Profile : Journey…through the eyes of an artist : Gurdeep Dhiman

-Profile-

Journey…through the eyes of an artist

Gurdeep Dhiman

Born in a very small village, ‘LASARI’ of Punjab (India)  in 1979, Gurdeep Dhiman studied at Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University where he obtained M.A. in Drawing & Painting. He always felt that Photography is one such creative medium which can capture everlasting golden moments for years that can be remembered and enjoyed forever.  Eventually in 2013, he went through the creative photographs  of  Sebastiao Salgado which left a profound effect on his vision and transparency regarding photography.

Afterwards creative works of renowned photographers such as Henri Cartier, Jimmy Nelson, Raghu Rai, Steve McCurry etc. left a big impact on his vision of creativity. He started realising Photography as a vast ocean.  His desire was not only to swim on the surface of this ocean but to measure all depths, and this was possible only due to hard work and continuous efforts. He started to pay attention into this genre of photography very seriously and gradually his works started to be recognized in the realm of art. His pictures, specially portraits and landscapes have their own identity due to their unique presentation. 

Gurdeep says “I very much like to work on long-term projects…There is time for the photographer and the people in front of the camera to understand each other. There is time to go to a place and understand what is happening there. …When you spend more time on a project, you learn to understand your subjects. There comes a time when it is not you who is taking the pictures. Something special happens between the photographer and the people he is photographing. He realizes that they are giving the pictures to him.”

--Pankaj Sharma

Profile - In Love with People and Places : Voleti Ravi Kumar

-Profile-

In Love with People and Places

Voleti Ravi Kumar

Voleti Ravi Kumar, the resident of Tenali, Andhra Pradesh (India) is a gifted photo artist. He has been into the field of photography art for a period of more than 25 years. He loves Pictorial Photography, and so his pictures seem the fine pieces of art. He is passionate for travelling and has visited many places in India. As he is inclined towards the lifestyle of Indian Tribes, he has documented the tribal areas of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh and the Bonda Tribe in Orissa thoroughly.

His photographs have been awarded in many esteemed photography contests in India and abroad. Recently he has received Special Mention Award from Photo Division, Ministry of information & Broadcasting Government of India. 

The Federation of Indian Photography and the Photographic Society of Singapore have honored him with their prestigious Associateship. India International Photographic Council, Delhi has honoured him with the most coveted Fellowship.

Ravi Kumar is the Secretary of Tenali Camera Club for last 15 years, and has conducted many Photography Workshops to promote the Art of Photography.

He gives the credit of his success to his mentor, Mr. T. Srinivasa Reddy of Vijayawada, who is a renowned photographer of India.

 --Dr. Pankaj Sharma

             

-Great Masters- Born to Love Photography : JOSEPH K.S.TAN

-Great Masters-

Born to Love Photography

JOSEPH K.S.TAN

 This all began when a colleague of Mr. Joseph K.S. Tan sold a camera to him in 1963 at the age of 35. After a lapse of two years, trying to figure out how to improve his photographic skill; he decided to go for a proper photographic course. He Joined Photographic Society of Singapore in May, 1965.

 Upon completing the course, he was enthusiastically trying to perfect his skills. The breakthrough came in 1967 when he submitted a portrait of an “Old Indian” to the 18^th Singapore International Competition. He was overwhelmed when he was announced one of the Top 10 Winners of the World. This cemented his confidence and determination to embark and propel his career into the world of photography. 

 In order to succeed, he then decided to go overseas to further improve his skills.  He left for Rome, Italy in 1974 to take the challenge.

 Back in Singapore, he was headhunted by Robinson’s Portrait Studio as Chief Portrait Photographer/Manager where he made a mark as a leading Portrait Photographer in Singapore. While in Robinson’s Studio he had the opportunity to photograph the Royal Family of Brunei and many other dignitaries of Singapore and the neighboring countries.  He was also given an opportunity to have a two year stint in Bangkok, Thailand to provide photographic services to the elite group e.g. 4-star generals and tycoons. One remarkable experience was having an audience with the King of Thailand as well as taking photographs for the Royal Family and the Chief Monk.

 Upon his return to Singapore in 1992, he started Joseph Master Photography (School of Photography) to share and impart his vast experience and knowledge to young and aspiring photo enthusiasts from all walks of life irrespective of age and experience.

 Mr. Joseph has been serving for the cause of art photography wholeheartedly and always aims at imparting knowledge among the art lovers. He has been honoured by many prestigious organizations of the world.

 --Pankaj Sharma

-Dashboard- Fishermen at Godavari

-Dashboard-

Fishermen at Godavari
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River Godavari plays an important role in the life of Indians. Fishing is an important activity in this river. The act of Fishing provides food to many and on the other hand gives money to the needy people. This picture was clicked at Papikondalu, Andhra Pradesh India. The camera was Nikon D-90. The exposure was f-5 at  1/2000 sec. ISO was 500.

--Pankaj Sharma

-Dashboard- Newly Wed

-Dashboard-

Newly Wed

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During my visit to Kolkata (India) in January-2016, I was strolling on the bank of River Hooghly one morning. I met a newly wedded couple there with an elder woman, probably the mother of bridegroom. They had come here to perform some rituals, and seemed to have profound faith in their culture. I felt deep respect for them and wished to click some pictures. They did not oppose.  Out of the clicked frames, I personally like this picture a lot. I love the way; the post wedding rituals are being performed.  

--Pankaj Sharma

-Youth Gallery- In Love with Nature and Travel Photography: Trikansh Sharma

 -Youth Gallery-   
 In Love with Nature and Travel Photography

Trikansh Sharma

Trikansh Sharma is a promising photo artist from Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) India.   He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in computer applications. He had interest in photography since his childhood days.  He decided to pursue his hobby seriously in 2016 and purchased a Canon 1300D SLR camera with kit lens. Then after he started photography wholeheartedly, and after a phase of time he found himself deeply inclined towards nature & travel photography. He admits that the company of senior photography enthusiasts motivated him to do more and more in the field of creativity. In addition, the internet has helped him a lot in understanding the fundamentals of good pictures as he thinks. From 2017 onwards he started doing nature & wildlife photography more dedicatedly.  He began spending lots of time at one location in search of good pictures. He thinks that he is not a self taught photographer; he is learning photography from everywhere, and from everyone who is a true art lover.  Now photography has become his passion.  Many of his pictures have been awarded and recognized by reputed platforms like National Geographic.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

-Dashboard- Devotee

-Dashboard-

Devotee

Sometimes a few people leave deep impact on our mind and soul. It was on the occasion of Holi, the festival of colours, I was in Barsana, in February, 2018. Barsana is associated with Goddess Radha.  The celebration of Holi starts a few days prior to the actual festival here. On one morning I was in Radha Rani Temple which is situated at a hill. After visiting this temple I went to another important temple which is located nearby. The whole atmosphere was full of divinity there. I met a lady in the campus of that temple who was sitting close to the sculpture of Lord Krishna. She was in deep meditation of her beloved God. The matchless dedication of the lady towards Lord Krishna, the colours of Holi smeared on the sculpture of Lord and the historic architecture all around, fascinated me intensely. I clicked a few pictures. Here is one of them.

I used a Canon EOS 6D Camera with a Tokina 17-35 mm lens. The exposure was: f 11 at 1/1250 sec.

ISO was set at 8000.

--Dr. Pankaj Sharma

My View: Black and White Photography As I Experience

-My View-

Black and White Photography 
As I Experience

Black and White photography is a fine medium of expression. This medium fascinates me for below mentioned reasons:

• The impact of light and shadow is often greater in black and white photographs as compared to that in coloured photographs. However, by ensuring adequate amount of light while photographing, we can have excellent results in colour medium as well.

• In this genre of photography, a lot more attention is provided to the subject. The subject in black and white medium seems more effective than that in colour medium. As colours often (not always) become more prominent than the subject.

• I love the play of grey tones in B&W images. A picture with maximum tones between black and white is always impactful. The images created by great masters with maximum grey shades in them have always fascinated me.

• The mood and emotion is rather captured more powerfully through black and white medium. A black and white picture can portray a story of sentiments quite effectively.

• Few subjects, like street life, architectures, portraits etc. look fairly impactful to me in black and white medium.

--Pankaj Sharma

-Profile- Expressing himself through Photography and Literature : Dr. Lovelesh Dutt

-Profile-

Expressing himself through Photography and Literature

Dr. Lovelesh Dutt

Born on 24 September, 1976 in Bareilly (India), Dr. Lovelesh Dutt is a multifaceted human being. He is a writer of high repute and on the other hand a promising photo artist. As literature and photography, both are mediums of expression, Dr. Lovelesh Dutt conveys his emotions well in both genres. As a writer he has to his credit a number of Hindi poems, stories and edited magazines/books. He has got many prestigious honours and awards in the field of literature. As a photo artist he is well known for his creative pictures of scenic places and human beings. He is fond of travelling and loves clicking places in their true manner. His photographs have been exhibited in several reputed exhibitions. Many of his pictures have been awarded in the exhibitions at national level.   

-Dr. Pankaj Sharma

Tutorial : Macro Photography By Satpal Singh

-Tutorial- 
Macro Photography

(Here is a tutorial about Macro Photography by Mr. Satpal Singh, a promising wildlife photographer. He is Panasonic Lumix Camera Ambassador and has a number of awards at International level. His photographs have been exhibited and published world-wide.)
Macro Photography is one of the popular and challenging genres of Nature Photography today. This ia all about keen observation, vision and dedication. 
Here are a few points which must be kept in mind while taking macro images:

 1- It is not necessary to have an expensive photography kit.  To start we just need an entry level DSLR with a macro lens.

 2- If budget is an issue, macro photography can be started with any normal lens and a kit of close-up filters & extension tubes.

 3- Monsoon & post monsoon season (before winter) is best time for insect photography.  In this period of time thousands of species of insects complete their life cycle and offer many opportunities to a nature photographer for excellent pictures.  

 4- Morning & evening sun light is always ideal to get colourful, soft, warm & balanced tone images. 

5- A Led light or a dedicated ring flash will be very helpful on cloudy days & when our subject is in shade.

 6- Role of Aperture always plays a vital role in macro photography. (A) We can use a bigger (smaller in number) aperture to get clear & out of focus background. (B) If we are working in a condition where we need good depth of field to get all parts of the subject sharp we should use smaller (bigger number) aperture. 

7- Safe shutter speed:  Subject’s movement & camera shake is a big problem in macro photography. To overcome this problem we have to use a safe/high shutter speed such as 1/ 250 sec. or above.

 8- We can use a reflector to redirect light towards our subject if we need.

9- Focus:  (1) We have to focus at the eyes of our subject. If eyes are not sharp, image is not considered good.  (2) Manual Versus Auto Focus: * Manual focus is often the effective way to get the most important part of an object sharp. As we often click macro objects in dull light, it can be difficult for our camera to auto focus – so we should choose manual option of focusing. * When we click moving objects,  manual focusing  is not possible.  Here auto focusing is only option.

 10- We have to go on the eye level:  In macro work it is strongly recommended to go parallel to your subject. Doing such can totally change the perspective of an image. 

 11- We should avoid dresses of bright colours and wear green, navy, brown & non-alarming colors. Bright colours disturb small creatures.

 12- We have to avoid using perfumes, hair oils and creams that have fragrance. Insects are more sensitive than us.