"Glimpses" : Mumbai

"Glimpses"

Mumbai as I Experienced

Friends,

Mumbai (Bombay formerly) is a fascinating city of India. Its name has been derived from the name of the Goddess, "Mumba Devi". Situated on the coast of the Arabian Sea, Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra (India). This is among the highly populated cities of the world. People of the different parts of India reside here together. This city is an important cultural and economic centre of the country. Mumbai is a city of hopes and the dreams of hard-working ones come true here. I was on a trip to Mumbai in January-2010. Here are some photographs of this charming city to share with you.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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"Obituary" : Tribute to a Great Master : P.C.Little

"Obituary"

Tribute to a Great Master

P.C.Little

Friends,

Mr. Prakash Chandra Arya, widely known as P. C. Little (Lucknow, India), passed away on 18 January 2011 in his hometown. Mr. Little was a multifarious human being. He was a high-quality painter, proficient photo-artist, an erudite writer and a philosopher.
Born in 1937, Mr. Little had inventive taste since his early days. By his young age, he became passionate about art and in 1958 completed five years Professional Diploma in Commercial Art from Govt. College of Arts & Crafts, Lucknow. One of his teachers was so impressed by his ability that he started calling him “Little Scholar”. Henceforward the word “Little” became a sobriquet of his name.
Due to his proficiency in art, he joined Department of Commercial Art & Photography, Faculty of Fine Arts, Lucknow University as a teacher. Later on, he became the Head of the same department. He served this institute whole-heartedly and always aimed at the promotion of art. His style of expression was unique and had no parallel in the arena of art. So he was always an ideal for his students and the art lovers. During the last phase of his life, he experimented with creative art and produced theme based graphical images with the help of photographs clicked by him. For doing so, he took help of photo editing softwares like Adobe Photoshop. The output was exceptional and resulted in remarkable images.
Mr. Little organized a number of solo exhibitions of his paintings and art-photographs in highly reputed art galleries and institutions in India and abroad. His art-works have been treasured in the permanent collection of several museums.
Many of his research papers/articles on art and culture, and photography were published in reputed journals, books and magazines.
Apart from his command on fine arts, Mr. Little was a passionate collector of the rarest cameras in the history of photography. His collection includes about 400 antique cameras.
He had been a member of Executive Council, U.P State Lalit Kala Akademy (1983-86), Hon. Director of Rashtriya lalit Kala Kendra, Lucknow (1983-88) and a Member of Advisory Council, Regional Science Centre, Lucknow (1986-88). The Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India honored him with its Senior Fellowship in Visual Arts in 2007. Image Colleague Society International-USA honored him with prestigious FICS in 2009. He has a string of national and international awards to his credit.
The passing away of Mr. P. C. Little is a great loss to the realm of art and photography. The art lovers all over the world will always remember him due to his valuable contribution.
He has left behind his wife, Mrs. Asha Arya and successors, Mr. Bhupesh Chandra Little and Avinash Chandra Little (sons) and a grandson.

(Images and information courtesy: My dear friend, Mr. Bhupesh Chandra Little)

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--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

Mr. P.C Little With His Antique Cameras

Creative Images of Mr. P. C. Little.

"Reminiscence" : My Trip to Lucknow

"Reminiscence"

My Trip to Lucknow

Dear Friends,

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Few memories remain in our heart eternally. The same is with my recent trip to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh (India). I was in Lucknow on 11 and 12 January, 2011 to attend the prize distribution ceremony of 9th All India Competition of Art Photography-2010-11, organized by U.P State Lalit Kala Akademy. Mr. Swarnendu Ghosh from Kolkata, Mr. Pulkit Rawat with his father, Mr. Pravin Rawat from Indore, and I reached this city on 11th. This was an extremely cold day with cloudy sky. We were in high spirits to meet each other. In the evening the function started at 5:00 sharp. Mr. Debotosh Sengupta, Director, Photo Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India was the chief guest, who himself is a photo-artist of high repute. Mrs. Veena Vidyarthi, Secretary, U.P. State Lalit Kala Akademy presided over the function. The event started with the inauguration of the exhibition. The artistic photographs displayed in the gallery fascinated the visitors deeply. After having a look on the creative works of the artists from all over the India, Prize Distribution Ceremony took place. A good number of art lovers witnessed the event.
The day next was a brilliant sunny day. We were glad to observe the sun after a long period. All of us decided to visit Residency, a famous historical place. The history of Residency can be traced back to 18th century. We reached this place early morning. The magnificent brick-made structures left a deep impact on us, and the pleasing session of image making started. We remained there for a period of 3 hours. During this phase of time we not only photographed the glorious past, but had healthy discussions as well. Mr. Pravin Rawat, who is a well known photo-artist, shared his experiences with us. As the sun reached at the climax, we proceeded back to the guest house. After having our lunch together, we relaxed for a while. The time passed quickly. We had to catch our trains in evening. We, one by one, left the City of Nawabs with a lot of sweet memories in our hearts.
Time never stops but fills our hearts with innumerous lovable memories……..

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--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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“Profile” : A Multifaceted Personality with Camera: Gopal Sharma

"Profile"

A Multifaceted Personality with Camera

Gopal Sharma

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Friends,

Very few persons are versatile. Mr. Gopal Sharma (Bareilly, India) is a person, who is not only multi-talented, but is a great human being as well. A graduate of Architecture from JJ College, Bombay, Gopal Sharma served with Military Engineering Services from 1965 to 2003 as technical officer. Due to his intuitive adventurous spirit, he started trekking and mountaineering during the tenure of his service. Throughout this phase of time, he climbed innumerous peaks in Garhwal, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim and Ladak (all in India), and the great Alps in Italy. The sole purpose behind this act was to satisfy his appetite to know more and more about the geographical characteristics of the above regions. The desire to preserve the memories of these expeditions opened the way to an important field, i.e., photography. Mr. Sharma’s sincere efforts made him a faultless photo artist in a short time. Initially he did not exhibit his photographs in the exhibitions. Photography was just a means to conserve the reminiscence of his expeditions. However the pictures clicked by him were of high standard. It was after the retirement from service, he came in touch of the Photo Vision, a photographic Club of Bareilly. The activities of this club motivated him to take photography art seriously. He organized his first solo exhibition in the year, 2007 in Bareilly. The response of the visitors was very positive. This boosted Mr. Sharma’s zest. Just after, he started participating in the competitions of art photography at National Level. The response was quite satisfactory. Many of his creative images have been accepted in these contests. His photographs are as pure as nature.
The additional interesting aspect of Gopal Sharma’s personality is his longing for motorcycling. He has completed Trans Himalayan Motorcycling Mission and Coastal Motorcycling Expedition around the Indian peninsula successfully. His other hobbies are Hang Gliding, Para Gliding, Rafting and Painting.
He is active member of Council of Architecture New Delhi, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, National Adventure Foundation, New Delhi, India International Photographic Council, New Delhi, Arohi Adventure Club, and Photo Vision, Bareilly.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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"Dashboard" - Heavenly View

"Dashboard"

Heavenly View

Friends,

This time I am before you with a photograph, titled “Heavenly View”. The image was clicked during the winters of year-2010. I was on a trip to Gwaldam, a famous place of Garhwal (Uttarakhand, India). On one fine morning when I was strolling at a place situated at the outskirts of Gwaldam, I noticed a gorgeous sight. The blue ranges of the hills and two trees on the right side fascinated me deeply. I focused at the sight and all of a sudden a bird came into the vision and fulfilled the frame. I, without wasting time, pressed the button of my camera. This resulted into a memorable photograph which is before you.

In fact the presence of birds into a landscape is a mix of luck, patience and our attentiveness. Flying birds often add appeal to landscapes.

I used a Nikon D-90 camera and a Nikon 18-105 mm lens. The exposure was: Shutter Speed- 1/4000 sec. and Aperture- F 8.

I wish all the readers of

"Abhivyakti: Expression through Photography"

a

Happy New Year.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

“Learning” : Photographing Architectural Forms

"Learning"

.... PHOTOGRAPHING ARCHITECTURAL FORMS..

Friends,
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The possibilities for a good photograph are everywhere. Like other subjects, architectural forms also present ideal opportunity for pretty images. Some points can help us while shooting architectural forms.

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1. By observing a building as a whole, we usually miss the chance to discover forms. On the contrary, a dedicated observation of a particular part of a structure sometimes results into wonderful images.
2. Role of light is another essential issue. Dramatic light and forms together create fantastic results. We should observe a particular building in different light-conditions. Every time, the prospect will look in a new mood. We have to capture the best.
3. Geometrical shapes in architectural forms add magic to the photograph. We have to be vigilant for this aspect.
4. Colours play a vital role at times. If we find a structure with complimentary colours, we are lucky enough to get a good image.
5. Which camera and lens are perfect for our purpose? Any good camera or a lens can be used in order to get fabulous results. Normally a SLR camera with a zoom lens (28-105 mm or equivalent) is sufficient. At times, a wide angle lens (such as 18 mm) creates amazing images. Moreover, a good compact camera sometimes can get unbelievable findings for us.
6. The use of a small aperture (say 11, 16 and 22) adds maximum depth to the picture. So this is a necessity.
7. Low ISO setting (80, 100 or 200) is another significant issue as this gives noise free pictures.
8. Above all (as I always believe), our aesthetic sense is the basis of a gentle photograph.

Here are some photographs on above discussed subject. Just have a look.
(The set of these photographs has won U.P State Lalit Kala Akademy Award in 9th All India Competition of Art Photography-2010-11)

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

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