The Digital Capture of Light: misc

Showing posts with label misc. Show all posts

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Ike's Destruction in Houston

Below are some picture of scenes around my neighbourhood in Houston after Ike's Havoc.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Ike Time!

Some photos taken around Houston on Thursday night and Friday noon as we get ready to take on Ike.

Stay safe Gulf Coast residents.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Images on the web and Copyright Infringement

A hot button issue today, in the digital age is the menace of thievery. No, not theft of physical goods, but of copyrighted digital files - be it music, photos or any other medium. As a photographer, this has always been a matter of concern, but a spate of recent news has really caught my attention.

Two bloggers, Rang and Twilight Fairy have written about their photos from Flickr being used without their permission. The catch is that the culprits were not ignorant laymen, but renowned Indian Newspaper companies - Hindustan Times and Times of India. Read about their experiences in their own words here: Rang , Twilight Fairy

Just imagine what their reaction would be if they found one of their editorials plagiarized in someones website. However, their reaction to their transgressions has been to treat it as a triviality. The nerve!

We, as a photographic community have to stand up to these culprits and make sure they pay for their actions. I plan to do this by writing letters to the editors of the newspapers making my displeasure known. I hope a few of us doing our part can help the victims of this thievery and prevent future transgressions.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Blogging from vacation

Howdy! I’m dropping in from my vacation to mention that I’m having great fun, enjoying my photography and can’t wait to share my photos. I've visited the cities of Dubai, Chennai, Trichy and Madurai during this vacation, and it has so far yielded a number of good photographs (around 2000 of them!!!). In one weeks time, I'll be back in Houston and the photos and travellogues from the trip should start rolling out. One thing I know for sure is that my 'Temple Tales' section will be busy with activity. So stay tuned - and keep visiting!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

New Lens Ordered!!

Just ordered the phenomenal travel lens - Nikon 18-200 AFS DX VR !!! Sure to make my travel photography a lot easier!!!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Photographing events

Though I primarily identify myself as a travel and wildlife photographer, I’ve had opportunities in the past couple of years to cover live events like cultural programs. This has widened my repertoire and helped me understand the facets of this type of photography.

Most of my experience covering events has been in covering Bharatanatyam performances dance recitals. There are a number of issues to be considered when preparing for a shoot of this nature that make it quite different than preparing for a nature or an architectural shoot.

The most important factor is the ambiance itself. The performances are usually in large auditoriums, with special lighting for the stage. One thing that matters a lot in photography that is not understood by many is the white balance and color temperature. To explain this in simple terms, you’d have noticed how the color of objects varies depending on the nature of light i.e. they look different in the direct sunlight, under the shade and in indoor fluorescent light, etc. The color composition of these various sources of lights are different due to the differences in the mix of wavelengths in them. This is what, when reflected of the object causes the difference in color appearance. Therefore it is important to understand that the photograph is going to be depend on the color composition of the stage light. If I know some detail about the light, I can dial in the color temperature in the White Balance setting of the camera. If I don’t have the information, I shoot in RAW with an auto White Balance setting. The camera usually gets it right, but I can still fine tune the results in my photo editing software.

The same photo at two different White Balance settings

The other factor is the program itself and knowing when to click. Over the years, experience has taught me when to anticipate a pose and that helps me get a good read to when to click. But still I try whenever possible to try and attend a rehearsal so I know what to expect in the dance. That also helps me anticipate the location I can shoot a scene from to get the best possible shot. I try to use my flash during the dance so I can freeze the action, but there are some performers who request no flash during the program. For those cases, I have to be very aware of when the poses occur and use a high iso setting in my camera to be able to get as fast a shutter speed as possible.

A photo pose during the dance

One more thing I’ve learnt to do over time is to try and compose some group photos of the performance and also get some individual pictures of the dances in close-up. I usually arrive at the venue early and scout the stage. I get myself a good seat and lay out my gear – a couple of lenses, my memory cards and take some preliminary photos to make sure there’s no problems with the camera or the lighting on stage. Then once the program starts, I’m off and running!

An individual picture

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Saddle Up Houston 2

Called the oil and gas capital of US, Houston is just another metro city in the US 340 days a year - young chic professionals sipping Starbucks lattes, talking on their cell phones and walking past skyscrapers as Bollywood typically portrays any US city. But for the rest 20 days of the year, H-town is something out of a Clint Eastwood movie - cowboy hats and blue jeans, horses, goats, pigs and cattle, bronc riding and country music.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) is the third largest fair in North America and the biggest of its kind in the world. The mission and purpose of the HLSR, reads that it is organized for charitable, educational and scientific purposes to encourage and promote the breeding, raising and marketing of better livestock and farm products at public fairs and to promote and maintain research and educational functions within the livestock industry.

The rodeo and the livestock show continue to fascinate me, mainly because it is so different from the usual activities I frequent with my camera and friends. The smells, sights and sounds I associate with the HLSR are many-a-times ones I remember from my days in India, making me nostalgic. The 2008's events drew to an end on Saturday, and it was time for the Western movie set that had placed itself over Houston to move over.

Unlike the past years, when I typically used to buy a ticket for a day, this year I went ahead and brought a Funpass which entitles unlimited access. I visited the HLSR 3-4 times at different times of the day and during different events and here are a few photos from my visits to the HLSR this year.

The Rodeo Parade:

Pictures from the Rodeo Parade are here.

The BBQ Cook-off:

It is a known fact that we Texans take our barbecue quite seriously. And the cowboys take it to another level with an annual cook-off lasting over two days. It is just not the slow-smoked-food that attracts people, the decorated cook pits, the parties at the cook pits are all a part of the whole event.

The cowboy boot and the setting sun, 80-200mm @80mm, f/2.8, 1/400s

Holy Goat! The cowboy idea of a cool decor? 80-200mm @165mm, f/2.8, 1/50s

Loved the Coldriver team's custom-made ironwork , 80-200mm @80mm, f/2.8, 1/125s

The Carnival:

By far, this is my most favorite part of the HLSR. It takes me back to the summer exhibitions (chitirai porutkatchis) I used to go as a kid in Madurai. Miles away, years later, carnival food and rides still make me so happy. The oven-roasted corn, the deep-fried goodies, the fresh-spun cotton candies, the candy apples, the popcorn, the outrageously expensive bottle of water? Sounds familiar? I guess carnivals around the world are same yet different.