NJB'S PHOTOGRAPHY

The Spirit Of Indian Fair

2011-07-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

In Indian city & villages the fair/Mela other than festival & cultural activities are being regularly devised. It mainly contains various adventure sports specially for kids like giant wheel & rides. I visited such fair with my kid & sharing some shots showing the spirit of Indian Mela. Mostly there fairs are being run during vacation of children's like summer vacation, Diwali vacation,new year celebration etc.

Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were (and in some cases still are) of great importance. This led to their export around the world by south Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries.

The purpose of these fairs is to offer an opportunity to enjoy amusement rides like Giant Wheel, fun slide, merry-go-round, toy trains etc. It also has Indian chat & food centers to serve for food lovers.

Image 1 : The senior old man enjoying the balloon shoot like an innocent kid. This is a very favorite game part of such fairs/melas in India.

The Joint Wheel scares, it makes heart beat faster, and brings it to a standstill that to give a feel that the rider is no longer alive. A long time back, someone shared this secret with me, on enjoying the ride on a Giant Wheel. The advice was "breathe in when it goes up.. hold your breath while you are up there, and breathe out when it comes down.". Any fair will not be complete without a Giant Wheel. Does this idea is applicable to our life also? Breath well while riding steps of success & fame, be stable & breath out in tough times?

Image 2 & 3 : Photograph of a giant wheel & Rides for the kids in motion along with the fair in background.

It was really nice to take an opportunity to see a Kathputli show (Puppet show) in this fair. I was more interested because my daughter had never seen such a live show before. Kathputli is a join of two Rajasthani language words Kath meaning wood and Putli meaning puppet. Kathputli means a puppet which is made entirely from wood. However it is made out of wood, cotton cloth and metal wire.

The art of puppeteer has a long tradition in Rajasthan, but the puppets themselves are fairly simple creations. Mostly, they consist of painted wooden heads draped with dresses made from old fabrics and sequined for charm. The hands are made simply by stuffing rags or cotton into the sleeve of the dress and filling it out. The most quaint aspect of these puppets is the way their expressions are painted, large expressive eyes with arched eyebrows, and a curling mustache for men, or a nose ring for the women. Inexpensive souvenirs, they recall more easily than most other things memories of a visit to this state of chivalrous kings and beautiful queens.

In Kathputli Dance in Rajasthan India, the puppeteer narrates the stories through soulful ballads. Kathputli Rajasthan features puppet plays based on popular legends (now here Indian Bollywood stars) being performed by skilful puppeteers. Various types of puppets or Kathputlis are used during the Kathputli Traditional Dance in Rajasthan. These include Glove Puppets, String Puppets, Rod Puppets and Shadow Puppets.

Image 4 & 5 : Photograph of a Kathputli Dance & junior show player in the fair.

It was sad to see people taking away their interest of paying for the free show conducted by the performer. It also shows that how a marketing has become necessary to earn the money from your art for daily living.

The three persons drive two cars and a motorbike simultaneously along the walls of the `maut ka kuan' (wheel of death), a wooden well 18 ft deep and 50 ft across. The maut ka kuan has been in existence for about 35 years. But, the use of cars in the kuan was started in recent years.

Image 6 Spectators waiting before starting the adventurous ride in "Maut Ka Kuan"( wheel of death )

Image 3 One of the three daredevil drivers keeps a car on track, firmly driving along to the wall of the well.

Image 7 Car driver taking special prize money offered by the spectators without loosing control of the vehicle.

The drivers feel confortable between the speeds of 60 to 70 km per hour. That way we are stuck to the walls firmly and find sufficient time to veer when needed. needless to say that these peoples with big heart are far away from having any knowledge about gravitational, centrifugal or centripetal forces. They just rely on their personal co-ordination, in between understanding & judgment. The owner of the show after asking "don't they fear from death & accident?" he said "The performance is called well of death. Death is alway beside us. However, it is the grace of God that we are still alive".

The highlight of these fairs is that everybody enjoys it without bothering the age, cast & class of others with a right spirit. It was nice to see the existence of such sports even in so called modern age delivering the thrill & adventure at such a low cost lived up to by the courage & efforts of the performer.

"Painter" in NGM Daily Dozon

2011-06-01T00:36:00.000-07:00

Dear friends during online surfing it took to me surprise that my image "painter" was shortlisted in National Geographic Daily Dozon for the 3rd week of May 2011. Unfortunately I didn't got any mail intimating that to me but seeing my image as a part of shortlisted group of images was nice experience.

For those who don't know about Daily Dozen NGM from the Daily Dozen, Photographer across the world post their images under the section "Your Shot". Images under these categories were shortlisted for the Daily Dozen. a selection of photos publishes in monthly National Geographic magazine if photograph gets qualified through voting machine.

January 2011: 2 Finalist Selected As Winners

2011-02-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

I am intensely happy to continue to be selected as winners & being listed along with great photographers in the monthly competition on Betterphoto website. My two images were selected as finalist & were resulted in winners in the January 2011 monthly contest. The image "Staring Girl" was selected in the category People whereas "The Boy & The Bicycle" was selected in the category "Nature & Landscapes".

As a very popular competition this month too it was having a lot entries as 17200. It is really wonderful experience having my two images at second place along with top 10 winners at second place in each category.

Staring Girl:

This image was captured at Maheshwar. She was selling flowers on the Ghat of river Narmada. I was eager to get her portrait but she was a little bit shy. I convinced her if she doesn't like the image I will delete it in front of her, that helped me to get a pose from her. Her face is having very dry skin because of cold though her eyes are having a warm smile as on little bit lips. The earlier version was a color it was selected as finalist but not as a winner. Recently this black & White version was published on 1X.com so I thought to give a try again on betterphoto & fortunately this time it was selected as winner.

The Boy & Bicycle:
This image is taken in a field on a winter morning. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves of a mango tree & due to fog resulting into nice sunbeams.

Intimation From the site administrator:

2/11/2011 Photographer Nilesh J. Bhange of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has won Second Place for January in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Friday.
More than 17200 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.
Bhange's stunning image, "The Boy & Bicycle", garnered top honors after being submitted in the Nature & Landscapes category.
Bhange's stunning image, "Staring Girl", garnered top honors after being submitted in the People category.
All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com's contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/1101.asp
The contest is conducted each month. Categories include Nature and Landscapes, Animals, People, Elements of Design, Digital Darkroom, Travel and Place, Flowers, Details and Macro, Catch-All, and Monthly Theme. Judging is performed by a panel of professional photographers.

Composition: subject in center ?

2011-01-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

Every beginner in photography does one mistake which professionals don't like i.e. keeping subject in the center of the frame. He must have been bombarded for not doing that mistake again by seniors .

This place is considered having less visual attention of the viewer. A subject in center divides the frame equally & may confuse the viewer where to look at? This offers a less visual weight to the subject.As soon as subject is moved from the center of the image gets a dynamic feel from a static. The golden point according to very famous rule of composition which is Rule of thirds.

Image1: Egg in glass

In this image I have placed the egg in center of the frame but is it really not visually interesting? The answer is yours since it is going to be subjective. I think dividing the entire frame using shapes of circles helps the viewers eyes to recognize the subject with an ease (Ref: Gestalt Law of grouping). So the egg in the centered portion doesn't matter to much, in fact it is catching the viewers attention without loosing interest. If the subject was only egg then there will be enough space to divert viewers eye in entire frame.

A centered subject can also be made interesting by using virtual lines leading to the subject. It will avoid the viewers eye to wondering everywhere unnecessarily while guiding it to the subject of interest. Image 2. is an example illustrating this.

Image 2: An Old Coin

Your feedback will surely help. Kindly correct me if you find anything wrong here.

An Event by Snapster's & IPC

2011-01-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

It was my great pleasure for being part of the event organised by IIM Indore (Snapster-Aperture Photography Club) + IPC (Indore Photography Community) on Jan 23,2011. In this event seminar from the great photographer Mr. Hemshankar Pathakji was delivered. It was very informative & with rich information about composing & using natural light at best in photography. It was a visual treat to see his beautiful work captured through his vision. A photo competition was also planned contributing the images taken in the beautiful campus of IIM. The competition was open to the only photographs taken on that day after the seminar.

I took this opportunity at best to explore the beauty of the IIM campus through my camera. The architecture of all buildings is really very artistic & inspiring to shoot. The evening light was making it even beautiful giving elegant shadows & lights. I will like to share some of the images taken in this event along with small information on it.

Image 1, 2 3 are shots of the beautiful architectures of different buildings. Image 1 shows the arches as main component.The shadow of the arch helped me to double the lines dynamically leading into the frame exploring the viewer the beauty of the architecture. I deliberately kept it in grayscale to keep it simple & placing importance to shapes & light.

Image1: Arches

EXIF:

Camera		Canon EOS 400D Digital
	Exposure		0.008 sec (1/125)
	Aperture		f/13.0
	Focal Length		10 mm
	ISO Speed		200
	Exposure Bias Lens Date and Time (Original)		+1/3 EV Sigma 10.0-20.0 mm 2011:01:23 17:59:01

Image 2 is of a wall with arch & small windows. I like the shapes of arch enhanced with it's shadow & placement of the windows adding interesting graphical elements. Same is true for the the Image 3. It's taken from bottom of the arch pointing camera upwards using the edge of the arch to lead the lines. I kept it color because I like the contrast in the colors of building against the sky.

Image2: The wall & Windows Image3: Shapes

The Image 4. & Image 5 were taken at the beautiful sunset point. I was inspired to shoot there in my last very short visit to IIM, Indore before the Pratibimb 2010. I visited there for giving the poster of the exhibition of Pratibimb & from that day this location was in my mind. Due to non-justifying reasons it didn't happened. But as I come to know about this event I was unable to control my excitement.

During shooting I realised some practical problems which were not suiting to the idea with which I was visualising to compose. The chair was half hidden behind the tree. Fortunately it was not fixed so with help of friends it was placed as in the shot. The sun was on right side of tree whereas I was preferring it on left to take advantage of the slight inclination of tree towards left & a it's lower horizontal branch (not visible in image) framing from top. The light poles (cloned away) were big distractions, thanks to Photoshop. Anyway Finally I composed this image & two exposures were mixed manually in photoshop.

Image4: it's Part of Life

Image4: The Sunset Point

Thanks goes to Abbas, Renu, Pranjal & Pranshu for helping me to take this shot. Abbs really took strong initiative (:)) to be beside Renu. The Mr. X on left was not planned actually. There were some guys who were also excited to shoot on this beautiful sunset. He did helped not only adding another angle to the story in the image but also balancing the image with virtual triangle forming between him,sun & the persons on chair. A also see an virtual triangle between these peoples & the peak of the tree. While shooting I was with only two lenses sigma 10-20 & Canon 55-250. I was missing my 18-55 to frame it properly in my camera. Fortunately Pranjal shared his lens for this shot which is taken at 30mm.

During post processing I realised that this image may have been further better composed by taking more area in the left side. Maybe it was not possible due to other enthusiastic photographers shooting sunset. I like the light & small vignetting effect added in post processing using "GESTALT PERCEPTION". The imaginary oval shape formed on right side whereas another portion on right speeds up viewers reading to the image identifying the objects in group with an ease.

EXIF:

Camera

Canon EOS 400D Digital

Exposure

0.04 sec (1/25)

Aperture

f/11.0

Focal Length

30 mm

ISO Speed

200

Exposure

Lens

+5/3 EV

EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Image5: Missing You

Image 5 is of Kiran Bhatt, a very sporty member of IPC group. I was looking for model to take advantage of some interesting background & light, she was looking for photographer. Though this shot come out good but it's not very sharp due to low ambient light & slow shutter speed. i still hesitate to increase the ISO of my camera above 400.Thanks to her for being not only model but also when it was really needed.

I really enjoyed the day where I learned from seniors, shoot & shared very nice moments with my friends. Hope you find the article & images interesting.

Nomination in Photographer of the Year 2010

2011-01-14T00:43:00.000-08:00

Dear friends I am happy to share with you that my image "Over The Clouds" has been shortlisted in the category "Patterns Of Nature" for Betterphotographer of the Year 2010. Overall 60,000 images were entered in all 8 categories.Total 6 images have been shortlisted in each category. I have participated in all categories with maximum number of images allowed.I will like to share with you the participated images in different categories.

About The Competition:
The Better Photography Photographer of the Year is a much coveted title among photography enthusiasts-from beginners and hobbyists to serious amateurs. The contest has been conducted successfully for four years now, and has seen keen participation from photographers from varied walks of life, across the country. Our participants and winners have been proving that India has a wealth of photographic talent that is just waiting to be recognised. And this year the event goes international. Our finalists - the first-prize winners of the 8 themes will fly to Singapore for a final Face-off contest! The winner of the Face-off will not only win the title of Photographer of the Year 2010.

Faces:

All the participated images are street shots, taken in available natural light without any camera/off camera flash. I really enjoy to interact with the people for taking their portraits. I like the way most of them like them being photographed. I like to share the happy moments with them.

The first photograph is of innocent child with a hand of assurance from her elder sister. This was taken at the checkpost of changu lake near Gangtok. This image has been selected as top 12 runner up for the oakwoods contest "Trust is.." recently. The second image is taken at Maheshwar, India. The young girl was selling flowers on the bank of river Narmada. I like her face with full of character specially the gaze in her eyes. The eyes with mystical confidence. It was a bit difficult to convenience her for getting photographed but finally she did. I really like the way the wind added additional touch in the photograph. Her skin was considerably dry due to cold weather.

The third image was a candid shot taken at vegetable market, Nanded. The senior person was using an empty basket as his hat from protection from the sunlight. I found it really funny & got near to him & keep on shooting, undoubtedly we both enjoyed those moments. The fourth one was of a worker smoking on the bust stop near Annapurna road, Indore.I like the way mustache & hat adding in his overall character. All these faces are really unforgettable for me & the moments I lived with them.It was most difficult for me to choose only 4 images among my personal favorite images. Thanks goes to my IPC (Indore Photographer community) friends for helping me sorting that out.

Man & His Environment:

I submitted all the images taking this challenge as environmental portraits. I am yet not sure whether I took it correctly or not. The first image is of a potter engaged in his work. I like the way I was able to use the graphical shapes & element in composition of the image. The second was taken at Maheshwar while this lady was engrossed in her pray. I like the way the blue color contrast against her red sari. The movement of the water reflected with ripples against her calm composed pose also add something about faith,trust to me.

The Third image is of about sunset & sunset lovers. This was taken at Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh on a sunset point. I thought of capturing the peoples along with sunset using split ND filter adding interesting twist to usual sunset image. The fourth image is of the people from Rabri community. More about in the discussion with the images in "A place called home".

Shadows & Light:

I was very clear about my submissions in this category since I was not having too many distinct images suiting to this topic in my portfolio. The first image "frustration" was taken for my DPChallenge contest with topic "cardboard box". I used only single table lamp for lighting this image with my close friend as model in a big cardboard box. The line of light for me is leaving little way as hope in the overall gritty mood of the image. The second on is newly executed image for this contest with my old concept of "Defeat". The King who had lost his war & a dead pawn near his feat. The standing King shows his character such as confidence as well as courage even in such situation but the pawn can not withstand & it's defeat of his strength & courage. The dead pawn, the light, exposure & long shadows were used to create the atmosphere of defeat, sadness.

The third one is "Painter". She is a painter from The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre at Darjeeling. I shared some nice moments with her. I asked her about the painted text on windows "Free Tibet" & "Save Tibet". She told me this is in protest of Chinese occupation on Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of Tibetans to be respected. This has been photographed completely natural light. I have to take care for not getting the window in the background overexposing areas. The fourth one is of leaves looking interesting only due to the play of light keeping half side lit by light while other side in shadows.

Architecture & Monuments:

Shooting architecture & monuments without loosing interest of viewers I think is a quiet a bit challenging. There are huge chances of having monotonous look & getting a usual record shot of known places. I don't do much on this subject. The first image is taken at Darjeeling "Shanti Stupa" on a misty morning. Actually it may not be visible very well in the small version of it but I like the way I can use the lines of walls & arrows in the bottom pointing/leading towards the statue of Lord Gautama Buddha.A larger version of it can be seen at See on Flickr .

The second & fourth image was taken in photowalk 2010 in Indore on 25th July 2010 organised by IPC.The second image was selected in top 10 Honorable mention images fin this event. In this image slightly distorted reflection of an apartment can be seen in the reflective surface of another building. The third image showing an interior of an old ancient architecture of Rani Rupmati Palace, Mandu. The fourth one show view of the Bombay hospital building taken d A viewpoint through the grid showing symmetry of two buildings.

Patterns Of Nature:

A wide variety of subjects was suitable for this category. The lamp image was taken on the holy river Ganga at Varansi. The touch of sunrise light making the water look as gold & the ripples creating interesting patterns. The web with drops was taken on a misty morning formed on fencing of field. The background bokeh is of crop wheat husks.

The Published image along with other Nominations in the Betterphotography Magazine issue January 2011

Over The Clouds shortlisted image

The third one was taken from the flight while traveling from Delhi to Bagdogra in my trip to North East India. I must praise my luck for getting the interesting view of clouds along with the land & space above the clouds.The spider one is macro image showing the details of the spider. I wonder the way the patterns of wood is matching to it's body but the DOF is helping me to get nice contrast for isolating him from the surface.

Waterscape:

It's my favorite subject. I like to shoot the falls, seascapes any images including water.I can spend hours shooting them without getting tired. The first one is of a small stream at Patalpani waterfall & the fourth one is of Tincha fall. Both these falls are from Indore.

The second one is taken at the rock garden of Pelling. The third one is taken on the holy beach of Somnath,Gujrat. Probably it is my the first image which was appreciated in various online contest & forums. It was my very old image taken with point & shoot camera SONY DSC-H2 in 2006. The image of lamp on river was also taken with this camera.

Wildlife:

I was knowing this category is not for me. I feel no shame to admit that I lack the patience to capture the images in this category. I do have very small portfolio with these kind of images. I was also doubting to include the 2nd & third one suits this category or not.

The lion is from the Zoo of Hyderabad, giving me a nice portrait. I feel myself lucky to get the second & third shot with beautiful light & clarity. The fourth one is of Yellow-winged Darter taken during Photograph taken on the Kajligarh outing, Indore conducted by IPC under the inspirational guidance of Upendra Upadhyay. I cropped the wings during capturing the shot to show it's beautiful details.

A Place Called Home:

I was really touched by the the way these Rabri community people face the hard life.Traditionally they are camel herders. They sell wool and clarified butter to city merchants and manage all money matters.The Rabari men can often be seen roaming the countryside with their droves. They travel hundreds of miles on annual migration routes in search of new pastures to graze their animals.

I shoot their open houses & kitchen. I was sure these may not suit completely to the challenge but all the images were on the same topic showing the open house as per as physical material is concerned but it was nothing less than their emotional bonding among each other. I didn't find any of them lacking love & affection. The various image shows these things, the generation gap & their habits. I wish to highlight the thing that the house without these things is of no use irrespective of how nicely it has been built.

I hope you like the images & story behind them.

Oakwood "Trust. is.." Photo Competition

2011-01-13T00:42:00.000-08:00

Dear friends it's my pleasure to share with you that my image "Innocent Eyes" has been nominated in top 12 images in Oakwood's "Trust is.." international photo competition in partnership with Canon.

A panel of expert judges selected 50 images for public voting. Voting was open from November 16th to December 31st. Visitors to the official 50th Anniversary website were having 6 weeks to vote for their top three favorite representations of what ‘Trust is…’. Through online voting 12 winners have been selected in this competition.This entry has been selected as a winner of the Runner-Up Prizes. I will be awarded with a Canon Powershot camera. This image will be displayed the traveling exhibition of the 12 winners, starting in February. The exhibition will most like move on from the Philippines to Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Mumbai, Jakarta, Seoul…and other cities in the region. along with my profile as an amateur photographer, as well.the Grand Prize winning image will be selected by a committee including Mr. Howard Ruby. Recognized as the International Conservation Photographer of the Year in 2007 by the National Wildlife Association, Ruby’s photos were selected to be displayed in the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum.

About The Image:

This photograph was taken in my trip to North East part of India. I visited Darjeeling, Gangtok & Pelling in this period. I was amused by the thing the way the younger sibling was having faith & trust with elder one. I found this thing almost everywhere in this region. It was nice experience to see the elder sibling taking care & forwarding hand of insurance towards the junior one. While moving to Changu lake from Gangtok I found this cute kid near the check post. I like his innocent eyes the assuring hand of his elder sister.

EXIF Data:

Camera	Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure	0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture	f/5.0
Focal Length	46 mm
ISO Speed	200
Exposure Bias	0 EV
Flash	Off, Did not fire

DateTaken on March 2, 2010 at 10.43am IST

Exposure Program Aperture-priority AE
Lens Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

About Oakwood Serviced Apartments

Oakwood is a global leader and provider of furnished and serviced apartments. For one need or many, local or around the globe — Oakwood offers flexible, easy-to-use, custom solutions to meet any temporary housing need.

Oakwood celebrates 50 years of being the most trusted name is serviced apartments worldwide in 2010. Oakwood Asia Pacific’s golden anniversary celebration and activities can be found on its 50th anniversary microsite www.oakwoodasia.com/50anniversary. The site will feature a chance to win 50 nights at Oakwood properties located in 11 cities across 7 countries in the Asia Pacific region; amongst other exciting activities to thank Oakwood’s loyal customers for the trust and support received over the years.

Update on 20/01/2011
As per the updates on the Oakwoods photo competition website it seems to me that the final winners are announced. I am being left only as runner up along 11 participants. Mr.Wong Chi Keung has been selected for 1st prize winner for his excellent photograph :

You can see the results at : Oakwoods Trust is Competition

Update on 4/3/2011

The 12 winning images a showcase exhibition has been started from 18th February that will travel across Asia in selected Oakwood properties and will be produced as a limited edition postcard series by Oakwood, providing a wonderful pictorial display of what “Trust is...”

Well the prize for this contest has been arrived which is canon A3000IS with all accessories. I must admit Oakwood has conducted all the contest & events very well with proper communication with the participants.

Betterphoto Finalist & Winner : November 2010

2010-12-21T02:12:00.000-08:00

Dear friends I am happy to inform you about my selected images as finalist & a winner in Betterphoto online international photo contest ( November 2010) in different categories.

Image 1:The Story of Big Eyes was selected as finalist & winner in "Details & Macro" category whereas Image 2: Pink Lotus were selected as finalist in the "Flowers" category. Total 17500 entries were received & 882 finalist were shortlisted in overall 10 categories.

Image 1 : The Story of Big Eyes
EXIF Info:
Camera Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 100 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash On, Fired

About The Image:
Image taken with canon 100mm/F2.8 macro + 36mm extension tube & external flash with a diffuser.
Dragonflies (and bees) have the largest compound eyes of any insect; each containing up to 30,000 facets, and the eyes cover most of the insect's head, resembling a motorcycle helmet. In contrast to a human eye, each facet within the compound eye points in a slightly different direction and perceives light emanating from only one particular direction in space, creating a mosaic of partially overlapping images.
Dragonflies can also detect the plane of polarization of light, which humans cannot do without the aid of sunglasses. The advantages of this capability are unknown for dragonflies, but other insects are known to use polarized light as a sort of "sky compass" by which they navigate.

Image 2: The Pink Lotus
EXIF Info:
Camera Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 100 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

About The Image:
Botanically, lotus and water lily are different plants. Waterlilies have lily pads that float on the surface; lotuses (loti?) have leaves that are held above the water, and blooms that are much larger than water lilies, and most often pink.

Betterphoto Finalist & Winner : October 2010

2010-11-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

Dear friends I am happy to inform you about my selected images as finalist & a winner in Betterphoto online international photo contest ( October 2010) in different categories.

My 3 Lucky Images:

Image 1 was selected as finalist & winner in "Digital Darkroom" category whereas Image 2 & Image 3 were selected as finalist in the "Details & Macro" category. Total 18600 entries were received & 922 finalist were shortlisted in overall 10 categories.

Image 1: Evil Laughs

During experimentation with smoke shot I met this. In post processing I cloned out additional smoke in black areas & applied color gradient. The only thing which was not part of original capture is the eye which was added with a stroke of brush. I processed this image for the DPchallenge Halloween Song Titles (Expert Editing) online photo contest, fortunately in which it also stand out on 5th place with Honorable Mentions.

I used two strobes on the left & right of smoke in manual mode with black cloth as background of smoke.

EXIF of this image:

Camera: Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

You can see this image at different locations : BetterphotoWinner | Dpchallenge Winner | My Flickr Photstream

Image 2: Floating Crab

EXIF of this image:

Camera : Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Lens : Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

Exposure : 0.01 sec (1/200) Aperture : f/5.6 Focal Length : 179 mm ISO Speed : 400 Exposure Bias : -2 EV Flash : Off, Did not fire

The reflected light on the calm water really added an interest with nice color contrast.

You can see this image at different locations : Betterphoto Finalist| My Flickr Photstream

Image 3: Yellow-Winged Darter

About the Insect: Yellow-winged Darter species is smaller (Length: 32-37mm) than the Common Darter or Red-veined Darter. It has extensive pale orange colouration to the basal half of the wings and many wing veins. The bright red males and clear yellow-brown females are attractive. The eyes are brown above and yellow below. The pterostigma is red or brown strongly outlined in black, somewhat shorter than in most darters.The males become orange-red with maturity with a red frons and red-brown thorax.Females have a ochre yellow abdomen strongly marked with black along the lower half of each side.

You can see this image at different locations : Betterphoto Finalist | My Flickr Photstream

It is nice to see that both images "Floating Crab" & "yellow-Winged Darter" were taken in our IPC (Indore Photographers Community) trip to Kajligarh, Indore. It is a nice place for landscape, wildlife & macro photographers.

Notification from Betterphoto site:

11/17/2010 Photographer Nilesh J. Bhange of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has won Second Place for October in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Wednesday.
More than 18500 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.
Bhange's stunning image, "Evil Laughs", garnered top honors after being submitted in the Digital Darkroom category.
All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com's contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/1010.asp
The contest is conducted each month. Categories include Nature and Landscapes, Animals, People, Elements of Design, Digital Darkroom, Travel and Place, Flowers, Details and Macro, Catch-All, and Monthly Theme. Judging is performed by a panel of professional photographers.

My Firework Photography Experience

2010-10-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

Dear friends recently I shoot some photographs of firework on the eve of Dassera on 17/10/10. Before this I never tried for such kind of firework. Though earlier I tried to capture some shots of rocket & other simple items on Diwali. I will like to share the settings & the reason for that with all of you.

Lens:

I opted for my wide angle lens Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon. Considering my 1st experience of such kind of shoot I didn't know how much area I have to cover without missing anything in the frame. This lens on my crop body canon 400D was wide enough to be on safer side.

Shot 1: 18mm, f/18, ISO:100, 20sec, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon,400D

Aperture & DOF:

I used the aperture from f/8 to f/18 tuning the required exposure along with different shutter speed. I started with f/18 & gradually shifted to f/8 keeping overexposed area at minimum. This range was enough to offer me good DOF keeping all elements in the frame focused. I keep on checking the exposure in histogram & get opened the aperture shot after shot.

Shot 2: 18mm, f/20, ISO:100, 20sec, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon, 400D

Shutter Speed & Effect:

I changed shutter speed from 15 sec to 30 sec. I may have liked to use cable release putting camera in bulb mode but I was having some problem with my cable release gadget. So I don't wanted to take chances & miss the shot keeping me frustrated.

Shot 3: 18mm, f/8, ISO:100, 30sec, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon, 400D

Framing & POV :

I was very much clear that I need to be framing vertically capturing the firework at their entire height . I also wished to have the outline of festival in the bottom of frame adding a story to firework. I kept the bottom area as minimum as possible giving more space to sky. I kept my tripod to an height of around 60-80 cm keeping the point of view from seated viewers. It also allowed me to be comfortable by sitting on the lawn & take shots with an ease.

Exposure:

This kind of firework (shot 1,2 & 3) has an advantage that they explode in different areas keeping possibility of overexposure minimum. As shown in other shots (shot 4 & 5) of Diwali the rocket & other items keep firing mostly in single area. For capturing this kind of firework a slow shutter speed will overexpose the areas. So for capturing these kind of shots with slow speed one has to use polarzier or ND filters.

Shot 4: 6mm, f/5.6, ISO:80, 5sec, Sony DSC-H2

Shot 5: 131mm, f/22, ISO:400, 1/13sec, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS,400D

Focus & metering:

Manual focus was obvious choice & I set it to infinity. I also insured from viewfinder the portion in bottom is looking into focus & tweaked a little with manual focus. Getting proper exposure was completely trial & error method. I knew the camera metering is not going to help me considering the spontaneous nature of the shots. In fact in the end (shot 3) I achieved a good exposure adding more bright sky & people in bottom with good exposure.

I hope these tips you found useful & my best wishes are with you for your firework photography.

Pratibimb 2010

2010-08-20T19:11:00.001-07:00

On the occasion of world photography day Indore Photography Community (IPC) has organised "Pratibimb 2010". It is a three day mega photography event at Indore (M.P.), displaying the best work of around 30 photographers for the first time. Indore Photography Community is an independent group of passionate photographers, from serious amateurs to professionals having worked upon diverse subjects such as wildlife, macro, nature, portraits etc.

Image 1: Just before the inauguration of the event. Image 2. Boys trying to understand my smoke shot.

I joined this community almost a year back in 2009. I feel myself as lucky being part of such talented group of friends who are as passionate for photography work as I am. The most highlighting thing which makes this community really special is the friendly atmosphere & non-formal structure. There are no formalities binding the members, no laws & restriction, freedom to express, give & execute the ideas almost anything.

Image 3 Group shot of all the participants. Image 4 A view of the exhibition.

Being a part of such large group really helps to learn the skills from the photographers working in different field with excellent skills. It helps to share our ideas, concept & also correct some misconceptions.

Image 5 & Image 6 Spectators enjoying the images.

As this was the first experience of displaying the photograph in exhibition for most of the photographers everybody was so excited it is impossible to describe in the words.The group has been moderated by Gunjan Karun & mentored by Shri Tanveer Farooqui. This event was possible only due to lot of hard work & constant efforts by the members from last 1-2 months. It will be incomplete without mentioning few names & the efforts of the members given below:

Tanveer Farooqui: Inspiring & Guiding on each step. Using their experience & contacts to add glamor/life in this event by inviting seniors for workshop like Mr. Gurudas Dua & Vijay Shah.

Gunjan & Mahulika Karun: Organising,planning, leading meetings,documenting & putting a beautiful website for the community. Excellent efforts ! I solicit the hard work.

Sandeep Ramje: As a graphic designer he offered his skills for designing & developing Photo ID cards, invitation cards, visiting cards, poster for publication & even beautiful T-shirts.

Manish Shirvastava: Selecting vendors for photo prints & framing. Arrangement of the frames in the hall & constant support throughout the event.

Vaibhav Nagonde: Booking the exhibition hall, management in the hall & much more activities behind the scene.

Pranshu dubey,sonali sharma: Highly responsible for giving media coverage, generating press releases & making this event really special.

Pranjal Rajput: For putting honest efforts for getting some sponsorship restricting individual expenses for this event.

I will also like to mention the names of other members Devendra Bagadi, Renu sharma, Vivek Dixit for supporting & participating as volunteer for other activities.

Overall it was a very exciting experience for all of us for displaying our favorite images 1st time ever. The exhibition received huge response from the spectators from Indore. It resulted in a very successful event.

Never Before : 7 Betterphoto Finalist & a winner

2010-08-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

WoW !!

How lucky the July 2010 month was for me! I never got before total 7 finalist in Betterphoto online international photo contest in different categories. I cant explain how happy I am while sharing this with all of you. Until yet maximum 2 images were shortlisted only. Surprisingly today morning while checking my mails I came to know all about this.

Category : People

Tired Of Life (#10471509)

He seems to be really lucky for me. I have already written about this image in my note : My Second blue after winning this image on first place in DPChallenge photo contest.

Hope (#10419219)

A portrait of a innocent child of a farm worker. I loved the intensity of hopes expressed in his eyes. He was having some fun with ball pen with his friend. That marks of a pen can be seen around his lips.

Category : Animals

The Old King (#10414368)

I was dying to get such a shot from many days. Finally I got it in the Zoo of Hyderabad not only as I was expecting but of a lion with nice character & amazing look.

Category : Elements Of Design

Art Of Symmetry (#10521893)

I shoot architecure shots a little rarely. I joined a photowalk 2010 recently completed. In this we conducted a walk near Bombay Hospital in Indore. My new lovely gear Sigma 10-20 added more interest in shooting some architecrual shots exploring the elements of design. Surprisingly this one is selected as finalist in Betterphoto whereas another "Apartment : Reflection" was not selected as local winner on photowalk 2010 but also displayed on the MY Shot home page of National Geographic.

Category : Flower

The Pink Orchid (#10415280)

The two flowers I always missed to shoot are Orchids & Tulips. I consider these two flowers along with Gerbera most photogenic. Due to weather conditions I didn't get the opportunity to capture the beauty of these flowers. I didn't missed to capture these flowers in my camera while I was on the tour of North-East India. I was lucky enough to get the beautiful Orchids while having walk on the streets of Pelling in the flower pots decorating the houses. Surprisingly I got best of the shots during such walk instead of in botonical garden/Nursery.

Category : Catch All

The Craftman's Hands (#10424631)

I have taken similar kind of image before for a DPChallenge contest. I found this subject appropriate for another contest " Pieces of the Human Form" . I was thinking how it can be different than previous one. The earlier was on the backdrop of natural land with textures. I used his tools this time in the background adding more strength to the content as well as nice graphical elements.

Category : Nature & Landscape

In Shelter of Tree (#10431405)

This image was taken while I have to take the shelter of this beautiful tree from rainfall. I found the mountains view from trees perspective the light was beautiful & I didn't missed the opportunity to press the shutter button :)

Notification from Betterphoto site:

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto Contest! Over 19100 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor to have your image selected among the top 1503 finalist photos.

Update on 16/8/2010

8/16/2010 Photographer Nilesh J. Bhange of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has won Second Place for July in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Monday.
More than 19000 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.
Bhange's stunning image, "Tired Of Life", garnered top honors after being submitted in the People category.
All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com's contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/1007.asp

National Geographic : My Shot

2010-08-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

I am happy to share with all of you that my photograph : "Appartment: Reflection" has been displayed on the home page of National geographic My Shot page on 4/8/2010.

This is my first time to get such an honor on this site. I hope to like repeat such success in future also.

About The Image:

This shot was taken during photowalk 2010 in Indore near Bombay Hospital. I like the distorted reflection of the building forming in glasses of another building. Unfortunately from the road I was only able to see a partial reflection. I realised that the view could be better from the upper floor. I requested the watchman of the building to allow me to get a shot from the required point of view. He not only allowed me to do so but also came with me & guided for the location. You can find me with a shadow of that watchman under center blue arch.

Original Image:

Exif data

Camera	Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure	0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	20 mm
ISO Speed	200
Exposure Bias	-2/3 EV
Flash	Off, Did not fire

You can find other images taken during this photowalk at “My Photowalk 2010” & other interesting images taken with group members at "Indore Photographers".

Update 7/8/2010:

This photograph has been selected as "Best Photo of the location" from Indore photowalkers 2010.

Update 16/8/2010:

This Photograph has been selected in Top 10 images as "Honorable Mention" in Worldwide Photowalk 2010.

My 2nd Blue : Tired Of Life

2010-07-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

I am really excited to share with all of you that 2nd time I got blue (1^st place ) on Dpchallenge contest. It was with the my image "Tired of Life" in DPchallenge contest "Weathered"

There are some really interesting coincidences with this image. The same person's portrait gifted me my 1st blue on DPchallenge contest. The coincidence is that it happened almost 1 year after I got a winning shot of him (Shepherd).

There is no prize for winning but the satisfaction of winning among the best photographer is priceless! That urge of winning had improved my photography knowingly & unknowingly. For winning in such contest one try to learn more, look around for subject. I was also able to update my portfolio with variety of subjects & concepts. This is important for a non-professional hobbyist since they have to take time from their non-official hours.

About the image:

His name is " Jitro". I visited again almost 1 year after & this time he really seems to be tired of life due to old age. He was so week that I avoid ed to make a request for posing. Technically I was expecting him against sunset light for getting catch lights in his eyes but nevertheless he added another beautiful portrait in my portfolio.The side light also added to enhance the texture of his skin exploring the marks of ages.

His expressions though not very pleasant but connects to the reality of problem he his facing. It was also fulfilling the requirement of contest "Weathered". The signs left by the time in the wrinkles of his skins & a human fatigued by health & age.

He is surely going to get a nice gift for being responsible of two beautiful portraits in my portfolio.

Image Link | Contest Link

Image EXIF:

Model: Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
FocalLength: 50.0 mm
ISOSpeedRatings: 200
ApertureValue: f/5.6
ExposureTime: 1/15 sec.
ExposureProgram: Aperture Priority

About The Contest:

Weathered II
A Member Challenge using the Advanced Editing rules.

Description
Create a photo in which the subject appears to have been affected by the weather.

Submission Dates:
Jul 5 2010 - Jul 11 2010

Voting Dates:
Jul 12 2010 - Jul 18 2010

Submissions: 164
Disqualifications: 0
Votes: 19,276
Comments: 882

Average Score: 5.5317
Highest Score: 7.2459
Median Score: 5.4957
Lowest Score: 3.5487

red : Betterphoto Photo Of the Day

2010-07-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

I am happy to share with you that my photograph has been selected as "Photo Of The Day" on 7/7/2010 on betterphoto. This is the second time I am honored with. I am really happy for that.

The photograph is :

About the Photograph:

I worked with Mansi (my daughter) after a long gap. She is now around 51/2 years old now. Now she understands my request in better way. Along with evening natural light a manual off camera flash has been bounced from wall on her left side. The red cloth around her is a the sari. Many are interested to know that what I did with her eyes? Believe me her eyes are beautiful. The bounced light from flash & bright sky above is helping to add extra shine in it.

EXIF Data:

Camera	Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
Exposure	0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	55 mm
ISO Speed	200
Exposure Bias	-1/3 EV
Flash	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
Date and Time (Original)	2010:06:18 18:21:21+05:30
Metering Mode	Average
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Lens	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Update on DATE : 13/7/2009

I got a mail from Betterphoto confirming this image has been shortlisted as finalist in June months People Category. The intimation from the site is:

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto Contest! Over 17800 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor to have your image selected among the top 1312 finalist photos.

Your finalist photo: r e d (#10375349)

My Published Images

2010-06-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

I am happy to share with you my published images in the Better photography Magazine.

I have participated in their contest Better photographer of year 2009 & submitted images in various categories.Unfortunately none of my image was selected as finalist/winner. But it looks like that they found some of them good enough only for publishing in their magazine supporting the article. I am sharing those images in this article.

Published in the supplement "secret of shooting the natural world" in annual issue of "Better Photography" Magazine of June 2010.
Large Size Download
Original image

Published in "Better Photography" Magazine, issue of May 2010 under Tips & Tricks section.
Large Size Download
Original image

Published in the supplement "secret of shooting the natural world" in annual issue of "Better Photography" Magazine of June 2010.
Large Size Download
Original image

Published in the supplement "secret of shooting stunning macros" in annual issue of "Better Photography" Magazine of June 2010.
Large Size Download
Original image

Published in the supplement "secret of shooting people & portraits"in annual issue of "Better Photography" Magazine of June 2010.
Large Size Download
Original Image

My Trip To Darjeeling Article Published

2010-06-18T00:14:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce my blog on "Trip To Darjeeling" has been published in the Issue #27 – Apr 2010 of Photography BB.

The PhotographyBB Online Magazine is composed by a hardworking team of volunteer contributing authors who’s goal is to teach beginners all about digital photography and image processing.

You can download it at free in PDF o ZIP format. This issue is also having another interesting articles. Thanks to the editor Dave Seeram for appreciating my work & encouraging to update my article with setup details. Hope you will like it.

My Trip to Darjeeling

2010-03-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

As some of you know from my recent photographs & notes I recently had a short trip to North East India. I visited Darjeeling,Gangtok & Pelling. I also visited Changu lake near to Gangtok.

Image 1 :Taken from the flight while traveling from Delhi to Bagdogra.

We started our journey on 26th of February from Indore. We had a flight of Indian Airlines from Indore to Delhi in the morning & then a connecting flight from Delhi to Bagdogra. From Bagdogra we hired a taxi for Darjeeling & reached there in evening.

Note: Try to hire a taxi on your own from Bagdogra air port since we have observed the pre-paid taxi payer is taking some commission & which may cost you a little more. Similarly hiring a taxi for local site seeing on without reference of hotel manager may cost you less but sometimes it's unavoidable if they offer you nice service & you want to save time & headache in bargaining with the taxi drivers :)

Darjeeling:
Darjeeling is a town in the Indian state of West Bengal, is internationally famous for its tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the headquarters of Darjeeling district, located in the Mahabharat Range or Lesser Himalaya at an average elevation of 6,710 ft (2,050 m).

We started our site seeing at this place on 27th & 28th of Feb. We visited several place as given below:

1. Peace Pagoda:
The Japanese Peace Pagoda was established by Nipponzan Myohoji, a Japanese Buddhist order. Situated on the slopes of the Jalapahar Hill the pagoda can be reached by foot or on taxi. The pagoda is the highest free structure in the town. It also showcases the four avatars of the Buddha.

We had a very nice view of this place on foggy morning enhancing the purity of this place at its most.

Image 2:Peace Pagoda

Image 3: Photograph of a stupa near Peace Pagoda at Darjeeling.

2. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park:
Established on the 14th of August, 1958, the zoo was dedicated to the memory of Padmaja Naidu, former Governor of West Bengal on the 21st November, 1975. Considered as one of the best zoos in the country, it is the only centre that breeds the tibetan wolf in captivity. Breeding programmes for the endangered red panda, snow leopard and the siberian tiger are also carried out at PNHZP. The zoo is open on all days except on Thursdays and other national holidays.
We do enjoyed having a view of cute Red Panda & tibetan wolf here.

Image 4: The red panda is a reddish brown, bushy-tailed mammal the size of a small dog. The red panda shares its name with the giant panda but, unlike the giant panda, the red panda is not a bear. Scientists believe it is more closely related to raccoons and skunks. The red panda lives in temperate forests from Nepal to southwest China. It feeds on bamboo, is a good climber, and spends most of its life in the trees. Due to poaching and habitat loss, it is now endangered.

Image 5: Tibetan Wolf is a medium sized wolf with long lightly colored fur. They are found in the cold desert areas, both in open and forested tracts. In some areas, they live close to areas occupied by nomads.

3. Himalayan Mountaineering Institute:

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was set up following the successful ascent of the Mount Everest-the highest peak in the world by the local hero Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir EdEdumund Hillary on 28 May 1953. The oldest mountaineering institute in the country carries out various mountaineering courses every year. Apart from Tenzing, legendary mountaineers like Nawang Gombu(the first man to climb Everest twice) and Lattoo Dorjee Sherpa have helped build the reputation of this pioneering institute. The institute is presently under the purview of the Minstry of Defence, Government of India and its museum is worth a visit.
It was really a treat to have look of the gadgets of those brave people & to know about their great episodes from hired guide with us.

4.Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre:

After Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet, thousands of Tibetan refugees came to reside in India. Darjeeling too became a home away from home for the Tibetans in exile. To rehabilitate the community a ten-member committee was formed in Darjeeling to organize a rehabilitation centre which was known as "Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre". The centre was established on October 1, 1959 and the residents of the centre are today known for their handicrafts. The centre makes excellent carpets, woolen goods, woodwork, etc, which are famous across the globe.

Image 6: She is a painter from The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre at Darjeeling. I shared some nice moments with her. I asked her about the painted text on windows "Free Tibet" & "Save Tibet". She told me this is about to end the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of Tibetans to be respected.

Image 7: He was a enjoying his game in The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre. The image exploring his joy of freedom.

I met here some very senior artist & workers. I had nice conversation with them & some very nice touching moments in my life. I observed the strong desire of independent Tibet in all those eyes.

5. Ghoom Monastery:

Built in 1875 by Lama Sherab Gyatso, this ancient monastery is said to have been blessed by the renowned Tomo Geshe Rimpoche of Tibet. The specialty of this monastery is that it contains the statue of the 'Future Coming Buddha' known as Maitreye Buddha. The Monastery has also preserved some of the rare handwritten Buddhist manuscripts. You could visit the monastery on your return journey to Darjeeling from Tiger Hill.
Note: If you don't have keen interest in observing the Monastery in detail,photography then it's better to visit famous places at one or two places. If you have short time then you can save that time to visit other places.

6.Rock Garden:
Situated 10 km from town, Rock Garden and Ganga Maya Park has now developed into a very attractive picnic spot with natural water falls. The park offers boating facilities and is endowed with great scenic beauty. Ample eateries are available for visitors to indulge in local delicacies and one can even buy souvenirs. No fees are charged for taking photographs. Visitors are however, required to make arrangements for transportation. A two way travel arrangement is advisable.

Image 8: Waterfall at Rock Garden

Image 9: Waterfall at Rock Garden

Image 10: The lost trees in the mist at Rock Garden

Note: Some tourist may find all the rock garden at various tourist places as same. Since a normal tourist can't differentiate every waterfall has got different characteristic like how the streams have formed, how the texture,pattern,color of stones is present,the presence of moss on rocks & the importance of falls & flowers with unique viewpoint & surrounding. If this is the not case with you then better to avoid visiting rock garden at every places :)

7.Ava Art Gallery

Situated about 4 km from the Market Square and on the National Highway, Ava.Art Gallery was established in 1965 by the Late. Bhopal Rao Sett and Ava Devi. It is the only Art Gallery of its kind in the Hills. A collection of 60 pieces of art work in water, oil and thread paintings are displayed in the Gallery. Visitors can travel on foot to get to the Gallery or simply hire a taxi. Entrance fees are not charged.
It was nice to see the typical art forms. I was really impressed by the way she had created the textures on the skin by using shades of threads..unbelievable!!
Note: Don't miss this place!

8. Tiger Hill:

Situated at an altitude of 2590 meters (8482 ft.) and 13 kilometers from the town, this spot has earned international fame for the magnificent view of the sunrise over the "Kanchanjunga" and the great eastern Himalayan Mountains. Even Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, is visible from here. The hesitant rays of the early morning sun paint these peaks in pale gold.

Well 28th Feb was not our day actually. We missed the view of sunrise & Kanchanjunga hill due to dense foggy weather. I was too depressed to describe in words :(

Note:

Best time to visit:
1. September to November is ideal for sight seeing and outings.
2.December to January is perfect for those like chilly climate and is best period for honeymooners.
3. February to June is ideal for all tourist activities in Darjeeling.
More Info available at: Darjeeling Time to Visit

9. Toy Train,Batasia Loop and the War Memorial:

The Batasia loop situated almost 5 km away from the town is a gigantic railway loop where the Toy Train makes a 360 Degree turn. It was basically built to make it possible for the Toy Train to cut the deep ascend. Strategically located the Batasia Loop offers a panoramic view of the Kanchanjunga Range.A War Memorial constructed in the memory of the brave sons of the soil who laid down their lives in the different wars since the independence of the nation adds to its attraction. There is also a well furbished market where visitors can buy locally made purses, bags and other decorative items

Image 11 & 12 Broken headlight & electrical cable problem

The experience was so bad that at one place the headlamp of the train was broken due ti an electrical cable the headlight was placed in our coach.Some foreigners didn't got it before I explained to them what it is.I missed to capture their funny expressions when I told them "Guys this is the headlight of our train & it was broken due to cable & we don't know what's going to happen next"

Note:To avoid the unfortunate toy train trip it's nice to have idea about recent trip information from local people. If you are having less stay in Darjeeling then better to avoid this trip & cover other spots like botanical garden etc.

Image 13 Pine trees on a misty morning near Peace Pagoda at Darjeeling

As said 28thb Feb was not our day actually. We started late in Toy train due to some technical problem & the train halted at many points & at last was not able to complete the described route.

We stayed in the Hotel "North Star" which is not on the main road but I really like the very good service provided here & I do recommend a stay here to my friends.

If interested in seeing other images then can have at : Darjeeling on Flickr

After noon we left to Gangtok. I have taken the spot details from the Darjeeling government site for noting detailed reference of the spots which we have visited. Hope you like this post good bye & love you all!!

CD Buner : How I did that?

2010-02-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

The idea to capture this shot illustrating visual pun was playing in my mind from many days. I was unable to find the way to execute it without any accident & damage. I am not a great photoshop expert so it was not easy for me. Finally I did it using multiple exposure trick. I had used it very first time & really enjoyed it.

The details about the procedure are as:

1. I placed a paper in the background & on a box with my CD/DVD driver on it.

2. I used a flash for background on camera left while another flash on camera right, light bouncing from a white foam adding fill light to object. The flash were fired by using wireless trigger units.

3. I used a 10 sec exposure with camera on tripod.

4. I put on the timer & took my first exposure with flash light.

5. For avoiding fire drag after flash firing I blocked the lens with black piece , meanwhile the flame generated by camphor tablets on a spoon was moved on CD. then I removed black piece. During this period camera lens was blocked so no exposure.

6. Before removing that I have holed ND + tobacco filter in front of lens too avoid overexposure in the fire. The fire was moved all over the place & completed second exposure.

Don't worry everything is safe. Anyway I was playing with old CD/DVD burner.Thanks to my wife for assisting me to complete the shot. Many of you might be knowing this trick but I did it first time & excited about it. Hope you will like this :)

Are your subjects comfortable?

2010-01-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

After seeing my portrait images my lot of friends & visitors asks me about my used equipments & where that shot was taken? I found most of them are having keen interest to know which was the lens I have used. But I guess sometimes they miss important thing about the expression of the subject. In portrait photography that is most important. Did you take care your subject is comfortable or not? It's not a major concern when you are shooting your family members but not is the case while shooting strangers.

People photography requires a special skill & it comes with practice. I know whenever two strangers meet it's difficult to crack the bottleneck of not being comfortable with each other unless you have some work. I have found most of the people (at least in India) are eager to be get photographed. As I have written in the description of my many images on Flickr I try to have conversation with them. I take their early shot knowing that they are not my best one & try to have communication with them. I try to realize them that they have no harm from me, my shooting & I am not at all less than a friend. Winning the confidence of the subject is a key. After only that you will get nice expressions from them.

In children photography also it is very important to be patient & giving the kids there time to talk. Kids are impatient & it's your turn to understand them, balance the situation by being patient. Giving breaks in shooting helps them to relax. Experimenting with them adds their interest in the shooting. Giving some gifts like toffees & chocolates also helps. You have to talk with them as if you are a kid, that greatly makes them comfortable & more are the chance to get nice shots. Keeping the camera to the eye level of your subject really makes them comfortable as well as viewers of the image.

In family portraits while shooting with 2-3 people you have to arrange them to portrait the relation,emotion along with affection. You have to comfy them for getting close enough to get nice compositions.

Hope you like these tips & will take care in your next shoot out.

To crop or not ?

2010-01-19T02:31:00.000-08:00

In practical condition while shooting many times it is not possible to frame your subject as one is visualizing the shot. There may be number of reasons like the situation doesn't permit, limitation of lens zoom, the shortage of time etc. My best advice to novice photographer always is take a breath & stop for 1 second before pressing the shutter button on the camera. After that do the followings:

1. Look along all the corners & frame of your viewfinder & think once is it all ok?
2. Whatever they are seeing want in the frame or not?
3. Is any change in angle is going to avoid background distractions?
4. Is any change is going to avoid exposure problems like bright sky?
5. Is any change is going to give you more contrast with subject?
6. Is your Point of view is Ok with the subject?

.... & much more can be asked. It comes with practice & practice. A beginner may ask like how can I see all that in 1 second? It comes with practice & until then you can breath more before clicking :)

But what if you didn't able to shoot as you were planning? In such cases cropping is the key. I am very particular about cropping the images & everyone should be. There are number of reasons for cropping your images like:

1. It helps to improve your compositions by cutting down unnecessary areas.
2. Add a new element to the image, making your subject interesting.
3. Avoid background distractions.
4. Placing the graphical elements in the image in neat order & much more.

There are number of rules suggesting how to crop or not. But don't hesitate to break such rules unless your composition is strong enough. You may see in my number of images I cropped out chin in my portrait shots & I don't think I have done anything wrong with the subjects. It helps me to place my subject engaged with viewers until they forget about cropped chin. The images in this blog are showing such examples.

Hope you like the images & small tips about framing & cropping. I will like to add more about cropping may be in next blog. Enjoy shooting & cropping :)

Holy Man With Yellow Ribbon

2010-01-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to share my winning shot on a DPC contest. Recently a contest called "One In 7 Billion" has been completed. I was winner on 3rd place & got a yellow Ribbon .

About the image:

I have submitted the image taken in my trip to Maheshwar on 3rd Jan 2010. On that morning at Narmada ghat I found this interesting charachter & I requested to allow me to take his portrait. He was humble enough to allow me for that. The morning sunlight & the breeze helped me for adding in the image.I really want to thank him for resulting in nice portrait & giving me a winner shot.

Camera settings:

This shot was taken with my telephoto lens Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS. The light was nice to get nice aperture setting as f/8.0 with high shutter speed like 1/640 sec. I even though increased my ISO to 200 because I was not with tripod & didn't want to miss the shot. He was having far distance from the stairs in the background & I was shooting with the focal length of around 90mm so the f/8.0 allowed me to take sharp image with shallow background adding only colors in the background helping for the image.

About the contest details:

One In 7 Billion
An Exclusive Open Challenge using the Advanced Editing rules.

Description
Take a Portrait in ANY style (classic, candid, street, environmental, etc) that's a storyteller which shows the depth of someone different, special or interesting, a person that stands out (good or bad) in your part of the world. Dig deep and tell their story through an image.

Submission Dates:
Dec 30 2009 - Jan 5 2010

Voting Dates:
Jan 6 2010 - Jan 12 2010

Submissions: 99
Disqualifications: 0
Votes: 21,245
Comments: 569

My Smoke Aticle Published.

2010-01-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce my blog on smoke photography has been published in the Issue #23 – Dec 2009 of Photography BB.

The PhotographyBB Online Magazine is composed by a hardworking team of volunteer contributing authors who’s goal is to teach beginners all about digital photography and image processing.

You can download it at free in PDF o ZIP format. This isuue is also having another interesting articles. Thanks to the edito Dave Seeram for appeciating my work & encouraging to update my article with setup details. Hope you will like it.

Wophy NOV 2009 Member of the month

2009-11-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

I am glad to share with all of you that I have been chosen as Member of the month November 2009 on the website "WOOPHY".

About Woophy:

Woophy stands for WOrld Of PHotographY, a website founded by a Dutch collective of photo aficionados and internet designers who believe navigation on internet can be more visual, logical and associative.

The goal of Woophy's founders is to create an accessible, visual, current, democratic and collective work of art comprised of a database picturing our remarkable world.

With the help of (amateur) photographers across the world we strive to ultimately cover every inch of our world map with images that represent the world's beauty and peculiarity from all different cultural perspectives. Users upload their photos into a free personal account protected by a password, or download pictures for personal use. User email addresses and passwords are not shared with any third parties whatsoever.

My Experience:
I am member on this site from August 9th, 2006& sharing my around 650 images on this site. I must admit here that the encouraging feedback on my images from Woophy members always inspired me to do better work & share immediately my new work on this beautiful site. Sometimes I felt that I get less citiques on this site but for keeping me on ground I have many tricks as follows.

1. The dpchallenge voters are always ready to for giving harsh critiques, giving low votes if image really doesn't deserved it.

2. If on a day after my work got praised & I feel like flying in the sky, I visit the gallery's of masters. It helps for me settling down & balancing the lofty mood.

The image presented in this blog are my most appreciated images on this website.

I will also like take this opportunity for offering my sincere gratitude to all Woophy members for appreciating my work time to time & pushing me harder to do more work!

Rocket Firework Photography

2009-10-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves the firework & I love to shoot the firework! I especially love to shoot the Rocket firework.

A rocket is a pyrotechnic device made out of a paper tube that propels itself into the air in order to fly. Types of rockets include the skyroc kets, which have a stick to provide stability during airborne flight; missiles, which rotate rather than having a stick for stability, or are shot out of a tube; and bottle rockets, smaller fireworks – 1½ in (3.8 cm) long, though the attached stick extends the total length to approximately 12 in (30 cm) – that usually contain whistle effects... From Wikepedia

Here are some of the tips about shooting these kind of photograph. You need a tripod without that it is not possible to shoot these images. Framing should be vertical as the subject is.

1. By taking precautions we will ensure that it will go upwards but it is difficult to know what path it will follow. I use wide angle lens for this. Currently I don't have a lens much wider than 18mm. Using telephoto lens for capturing the abstract of firework may also give nice shots.

2. I place the rocket in a bottle on a surface area with substantial height while placing my camera on a tripod at lower height than the rocket. Take precaution for keeping your camera at safe distance since sometimes the nasty rocket may explode instead of giving a visual treat to your eyes.

3. Use low ISO for avoiding any noise & artifacts.

4. Shooting in manual mode is preferable. Use the aperture & shutter speed settings as given below.

5. Use Aperture in the range of f/8 to f/16 since these objects emit light with high brightness.I also use polarizer for avoiding overexposed shots.

6. This is most important setting. I use shutter speed in the range of 5-10 seconds. I keep the camera in timer mode & press the shutter button just before igniting the rocket. The complete event may take around 2-3 seconds but the long duration will help me to keep further away from camera after pressing the shutter button. If you have a remote cable release you can do it in better way by putting the camera in bulb mode & ending the capture after completion of the event.

7. Focusing is a bit tricky. I use manual focus & by using torch I keep focus on the rocket before taking the actual shot. My 18-55 doesn't have marking of infinity. If you have it then keep it on that.

8. Tweak with your settings after observing the results of your trial shots.

Hope you find this article useful & keep on shooting :)

Betterphotography Winner September 2009

2009-10-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

I am happy to share with you that recently my photograph "pure" has been selected as a winner on second place on betterphotography in People category.

About the image:
This is portrait of my beautiful daughter "Mansi". This is the photograph in the same photoshoot as in "Sinless". I have converted it to black & white to enhance the concept of purity & innocence. The setup was pretty simple the image was taken without flash & natural light in my balcony. She had given me very fine, natural expressions on that day. She is just 4-1/2 years old now & I am really get amazed the way she responds & co-operate me off course unless she doesn't gets into naughty mood. You can see me in her eyes with a bright background door & wall.

The EXIF data for this image is:
Model: Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
FocalLength: 55.0 mm
ISOSpeedRatings: 400
ApertureValue: f/5.6
ExposureTime: 1/20 sec.
ExposureProgram: Aperture priority
ExposureBiasValue: 0.0
WhiteBalance: Manual
MeteringMode: Multi-segment

Notification from the site:
10/26/2009 Photographer Nilesh J. Bhange of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has won Second Place for September in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Monday.
More than 18800 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.
Bhange's stunning image, "p u r e", garnered top honors after being submitted in the People category.
All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com's contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/0909.asp

The contest is conducted each month. Categories include Nature and Landscapes, Animals, People, Elements of Design, Digital Darkroom, Travel and Place, Flowers, Details and Macro, Catch-All, and Monthly Theme. Judging is performed by a panel of professional photographers.

Note:
I have recently published a calendar of her on redbubble & if interested you can purchase it at: Mansi Calendar

Portraits in Bright Light

2009-09-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

Taking portrait in bright light is quiet tricky & most of the time photographers avoid to take images in such conditions. The major reason for this is the harsh light creating unpleasant shadows, bright highlights & more contrast.

Sometimes it is unavoidable to do so & you may miss really good shots. The simple tricks which can be used under such circumstances.
Try to use a shade if available nearby.This will provide you for getting nice exposure & soft light.

The image on the left is taken in afternoon in open space. I kept the person in the shadow of vehicle which really helped me to get rid from harsh lights & shadows.

I was to take portrait of a villager & I noticed he was having the umbrella with him. I requested the person kindly use it. It helped me not only for getting good exposure but also composing the image. It is good practice to put an soft white umbrella in your gear box if possible. Somebody can assist you by holding it for creating shade with soft light.

Use your flash light source as secondary light source & ambient as prominent light.Try to use fill flash wherever needed. Use flash compensation for reducing the power of flash & keeping your subject exposure with the ambient light. If shadows in background of subject by use of flash is unavoidable then prefer dark backgrounds in the shade. Try to keep more distance between your subject & the background.

Using the sun in the background of model may give nice back light as well as a comfort to the eye of the person otherwise you will struggle with blinking/closed eyes of the person. In portrait photography it is most important that your subject should be completely comfortable.

Using reflectors is also a nice way for adding the fill light. You can also try to experiment with high key effect.

Practicing will make you comfortable to take images in bright light, it's a bit challenging but you will not miss shots in future. You may also explore very soon to get some environmental portraits rather than preferring the shade always :)

A Trip to Mandu

2009-09-10T01:07:00.000-07:00

I was on the trip to Mandav/Mandu (6-9-9) Sunday. My friend Vijay is having the bike “Theunderbird :Royal Enfield”. The area local manager of Royal Enfield had organized an official trip to this place. Mandav is around 90Km from my residence place Indore, Total 16 people were in the group along with the manager & two mechanic.

We started around 6:15 from Indore. It was nice fresh morning the sigh of relief was there were no signs of getting rain.

I was thrilled to have fun with photography as it was my first experience to shoot while having a ride on bike. I have tried motion panning considering nothing can be better than this time to work on that. I kept wide open aperture to get slow shutter speeds & keeping image stabilization on of my canon 18-55mm IS lens. Some shots turned out really well. It’s really difficult to get very sharp images but I got some images with acceptable quality. I was also interested in taking some people portraits as always.

Here is a bit more information about this place:

History Of Mandu:
Mandu was founded as a fortress and retreat in the 10th century by Raja Bhoj.It was conquered by the Muslim rulers of Delhi in 1304. After the victory of Mughals in the early 16th century on Delhi, Mandu came under the administration of Afghan Dilawar Khan, the Governor of Malwa. Hoshang Shah, son of Dilawar Khan, transferred his capital to Mandu. Until 1561, it remained under the Afghans when Akbar defeated Baz Bahadur, one of the Afghan chieftains ruling a part of central India. Baz Bahadur fled Mandu instead of facing the Mughal army. During the administration of Marathas, the capital of Malwa was shifted back to Dhar and Mandu became a ghost city for some time.

Best Time To Visit:
Mandu enjoys an extreme climate. The best season to visit this place is during the monsoon, that is, from July to September. While other places in Madhya Pradesh and most of the north and peninsular India are closed for tourism during monsoon, Mandu is more of a monsoon resort than anything else. The natural surroundings are in full bloom during this time. The monsoon is to end in India so everything is with lush green & beautiful atmosphere. We were able to mage our visiting in the best period :)

Places:
Rupmati's Pavilion is a very beautiful piece of architecture & I got some very nice images of arches in symmetry along with there reflections in water. I also like to take picture of beautiful caves with good light & shadows. The Rupmati's Pavilion is situated on the very edge of Mandu Fort. It is a very romantic building, a perfect setting for fairytale romance. Nevertheless, unfortunately, the love story of Baz Bahadur and Rupmati had a tragic end. It is said that Akbar attacked Mandu for the sake of Rupmati and Baz Bahadur fled Mandu leaving Rupmati to poison herself. We all enjoyed the beautiful view of lush green fields, mountains & atmosphere with dramatic fog. I have taken snaps with my wide angle(18-55) & medium telephoto(55-250).

All of us enjoyed & shared the beauty of nature & I was with my camera on almost all the time & busy with taking the snaps. The most beautiful place we visited were Jahaz Mahal & Hindola Mahal. Just before going to this place there was a short rainfall. The beauty of these places was much enhanced with nice sunshine after the rain.

Jahaz Mahal (or the Ship Palace) is probably the most famous building in Mandu. This ship-like structure was constructed by Ghiyas-ud-din, son of Mohammed Shah, for his harem. According to the legends, this harem was home to 15,000 maidens. There are two lakes on the east and west side of the palace that create a perfect illusion of a ship with its rectangular shape.

Hindola Mahal (or Swing Palace) was a pleasure to me that gives the impression that the inward slopes of the walls are swaying. I was really impressed by the interior beauty of this Mahal.

It was a real fun & we all enjoyed that.You can see the images taken in this tour at my flikr link:Mandav On Royal. I hope you will enjoy my snaps of this tour. I really look forward for an opportunity to visit another place :)

Ansel Adams:The Master of Landscapes

2009-08-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

I guess all of you knowing the Master of Landscapes: Ansel Adams(February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984). He was one of the highly appreciated photographers in the world & is very famous for his fine quality of prints produced. His prints are still popular & in the sells.

He was having great technique to capture beautiful landscapes with eye pleasing composition & exposure. Adams developed the famous and highly complex "zone system" of controlling and relating exposure. This was a a method for getting real to life exposure for his images & prints. He understood completely how camera & lens sees the world & how one can get images looking real to life. In the age of film camera he understood how tones of color reflect in shades of grey.

His one of the favorite quote is "You don’t take a photograph, you make it".What I interpret his statement that a true photographer composes a photo first in mind & then apply his technique to capture that shot in camera. This is the way of making photograph. He always give advice to novice photographer to visualize, develop the skill of visualization. His development is enabling photographers to creatively visualize an image and produce a photograph that matched and expressed that visualization

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adams_The_Tetons_and_the_Snake_River.jpg

He said in an interview he never took two different photographs of a same location. For answering this he added he knows what I have to shoot on a location along with what exposure & other settings. I understood this as if someone is taking more than one snap that means he don't know what he is doing. He took same photograph twice just to avoid accidental loss while developing films. I was really amazed to know this & his confidence in his techniques in the age of film camera. I still struggle to get correct exposure & composition in the modern age of digital camera.

I am still struggling to get good exposure by using modern day’s camera light meter & metering modes. I hope this article may help to make novice photographers curious enough to understand Zone System This will also help them for metering in many situations & getting correct exposure. There are various books & tutorials for getting correct exposure by following zonal system. A practical immediate advantage for following this system is getting perfect white background for subject isolation as required for stock photography. After having basic understanding of getting correct exposure you will see your images with very natural colors & light.

'I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world around us'- Ansel Adams

I can only expect to get a image close to him one day :)

My First Blue

2009-07-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

WOW! I finally got it!

It was one of my dream to get a blue (1^st place ) on Dpchallenge contest, which come true today. I really struggled hard to make this happen. I tried hard, sometimes got frustrated & lost hope that I can ever make this.

There is no prize for winning but the satisfaction of winning among the best photographer is priceless! That urge of winning had improved my photography knowingly & unknowingly. For winning in such contest one try to learn more, look around for subject & I too was able to update my portfolio with variety of subjects & concepts. This is important for a non-professional hobbyist since they have to take time from their non-official hours.

About the image:

Thanks to the old man for kindly allowing me to take his photograph. On one morning walk I saw him setting outside his hut & the vibrant colorful clothes attracted me. After returning home I took my camera specially for capturing him for this contest. He was a little bit shy but I was able to make him comfortable & got a winning shot.

Image Link | Contest Link

Image EXIF:

Model: Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
FocalLength: 55.0 mm
ISOSpeedRatings: 200
ApertureValue: f/5.6
ExposureTime: 1/100 sec.
ExposureProgram: Manual
ExposureBiasValue: 0.0
WhiteBalance: 1
MeteringMode: 6

Undoubtedly his face was full of character, the face with marks of age, big mustache & beard & curious eyes along with vibrant colorful clothes everything was fascinating! I didn’t mind to take a tighter shot exploring all these details.

Update on 19/8/2009:

This image has been selected as "Photo Of The Day" on 18/8/2009 on betterphoto. My firstever experience of getting this honor & I am really happy for that.

Here is the notification from site:

Congratulations! Your image was chosen for the BetterPhoto Photo of the Day!
Our daily email newsletter, Photo of the Day, showcases outstanding pictures from our monthly photo contest and goes out by email to over 26,000 people!
Share this honor with your friends and family by sending them this link to view your photo: http://www.betterphoto.com/POTDarchive2.asp?ID=1795
Once again, congratulations and thank you for being part of our global community!

Betterphoto Winner May 2009

2009-06-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous note my two images have been shortlisted as finalist which are "r e d" & "p e a s". Today I got a news that both images have been selected as winners in second place in the category of "people" & "Elements of design".

About the images:

r e d:

This is the photograph of my beautiful expressive daughter Mansi. She is surrounded with a red sari & for me it arrangement looks like a flower peeping from the leaves. Her happy expressions added a life to the image. May be Green color may have more suited to the concept.

The EXIF data for this image is:

Model:	Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
FocalLength:	50.0 mm
ISOSpeedRatings:	100
ApertureValue:	f/5.6
ExposureTime:	1/25 sec.
ExposureProgram:	Manual
ExposureB iasValue:	0.0
WhiteBalance:	1
MeteringMode:	6

p e a s:

This is a simple still life shot exploring the beautiful shapes & fresh color of peas. I thought it may suit well in Elements of Design & fortunately it did. For lighting I have used a home made lightbox & two external flash.

The EXIF data for this image is:

Model:	Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
FocalLength:	135.0 mm
ISOSpeedRatings:	100
ApertureValue:	f/13.0
Expos ureTime:	1/200 sec.
ExposureProgram:	Manual
ExposureBiasValue:	0.0
WhiteBalance:	1
MeteringMode:	5

Notification from the site:

6/22/2009 Photographer Nilesh J. Bhange of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has won Second Place for May in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Monday.

More t han 19300 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.

Bhange's stunning image, "p e a s ", garnered top honors after being submitted in the Elements of Design category.

All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com's contest page: http:/ /www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/0905.asp

Bhange's stunning image, "r e d", garnered top honors after being submitted in the People category.

All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com's contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/0905.asp

The contest is conducted each month. Categories include Nature and Landscapes, Animals, People, Elements of Design, Digital Darkroom, Travel and Place, Flowers, Details and Macro, Catch-All, and Monthly Theme. Judging is performed by a panel of professional photographers.

Betterphoto May 2009 Finalist

2009-06-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am really happy to share with you that my two images are shortlisted as finalist in betterphoto May 2009 contest. One is "r e d" photograph of my daughter Mansi in People Category & other is "P e a s" in the category Elements of Design

Notification from the site:

Betterphoto Link : r e d

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto Contest! Over 19500 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honorto have your image selected among the top 516 finalist photos.

Your finalist photo: r e d (#8368766)

Betterphoto Link : p e a s

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhoto Contest! Over 19500 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor to have your image selected among the top 516 finalist photos.

Your finalist photo: p e a s (#8296908)

Hope they will do better further & at least one image may be nominated as winner.

Getting Abstracts From Smoke Shots

2009-05-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Smoke Photography is a really very interesting & there is no limit to your creativity. I have given the basic hints for getting good photographs by using smoke in my earlier blog “Smoke Photography”

Here I will like to give a practical example of how one can play with a image to create beautiful patterns & designs in very simple steps. The images represent my layers in photoshop & details arte as given below.

1. This image is my basic image straight from camera.

2. After basic adjustment by using levels & contrast the image

3. The layer is copied & using free transformed flipped horizontally. Layer’s blending mode changed to Lighten.

4. Layer Both layers copied into new layer again blending mode set to lighten. I am showing individual layers but You will see a different image in photoshop.

5. Layer 4 duplicated & using free transform flipped vertically. Blending mode set to lighten.

6. All layers merged to new layer. Using free transformed rotated clockwise 90 deg. This completes the basic final shape in photoshop.

7. In new layer color gradient is applied.

These steps completes the final image. One can still play with various blending options, gradient options & lot more. As I said earlier there are infinite possibilities.

Final Image:

Hope you may found this simple technique helpful. Enjoy the unlimited available creativity with your smoke photography.

My Inspiration For Portrait Photography

2009-03-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to share with you about my inspiration for the portrait photographic work. I have no shame to tell boldly that all my portrait photography work is highly inspired by the master in this field Manny Librodo. I always believe that everyone might be inspired from something & one should not feel ashamed to get inspired.

Most of you might be very well familiar with his name & work. I still remember the first day when I visited his gallery on Pbase.It was a holiday morning & I can never forget that experience which I felt while surfing his work. I almost spent 2-3 hour just observing his amazing work. Believe me it was too late to sense that I have yet to take lunch. At that time I found more hunger in me to do such kind of work than the taking just a lunch.

The best thing which I liked is his work is how beautifully he has captured the emotions! He is master in creating good lighting & post processing. In some image He has created such a magical work one almost gets the 3D effect in the two dimensional photograph. I will definitely like to link the two images with such effect & which are VEIL & intensity

I dig out on the net & I know many others may also for getting his post processing techniques but alas nothing came to my hand. I wonder how he is able to keep that so secret. Whatever I learned is just by observing his images very closely. I know my work is nowhere comes to close to his. But I am happy enough for seeing his amazing work & getting inspired.

The first thing which I started doing new was approaching the people. I was not having enough guts to ask the unknown people to allow me to get them photographed. I still haven't overcome this problem completely that but somehow I have opened up a little bit. It's really difficult for the newbie like me to develop this art. As I read in one of his interview that “smile is the key”. It can turn the things. I think when two persons meet each other somewhere in the corner of mind they are not friendly with each other, once they realizes that other person is not going to hurt me
the door opens

I like most of his work with the children. I always believed the children give most natural expressions because of there innocence. The other thing which I experienced in my street photography work how rich the poor peoples are really! I can sense the warmth of their soul. I felt the sense of happiness when they came to know that somebody is interested to photograph them. I think they can deliver very natural expressions.

I like the way he composes his images. He has given a different dimension to the portrait photography by using the veils, turban & traditional clothing, jewelry. I know it's difficult for me to attend his workshop & there is no way to get his workflow. I have so much to learn & practice for at least to get such beautiful lighting effect & beautiful sense of emotions in my work.

If interested see my more work on Flikr at: Indian People

I hope you enjoyed this blog. Best Regards & love you all :)

Mansi & Me

2009-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Mansi is my daughter & she is now around 4 years old. You will find significant images of her in my portfolio. She has got very beautiful eyes & charming face. We share a great time while shooting & I really like the way she responds to me. I really love her expressive face.

I am writing this blog because she is the person because of which my interest in photography has been started. If before 3-4 years you asked me anything about photography I may have not able to tell the basics (Even today I am trying to learn those.. ). I didn't like the film cameras. I remember an incidence from my college days while once on a trip the camera was out of photos because the film was not properly fixed in camera.The only thing in my favor was my interest in drawing . I have successfully completed some good drawing courses in childhood.

I bought my first digital camera Nikon 4200 only for taking images of my 6 months old girl. I was really impressed about the digital convenience & the quality of images. I was very well familiar with computer so very soon I became used to the digicam. Meanwhile I came across some online photo competition site Dpchallenge & I begin to realize the manual setting limitation of my camera.

After around 18 months I switched to SONY DSC-H2. I really loved it's optical zoom (12X,6M) & manual features. I read many online articles & try to experiment with all manual features. In this process my photo library was growing with different subject whereas Mansi's images were somewhat in less quantity.

I changed my gear to canon 400D in April's of 2008. This was my first SLR camera & it opened a new doors to quality photography. I realized the difference between the compact & SLR camera.

Well shooting with children is not an easy task. You have to respect their mood & emotions. One has to become their good friend. Some times you have to offer some small gifts. You have to be quick because you really don't know when the desired expression is coming. Children tend to change their facial expression very fast. Different setups develop interest of children for giving various poses in photo shoot. They enjoy it & take it as a fun. There are times when I became angry on her & very soon realize my mistake. I realized that it's very difficult to execute good shots with planning & most nice shots are candid one's.

I will be always thankful to her for turning out my interest in photography even though unknowingly. I know this article is too personal but hope you will like it. Don't forget to leave your comments because it really helps.

If interested see my more work on Mansi at : Mansi Photographs

Best Regards,
Enjoy photo shooting with your kids :)
Love you all!

Nilesh

Smoke Photography

2009-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

I think everybody loves to see smoke images & photographers want to expertise in such kind of photography. I wish to share the technique for taking such images. I am not the first one to do such work, you can get lot of information on internet. This is an attempt to share my personal experience with you. Before starting to work on this I must say one needs lot of patience for getting good images. One has to select really good images out of the bunch & dare to throw average images.

Image 1 Image 2

Image2: A image showing sound waves illustration representing smoke as sound waves. In actual photograph the smoke was from behind the speaker & only top wave. In processing it has been duplicated & shown coming from speaker. No external elements have been added in the image.

My few tips & techniques for capturing such images are as given below:

SOURCE: The source for smoke can be cigar, incense sticks etc. I prefer incense sticks considering long time needed for working on such shots. It is not harmful for health also & pleasant to work with.

PLACE: You will need a clean place with minimum dust & good ventilation. Insure it is with enough isolating atmosphere, not disturbing the smoke frequently. Small place will get filled with smoke & you will not able to work after some time.

BACKGROUND: Use a black background for getting good contrast with the smoke color. The another advantage is that during post processing when you invert image you can get isolated white background very easily. Some images looks good against black (Image 2) & other against white (Image3 & 4).

Image 3 Image 4

Image4: Do you see a couple in tango? This was original shot & I didn't duplicated layers here to achieve these figures.

SHUTTER SPEED: Use higher shutter speed like greater than 1/160 Sec.This will help for getting sharp images.Use tripod even if you are shooting with higher speed. Sometimes you can get beautiful soft smooth effects images with slightly slower speeds. Handholding camera may help you to tracking faster the various portions of the smoke but you needs steady hands.

APERTURE: Use higher aperture like f/12..f/18. Since you don't know the exact area for focusing it is preferable to use higher aperture values.

ISO: Use lower ISO if possible to get noise free images.It is quiet likely to get noisy images with this kind of subject & higher light requirement.

LIGHT: For getting high speed & higher aperture values light should be sufficient enough.For using lower ISO one needs good amount of light for that strobes really helps.Use one or two off camera flash such that light will not hit background.If possible use diffused light.If you don't have strobes here is old technique which I was using earlier. I was using sunlight illuminating only the smoke without falling on background, with some limitation on settings one can get nice images without flash.The on camera flash will not be useful because it will throw light . Using snoots (object like rectangular box) on external flash will help for illuminating smoke & isolating light from background. As shown in setup image those flashes were used in manual mode. The power is adjusted after taking some trial shots. Usually I prefer to handhold camera for getting interesting compositions. Since I am shooting at 1/200 sec (maximum sync speed of my camera) I have fewer reasons to worry about getting blurry images.

FOCUS: Last but important use manual focus. After focusing don't move tripod.You can focus on source of smoke & since you are using higher aperture it is quite likely to get the smoke with tack sharp details.Auto focus may trouble you to get shot in time & the focusing timings may irritate you. Macro lens may help you to get tack sharp images.

Image 5 Image 6

In post processing adjust levels to make background pure black & remove unwanted portion of smoke if needed. You can play with hue/sat adjustment for coloring the smoke. You can us multiple layers with masking to get multicolored smoke shots. In post processing one can use mirror image of the original image to get symmetrical abstracts.Most of the time they can turn into really good abstracts as shown in Image 5 & 6.

For getting some interesting shapes use other layers with main subject snapping horizontally & vertically. Blend this layers with darken,lighten etc. for getting different shapes. Sometimes you need to clean out some unwanted smoke.

The multi color effect can easily be obtained by applying color gradients, but use this layer by blending in color mode. You can get number of possibilities by using different layers with various blending & masking. No limit to creativity. The example is shown in Image 3 & 6.

Few days before I was experimenting on such shots & realised that the music can be very helpful for getting variations in smoke shapes. I played my favorite musicians A.R.Rahman songs & got some really interesting images, some of them are uploaded today & other I will upload very soon. Enjoy your favorite music & smoke photography. The only thing you will need is lot of time, patience, people with no allergy of smoke & if married a super calm wife :)

If interested here are view my more work on smoke shots: My Smoke Photography

If anybody feels this article useful I will be very happy. Love you all Keep shooting... :)