Here are some images from the shoot.

Soumitra on the vocals

Ravi Iyer - band founder

Shirish Malhotra

With me comeon!

Blue Heavens

On the drums

Sing with me

A dream

On the bass

The Floyd Gig

The band Live

Sammy

The Band - Para Vayu

Overall a very satisfying shoot !

For this shoot, I shot mostly with my Nikon D300 and 50mm Lens. I like to give myself this challenge from time to time and put a constraint on the gear. So a 50mm allows one to go for stronger compositions and well thought about shots.

The Beauty of the Market

Chai Times

India Calling

A Top View

Contemplation

Nav Tal

Unmissable Colors

Coffee Time

Making Way

For a Smiling pose

The famous Flower Market

What say?

Recently I had gone to the Sinhagadh fort in Pune to find this moment. We reached there early in the morning, well before daybreak and watched nature unfold its beautiful colors in front of us. It was truly a moment of peace which I enjoyed every moment.

Sinhagad or Sinhgad (The Lion’s Fort), is a fortress located roughly 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Pune, India. It is situated on a hill rising 800 metres above the surrounding countryside. Previously called Kondana, the fort has been the site of many important battles, most notably the battle of Sinhagad in 1670.

Layers of Perfection

Purple Magic

Morning Tutorials

Meditate

You shoot I shoot

Night Guardian

The streets with dogs and walking people once in a while. There is an amazing set of character that lies with elongated shadows. The guardians of the night come out in full freedom and rule the roads.

The Followers

Apart from the dogs that roam the streets there are also the night workers. People who look for a time to spend amongst themselves, and often seen roaming the quiet streets in solitude. A drink is a welcome companion and a fellow drinker all the more. I have often felt that somehow the bonds that are made in these situations are long lasting.

Drink Companions

When the rain falls on the road and the road is lit by the yellow street light, it is nothing but magical. The golden tinge that the whole scenario obtains is a sight to behold.

A missing foot

In the rush of the moment, though you have the well protected people who have an umbrella to make their way, there is another set who is alway rushing for shelter. I also love the challenge that moments like these provide.

Like for example this shot below; it was raining heavily and super windy. and i was worried about the camera too. I had to over expose the shot too in-order to get that tinge of color; so the shutter speed went further lower. As if that was not enough, add to that a very fast moving subject in the frame. A lot of things going on .. in that short time… and you get a quite a challenging shot to shoot

To Shelter

Needless to say, I have been having a good time shooting these frames and look forward to coming days, when I can shoot more and add it here.

Till then, Enjoy the above pics

I have always wanted to try out some new lights in my Light Painting workshops, that could allow one to play with the patterns formation. One fine day in the supermarket I spotted these Made in China multiple LED lights that were rechargable. It was being sold as Rechargabe Emergency Lights. They were available in different varieties, namely 10 LED, 20 LED, and 42 LEDs too. And I knew instantly that I needed to try these out! I bought a couple 42 LED ones. They were white lights, but the use of colored paper allowed me to explore the other light sources as well.

Exploring New Lights

And I was right. The patterns were sharp and just as I had expected. Even though the lights cost me a bit high, I was willing to take the risk to try it out. It did not work out well in the first workshop that I used it, but in the second workshop that I asked the participants to use it, the results were wonderful.

What Simple Cellophene Paper can do

And again the month of February had people drawing more hearts. The interesting part of this was that this was a pattern formation here.

Colored Hearts

Red Silhoutte

I am out to NIT Surat next, and am hoping that the participants there would be able to take up the challenge and try it out more and come up with something more wonderful!

This could be a result of my travel across the country or my interactions with people over the years. I feel that there has be a cause for the photography. One may think that the only form of photography is the documentary photography. However I do not think that is the case. With the advent of the digital camera and cheaper options in purchasing the equipment, everyone is now a photographer. However what differentiates the serious from the not-so-serious is the commitment that one has before they actually shoot. In other words, what is the cause for which they are shooting the images. It is only then that the viewer is able to appreciate the images better.

Thus, every assignment I do is a result of a cause. Even a wedding photography assignment is a result of a cause of capturing the memories for a lifetime. Every workshop I take is based out of a cause of spreading the knowledge of photography.

If the knowledge imparted helps someone improving their skill set, I think that the purpose is solved. Similarly if the wedding couple is able to see the entire ceremony being captured in the entire flow, the flow is solved.

I have lied in the arms of mother nature and spent time being mesmerized in her beauty for hours.

Heaven is here

I have climbed a glacier, trekked in different mountain ranges, jumped from a plane, met the tribes, touched the shores of various waters, experienced different religions from the long list of interesting thing!

This space is meant to share some of those experiences.

The last one was held at NIT Trichy.

And the workshop at the Pragyan 2009 festival was a great success.

Sample Shot from the Workshop

We had three sessions of four hours each and over 150 students. The feedback was good and mostly people wanted more time with the practical.

Watch this space for announcement for other workshops.