While capturing images on camera my inclination is to shun the extraordinary and extol the ordinary. Most mainstream films, television programmes, magazines and photography books focus on superficially spectacular or sensational subjects. They encourage instant photography rather than timeless photography. Most photographers seems to believe that if they shoot something beautiful or eye catching (a sunset, a boat at sea, an exotic flower, bird or animal, a famous monument, landscape or celebrity) then they have a 'hit' on their hands. A pic which when they upload on Facebook will receive a couple of hundred "likes". As a judgement of our photography skills a "like' on Facebook or a "favorite" on Flickr is only meaningful if it comes from a person who is technically qualified to pass a judgement. Non photographers normally "like' a photograph because they like the subject. They neither understand nor care for the skill (or the lack of it) which went into making the photograph.
Personally I have simplified photography down to capturing the effect of light on our everyday world. Light filtering through trees, clouds and empty spaces. Early morning and evening light. The absence of light at night. Between the shadow and the highlight there are a million images waiting to be captured. On weekends I prefer to be out the whole day with my daughter and my D700 for company. Sometimes my wife accompanies us. We are normally out of the house by 8 in the morning. Commuting is strictly by local bus, rickshaw or walking. Meals and snacks from roadside eateries. The weekend which has just passed had its ups and downs. The down was that on Saturday we wasted half a day (and 500 bucks) on viewing the infinitely silly, boring and trivial "Life of Pi". The up was that Sunday passed off gloriously. An early morning shoot of the deserted piazza of Sector 17 followed by breakfast at the coffee house. Followed by a full day of shooting, snacking, and mingling with strangers at the Chandigarh carnival. As a sideshow there was a vintage car display and I had a great time shooting l-o-n-g exposures of vividly painted Mercedes, Austins, Beetles in pitch darkness. We finally returned home in one of the vintage cars and finished off the day with a couple of scotches and sodas.
In my earlier post I had mentioned that one should avoid seeking applause or admiration. Easier said than done! Since birth we are taught to look at ourselves through the eyes of other people. We are constantly striving to win the respect, admiration or affection of parents, teachers, employers, neighbors, relatives and friends. It is never enough for us that we have done something well. Other people (the more, the better) have to admire our work before we actually start believing that we have achieved something.I am breaking my own dictum by seeking the approval or opinion of others by uploading images on Flickr. Human beings seldom practice what they preach
A picture of my daughter with some other kids. I attempted to enhance the effect of sunlight falling on the children by capturing the shadows in the background in greater detail. I decided to include the bystander in the frame because I liked the idea that I was viewing the children, they were viewing me and the bystander was viewing all of us. The Tokina 28-70 2.8 ( my current favorite) renders color very nicely. But its bokeh is noisy as compared to the stunningly creamy and cheesy bokeh of my Nikon 80-200 2.8D. I am not happy with the background but I like the light falling on the children and the symmetry (unintended) of their positions.
f/3.5. 1/2000. 70mm. Matrix metering.
song of the little road | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
