-Event- “10th IIPC World Photography Day Annual Photo Contest-2016”

-Event-

“10^th IIPC World Photography Day Annual Photo Contest-2016”

         Photography is a very popular way of expressing the vision today. The India International Photographic Council’s role in encouraging art of photography is praiseworthy. The IIPC conducted 10^th IIPC World Photography Day Annual Photo Contest very recently.  A good number of entries (Nearly 500) from the participants of around 10 states of India were received in five sections, i.e. Black and White Pictorial, Colour Pictorial, Nature, Photo-Journalism and Photo-Travel. A number of photographs got acceptances, 10 photographs won awards and 15 photographs received Certificates of Merit. The award winners are:

Mr. Amal Krishna Das (Howrah), Mr. Radharapu Kumaraswami (Karimnagar), Mr. Vishwas Morye (Mumbai), Mr. Subhash Jirange (Mumbai), Mr. Kothroju Yadagiri (Warangal),  Mr. B. C. Manjappa (Bangalore), Mr. Anup Sah (Nainital) and Mr. Deepak Bartakke (Mumbai).

The jury members were Dr. Pankaj Sharma, Mr. Bijan Das, Mr. Gopal Sharma, Dr. Kamran Khan and Mr. Satpal Singh.

 Photo Vision conducted the exhibition of finest photographs of the competition on 20 and 21 August – 2016 in IMA Hall Bareilly. Miss Shraddha Saxena, a renowned social worker and Gen. Secretary of United Nation’s Youth Association of India was the chief guest of inaugural function. A good number of art lovers visited the exhibition on both days.

Photo Vision’s members, Mr. Vijay Kumar Verma, Mrs. Prerna Verma (Patrons), Mr. Deepak Ghosh, Dr. Anupam Sharma, Dr. Mridula Sharma, Dr. T. K. Verma, Dr. Lovelesh Dutt (Joint Secretary), Mr. Rakesh Kachchal, Mr. Bipin Mehra (Treasurer), Mr. Sushil Saxena, Mr. Ajit Chatterjee, Mr. Sharad Mishra, Miss Priyanka Sharma, Mr. Abhishek Dwivedi, Mr. Anand Prakash Srivastava gave their valuable contribution for the success of this event. The efforts of Mr. Rohit Jaat, Mr. Rohit Umrao, Mr. Sachin Gaur and Mr. Harsh Nigam are greatly admired.

 -Dr. Pankaj Sharma

Contest Chairman

                                 EKI LABANYE (Award-Black & White Pictorial Section)

Mr. Amal Krishna Das, Howrah

GROUP OF CAMELS (Cash Award- Black & White Pictorial Section)

Radharapu Kumaraswami, Karimnagar

BARATI (Award, Colour Pictorial Section)

Mr. Vishwas Morye, Mumbai

SHLOKA WITH FLUTE (Cash Award, Colour Pictorial Section)

Mr. Subhash Jirange, Mumbai

SHORT TOED EAGLE WITH SNAKE (Award, Nature Section)

Mr. B.C. Manjappa, Bangalore

PROTECTION (Cash Award, Nature Section)

Mr. Anup Sah, Nainital

RAJA (Award, Photo Journalism Section)

Mr. Subhash Jirange, Mumbai

 MID-DAY MEALS AT SCHOOL (Cash Award, Photo Journalism Section)

Mr. Kothroju Yadagiri, Warangal

PANGONG LAKE (Award, Photo Travel Section)

Mr. Subhash Jirange, Mumbai

MOODY STORM (Cash Award, Photo Travel Section)

Mr. Deepak Bartakke, Mumbai

Miss Shraddha Saxena inaugurating the exhibition

Dr. Lovelesh Dutt addressing the art lovers

 Photo Visioin's Members with the Chief Guest, Miss Shraddha Saxena
Standing (Left to right) : Mr. Sharad Mishra, Mr. Abhishek Dwivedi Mr. Satpal Singh, Dr. Tarun Kumar Verma, Dr. Lovelesh Dutt
Sitting (Left to right) : Pankaj Sharma, Mr. Gopal Sharma, Shraddha Saxena and Mr. Deepak Ghosh

Obituary: Krishna Kumar Marfatia and Vipul Verma

-Obituary-

God is the supreme controller of this world. Birth and demise are determined by him. We mourn deeply on the heavenly departure of our beloved ones, but cannot stop this natural phenomenon. Two of our beloved artists left us recently. One was Shri Krishna Kumar Marfatia of Mumbai and another was Shri Vipul Verma of Almora. We will always remember them for their valuable contribution in the field of art photography.

Krishna Kumar Marfatia

Born on 30 December, 1927, Krishna Kumar Marfatia was an ace photographer. Mr. Marfatia had passion for photography since the early days of his life. He was a good pictorial photographer. He was deeply inclined towards photographing portraits and landscapes. Besides, he was an enthusiastic traveller. He had visited numerous places of India and abroad. He photographed a number of scenic places as a true travel photographer. The pictures clicked by him fascinate the art lovers at first sight and work as a source of knowledge to the beginners. 

He had profound leaning towards education. He remained at key position in several educational institutions. He departed to the heavenly abode on 17 July 2016 in his native city, Mumbai. He will always be remembered for his precious contribution in the field of photography and education.

Vipul Verma

Born on 28 October, 1996 in Almora (Uttarakhand) Vipul Verma was an emerging photo-artist. He was an avid traveller and a competent tracker. He had travelled Uttarakhand State extensively in a short phase of time. Vipul had clicked stunning pictures during his trips to different pretty places of his State. The main field of his interest was landscape photography. Besides, he loved to click star trails. Vipul had established himself as a fine photographer at a very young age. He left us on 14 July, 2016. He will always remain in our memories for his polite nature and mastery over photography. 

From the Archive -Learning- "Photographing Silhouettes"

(From the Archive)

-Learning-

Photographing Silhouettes

A silhouette is an image with a darker subject against the light or bright background. Silhouettes have been very popular among the art lovers since long. If clicked properly, Silhouettes attract the viewers very intensively. A silhouette can portray a whole story. With a few points in mind we can photograph such images exclusivity.

1. Strong Subject: Our subject should be powerful. If we aim at a weak subject, our image will not leave impact on viewers’ mind. We should try to choose the subject with interesting shapes and curves. When our subjects are human beings, we have to aim at shooting their profiles in order to capture their feelings and expressions.

2. Story Telling Value: The image should convey some story. A flat image with no message will not be appreciated. 

3. Concentration on Limited Subjects: We have to avoid so many subjects in our image. A mix of various subjects often destroys the image. On the other hand aiming at limited subjects strengthens the photograph. 

4. Proper Light and Situation: The best situation to photograph a silhouette is that of early morning or late evening when the sun/bright sky is behind the subject. Furthermore, shooting the silhouette against the sky with miraculous formations of cloud results into amazing images. While shooting indoor we can place the subject against a door, a window or an arch which is allowing the bright light coming inside from the back. Here a window or an arch works as a good frame.

5. Exposure: Correct exposure plays very important role. We should give exposure according to the brighter background and not according to the subject. This will darken the subject dramatically turning the picture into fantastic piece of art.

6. Focusing: Since a silhouette is the presentation of a subject in unique way, we have to focus the main subject prominently. Not only this, the background also plays important role. In order to get well focused background we have to set the aperture at small size. i.e., at f 22, f 16, f 11 etc.

7. Aesthetic Presentation: A flat silhouette photograph has no meaning. We should always aim at the image that has the potency to attract one at first sight. Here our aesthetic sense works a lot. Some have this sense as a gift of God, while some others develop it with their constant efforts in the field of art and by seeing masterpieces of other artists. An aesthetically perfect image is that which gives a feel of pleasure and peace at first sight.

(Images Courtesy: Mr. Rajeev Kashyap, Mr. Abhijit Dharmadhikari, Mr. Bherulal M Kanoja, Mr. Atul Choubey and Mr. Devendra Sharma)

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

-Profile- Camera for a Cause : Vivek Singh

-Profile- 
Camera for a Cause
Vivek Singh

When he is not juggling files, he is out in the wild. Meet Vivek Singh, district food marketing officer in the food and civil supplies department of UP, a self taught wildlife photographer, who shoots the wild, but with his camera. 

A chance visit to the wildlife park at the insistence of his daughter during the Easter holidays sparked off a mission of a lifetime for him. In those days when internet was not the obvious source of primary information, one of his daughter's friends visited Bandhavgarh national park and her insistence for a similar trip landed him in tigers’ own country. The mesmerizing encounter with the majestic tigers of the park propelled him to think of bringing the magic of wild and the message of conservation to the larger audience. Photography was the obvious choice to bring this magic home, says Vivek. A nature lover to the core, he has been concerned with issues of nature and conservation from an early age. He was the editor of the school magazine on environmental issues and instrumental in forming a group of nature lovers for conservation cause in the college.

Meeting ace Nat Geo Photographer Kalyan Varma helped Vivek crystallize the vision and he took to wildlife photography seriously four years back, to bring forth the beauty of the wild and the message of conservation through his lens. His love for nature and photography and a burning desire to preserve the fast vanishing biodiversity of India in particular, made him take up wildlife photography as a mission. “I discovered purpose of my life”, says Vivek. The Crying need for the preservation of the rich and diverse fauna and flora of the country requires awareness of the issues in the first place, believes Vivek.  And none other than the tiger, the national animal of India, fits as the symbol of his conservation efforts. Sitting at the very top of the food chain, the fast dwindling population of the tigers worries him. And if the tiger goes, forest goes, warns Vivek, quoting from the Udyogparva of Mahabharata-"the tiger protects the forest and the forest natures the tiger".

He uses canon 7 D Mark II Camera and canon 100-400 mm lens remains his favorite for shooting wildlife though occasionally he also uses 70-200 mm lens and 300 mm prime lens. Travelling extensively Vivek has covered almost all the well-known national parks of India with Bandhavgarh in MP and Ranthambhore in Rajasthan being his favorite. Shooting with some of the finest names in Indian wildlife photography like Kalyan Varma, Sudhir Shivram & Aditya Singh has given him an insight that helps him feel the jungle from the heart. His works are put on exhibit regularly in India and he has also held two exhibitions abroad.

Vivek has his priorities set. What as a citizen can we do to redeem the dwindling forests and vanishing fauna? He points out that most of us think that preserving nature, preventing deforestation and reducing man-animal conflict are all issues related to government and hence individual initiatives are pointless. He finds this perception totally erroneous. An active and informed citizen alone can ensure that India's wildlife is preserved for posterity. As a first step visit the national park near you, says he. The visit will not only open one to the magnificence of Mother Nature and educate about the conservation needs but also generate the much needed revenue for the purpose. A vigilant tourist inflow will also help check the illegal nexus of corrupt officials and poachers. As with any other issue, conservation of wildlife especially tigers need to be tackled through the tool of education. Quoting Rudyard Kipling, Vivek insists that the jungle speaks to one who knows how to listen to it. His only worry is time. Time is running out. It's now or never. Can we do it for our kids?, asks he.

A transfer to Varanasi brought him closer to the magic of street photography as he started documenting the life & times of the most ancient city on earth but wildlife photography remains his primary passion.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

-Dashboard- “Walk into the Lap of Nature”

-Dashboard-
“Walk into the Lap of Nature”

This time I am before you with a photograph titled, “Walk into the Lap of Nature”. This picture is important for me because this is full of sweet memories of Sheetla khet, a scenic place near to Almora (Uttarakhand). One nice morning I was on a walk near to Sheetla khet with my beloved friend and a renowned mountaineer, Mr. Gopal Sharma. While having a leisurely walk I noticed a beautiful tree with yellow leaves on the left of a curve in road. This was a co-incidence that my friend was also wearing a yellow jacket. The yellow leaves of tree, my friend in yellow jacket, the curve of the road and greenery all around offered a good opportunity for a pretty picture. I clicked a few frames. This is one of them.
Nature is full of wonderful compositions. The important thing for us is how we visualize a picture.
I used a Nikon D 90 Camera with a Nikon 18-105 mm lens.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma 

-Profile- In Companionship of Photography: Umesh Gogna

-Profile-
In companionship with Photography
Umesh Gogna

Born in a family of jewelers, Umesh Gogna was inclined towards arts since his childhood.  After completing his post graduation he started helping his father in his family business while also working on his Ph. D thesis on ancient Indian jewelry. He needed good quality photographs of jewelry for his thesis. In order to get good images for his thesis, he decided to buy a camera and try photographing the jewelry himself. He bought a second hand Pentax camera kit, thus started his journey as a photographer.

After some disappointments, and a lot of hard work, he was able to get good images for his thesis. After a phase of time, he discovered that he had fallen in love with photography and he started spending more and more time with this form of art. He upgraded his camera kit, brought studio lights and even set up a small studio in his house. Soon people started asking him to photograph their jewelry-products and he was happy to oblige them.  As he loved travelling, he started travelling to new destinations with his camera. During these trips he got fine images of different places. 

When he realized that he was devoting more time to his photography than to his family business, he decided to turn professional and devote all his time to photography. It was a difficult decision as he was essentially leaving a secure business for the uncharted waters of professional photography. But now, after so many years, he is glad that he made that choice. Photography has always been the main passion of his life and he feels especially lucky and blessed to be able to devote all his time to it.

Most of his professional work is in the field of handicraft and jewelry, stone and the hospitality industry. Apart from his professional work he also does a lot of travel and nature photography. Over the years he has spent a lot of time in documenting the cultural architectural and natural heritage of Rajasthan and the Himalayas. The wilderness and the open paces of the desert and the mountains attract and inspire him.

After spending many years as a professional photographer, he felt that he should give back something to the profession of photography. One area where he felt he could contribute was by educating aspiring photographers about the science and art of photography. He started helping young photographers by conducting workshops. He has conducted more than 150 workshops on different topics till date.

Today Umesh Gogna is a well known figure in the field of photography. He is among the jury members of renowned photography contests. Many organizations have appointed him as their mentor. A number of his photographs have featured in reputed publications. He is committed to help the beginners forever.

-Dr. Pankaj Sharma

-Dashboard- "Made for Each-Other"

-Dashboard-

Made for Each-Other

This time I am before you with a photograph, titled, “Made for Each-Other”. This picture was clicked during January-2016 at Babu Ghat, Kolkata. I had a chance to visit this Ghat on one morning. This was an entirely new experience for me to be there. I could see people busy in different activities and rituals. While being there I watched this newly-married couple. They had come here to perform a certain ritual which is supposed to be of big importance after marriage ceremony. The Bride with innocent expressions and the Bridegroom curious to say something to Bride seemed so interesting that I got motivated to take a picture. In addition their sitting postures appeared very spontaneous.  The ritual-materials in front of them added feel to the occasion.

I clicked a few pictures. This is one of them.

I used a Nikon D 90 Camera. The lens was Nikon, 18-105 mm. Exposure was f-5.6, 1/400. The ISO was set at 500.

(Sincere thanks and best wishes to this newly wedded couple)

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

"Great Masters" :

-Great Masters-

Depicting Life’s Philosophy through his Pictures

Raghu Rai

Raghu Rai is a world renowned photo artist from India who portrays the life in such a realistic way that his pictures seem telling some story with a philosophical touch. His creations are milestone in the field of art photography. If one has to experience the essence of life, he/she must go through the masterpieces of Mr. Rai.           --Dr. Pankaj Sharma                                        

“Raghu Rai (1942) a qualified civil engineer, began his career as a photographer at the age of 23 in 1965. In the early years of his career he was the chief photographer at The Statesman (1966 to 1976), and later the Picture Editor of Sunday magazine (1977 to 1980).

Soon after completing the Thomson fellowship in England, he worked in The Times, London for four weeks. Within this short time span three half pages picture essays of his work were published with a byline. Recognizing his creative potential, Mr. Norman Hall, the illustrious editor of The Times offered him a job, but Raghu preferred to return to his own country to continue his creative journey in the lanes and by lanes of his motherland. 

In 1971, impressed by his work in an exhibition at Gallery Delpire, Paris, the legendary photographer Henri Cartier Bresson nominated Raghu Rai to Magnum Photos, the world's most prestigious photographer's cooperative. Raghu continues to be part of this organization till date. Around the same time he was awarded the 'Padmashree' (1972), for the body of work he produced on the Bangladesh war, its impact on people and finally, the surrender.

Rai became the Picture Editor-Visualiser-Photographer of India Today, India's leading news magazine in its formative years. He worked on special issues and designs, contributing trail blazing picture essays on social, political and cultural themes (1982 to 1991). His series on Great Masters of Indian Classical Music, film maker Satyajit Ray, Mother Teresa, had become talking point of the magazine.   In 1992 he was awarded "Photographer of the Year" in United States for the story "Human Management of Wildlife in India" published in National Geographic. In 2009 he was conferred Officere des Arts et des Lettres by Government of France.   Photo essays by him have appeared in world's leading magazines and newspapers - Time, Life, GEO, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Die Welt, The New York Times, Sunday, The Times-London, Newsweek, Vogue, GQ, D magazine, Marie Claire, The Independent and New Yorker. He has been an adjudicator for World Press Photo Contest, Amsterdam and UNESCO's International Photo Contest for many times.

 The photo documentation of 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy by him, and the continuing effects of the gas on the lives of the victims under a special assignment from Greenpeace International were compiled into a book.  3 sets of this work travelled as exhibitions in Europe, America, Australia, India and South East Asia from 2002 to 2005. This created greater awareness about the tragedy which brought relief to the survivors.  Raghu Rai tirelessly continued to photograph India through the 20th century and now into the 21st. His monumental body of work of myriad themes is certainly a slice of India's modern history because of which he has come to be known as the father of photo journalism in India. 

 Several books have been produced of his work.  Some of them are : Indira Gandhi (1971, 1985, 2004 ); Mother Teresa -Faith & Compassion (1971, 1996, 2004); Bihar shows the way (1977); The Sikhs (1984, 2002), Delhi (1971, 1985, 1992, 2008 ); Romance of India (1985); Taj Mahal, (1986, 2012); Calcutta (1989, 2008, 2013 ), Khajuraho (1991), Tibet in Exile (1991, 2009, 2012), My Land and it's People (1995); Lakshadweep (1996); Men Metal and Steel (1998); Madhya Pradesh (2000); Raghu Rai's India (2007, 2008); India's Great Masters -a Photographic journey into the heart of classical music - 2010; Bombay - Mumbai -where dreams don't die -2010; The Indians - 150 years of portraiture in India - 2010; Varanasi -Portrait of a Civilization - 2010; Bangladesh -The Price of Freedom ­2012; Trees -2013; Mahakumbh 2014; Vijaynagara - Ruins to Resurrection 2014 etc.

Besides winning many national and international awards, Rai has exhibited his works around the world. Some of the major exhibitions include Retrospective at Museo de Capitolini- Rome- 2005 ; Retrospective of his work at Arles Photography Festival -2007 ; Asiatica Film Mediale, Rome - 2008; A Retrospective - National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi -2008 and at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai -2008; at Aicon Gallery, London 2010 ( this show received full page coverage in Sunday Guardian, The Times, BBC and various other publications; Women Changing India - Saachi gallery, London 2011.

 Exhibitions of his work were held in Gallery Delpire, Paris - 1971; Nikon Gallery, Tokyo -1972; Gallery Tsurumoto- 1992; A Retrospective at Bunkamura Museum, Tokyo -2001; Kendamy Museum - Italy, 2002; A Retrospective at Photofusion, London, UK - 2002; at Volkart Foundation, Winterthur, Switzerland- 2002; at Sala Consiliare, Venice, Italy -2003; at the Photographic Gallery, Helsinki, Finland - 2003; Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh - 2004; Museo di Storia Naturale- Milan; Gallery Caolmine- Switzerland; Centro Cultural Recoleta- Argentina; Centro Universitario Belas Artes- Sao Paulo; Leica Gallery-Prague,  2004; Melkweg Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands -2005; Art Car Museum- Texas (Houston); Fait et Cause Gallery -Paris; Earthscapes series, Singapore - 2007; Just by the Way - Clouds, Rocks and Nudes, India - 2007 ; Master Musicians of India - Singapore - 2007; Raghu Rai's India -Pathshala, Drik, Bangladesh 2009; Master Musicians of India - Lalit Kala Academy -Delhi 2010; Mother Teresa, A life Dedicated - Visual Art Gallery, Delhi and Kolkata 2010; India - Mexico -The Parallel Wings - Instituto of Cervantes, New Delhi ­2010; Calcutta -Kolkata, Harrington Street Arts Center, Calcutta, 2010; Format Festival Jan 2011; Raghu Rai' s India, A Retro at Foto Freo Festival, Australia, 2011; India- A touring exhibition in Brazil, 2012; Price of Freedom, Bangladesh -Bengal Museum of Art, Dhaka, 2012; Outside the Margins-Photo exhibition for Save The Children, New Delhi-2012 ; TREES at Photo Ink, Delhi 2013; Longing to Belong-Refugees in India, UNHCR-New Delhi, 2014; In Light of India-A Retrospective, Hong Kong International Photographic and Cultural, Aug/Sept 2014. 

 Raghu Rai lives in New Delhi with his family and continues to be an associate of Magnum Photos.”

(Text and pictures courtesy: Raghu Rai)

Dashboard: “Whipping to Win”

-Dashboard-

“Whipping to Win”

On the occasion of Kartik Poornima (after Deepawali) there takes place a grand annual event of Horse Race at Chaubari Village of District Bareilly of Western U.P (India). This village is situated very close to river Ramganga.  A number of activities are organized in this fair. Horse race is one of them. Actually this race is a type of display of the capability of horses. The horse-sellers come from different parts of the region to this fair. They try their best to show the skills of their animals. The purchasers observe the race alertly and the horses which are found most excellent are sold at high prices. 

This photograph titled, “Whipping to Win” is an attempt to portray the expressions of a rider who is whipping his horse in order to win the race. On the other hand the body language of horse confirms the influence of the hit of whip. The other riders in the background seem to be the reason of leading rider’s action. The dust all around seems adding to the beauty of the picture. 

Though violence with animals is being opposed everywhere in the world, such acts still exist. People take these activities as a part of their culture and tradition.

(I took this picture with Nikon D-90 DSLR camera at shutter speed priority mode (at 1/1000 sec.). The lens was 18-105 mm (Nikon). ISO of the camera was set at 500.)

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma