"A Daring Lens-Man: Balbir Singh"

Celebrating 1st Anniversary....

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"Profile"

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A Daring Lens-Man: Balbir Singh

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Friends,

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Balbir Singh of Nainital (India) is a courageous gentle man. Born in 1956, Balbir Singh had a hard-hitting time in 1976 when his both legs were paralysed due to a problem in spinal cord. This incident brought him under depression and loneliness. He strived to come out of this shock and finally succeeded in doing so by the dint of his indomitable will power. Then after, his first aim was to find a job. As a result of his sincere efforts, he got a job in State Bank of India in 1983. Since he had deep inclination towards photography art right from his early days, he decided to breathe life into his hobby. However, this was not so easy due to his physical immobility. He finally got a three-wheeled scooter. This added wings to his passion. Now his camera became his companion and he never looked back. He concentrated at photographing the natural beauty of Uttarakhand. The photographs clicked by Mr. Balbir Singh got recognition within a short phase of time due the originality of approach. He soon started participating in the contests of art photography. He has achieved more than 500 acceptances and many awards in the competitions of photography at national and international levels by now. The India International Photographic Council, Delhi has honoured him with most coveted “Platinum Grade”.

Ministry of Social Welfare, Govt. Of India has honoured him with “Best Handicapped Employee Award” at national level.

Apart from photography, Balbir Singh loves music. Listening Ghazals, spiritual songs and semi classical compositions gives him immeasurable delight. He is a kind-hearted human being with helpful mind-set.

The courageousness of Balbir Singh proves the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.”

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--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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Clicking Pictures in Monsoon

Celebrating 1st Anniversary..........

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"Learning"

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Clicking Pictures in Monsoon

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Friends,

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The opportunities of good photographs are anywhere and anytime. Monsoon, of course offers enormous probabilities for beautiful photographs. With below mentioned points in our consideration, we can get enjoyable results:
1. As our camera and lenses are very important for us, we have to be very careful during monsoon. Our first motto should be to protect out gear from water.
When we are on shoot during the rains, we should always hide ourselves under an umbrella or a shade. If we are inside an automobile, we are safer than any other place. In addition, we have wider opportunities to visit different places in an automobile during showers.
It is wise to wrap our camera in a soft and transparent plastic sheet (leaving the front portion of lens). Secondly, we should always cover the front of the lens with a protective filter and then a good quality lens hood. These precautions will save our camera from water droplets.
2. The light during rains becomes very dull. It is advisable to use a slight high ISO, such as, 400 or 800. This will help us using proper shutter speed.
3. The use of a good range zoom lens (Example, 28-300 mm, 18-200 mm, 70-300 mm etc.) is very beneficial during showers. This helps composing the far-away subjects without going close to them.
4. The drops on the windscreen of a car provide us the chance for good photographs. The best way to shoot these drops is from inside the car because the light coming from behind highlights these drops dramatically.
5. If we observe outside activities through the wet windscreen of a car, we find good chances for paintinglike photographs. The similar is with the window of a room.
6. The people walking through a street always help us creating lively shots. If they are in colourful dress or with colourful umbrellas, we are sure of achieving lovely results.
7. Slow shutter speed (1/30 sec. or below) of camera sometimes captures the falling droplets artistically.
8. We should not bind us within the limits in regard of subject matter. Water droplets or splashes; drenched leaves or wet insects; people or animals; moist wall of a house or an umbrella; wet grass or wild mushrooms, anything can be our subject. However, our prime motto should be to portray the true feel of monsoon with pictorial value.
9. When we have completed our shoot, we should never forget to store our camera and lenses in damp proof atmosphere. In addition, we have to take the batteries of the camera out as soon as possible.

Happy Clicking……………………….

---Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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Photo Feature: "RathaYatra of Lord Jagannath in Delhi"

Celebrating 1st Anniversary..............

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Photo Feature

"Rathayatra in Delhi"

Friends,

The Rathayatra of Lord Jagannath is a pious and famous event of India. This is witnessed with deep dedication and faith every year. Indraneel Sen throws light on this celebration in Delhi.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

“Rathayatra” of Lord Jagannath is a famous festival of India. This is traditionally related to ancient Puri, the coastal city of Orissa (Eastern India). Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, go for vacation in the mid of the summer every year. Their journey starts from the “Jagannath Temple” of Puri. These deities depart to their garden palace in the countryside. It is through this time that Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are positioned in huge temple-like chariots called, Rathas. These Rathas are pulled by thousands of devotees followed by a grand procession.
Today this festival is celebrated in various parts of India. The Rathayatra of Hauz Khas of Delhi is famous for its dignity. This year, the festival was celebrated with great devotion and zeal. Here thousands of people attended the colourful procession on 13th July, 2010. People from all walks of life enjoyed this event and tried their best to touch the holy rope which pulls the chariot. Despite of the excessive heat, every one turned up for enjoying this colourful function. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were put into the chariot by maintaining the traditional rituals.

(Report and Photographs: Indraneel Sen, New Delhi)

Profile: An Instinctive Visionary: Samir M. Mohite, APSI, FFIP

Celebrating 1st Anniversary..........

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"Profile"

An Instinctive Visionary : Samir M. Mohite, APSI, FFIP

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Friends,

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Samir M. Mohite of Mumbai (India) is an instinctive artist. He had a longing for Photography Art right from his childhood days. As he grew young, he developed his skills as a perfect photo artist. The compliments received from celebrated photographers added wings to his creative move towards. To polish his talent he did a course in Photography in 2003 from Prof. Manohar Desai’s National Institute of Photography, Dadar, Mumbai. His creative association with Photography is about a decade old now. During this phase he has photographed a variety of places with their people. He loves shooting outdoors and always aims at creating something fresh with different subject.
Reading photographic books and magazines is his hobby. He studies the photographs in these publications thoroughly. This helps him improve his ability, believes Samir.
The Photographic Society of India, Mumbai has honoured him with its Associateship and Federation of Indian Photography; Kolkata has conferred its Fellowship honour upon him.
Presently he is the Hon. Joint Secretary of The Photographic Society of India, Mumbai.
He works as a Manager (Exports) in Edicon Mining Equipment Pvt. Ltd. Goregaon, Mumbai, which is a reputed manufacturer of Pneumatic Tools.

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---Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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Story Behind The Picture : "PanchChuli Peaks at Dawn"

Celebrating 1st Anniversary........

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Story Behind The Picture

"PanchChuli Peaks at Dawn"

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Friends,
I, along with my friends, was on a trip to Ramgarh of District Nainital (Uttarakhand, India) in November 2009. The evening, we reached Ramgarh; everyone was in search of such a place from where the perfect view of Himalayan ranges could be witnessed. By the end of the day, we found a place, which was on the way to Mukteshwar, and was about 10 kilometers away from Ramgarh. We were thrilled to view the wide range of Himalayan Peaks from that spot. Since the sun had departed by now, we had to return back to the rest house. The day next, we all , covered with woolens, reached the same spot 30 minutes prior to sunrise. It was completely dark and fairly calm. The shivering cold of that place is well in my thoughts even today. We rested our cameras on tripods and started waiting for the first rays of the sun. As the charming glow of the sun light came into view, I was overjoyed to view PanchChuli Range. This wide range seemed to be in deep sleep with unexplainable tranquility. The orange sky in its background appeared praising the peaks. Furthermore, there was a carroty tint all through the scene. Fascinated by nature’s wonder, I clicked a number of frames. This is one of them. I used a Canon, EOS 30 D camera with a 28-200 mm lens.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma
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