Lost and Found..

This was one of the images that I had shot in the summer of 2006, and had never even bothered to look at! I did not open the image and see it because the subjects - wild buffalo and the calf were too far and it was not a very clear day, so I did not expect a good quality image in the first place. And I had doubts about my 100-400L being able to resolve well and make a sharp image of the faraway subject. But last week I was going through the images for posting them on my India Travel Blog, and was surprised to see that the photograph had come out well. At the same time, I was looking at some images I had made during my recent trip to Himachal, and was surprised to see many images made by the 100-400L turning out sharper than I expected. May be I was under-estimating the lens all along and blaming the lens for all my faults in the past!



Exif: Canon EOS 350D, 100-400L at 360mm, 1/180sec, f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld

Location: Kaziranga National Park; wild buffalo and calf

Nice of you, Canon..

The folks at Canon have come up with an ingenious idea of conducting Nature Photography classes in some national parks in USA, for free. The program is available at Yosemite, Grand Canyon and and Yellowstone National Park. Press release from Canon says -

Canon U.S.A., Inc. and the American Park Network continue to help define the relationship between photography and the great outdoors with the introduction of a free photography workshop program on select dates throughout the summer in Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks.

I really like the idea - some sessions teaching the very basics of photography can help a lot of casual photographers and tourists to improve their images remarkably. And of course, I hope Canon spreads the program to more places, especially to other countries(via).

Also see:

* Canon Digital Learning Center with lot of stuff on photography
* Canon Enjoy DSLR - basics of digital SLR photography for newbees

Image: A Buddhist Shrine in Spiti Valley

This structure stood alone at the bottom of a hill, and the sense of scale of the mountain was apparent. The shrine attracted me immensely and I kept staring at it for some time. For some reason, I hesitated for a long time to make a photograph, and eventually composed one. Even now when I look at the image, I am not sure if I like it or not, or if the image makes any sense. I was standing in a mountain opposing the one in picture, with a valley between us. It was evening light, and was slightly hazy. Since the light was falling directly on the mountain, there are no shadows, and it looks flatter than it is(and flatter than I would like it), and the curves of the mountain are highlighted only by the patterns on its body.



Exif: Canon EOS 350D, 100-400L at 260mm, f/5.6, 1/30sec, ISO 200

Location: Near Kaza town, Spiti Valley, Indian Himalayas

Photographer's fatigue

A friend I know posted on NPN about his love-hate relationship with photography. Landscape photography is something dear to him and he has been working on it for a few years now, but he is also frustrated about his inability to make best pictures. Ofcourse when he says best pictures, he has set best names in the industry as his benchmark, and it is only natural that he found his images falling short. He says -

I'm in love with photography and at the same time frustrated with my abilities. I'm looking for that 'ideal' picture in my collection and all I find is crap. I've lost sleep looking over photos taken by Charlie Waite, Art Wolfe nd the like, the emotion they carry and the mood they reflect. All my photos seem flat, without any emotions or mood and this is what is leading to my frustration

I have often seen this happening to people. There are many kind of people who take camera in their hands. The first lot develop a fleeting fantasy which dies quickly after they realize that making good pictures is not easy. Some persist owing to love and passion, but their schedules never let them focus all their time on photography. My friend falls into the the second category, and I guess a lot of people including me come in this category. The best of the lot who are beyond both these types are also the most passionate.

While this "photographer's block" happens to most people, ones who network with photographers in their city, frequently go out with them and enjoy those good moments spent in the outside, often manage to stick on despite the failures. Such semi-social gatherings not only encourage the photographers to go out often, it also helps gaining experience with the help of mature hands and look at the flaws in the images with the analytical skills to improve upon them. I guess at the end, those who stay on for many years, or those with an unending passion, commitment and will, and also the ability to devote time are the ones who emerge as the best of the lot.

Image: Solang Valley

One of the images from my trip to Himachal Pradesh. The image was made just before sunset and the sky was overcast. We had started in the morning on an aimless wandering hike. Since I did not really expect to do any serious photography, I had not bothered to carry the tripod. We indeed wandered aimlessly and arrive at this spot. When I saw how beautiful the place is, regretted and wished I had carried the tripod.



Exif: Canon EOS 350D, 17-40L at 17mm, 1/50sec, f/8, ISO 200, handheld

Location: Near Solang Valley close to the town of Manali in Indian Himalayas

Back from the trip + An image

I just returned from my 10 day long trip to the Indian Himalayas. I can't exactly call this a very fruitful trip when it comes to photography, but I did manage a few decent images. Besides, now I am armed with some good knowledge of the region, and know where to go in the region when looking for potential photographs. Here is one of the images from the trip.



Exif: Canon EOS 350D, 17-40L at 19mm, f/22, 1/8 sec, ISO 100, tripod mounted

Location: Giri River in Shivalik mountain ranges in Himachal Pradesh, India

New Accessories + Travel Plans + Short Break

I always tend to assume that I don't require to buy anything more for a new journey, but when the date of the journey gets closer, I realize that I need to fill in a few more things. I went to my photography store to buy a few accessories yesterday -

* An additional battery for the camera
* Additional quick release plate for my head, to go with my 100-400L
* 2GB memory, taking my total available capacity to 5GB

I am going on a 2 week trip, starting tomorrow, to the Indian Himalayas - to the states of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. I am not sure if I will be able to shoot much during early mornings and evenings, but am carrying the tripod anyway. Updates on this blog, if at all, will be sporadic in the next 2 weeks.

Equipment buying patterns

Ganesh, who is one of best wildlife photographers that my city has seen, writes an article about equipment buying pattern in wildlife photography. It is funny, but this is the story that most wildlife photographers tend to go through. Some excerpts from the article to indicate what he is trying to convey -

"..Probably you start like what I did with a point-and-shoot kind of camera. Soon you realize an SLR is better.."

"..you start your wildlife photography with probably a 70-300mmf5.6 lens or some lens in that range.."

"..Soon, you will find your lens is not fast enough to capture some action.."

"..you realize you needed a prime lens and sturdy tripod and ball head to go with it.."

I have seen most people around me go through pretty much similar phases. I am no exception either, having started with a 70-300 lens and then making another upgrade to an L glass(a zoom lens - 100-400L, about which I am not very pleased right now!). I trashed my old tripod a few months ago and have now bought a sturdy tripod and an equally sturdy ball head. I always keep saying to myself that there will be no more upgrades in near future, but you never know what can happen!