Saturday, June 27, 2015

-Dashboard- Composition of Nature

-Dashboard-
Composition of Nature

A good artist is known for his artistic compositions and presentation of the subjects. But from where he/she learns the art of composition? In fact this is nature itself which teaches an artist about the art of composition. The nature is full of numerous amazing compositions. The chief work of an artist is to observe them through his inner eye and then to present them in perfect manner in front of art lovers. Here the visualization of an artist means a lot. The person, who possesses unique vision, can easily find pretty compositions in nature. The vision is not bound to a single person. Anyone who has true love for nature can enjoy these wonderful compositions of nature.
This time I am before you with a photograph, titled, “Composition of Nature”. I clicked this picture a few years back from Abbott Mount. This place is situated near to Lohaghat (Uttarakhand -India). On one pleasant morning I was at this place with my friends. The Himalayan Peaks were well visible with a few streaks of clouds over them. The weather was crystal clear. While having a stroll I came under a tree. I was surprised to watch the Himalayan Peaks from this view point. Nature had provided a good composition. The branches of trees in the foreground and a small bush on the bottom doubled the charm of view. Moreover, the milky cloud in the valley gave heavenly touch to the scene.
Note
1. While capturing such scenes the use of small aperture (Like 16, 11 or 8) is always recommended in order to get maximum depth of field.
2.  As snow covered mountains reflect excessive light, we have to underexpose the picture to get details in highlighted areas. But in such case we can lose details in shaded areas. For achieving full details in both, the highlighted and the shaded areas, we have the option of HDR images.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma


Friday, June 12, 2015

-Great Masters- Breathing Life into his Creations : Rakesh Syal

-Great Masters-
Breathing Life into his Creations
Rakesh Syal

Rakesh Syal, an ace lensman has inner instinct for dimensions, textures, light and expressions. Born and brought up in Ludhiana, he is among the most talented photographers of his country. An artist by instinct he picked up his camera in 1975. Deeply fascinated by the world of photography he never looked back and made a mark in the field of portraiture, still life, product, industrial, fashion, food, interiors and wedding photography. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away …that’s what Syal does …., a maestro who breathes life into his work, making it truly breathtaking. His works are remarkable for their technical and formal mastery. Still life by Rakesh Syal is class apart. His compositions carry a signature style of his own and are from the genesis of an idea. A challenge to creativity and technical skills, Rakesh Syal’s portraits are magical. With enigmatic backdrops he creates the best of formal and informal portraits inside and outside his studio. Nothing succeeds like success and for this artist success is a journey, not a destination. With over 35 years of experience to combine with his exceptional skills Rakesh is very passionate about his work. His immense talent makes whatever he does highly recognizable and his charismatic power to turn the ordinary into extraordinary!

He has to his credit some 3500 acceptances & more than 900 prestigious awards in National & International photographic competitions. FELLOWSHIP honour by India International Photographic Council (2007), AIFACS award by All India Fine Art & Craft Society, New Delhi (1994) and the ARTIST of Federation Internationale del Art Photographique (AFIAP) Honour, Barcelona, SPAIN (1994) are some of the prestigious laurels that Mr. Syal possesses. From year 1991 to 1998, Federation of Indian Photography & India International Photographic Council, placed him at Number One Position in top ten Exhibitors.  He has achieved the “Platinum Exhibitor Award” by IIPC (1998). He has been a Faculty in reputed photography workshops and conferences conducted by IIPC & FIP. He has been jury member in many National & International Competitions of art photography.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma