Kolkata Part 2: Street Photography on a hot Sunday Afternoon

Sunday afternoon, I was on a small trip to a relatives house. I decided to take my camera with me, to capture some of the street scenes of Kolkata. Since I was in a moving car, composition was a big challenge, and most of the images came with a motion blur. Most of the photographs are technically not that great, but I have posted some of the images which I liked a lot personally. I will post them chronologically, to give an idea of my route.

The first shot ... taken near my house. A cyclist is being followed by a bus near the red shiva temple, Central Avenue , near Sovabazzar Metro.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/250 sec Aperture: 8.0 Focal Length: 20mm

The second shot. taken near Dunlop bridge crossing, on BT Road. Grafitti on a city bus. This is one of my favorites from this session.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/50 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 18mm

The third shot. A parked truck on BT Road, while a man urinating in front of it.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/125 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 20mm

The fourth shot. A young couple on a bicycle near Sodepur.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/100 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 70mm

The fifth shot. A couple of middle-aged men on their way back from the vegetable market. Shot at Sodepur, BT Road Junction

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/160 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 40mm

The sixth shot. I feel the story is very symbolic. A cigarette, pan and guthka store, youth on motor-cycle, and political graffiti.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/40 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 70mm

The seventh shot. I wanted to capture this for a long time. However my driver never stopped, so I got shots with motion blur. Weekly make-shift clothes market at Titagarh, BT Road. I love the subject, so I will do a better job on it the next time.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/80 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 18mm

The last shot. Three stories unfold on station road, Barrackpore.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/100 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 70mm

Do let me what do you think, and what you would have done to make the shots better.

Portrait Project: Photographing my son

A couple of weeks back, my son was just learning to take the first few steps on his own, and I tried to capture some of the moods he was showing. It was very trying on the patience, as the moment you thought you were having a good composition, he would change it, before you could focus on him. He has also become very camera concious lately, and would wonder what his "Daddy" is up to, when I would point the camera at him. In the end I got a few shots, and I will post them here, for you to figure out, how I have fared.

TIP BTW, One of the key virtues for a good photographers is patience. You need to have patience in order to get the perfect shot!!!
Photog

The shot was done in two parts, during the day, it was a wee bit of ambient light and most of the lighting is through my in-camera flash. In the evening, I used my wireless flash bounced off a white ceiling.


The first shot: In photographic grammer, this shot has a big mistake. My wife's legs are visible which is cluttering the frame. I like this shot very much though and decided to keep it in the post. I hope my readers will excuse me for the mistake.

From Mar08-09

Technical Data: ISO: 100, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 45mm Flash Used: In-camera

The second shot: Against the door

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 100, Exposure: 1/100 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 60mm Flash Used: In-camera

The third shot: Papa, see my acrobatics

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 100, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 35mm Flash Used: In-camera

The fourth shot: Smile Please!!!

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 100, Exposure: 1/125 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 70mm Flash Used: In-camera

The fifth shot: Cupboard is sooo good!!!

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 100, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5 Focal Length: 28mm Flash Used: In-camera

The second set was shot during his dinner, using an off-camera wireless flash bounced of a white ceiling.

The sixth shot: Making faces

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 400, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 28mm Flash Used: Off-camera, diffused using ceiling-bounce

The seventh shot: Why do I have to eat, mama?

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 400, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 60mm Flash Used: Off-camera, diffused using ceiling-bounce

The eighth shot: I guess dinner is over!!!

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 400, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 40mm Flash Used: Off-camera, diffused using ceiling-bounce

The ninth shot: Oh no!!! More food

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 400, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 70mm Flash Used: Off-camera, diffused using ceiling-bounce

The tenth shot: I hate eating!!!

From Mar08-09

Technical data: ISO: 400, Exposure: 1/60 sec Aperture: 5.6 Focal Length: 70mm Flash Used: Off-camera, diffused using ceiling-bounce

All shots taken with my Sony Alpha300. Let me know what do you think!!!

Shooting a photo frame by candlelight

This week, I undertook an abstract project. The electric power was off, so I had lit a candle and placed in front of a photo-frame, containing photo's of my family. The warm light of the candle created an interesting mood in the room, and the photo-frame, accentuated by the low light looked absolutely beautiful.
I was thinking about it for some time, but then my wife asked me to get the camera: and here are the results.

First: The candle



Second: The candle light falling on the framed picture of my son and me.

From Blog

Third: The whole assembly of the photo-frame and the candle-stand.

From Blog

The photos were shot in low light and the second and third with very high ISO settings, making it grainy. I am still very proud of these shots, as I re-live the ambience every time I look at them. Let me know how do you feel about them.