-Dashboard- “Little Hands That Toil”

-Dashboard-

“Little Hands That Toil”

This photograph, “Little Hands That Toil” was clicked in Bareilly (India) during July-2013. I was on the highway from Bareilly to Pilibhit. On my way I noticed this small boy that was busy in roasting the corns on his movable shop (that was on a trolley). Three linemen were waiting for their order. The boy seemed deeply involved in his task. He appeared totally unaware of the world around him. His gesture left a deep impact on my mind and soul. This is very sad to see that a big number of small children are engaged in working hard for their livelihood. They don’t have time to enjoy their childhood, nor do they have opportunity to get education in order to ensure their bright future. This miserable situation can be seen in both, the big cities and in small villages of various countries. Measures to strengthen such children are to be taken at large scale so that the brilliant future of poor children may be ensured. No doubt, such steps are being taken by the governments of different countries and some international organizations, yet more is needed. In fact children are very flexible and they can be easily molded in any direction at their tender age. The need is to shape them in positive way so that the future of their own and also of the world may be guaranteed in constructive way. We can also land a hand to such children by giving some financial aid in their education. This will be a positive sign. 

I used a Nikon D 90 Camera to capture this shot. The lens was Nikon 18-105 mm. Exposure was f-13, 1/250 Sec. The ISO was set at 200.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

-Obituary- K. G. Maheshwari: A Doyen of Photography

-Obituary-

 K. G. Maheshwari

A Doyen of Photography

Mr. K. G. Maheshwari, a legendary photo artist of India passed away on 05 December – 2014 in Mumbai. He was a photo artist of high caliber, a great human being and a torch bearer for photography enthusiasts.

Born on November 2, 1922, Maheshwari’s interest in Photography as a hobby began from his school days.  His father wanted him to take up Music as hobby and a teacher was asked to come and audition the boy at home.  But the result was disappointing when the teacher declared that the boy did not have the kind of voice.  A pragmatic boy decided to take up Photography as his hobby, instead.  His father used to subscribe to Illustrated Weekly and young Maheshwari used to diligently go through the pages devoted to photography.  He started with a Box camera when in school.  Later on, he acquired a Rollie, a Leica M3 and a Mamiaflex 330. 

In 1938, P. J. Patel of Central Camera asked him to send his photographs for a competition organized by Niharika Camera Pictorialists of Gujarat and he won a prize in the Beginners Section.  This is how he really got interested in photography.

He did not go through any formal training in photography, as there was none such available.  Circumstances around him favoured by putting him into close contact with people who were advanced photographers – people who were mature in the art and practice of photography like late Jehangirjee Unwalla, the doyen of Indian Photography and late Burjorji Fanibunda, and he acknowledged that he had learnt the real technique of pictorial print making from these great practitioners.  In 1941 he got married and as things could happen his wife Shanti not only encouraged him to continue practising his pet hobby to the fullest but so to say, shared it by giving her utmost might and main to his hobby of making pictorial photography a part of their lives.

He regularly participated in the exhibitions of photography at national and international levels. He had achieved about 1600 acceptances and around 400 awards in these reputed shows.

Various photographic organizations honoured him for his treasured contribution into the field of photography. A few among them are the Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1946, Honorary Fellowship of the India International Photographic Council, Delhi, in 1985, Hon. FIP by the Federation of India Photography, Kolkata in 2009 and Associateship of the Photographic Society of America in 1992. The Photographic Society of India, Mumbai, had honoured him with its Honorary Life Membership in 1975. Above all The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India honoured him with Lifetime Achievement Award for his noble efforts for the sake of art.  

He had been on the panel of judging of several National and International Exhibitions and was a member of the Honors Committees of the India International Photographic Council and the Photographic Society of India.

A collection of his photographic work spanning over four decades was published in a book form entitled ‘PRINTS AND IMPRINTS’ by the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Calcutta. He contributed articles to various photographic journals and submitted papers at different seminars. 

He took keen interest in conducting photography workshops for art lovers. His favorite subject was ‘Pictorial Portraiture’.

Mr. Maheshwari was a master of Pictorial Portraiture. The portraits photographed by him attract the attention of viewers at first sight. These portraits are the perfect mix of emotions, excellent light and fine composition.

The passing away of Mr. K. G. Maheshwari is a big loss to the world of photography art. He will always be remembered for his precious contribution for art.  

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma (After Mr. D. C. Bhachech)

                                                                            

(Memories Forever: Myself with Mr. K. G. Maheshwari Ji in January-201o)

-Event- 7th Horizon International Circuit of Photography 2014 Organized by Horizon International Photographic Society, Lucknow - India

-Event-

7^th Horizon International Circuit of Photography 2014

Organized by Horizon International Photographic Society, Lucknow - India

-Call for Entries-

Horizon International Photographic Society, Lucknow - India invites entries for its 7th International Circuit of Photography 2014. The closing date is 15 December-2014.

Special attraction: Cash prize for the best Indian Entrant : Rs. 5000/-

For more details contact at bhupeshlittle@yahoo.co.in or on +919450401207

-Dashboard- “Education for All”

-Dashboard-

“Education for All”

Education is the basis of all round development of the citizens of any nation. India’s effort to educate the people, specially those of villages, is praiseworthy. During last few decades a number of schools have been opened in the rural regions of the country.

I clicked this image on the way from Almora to Binsar (both in Uttarakhand State) during December-2013. It was late evening when I noticed these young girls returning from their school. The children of many rural areas, particularly in hilly regions, have to walk extensively to reach their schools. I was happy to notice that these girls were full of enthusiasm and seemed to be in high spirits. There was no feeling of fatigue created by their tight schedule. The beam of light was approaching them in exclusive way and seemed giving impression of optimism. The curved road in front of them appeared leading them on the path of success and the dark surroundings around them added to the beauty of frame.  I clicked a few frames and this is one of them.

I used a Nikon D 90 Camera to take this shot. The lens was Nikon 18-105 mm. The ISO was set at 200 and the exposure was f 7.1 ,  1/160 Sec.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

From the Archive………… -Learning- ........ Photographing Architecture

From the Archive.............

-Learning-........

Photographing Architecture

 .....

Similar to other subjects, beautiful buildings (especially historical structures, old religious edifices etc.) offer us good opportunities to get excellent pictures. Various places of our planet are rich in gorgeous architectures. These structures attract a photo artist at first sight and he/she wishes to shoot them at his/her best. A few points can help us representing an attractive architecture brilliantly:

1. Lighting plays a vital role. Sun light of early morning and late evening is ideal for our purpose as this light falls on a subject at low angle and creates long shadows. This adds depth to a structure and on the other hand highlights the dimensions. Moreover this type of light brings out the details of the subject. If falling on the subject from one side, this light helps in producing superior images.

2. Good equipment is an essential factor for our intention. So we should choose a camera with all necessary features. The most important thing is selection of right lens. A normal lens is ideal for our purpose. This helps out in avoiding distortion in our images. Sometimes it becomes difficult to cover a structure from one edge to another due to the lack of space. In such case a wide angle lens is of great use. But a wide angle lens tends to distort the image. This problem can be overcome by not going very close to the subject. A perspective correction lens can also help us avoiding distortion. We can also get rid of the distortion in our image with the help of editing software like Adobe Photoshop.

3. Composition is an imperative aspect in architectural photography. We must always aim at simple and aesthetic composition. Shooting a building straight way is not enough. Our aim should be to make an interesting photograph. We should try to involve the surroundings also in our photograph along with the major subject. Involving trees, plants, human beings, etc. in the frame adds meaning to our photograph.
4. In order to show maximum parts of a building in focus with ultimate depth, we have to use a small aperture (22, 16 or 11).

5. Shooting the whole structure of a building is not necessary in every case. Sometimes a specific part of the building can provide a good image. The presentation depends on our approach. Few buildings are rich in artistic forms. If we shoot these forms aesthetically, we are sure of getting outstanding pictures.

6. Sky has an important role in architectural photography. We should avoid flat and dull sky. Rich blue sky is always ideal and if the sky has patches of clouds too, we are lucky enough to get a decent shot. Flying birds (if we luckily get) in the sky also give strength to our photograph.

 7. Sometimes we can get good images during the night when a particular building is decorated with colourful lights or illuminated well with any source of light. While doing so we should always rest the camera on a sturdy tripod.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

 

-Profile- Devoted for his Passion : Musini Venkateswara Rao

-Profile-

Devoted for his Passion

Musini Venkateswara Rao (Babulu)

Mr. Musini Venkateswara Rao (Rajahmundry-India), popularly known as Babulu, was born on 19th February 1958. His father, Mr. Babu Rao has been a famous photographer of his town. After completing his High School in 1973 Babulu came into his father's profession and assisted him in studio works. He inherited the basics of photography from his father. Presently he is running his family studio successfully, and has earned good name and fame due to his creative approach. Apart from professional photography, he is a recognized photo journalist. As a photo journalist he has worked with many reputed publications. His projects have been well recognized. In 1991, he got the appreciation of then Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Krishnakanth for his excellence as a photo journalist.

Since Babulu had deep inclination towards pictorial photography, he joined the photographic Associa­tion of Andhra. This helped him polishing his skills as a pictorial photographer. Soon he started participating in the distinguished contests of art photography. His first success in national level contest was in the year, 1980 at Kakinada when his photographs were accepted for display. This success boosted his courage. He has achieved more than 2600 acceptances and around 450 awards in National and International Contests so far. Several photographic bodies have honoured him for his fine skills.

He has been into the jury of numerous photography contests. Many associations have invited him as a guest faculty in photography workshops.

The photographs clicked by him prove his mastery over aesthetic composition and proper use of light.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

 

-Event- IIPC/CAI Photography Workshop at Delhi

-Event-

IIPC/CAI Photography Workshop at Delhi

The India International Photographic Council and the Camera Art Institute co-organised a photography workshop on 12 October, 2014 at Triveni Kala Sangam-Delhi. The workshop included the topics like Indoor Lighting for Portraits, Art of Composition, Landscape Photography and Wildlife Photography. The ace photo artist Mr. O. P. Sharma described the techniques of Creative Indoor Lighting. He went into the fine details of the artistic use of studio lights. The demonstration of lighting was given on the spot. Mr. Ashok Talwar, an innovative photographer and a film maker gave useful tips for perfect composition. Mr. Talwar, in his talk, displayed a number of stunning images in order to teach the composition methods.  Dr. Pankaj Sharma gave his presentation on Landscape Photography. He threw light on the importance of light, composition, equipments and knowledge of key characteristics of a place. He showed many of his landscape images in support of his talk. On this occasion a slide show on the topic, “Wild Life” was given by Mr. Aseem Sharma. He displayed his images clicked during his trips to various national parks of India and Africa. At last Mr. Hemant Chopra showcased his images of pretty birds and animals. A good number of art lover attended this workshop. The cooperation of Mr. Mohd. Shafi, Mr. Sami-Ur-Rehman and Mr. Piyush Chawla is commendable.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

-Youth Gallery- Bright Future Ahead : Rohan Mehta

-Youth Gallery-

Bright Future Ahead

 Rohan Mehta

Rohan Mehta is a student of Humanities in class 12^th at Modern School, New Delhi. He has been a nature lover since his childhood. Being interested in drawing and painting, he started sketching the scenic places and animals of zoos, national parks and gardens. This was some five years back when he felt that he was not able to do full justice to the nature’s beauty. He thought of capturing the magnificence of nature through camera. He started photographing the creatures of nature and good-looking places through his camera that had been gifted to him by his father. After watching Rohan’s dedication, the photography teacher of his school, Mr. Lajpat Rai motivated him to join India International Photographic Council (IIPC). He joined IIPC in 2013. Consequently he started attending the workshops conducted by this organisation. This helped him in polishing his skills. In a little while he started participating in the contests of photography art. The results were positive. Rohan admits, “I have learnt a lot into the field of art-photography from IIPC. The great teachers associated with this council, like Mr. O.P Sharma, Mr. Aseem Sharma and Mr. Hemant Chopra have taught me the fundamentals of photography. This knowledge is like the foundation stone for me.”  He further adds, “I can never forget the inspiration given by my school teacher Mr. Lajpat Rai.”

The fields of his interest are Wildlife, Nature, Travel and Street photography. His works can be seen on his Facebook Page “Rohan Mehta Photography”.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma