few images from the collection below…check out for some thoughts…
hope u find this to be an interesting read
photography
glorious sky: a collection of images where the sky brings drama to the frame
To the real wild the excitement starts from the sky. The sky and clouds are the first thing i look when i land anywhere and it never gets better than in Africa. Not sure whether it is the open plains or the fresh air…but it never mattered since one is anyway made insignicant with its presence.
Adequate sky, cloud and shades have the capacity to make the image into an epic.
interactions between animals… a few from the collection
fwatching animals interacting and communicating with themselves is a captivating scene. here are some of the captures made over a period of time…
some interesting poses from the collection
the case of nesting images
In nature photography, photographing birds while nesting is a highly debated topic. One school of thought says just ‘No’ and the other says ‘Be Responsible’. This is my independent view and I am no expert on birds and their behavior.
I have seen birds abandoning their eggs and chic once they feel their nest has been intruded. As a kid, I recollect putting back fallen eggs into the nest only to see them being thrown out again by the bird. The eggs/chic were getting abandoned. Even worse, they could abandon the nest too. The behavior may not be for all birds. However, Is it worth risking their life for the sake of photography?
I have seen common birds like pigeon nesting and hatching in many flower pots at home/garden/balcony. I guess they got too used to people.
On few occasions, I have photographed birds along with nest from a safe distance. The distance have ranged from 10 feet to 30 feet. The locations have been inside a national park where one is not allowed to drive off-road or walk close to the nest. Therefore, I assumed it is relatively safe for these birds. I am not sure whether I would have the courage to go close to the nest for reasons of photography.
Some of the recommendations I have gathered over time are:
- Be atleast 10 feet away from the nest. Therefore, never try with mobile/smart phones.
- Do not disclose the location. The biggest threat today to these sensitive birds are the ‘wannabee’ photographers who would get into any level of unethical nature photography for the purpose of ‘recognition’. (Google about ‘frog photography’ and one would get shocked and disgusted!)
- Do not post the photos in forums inviting the ‘wannabees’.
- Avoid using flash from close range. (However many birders use flash/strobes to freeze motion and also as fill flash, using flash extenders, while shooting from atleast 100 feet)
- Don’t ever put the birds/nest/eggs/chic at risk for a photograph.
- It’s fine to share this with friends and family so that they start appreciating nature’s beauty more.
The below were taken with 700mm lens from a distance of 15 to 20 feet.
These paradise fly catchers were building their nest as a team. There were no eggs/chics there in the nest. Not sure whether both of birds were female because males tend to have a long white tail.
The same in Slow Motion:
some images from my collection
serenity with nature’s canvas
98% of the time, I am a big fan of the background and the scene setting of the image than the subject or moment itself. All these images are from my archives where Nature’s Canvas was taking more importance than the subject.
Image(s) with sober colors, low contrasts and background not completely thrown out of focus; provokes the feel of calmness and sets the mood to nature’s pace. These subjects are typically ignored ones but without them the image might not have much meaning.
Most of the time, technical stuff like clarity, sharpness, etc are much much overrated in creating images…whats important is enjoying the presence and capturing what we like to be as memories.
All images are processed in photoscape (free tool) for below:
- Straightening
- Cropping and resize
- Auto Level
- Reduce Highlights and increase shadows
the hunt of lady brown sugar (the whiskey)
This particular area was having a massive pride. Plenty of zebra, wildebeest carcass around. It gave a feeling of war zone. Wanted to hang around there hoping there would be action. Light was falling and the suspense was building up. The toughest part of capturing action sequence is deciding on where to position. We are not Nat Geo team to keep multiple cameras all around. Being close to hunter is not a good idea. Being close to prey is better but how do we know which is the prey? Sometimes lady luck shines.
Since it is going to be action, the shutter speed needs to be reasonably high. I took the risk of letting the ISO go wild. Here, this is ISO8000. Was glad for being able to capture this experience into a memory that could be shared.
The ghost
Stalking begins
The prey(s)
ghost gets closer
explosion begins
the short chase
getting closer
the leap of life
the reliable kick
the self doubt
the given up
the lesson learned
fully exposed
The shorter FB form:
get turned on by backlight!
Backlight throws many interesting opportunities during photography. Sometimes, we in our pursuit to get clear sharp pictures we tend to break our head on technicalities(aperture/iso/shutter/lens) about the subject in backlight.
During right opportunity, if the scene is visualized rightly, backlight can help in achieving dramatic images and opens viewer’s imagination. The general principle I follow is compose, wildly underexpose and take care of the rest in post processing. I would not claim to be a guru but for sure it gives me a ‘kick’ 🙂
Remember, this is one technique that does not require major kit…and hence one of my favorite.
few samples with variations below:
only for wildlife????…backlight could be charming to get the mood for people, junglescapes and cityscapes too..
assessment of photography and post processing
As we see many photographs, very often the question arises in our mind…is it ‘photoshopped’? For a person who is not really into photography, the question implies ‘has it gone through post-processing’. It need not specifically mean using Adobe’s Photoshop software alone.
The reality is almost every photograph goes through some level of processing. In fact, even from the days of invention, even during film days, it has always gone through some processing or the other. The method and techniques to process was complicated then but today, in the digital age it is more accessible for anyone with interest.
Is ‘post-processing’ an evil? IMHO, it is NOT provided honesty is maintained and there is no attempt to fool the intended audience. The below image, as inferred by me, indicates assessment of photography and post-processing.
Though post-processing is not an evil. It is best kept to a minimum for many reasons, including:
- More effort will go into learning photography and upgrading one’s skill
- Better results by applying visualization and composition
- Opens up lot more imagination
- Less time in front of PC but more on the real location
The above is more applicable for Nature, Landscape and Wildlife photography. However, for other forms of photography like portraits and fashion the dependency on post-processing is very high
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