a concert, what is your…

(a)ISO?

A. I change my ISO constantly. I typically start at 1600 and adjust accordingly depending on the lighting. I probably change my shutter speed and aperture several times a minute and my ISO every few minutes, but of course it all depends on how consistent the lighting is. At some clubs I’ll shoot at 6400. Typically I’m at 2000-2500.

(b)Choice of focus – Auto / Manual ?

A. I’m somewhere in between. I typically use the center focus point or I’ll use the joystick and select one of the outer ones. My center focus point is the only cross-type one so it’s most sensitive. Knowing how your camera’s auto-focus works is critical. Mine locks in on high contrast horizontal subjects, so when I’m shooting a drummer’s face amid shiny symbols, I focus manually as the auto-focus locks onto the cymbals.

(c)White balance?

A. I shoot in raw mode so I can change the white balance later. But I’ve found that my metering is most accurate when I’m set to Average WB or Tungsten.

(d)Aperture?

A. I typically shoot wide open at f2.8 or just slightly stopped down on my tight shots even when it isn’t necessary for light gathering purposes. Having a thin depth of field with the artists’ face in focus and the neck of the guitar slightly soft gives a three dimensionality.

Q. Whose work has amazed you? Why?

A. As far as concert photography goes, Jim Marshall’s work is tough to beat. Of current concert photographers, my favorite is Ryan Mastro. He does a great job of capturing the motion of the music.

Q. What’s your favorite photo…

(a) that you’ve taken ?

A. There are a few that I’m extremely proud of. My favorite is probably one of James Hetfield of Metallica handing a pick to a fan.

(b)that someone else has taken?

A. One of my favorites, and until recently the only concert photo that has hung in my house, is The Champagne Toast by Jonas Grushkin, which can be seen here.

Q. Do you subscribe to any magazine or blogs for inspiration?

A. Not magazines or blogs per se, but I do check out other photographers’ work on social networks regularly. Everyone has their own style and I like some more than others. The styles that interest me most are the ones that convey motion, illustrate the artist/fan connection or the ‘behind the scenes’ “fly on the wall” type shots.

Q. What is the one thing you can say to those starting out in concert photography?

A.

Don’t ever agree to give up copyright to your work and don’t work for nothing.

A lot of artists, such as Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson, require photographers to give up copyright to their work. Agreeing to these “rights grab” releases does nothing more than tell the artists that it’s cool to continue ripping off photographers. When you’re presented with a rights grab, don’t just walk away either. It’s important to let the publicist know why you can’t sign it and start a negotiation.

I shot a festival last weekend in which the media was required to not only transfer copyright, but to also transfer all files to the festival’s servers before leaving the premises. I threatened to walk, which I had every intention of doing and they agreed to waive the release. Even when I’m hired by a festival, as is the case next weekend, I own copyright and negotiate usage rights. As far as working for nothing, when you value your work at zero others will as well and it’s pretty tough to go up from there.

Q. Is there anything you wish you knew when you started photographing?

A. If I didn’t learn by trial and error, the lessons probably wouldn’t have stuck. So I’m not sure that if there’s anything I wish I knew. But it took me a while to realize that the histogram was more important than my exposure needle and that cameras aren’t very intelligent and their metering isn’t suited to concert photography.

Our favorite Rich Shot

1. 500px.com

500px is a photographic community powered by creative people from all over the world that lets you share and discover inspiring photographs.

2. HDR Spotting

HDR Spotting is designed to be a next-generation gallery for an emerging group of photographers. I quote, “This site was started because we saw an intense desire on behalf of HDR Photographers to get their work noticed and to drive more traffic to their sites.”

3. Joe McNally’s Blog

This is photo blog of an internationally acclaimed photographer. He shares some amazing pics everyday.

4. One Eyeland

The site was founded by award winning Indian lensman Sharad Haksar in AD 2008, out of a whim to create a dark room large enough to fit photographers of every hue.

5. A PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL

The photo blog of Bangalore based photographer Jyothy Karat’s photo blog is dear to me because her photos always speak volumes. Even an empty chair will have a story to tell. You can read an interview of Jyothy Karat by following the link.

6. Picture Correct

This site is a great resource for photography tips and techniques.

7. Momentary Awe

This is the photoblog of  Catalin, a professional photographer based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

8. LIFE

Your life in pics – Its that simple.

9. Current Photo Contests

The greatest inspiration is when there is a prize to be won. This site lists photo contests happening all over the world.

10. Design Float’s Photography Feed

Design Float’s Photography feed gives you a top class listing of photography inspiration resources.

11. ?

Due to some unforeseen reasons (like running out of links to add), I am redefining “a dozen” to ten! So long!

It is astonishing to see that newbies buying their first DSLR (including me), even after spending so much time on their research, have hit on a sequence of spending behaviours that is not exactly helping them in the long run. Here is a rundown of half a dozen of such things they we regret on later.

1. Extra battery

The battery pack that comes with the camera is an excellent unit that lasts for a reasonable amount of shots. I have used my fully charged battery on Nikon D90 for approximately 600 shots on a span of a week. Although it would make sense to buy extra battery if you are into professional business, as a newbie you will seldom find yourself actually needing any unless you trek for weeks on end in the jungles.

2. Extra card

A 2GB card can hold approximately 250 RAW pics. (Calculation based on Nikon D90) That would generally be sufficient for a couple of day’s casual shoot. Rather than buy extra card, buy a card with higher capacity like 8GB or so, so that you don’t have to juggle cards regularly.

3. Lens Filter

“Don’t you want to protect your lens with a filter, sir?” The innocent salesman will ask you.

Although there are no scientific proof as to the effectiveness of using a lens filter as a protective shield in front your lens, common sense decrees that it would do more harm if it is not of a higher quality glass. Because you run the risk of scratching the lens from the filter’s broken pieces. I have been using my 18-250mm for the last 6 months without a filter and everything is okay till now.

4. Cheap tripod

There is an excellent article bythom which details how people will be spending their money on tripods. And I think it is quite true. I invested in a cheap tripod thinking I will upgrade once I know the quirks of using it. But every time I use it to capture a delicate moment, I end up cursing it because of its poor build. Lesson I learned? Invest in a good support system because you will never know when a once-a-life-time opportunity presents itself and your tripod mucks it up.

5. Extra lens

Although Kit lens that comes with the body is good piece of glass, it is almost impossible to hold back and not buy more lens than you need. For a newbie, I believe it will take some time to identify his style and interest. So it is better to hold on to your kit lens or a single zoom lens until there is more clarity. I own a zoon lens (Tamron 18-250mm) and now I am contemplating the buy of a 50mm because I am very much interested in profiling people.

6. After spending a fortune on gear, we leave the camera in the safety of our home!

Everyone does this! Your DLSR is not a delicate instrument that is to be left safely at home, but rather accompany you everywhere. I have already regretted leaving my camera at home a million times because that would be the time I will be presented with something quite extra-ordinary.

My jaws dropped when I first saw this image created by James Brandon. That was my first time experiencing HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging) and it changed my perception towards photography. Here we are in conversation with the man himself.

James Brandon About | Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter Special Mention: Author for Digital Photography School Editor at HDR Spotting Technique: HDR (Professional)

Q. How did you get introduced to HDR photography?

A. I stumbled onto it. I was looking for some images to use on a video project I was working on. But all the photographs I came across were the same old style of imagery I was used to. Then I came across an HDR image and I was immediately hooked. From there on, I was determined to pursue HDR. And the rest is history, I guess!

Q. HDR has been around for a long time now. People were appreciative of it when they first saw it in the ‘Star Wars’ films. But somehow the still photography world views it with a mixed bag of emotions. What do you think about this?

A. Yes, the idea of HDR and overcoming the limitations of a camera have been around since as early as 1856, with Gustave Le Gray’s “Brig On The Water.” He used a technique called ‘combination printing.’ This HDR stuff is nothing new; Ansel Adams blended exposures in the dark room all the time.

A great analogy for this question is the history of pianos.

When pianos first came on the scene hundreds of years ago, they were only accessible to the extremely wealthy. Therefore, the people using pianos to play publicly were extremely talented and seasoned musicians, with countless hours spent on training and perfecting their technique.

Somewhere along the way, pianos became affordable to the general public. When the masses got a hold of it, they started creating their own style of music and with that came a whole lot of, well, noise. While most of the music being composed was nonsense, there were also plenty of virtuosos coming out of the woodworks who completely changed the world of music. However, all the rich and classically trained pianists saw only the noise.

I know this is a bit long winded, but I think it illustrates the point perfectly. If you Google for HDR or search on Flickr, it doesn’t take very long to get turned off by what you’re looking at. Because photography and even the world of HDR is so accessible now, everyone is trying it. And with the invention of flickr and the internet age, the results can be in front of millions of people in seconds.

Q. In the SIKE – HDR Collaboration blog post, somehow I felt that your rendition was more ‘real’ than others. How long did it take you to perfect this art?

A. Well, I certainly haven’t perfected photography or HDR. Once I believe I have, I will be unteachable and incapable of growing as a photographer! The collaboration projects are great because we put the same image in front of multiple photographers and they process that image through their own creative eye. The result is always incredibly interesting.

As far as my rendition and style, for sometime now, I have been leaning towards a more ‘real’ processing style. I’ve always been an advocate of staying away from extremes in life. While it is certainly just my opinion, I think it’s a mistake to take an extreme viewpoint on any subject, because your mind becomes shut off to opposing viewpoints. Then you begin to live in a vacuum with other like-minded people. One extreme is the self proclaimed ‘purists’ who think ‘Photoshop is for the devil’ and the only real image is the one straight from the camera.

The other end is the photographer utilizing HDR who pushes their processing to the extreme, creating the ‘psychedelic’ feel to their images. What I’ve striven to do with my processing is to utilize HDR for the clear benefits of overcoming the camera limitations of capturing all the light, while still maintaining an aspect of realism and believability in the final image. This isn’t the wrong way or the right way of doing things, but it’s simply my way and what makes me happy with my images.

A Comparison of My Style

This is a blog post (link) where I compared very similar images of mine that were processed about a year apart from each other.

Then

This is my early attempt and in my opinion, a mess. The sky goes from golden sunlight, to gray stormy clouds, to a pixelated mess of blue. This is the result of poor HDR processing. The whole scene is just a bit over saturated. While most people will never notice it, my camera bag is sitting in the bushes on the right side of the image by the lens flare.

Now

This is my recent attempt and is clearly my favorite.

Q. From my experience, I have realized that HDR is the best tool to use while photographing mountains and places of worship like temples and churches because the end product somehow captures the aura around the place. Do you have any special preference like this when it comes to HDR?

A. Every situation is different. Photography is all about light, so the determining factor for whether to use HDR or not is, well, light. My main decisive factor in choosing HDR is whether or not I can capture the light in one frame. That’s all I’m trying to do.

My style isn’t due to HDR, it’s a product of my post processing techniques in Photoshop and other programs.

If I can capture the light in a scene with one image, I always will. It saves me time in post processing! If I can’t, I will turn to HDR and usually start with 5 exposures. So, as far as preferences go, I can’t say that there is any situation where I will always use the HDR technique. It simply depends on what I’m feeling at the time, what I want to create and whether I can capture the light properly.

Q.What kind of gear do you use?

A.

Camera Body - Canon EOS 1Ds mark III, 5D mark II with BG-E2 grip and 40D

Lens - Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8l USM, 24-70mm f/2.8l USM, 50mm f/1.4 USM and 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye

Tripod - Bogen/Manfrotto 055XPROB Legs and Manfrotto 322RC2 grip action ball head

Filters - I don’t use any filters at the moment. I’m not opposed to them, it just isn’t something I have felt the need to pursue at this time.

Q. What is your favorite lens? Why?

A. My 24-70mm is my baby. It’s wide enough for just about any situation, but still has the ability to create some compression in the scene, if I need it. I use this lens probably 80-90% of time for my travel and landscape work.

Q. Can you explain your post-processing workflow?

A. Most of my post processing work is done in Photoshop. If I have a single image, I will open it in Adobe Camera RAW to bring in the shadows or highlights, if needed. Then I make small adjustments for color, noise, details etc. before bringing it to Photoshop.

If it’s an HDR image, I almost always use a program called HDR Express by Unified Color. I use this program because it gives me more realistic results that I’m looking for. It’s incredibly easy and quick to use.

Once in Photoshop, I use a variety of programs and plug-ins to get to my final image. The main programs I use are Topaz Labs’ Photoshop Bundle and OnOne Perfect Photo Suite. I do a lot of masking and brush work to apply filters to my images. One of the most common mistakes that I found is people applying filters globally to the entire image. When you do that, in most cases, it will result in a flat image. Not only you can use light and shadows to guide the viewers eyes, but also you can use detail and color!

Q. Can you criticize my HDR attempts?

Shot 1 – Ferocious (Temple on the Mountain-top, Kerala)

A. Great shot. I really like the warm, golden tones in the sky and that you didn’t over process the clouds. The sticks or poles in the foreground are a bit distracting and feel out of place, and the electrical lines trailing off the right side of the frame sort of takes away the potentially timeless feel to the image.

If there are distractions like this present in a scene, sometimes it’s best to get in tight and focus on a certain part of the building.

You don’t feel the need to get the entire building in the frame. Sometimes, honing in the details of the building is the best way to really capture its essence.

Shot 2 – Pious (The gateway to peace and sanctity, Tripunithura Temple, Kerala)

A. While any photograph needs a bit of mystery in it, I feel this one has a bit too much. My eye is immediately drawn to the arch in the center of the frame, but I have no idea what I’m looking at. I then go up to the ceiling and while I can tell there is some really great artwork up there, I can’t see enough of it to really appreciate it.

In my opinion, it would have been great to either shoot higher up towards the ceiling and focus on the artwork, or get a bit close to the arch and brighten that whole area up a bit so that we can see what’s going on there.

Q. What is the one thing a newbie should keep in mind while taking or developing an HDR photo?

A.

Have fun! Don’t pursue photography for anyone but yourself.

If the masses like it, great. If they don’t, who cares if it makes you happy! HDR takes a lot of work, so be patient and always be open to constructive criticism and learning.

Q. Among the many HDR artists, who do you think is better than you?

A. There are plenty of photographers whose work constantly amazes me. I wouldn’t say they are better or worse photographers than myself, they just have different ways of going about their craft. I create HDR images for myself, so how could someone else be better or worse at that than me? The HDR photographers I am constantly inspired by and follow can be found here.

Q. Do you follow any blog/magazine for inspiration or look at the works of fellow photographers?

A. I am an editor for a site called HDR Spotting, and I think it is probably the single best source for browsing the work of other HDR photographers. The ‘featured’ and ‘Editors pick’ section are chalk full of incredible imagery that will leave you amazed.

Q. Is there something you wish you knew when you started photography?

A. In the beginning, I wish I had surrounded myself with other photographers. I’m currently a part of a local photography group through meetup.com and it is awesome. I think a  new and aspiring photographer should surround themselves with other photographers to learn from them and grow.

Our favorite James shot – Rising Tide

Why is this our favorite?

Because it made me realize HDR can be created from a single image. Click on the image to understand how it can be done.