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Vol. 30 - No.04

Tips & Techs

Pro-Profile

The Wandering

Soul

-Neelima Vallangi

The Thirst

for Travel - Lola Akinmade ร kerstrรถm A SAP MEDIA PUBLICATION

10 Unexplored Places in India Culture through travel photography Lenses to consider when beginning travel photography JPG Vs RAW How to regain inspiration First travel photo tour How to colourise old photographs

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EDITORIAL

Let’s get those travel shoes on

S

o it’s that time again when the schools will be on vacation and you might be planning that family trip. And while you might have already chosen the destination, it might be a good idea to look up some good places to shoot there as well.

If you’ve been following our magazine then you would know that when the suns up in the summer we focus our content on travel.

And while we have been doing that for sometime now, there is always a shift in the manner in which we present it to you.

And this year as well this is precisely what we have done. We have kept the focus of the content around travel, but we have also included a number of articles that surround things that you can explore on your next trip. These include carefully chosen articles that will not only allow you to push you abilities this summer, but also inspire you to do a lot more.

And if you are a fan of photography then the works of our Pros this month will surely leave you gasping. Seldom do you see a combination of such good photographers in one edition, and the cherry on the cake is that both of these are women, who are holding the mantle really high.

Apart from this, we have also featured the ‘Gangaur’ festival of Rajasthan in the Festivals of India section and a photo-essay on the protest on the verdict of ‘Triple Talaq Bill’. All of these make the issue very topical and a pleasure to read.

The issue also features the exclusive look at the newly launched Fujifilm XH1, which was also featured in our YouTube channel recently. By the way, if you have not subscribed to our channel yet, then you are surely missing on some great content, breaking there first.

So we hope that you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

So Until Next Time!!

Happy Reading…..

EDITOR / PUBLISHER Trilok Desai GROUP HEAD Bhavya Desai DIRECTOR MARKETING Aruna Desai SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS Abhishek Desai Fred Shippie Lester Ledesma EDITORIAL TEAM Souradeep Roy Mrinmoy Choudhury

BHAVYA DESAI

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Lopamudra Ganguly (Delhi) DESIGN Goraksh Kokate Rajendra Gaikwad MANAGER ADVERTISING Laila Rupawalla DY. MANAGER ADVERTISING Kora Ganguly MARKETING EXECUTIVE Ragini Desai Pooja Gupta SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE Manger Pereira COPY DESK Sameer Gadkari PRODUCTION MANAGER Manoj Surve

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Vol. 30 - no.04

Tips & Techs

Pro-Profile

The Wandering

Soul

-Neelima Vallangi

The Thirst

for Travel - Lola Akinmade Åkerström

10 Unexplored Places in India Culture through travel photography Lenses to consider when beginning travel photography JPG Vs RAW How to regain inspiration First travel photo tour How to colourise old photographs

A SAP MediA PublicAtion

Image: - Lola Akinmade Åkerström Cover Design: Goraksh Kokate

Published by TRILOK DESAI on behalf of Special Audience Publications Pvt. Ltd., 509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053. INDIA Printed by TRILOK DESAI on behalf of Special Audience Publications Pvt. Ltd., 509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053. INDIA Printed at Indigo Press India Pvt Ltd, Plot No 1 C/716, Off Dadoji Konddeo

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Cross Road, Between Sussex & Retiwala Industrial Estate, Byculla, Mumbai Published at 509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off

Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053. INDIA Editor - TRILOK DESAI. All material covered by copyright; No part of the contents of this journal may be published or reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the publisher. The views and opinons expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or the editorial staff.

Special Audience Publications Pvt. Ltd. and ASIAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGING is not responsible and liable for any comments and articles published by its contributors and will not be liable for any damages. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Mumbai, India.

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APRIL 2018 AsianPhotography - 3

CONTENTS

Contents NEws • • • •

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Fujifilm wins “iF Design Award” GoPro unveils a $200 HERO, a budget action cam NiSi Prosories P1 brings square filters to smartphones Huawei P20 Pro smartphone Leica Triple Camera, ISO 102400 and a DxOMark score of 106

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pro-profilE • Neelima Vallangi

Ask Your ExpErt fEstivAls of iNdiA

• Gangaur - Rajasthan

21 fEAturE

Folie à deux over Triple Talaq Bill

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pro-profilE • Lola Akinmade Åkerström

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How to regain inspiration

Tips & Techs

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10 Unexplored Places in India

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How to regain inspiration

62

First travel photo tour

68

Lenses to consider when beginning travel photography

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Culture through travel photography

W

e have all felt uninspired at one point of time in our lives and while our first instinct is to blame ourselves and give up, there are a lot of ways to find inspiration in the field of art. In this article we will discuss how one can get back their inspiration to work harder and produce beautiful images again and not give up.

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Tips & Techs

TIPS & TECHS

50 10 Unexplored Places in India Summer is the time for travel, outings and vacations for most, and for budding photographers it means a great opportunity to do some travel photography. But we have seen most of the popular travel photos of famous monuments, parks, beaches and cities across India. If you’re tired of visiting typically touristy places crowded with photographers clicking from the same angles, then we have a unique list for you. We have jotted down 10 unexplored explored or offbeat places across India that you can visit to capture images that not many others would have. These places though less explored, have also started gaining popularity with wandering souls, so make sure you head there soon to get your perfect shot!

 Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh Situated in Arunachal Pradesh, Ziro is one of the most beautiful places in the North Eastern State.

This quaint town is blessed with an aura of its own, and incredible experiences. The place is far away from all the typically touristy places, and is a perfect offbeat destination for you to start with.

Reportedly, it had been shortlisted for inclusion in the Tentative List for further nomination to UNESCO for inscription in the World Heritage Site. The part of the town which is the centre of economic activities and where the administrative offices are located is called as Hapoli or locally known by the Apatanis as “Hao-Polyang”. The best way to experience the town is not as a tourist, but as local.

The locals are very friendly and welcome you with all smiles. You can see rice fields and greenery sprawling across large areas.

The town also hosts Ziro Music Festival, which could be a good time to try it out.

Culture

through travel photography T

ravel photography is different for different people. Some like to capture monuments, whereas others like to shoot majestic landscapes.

However, the common element that stays is that we as photographers go to usually foreign or unfamiliar places and capture them with our cameras. We capture the beauty of the places, but we also capture an essence of the culture.

This month we explore how culture can be documented through travel and

street photography, its nuances, from being respectful of a culture to getting into the details and beyond.

local, you are able to get to the intricate issues or facets of the culture, that a tourist would often overlook. In many countries or cities that are typically popular with tourists like New York, Paris or London, the shots of Times Square, Eiffel Tower and London Eye are done to death. What would be more interesting is to see this city like a local, and capture the unseen, unheard and the underground.

This is even more important in countries or cities that are not explored as much. You will always find postcard shots of sunsets, sunrises, monuments etc. But go that extra mile, speak to as many locals as you can, do that extra research and find out the intricacies of living there. The local customs, traditions, food, way of life, and capture that.

The local perspective When we travel to places, we are usually after all tourists. We often visit a place multiple times and inch closer to seeing the place more like a local. This is the key to capturing the essence of the culture, seeing like a local.

Once your perspective is that of a

Sense and sensibility While you plan to see like a local and get into the details to document a culture with street and travel photography, the most important tool you will need is cultural awareness. Until you are able to respect the diverse cultures and traditions across the globe from one location to another, you will not be able to capture the culture truly. The first and foremost aspect of this is understanding that photography is in not seen the same way in one culture as it is in another. Certain cultures might be open to photography of subjects, places and people, whereas others might be more conservative and it might be frowned upon. You should take the effort to understand this, instead of dismissing it, and work your way accordingly.

 Majuli, Assam Located in Assam on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, Majuli is the biggest river island in the world. In 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India. It is definitely a place that one must visit once in their lifetime.

The island spreads over 421.65 square kilometers, and it is one of the must visit places in Assam. The place is only accessible via ferries, that last about an hour long, and can be taken from Jorhat. Mostly tribals inhabit the lands, and Majuli is also one of the potential contenders of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Its highlights are its culture, food and serenity.

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LETTERS TO EDITOR Readers’ Comments and Suggestions...

Send your letters at apindia.feedback@gmail.com

The Letter of the month will receive 1 Year subscriptieosn) (12 E-Issu

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JANuARY 2018 ` 100 us$9

Vol. 30 29 - No.01 No.12

Pro-Profile

The Young Maverick

A

Dear Editor, I came across your magazine at the CEIF 2018 and read the Jan 2018 issue of the magazine. I was glad to read it but didn’t subscribe to it since I wanted to first check the content. And after looking at the Jan issue I am convinced that it gives me what I need in a photography magazine.

I’m from an IT background and have been doing photography for a while now. The content and articles featured in the magazine and especially what can we expect in the coming year were really good. I also liked the editorial and congratulations to the team and the magazine for completing so many years.

Rohan Bane, Mumbai

NN

IVERSARY

Tips & Techs

- Rohan Shrestha

Technology Trends and Predictions for 2018

A year worth of pictures Top camera phones under 30K Day 1: Understanding different parts of a camera

Dear Rohan, 3 young The Most Shutterbugs to Powerful Thanks for appreciating the magazine and also your feedback watch out for Photos of 2017 on the content and the edit. I am not happy that you didn’t subscribe to the magazine at the show. But we hope that now that you are convinced that it suffices your needs then you will subscribe to it.

As for the content, we work really hard to ensure that we give a balanced format every month to our readers so that they can enjoy the same. Apart from that coming up with new ideas as well isn’t easy.

So we look forward to your patronage for the future.

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Brought to you by

LETTERS TO EDITOR Readers’ Comments and Suggestions...

Send your letters at apindia.feedback@gmail.com

The Letter of the month will receive 1 Year b Su scriptieosn) (12 E-Issu

Dear Editor, I saw the March 2018 issue on Magzter and really liked it. I wanted to share some feedback on the Festivals of India column.

The images and the sort of work that you guys are featuring are great. But if we can also give some small tips about shooting in the same thing then it would be even better.

The content talks about the festival and what is it all about.

But this would be helpful to amateurs like us so that we can approach the same.

Satish Yande, Kerala

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Vol. 30 - no.03

TiPs & TeChs

Adventure sports in Goa Extreme Sports in India Important Underwater Photography Tips FesTivals oF india

Chinakkathoor Pooram

Pro-ProFile Dear Satish, Exploring the In Thanks for your email and also appreciating the work that we Flight are doing in the ‘Festivals of India’ section. You may not believe - Jill Heinerth - Scott Serfas it but it is a very difficult task to find unique festivals and also as a team cover its beauty.

We understand where you are coming from and the thought process behind it. Our objective with Festivals of India is very simple. It is to cover the beauty of the festival and the rich cultural heritage that the country has. It is meant to be a photo-feature to showcase exactly that. We don’t intend making it into an article which provides tips as well.

But we will take your feedback into account and see the feasibility of the same.

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Fujifilm wins “iF Design Award”

F

ujifilm was recently awarded the “iF Design Award 2018”, sponsored by the international design promotion organisation iF International Forum Design (Hanover, Germany), for 10 of its products including the 3D image analysis system “SYNAPSE VINCENT” 3D image analysis system, the hybrid instant camera “instax SQUARE SQ10”, ultrasonic processor, and broadcast lenses. The award is organised by the iF International Forum Design in Hanover, Germany, an international organiastion for design promotion.

The iF Design Award is an international design award launched in 1953, and is reportedly considered to be one of the top three global design awards, alongside Germany’s “Red Dot Design Award” and the United States’ “IDEA”. This year,

there were 6,401 entries from 54 countries and regions judged by 63 experts.

According to the press release, the company received awards for a wide variety of products from business products, including a 3D image analysis system for medical use, to consumer products such as the instax series, and was highly-rated not only for external design but also from the perspective that each of the awarded products offer high-performance, ease-of-use, and user interfaces that make them comfortable to operate.

The Instax square SQ10, which was one of the winners is a retro looking camera that Fujifilm launched recently and it shoots 1:1 photographs and is a hybrid which has a memory slot to store digital images (1920 x 1920 pixels) as well as prints 1:1 instant photographs.

GoPro unveils a $200 HERO, a budget action cam

G

oPro has announced a brand new HERO to its action camera family. The HERO becomes the most budget-friendly camera in the GoPro lineup, joining the $300 HERO5 and $400 HERO6. It’s a camera that makes “GoPro accessible to all,” the company says.

The HERO has a 2-inch touch display that helps you capture and review 10-megapixel photos and 1080p60 videos. It’s “as easy as using your phone,” GoPro says.

There’s also voice control that lets you do things like snap photos and turn off the camera hands-free. It’s also a camera that you can bring to places and adventures that your smartphone might not be able to handle. The HERO is waterproof down to 30 feet and is clained to be extremely durable. Video stabilisation provides smoother capture of video footage.

The GoPro HERO is available now for $200 through the company’s website and through authorized retailers.

NiSi Prosories P1 brings square filters to smartphones The Chinese optical accessory company NiSi has launched a new line of smartphone optical accessories called Prosories. The new Prosories P1 is a kit that brings a number of square filters to the smartphone. The kit revolves around a special filter holder and smartphone clip. Rotate the holder onto the clip to install it, and then mount the clip over your smartphone camera lens (the clip fits most of the smartphone models). The P1 set includes a medium graduated neutral density (GND) filter and a polarizing filter. The filters are both made of optical glass and feature a nano coating on the surface that reduces ghosting and flare.

Each one easily slides into the holder.

The filter holder can be turned freely for choosing the orientation of the filters.

The GND filter can help properly expose both the sky and the foreground in landscape shots.

The NiSi Prosories P1 costs $40 and can be pre-ordered through the NiSi website. The company estimated shipping to begin by March 31st, 2018.

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Huawei P20 Pro smartphone Leica Triple Camera, ISO 102400 and a DxOMark score of 106

T

he Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has just unveiled the P20 Pro smartphone.

The Leica triple camera onboard has left behind the other smartphones at DxOMark, scoring a highest-ever mark of 106.

The P20 Pro is the world’s first smartphone to feature a Leica triple camera system. The system has the highest total pixel count of any smartphone on the market today.

The main camera features a 40MP, 1/1.73″ RGB sensor behind a 27mm f/1.8 (35mm equivalent) lens. The secondary camera has a 20MP, 1/2.78″ monochrome sensor behind a 27mm f/1.6 (35mm equivalent) lens. And the telephoto camera has an 8MP, 1/4.4″ RGB sensor behind an 80mm f/2.4 (35mm equivalent) lens with optical image stabilization. In low light, the P20

Pro is a monster, capturing photos with a sensitivity of up to ISO 102400. With a goal of making professional-quality photography accessible to the masses, the P20 Pro uses a Master AI system that provides AI-driven photo features, including AI stabilisation and AI-Assisted

Composition (suggestions for framing group and landscape photos). The scene recognition identifies over 500 scenarios across 19 categories to automatically select camera setting for an optimal shot. 4D predictive focus helps the camera predict the movement of subjects and keep focus locked on them. The phone can shoot 960fps super slow motion.

Other features and specs include a Kirin 970 processor, 4K video recording, 6.1-inch screen with ultrathin bezels, a 24MP selfie camera, AI beautification, 3D portrait lighting, and a 3400 mAh battery. The Huawei P20 Pro will be available (in Twilight, Pink Gold, Black, and Midnight Blue) to Europeans starting April with a price tag of €899 (or about $1,120).

No word yet on if or when the phone will be released worldwide.

Leica Cameras now on Amazon India

A

fter launching their first India store in Delhi in October last year, Leica has now entered into an exclusive partnership with Amazon India. And forayed into the online market space in India. With a vision to change the dynamics of photography in the country, the high-end German camera brand will offer its range exclusively on Amazon.in.

This partnership is set to help customers across the country get access to Leica’s cameras through Amazon.in.

Leica Camera will start with three camera models on Amazon.in - D-lux, V-lux and Sofort ranging from `25,000 to `90,000. Customers can also find Leica binoculars and camera accessories on

14 - AsianPhotography april 2018

Amazon.in.

Speaking about the collaboration, Sunil Kaul, Managing Director - Asia Pacific, Leica Camera said, “The photography industry is booming in India and we are committed to creating and building a community around the brand by connecting with our target customers.

This partnership with Amazon India is a great opportunity for us to create a strong online presence and engage with our customers effectively across the country.”

Leica had launched its first store in India in October last year, and Kaul said that the response so far had been great.

When asked about the plans to set-up more stores across the country, Kaul said

that it was in the works.

Commenting on the launch, Nadeem Karbhari, Category Leader - Consumer Electronics, Amazon India said, “Leica Camera is iconic in the world of photography with enthusiasts cherishing their hand-crafted masterpieces. We are delighted to be the partner of choice for Leica Camera in India and are excited to offer their products exclusively on Amazon.in.”

Customers looking to buy Leica Camera can take advantage of no-cost EMI offers by all leading banks on Amazon.in. These products are also Prime eligible with next day delivery in most cities.

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Vivo launches V9 with dual rear camera and seamless design

V

ivo recently launched Vivo V9, its first flagship smartphone with dual rear camera in India. The smartphone sports dual rear camera of 16MP + 5MP, and a 19:9 FullView display 2.0 and the industry’s highest screen-tobody ratio of 90%.

Commenting on the launch,Kent Cheng, CEO, Vivo India said, “With the class-leading design and camera capabilities of Vivo V9, we have once again delivered a product that is high on innovation and quality. We are confident that our latest flagship will set new benchmarks in the smartphone industry and further solidify our leadership position in the market.”

Vivo said that the Vivo V9 with its 19:9 FullView Display2.0 and an impressive 90% screen-to-body ratio represents a sleek and futuristic style. The bezels on the smartphone are kept at a bare minimum of just 1.75mm that makes V9 compact in design as a traditional 5.5-inch phone but offers an incredible 6.3-inch display.

The Vivo V9 includes dual rear cameras (16MP + 5MP). The rear camera setup offers users brighter and sharper images including a Bokeh mode as

next task and launch favourite apps 20% faster. The V9’s AI Attention Sensing also keeps disruption to a minimum by automatically reducing the volume of message alerts, incoming calls and alarms.

The Vivo V9 also comes with a new ‘Game Mode’ which allows users to block all interruptions such as messages, calls and alerts, thereby providing an uninterrupted gaming experience. Alternatively, one can change the settings to display phone calls from designated contacts only and choose to respond by swiping up on the screen. The V9 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 octacore processor, which combined with a 3260mAh battery, provides a powerful multi-tasking and gaming experience for a longer duration.

Priced at `22,990, the smartphone will be available in Champagne Gold and Pearl Black colour across all offline stores from 2nd April, 2018 and can be pre-booked in all retail stores, on Vivo E-store, Flipkart, Amazon and Paytm Mall.

claimed by Vivo. The rear camera also offers a host of other features such as Ultra HD, Slo-mo, Live Photos, Retina Flash, AR Sticker. The F2.0 aperture along with LED flash allows for more light to aim to deliver high quality images even in low-light conditions.

The V9 also features a 24MP selfie camera, which uses AI Face Beauty to deliver astonishingly clear, beautiful selfies. The front camera also comes with Gender detection, AR Stickers,Face beauty video call, Camera Filter, HDR and Portrait lighting effect providing enough options for users to experiment with selfies.

Vivo informed that the Vivo V9’s AI Smart Engine ensures the best mobile performance by learning users’ habits and preferences. Reportedly, the AI Smart Engine prioritises processing and storage resources to provide a fluid and optimised experience. In addition to ensuring smooth operation and save power, according to Vivo, the AI Smart Engine can accurately predict user’s

GoPro licensing its lenses and sensors to third parties now

G

oPro hasn’t been good for its investors as of late, as they also closed their Karma Drone division. But the company is stepping in a new direction in its search for profits.

The company has announced that it has signed a licensing deal for its camera lenses and sensors to be used in thirdparty products.

This new licensing agreement was made with Jabil, the global manufacturing company that has produced GoPro’s cameras since the HERO4.

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“With this agreement, Jabil will leverage GoPro’s cutting-edge reference design and IP to produce camera lens and sensor modules for incorporation into GoPro-approved third-party products and solutions,” GoPro says.

“The deal covers a range of products and services each company offers, including certain digital imaging and consumer products.”

“The products will include digital imaging and consumer-facing gear, but

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not any cameras that would directly compete against GoPro’s own devices,” The Verge reports. “The products Jabil will make won’t be branded GoPro, but they will utilise GoPro’s underlying tech.”

GoPro’s stock is currently hovering around an all-time low of less than $4.70 a share . The stock price was over $86 back in October 2014.

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AYE

Send in your Questions to ap.askyourexpert@gmail.com

Answered by Bhavya Desai Editor, Asian Photography

Hello, I have an old Nikon 50mm with an f/1.8 lens that I use with a new Nikon D750 body, but my focus is always not to the point. Please suggest a method to check focus accuracy. ion Quest Asish Das onth M e of th Kolkata

AP

Dear Asish, An old lens is always useful even when its very old. Unless the lens is physically damaged or has fungus and scratches it is good to go for more. Now what I assume is the old lens with a new camera body might not be compatible in sense of focus. The focus of some old lenses become off from many years of use. However, camera bodies come with a feature called the AF-Micro Adjust.

This feature allows you to calibrate a lens for its focussing and adjust the focus which is off. The focus adjust will note down the value of how much

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this focus should be adjusted to compensate for the off focus. The cameras will keep this information stored as well as you can manually input the info in the camera. You can store information for up to 3/4 lenses and every time you put the lens to the camera, the focussing will be adjusted accordingly.

We have attached a picture of the AF Micro adjust diagram above so you get an idea.

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I am a reader of your magazine and I have a question. How do I take picture of stars in the night time with my Canon 1300D DSLR? Danish Mumbai Dear Danish, Taking picture of night skies is definitely one of the most interesting as well as challenging in terms of photography. Let me walk you though. You set the camera steady on a well suited tripod. Switch off the IS of your lens. Set the aperture of the lens to a higher number, around f/4 – f/8. Select the ISO (keep it under ISO 800) and see the time of exposure.

You can use the bulb mode in the camera to use the maximum shutter speed of 30seconds and adjust the ISO and aperture accordingly. The smaller aperture will ensure you get the sharpness in the image and the low ISO will keep the noise under control. Be sure to use the self timer mode to ensure a steady camera after you press the shutter. Stacking multiple images later while post-processing can give you even better results.

What is the difference between a fast memory card and a cheaper version of the same? Is there any actual difference?

Sagar Patel Ahmedabad

Dear Sagar, The memory cards are categorised according to their capacities and speeds. The read and write speeds of memory cards are different and the speed mentioned on the card is actually the maximum read speed for the memory card. The write speeds differ and are slower than the read speeds. For a SDHC card, the ones that mention UHS-I or higher are faster cards. Faster cards cost more than the similar cards with similar capacities. The faster the speed the more number of images it can write into the card without slowing down on the fast frame rate.

So in case you are buying a new card, we suggest you to go for a better one as it will fare well in the long run.

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Daboo Ratnani:

29 Years of Transition

The Man Behind India’s MostAwaited Calendar PRo-PRoFILE

Th Creative The i Mastermind M id

-Tim i Tadder dd

Chasing Colours Colours are not scary Shades of Grey Scenes with Silhouettes

Trends and predictions for 2017

What is the future of imaging technonogy beyond 2017?

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news

HP announces design competition ‘Skyline 2050’ in India

H

P Inc. has announced Skyline 2050 – a competition by Designjet large format printers for practicing architects and structural engineers based in India. In this competition, HP is inviting entries from industrywide architects based in India to design skyline of any city of their choice for the year 2050. For this contest, participants can submit their designs on www.hp.com/in/en/ Skyline2050.

HP informed that Skyline 2050 aims to inspire and empower the architects, designers, innovators and the creators of future by showcasing the power of large format printing.

This form of printing is a best fit for a construction firm or an urban infrastructure organisation. HP’s large format printers provide high quality information to users to explore their creative minds as it is mobile and more collaborative.

According to HP, its large format printers portfolio has ultra-compact, versatile large format printing solutions for architects, engineers and construction teams to seamlessly collaborate onsite and across sites by printing, copying, scanning and sharing plans with a single device.

It offers a convenient solution with a range of communications options that can help increase collaboration. Print, scan, copy, and share drawings, project schedules, renders, presentations, and more.

Talking about the design competition, Mr. Devang Karia, Country Manager-Large Format Design, PPS-GSB, HP Inc. India, said, “HP’s large format printers are considered synonymous with exceptional quality, versatility and robustness. It is our endeavour to constantly reinvent our printing portfolio to meet the evolving needs of our customers. With Skyline

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2050, we aim to empower the visionary architects to help them unleash their potential and showcase their creativity by redesigning for a better future of India.”

“Architects are instrumental in bringing technological innovation to the construction industry, transforming not only how the buildings are made, but also how they are being designed,” said Puneet Chadha, Director Marketing, Graphics Solutions Business Asia Pacific Japan at HP Inc. “As a leader in large-format printing, HP delivers cutting-edge technology built specifically to help design professionals like architects do their jobs with ease and excellence.”

The entries will be reviewed by eminent jury comprising of internationally renowned architects and design experts. Top three winners of this competition will get state-of-the-art Ar. Office solution of LFD Printer with HP workstation and Autodesk AEC

software. The winners will also get an opportunity to present their designs and interact with industry stalwarts in an award ceremony scheduled to be organised in May 2018.

“As one of the largest media houses in the country, ITP Media has collaborated with numerous architects across the length and breadth of the country. Through the journey of eight years since our inception, we’ve had the opportunity to witness the complete evolution and transformation of the fraternity – in terms of their thought-process and their designs. With HP Skyline 2050, we hope to document and explore this very progression that enables architects to push their boundaries and traverse beyond restricting definitions to visualize a skyline that can change the perception of cities today,” adds Bibhor Srivastava, group publishing director, ITP Media.

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Festivals oF india

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T

he different states of India exhibit varied cultures and traditions and some places, and people do leave a lasting impression. The Northern state of Rajasthan in India is a large state with a varied landscape and geography.

The state of Rajasthan has some of the biggest deserts in India along with some marvellous architecture in its major cities. The cultural interests of people in Rajasthan make them very colourful and most of the occasions will definitely involve a lot of colours as a part of their culture.

The festivities in India range from various beliefs and various faiths. It is quite a challenge to understand the importance of each and every festival, although we can be a part of it by travelling to places and joining the locals and the people to celebrate the local festivals.

All this adds an immense pleasure to travelling and seeing and having new experiences. In this edition of Festivals of India, we travel to Udaipur, also known as the “City of Lakes”, in the colourful state of Rajasthan, to experience the Gangaur

Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 77D Shutter Speed: 1/3200 sec Aperture value: f/5.0 ISO: 400 Focal Length: 200.0 mm together. Gangaur is one of the most important festivals in Rajasthan and is celebrated by the women folk with great enthusiasm. It is believed that Parvati returned to her parental home during Gangaur, to bless her friends with marital

festival, a yearly festival celebrated in some parts of Rajasthan.

‘Gana’ is another synonym for Lord Shiva and ‘Gaur’ is Parvati or Gauri who symbolises ‘marital bliss’. ‘Gangaur’ signifies both Lord Shiva and Parvati

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pleasure. On the last day, Parvati was given a grand farewell by her loved ones and Lord Shiva had come to escort her back home. This year, it was celebrated on 20th of March in India. Women of Rajasthan celebrate Gangaur with great devotion to Parvati or Gauri, the companion of Lord Shiva. The married women worship Gauri for the longevity and good health of their husbands, and unmarried women worship the deity to be blessed with a good husband.

The Gangaur festival initiates from the first day of ‘Chaitra‘ or from the next day of Holi and continues for the next eighteen days. The festival begins with the custom of gathering ashes from the ‘Holi fire’ and burying the seeds of barley in it. It is obligatory for newly wed women to observe this ritual for complete eighteen days and keep the fast to ensure her marriage does well.

The unmarried women are also said to fast for the full period of eighteen days with just one meal a day.

The most notable celebrations

take place in Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Nathdwara.

Udaipur has the privilege of having a dedicated ghat named after Gangaur, known as the ‘Gangaur Ghat’ which is situated on the waterfronts of Lake Pichola. There is a boat procession on the Lake, and women balancing brass pitchers on their heads add to the interest. A sweet named ‘Ghewar‘ is a characteristic of the Gangaur Festival.

Clay idols of Parvati and Shiva which are worshipped during the festival are made by the local craftsmen. The celebrations begin almost a night before the festival.

On the day of the festival, a group of women dress up in their best clothes and hold a procession from the town to various villages carrying colourful idols of Gauri. People from nearby villages come over to take part in the procession.

The city of Udaipur is not very vast and is always flocked by tourists of various other countries. Udaipur apart from its lakes, boasts of the ‘City Palace’ which still have the current royal family

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 26.2MP Full-frame CMOS Sensor  Dual Pixel CMOS AF with Phase-detection & Full HD 60p  45-point all cross-type AF  High-Speed Continuous Shooting at up to 6.5 fps  DIGIC 7 Image Processor  ISO 100 – 40000 (expandable to 102400)  Vari-angle Touch Screen, 3.0-inch LCD  Dust- & Water-resistant.  GPS, Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth low energy

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residing there. There are a few major attractions like the Fateh Sagar Lake, Dudhtalai, Saheliyon Ki Badi, City Palace and The Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace which sees the first sight of monsoon arrival during the seasons. The vivid and royal architecture of the city reminds you of the era of the Maharajas and the royal environment.

On the last day of the festival, locals along with many other tourists and visitors from various places come together near the premises of the ‘Jagadish Temple’ where various cultural groups of Rajasthan come to perform various cultural and traditional dance forms. The colours mixed with high energy music being played by the artists mesmerise each and every one of the travellers. You can see tourists

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often getting involved in taking images and they cannot but capture the colour and environment full of energy. As the cultural activities proceed, women carry the idols of ‘Isar’ and ‘Gauri’ are dressed in new attires especially made for the occasion. The idols are taken by the married women, carrying it on their heads in a procession to the Gangaur ghat. The procession is joined by more and more women and in just an hour, there are a few thousand people all over the area on the Gangaur Ghat.

Friends, mates and relatives of the women and their loved ones come along to share the happiness. Women are dressed in their best and most colourful clothes and often do not shy away from posing for pictures. Many worshippers and their friends also

dress up like Radha-Krishna, Shivparvati and famous personalities like Maharana Pratap who was a Rajput king and attend the festival. They can be often seen posing for cameras and selfies with tourists. The Ghat is filled with women/children and who are there to worship and they stand in lines along the ghat and pray to the idols of Gana and Gauri. The ‘Bagore Ki Haveli’ which is a palace cum museum, is filled with people on its terraces and balconies giving a unbeatable top view of what is happening on the Ghat. In fact, many places and restaurants around the Lake Pichola, offer top views of the Gangaur and its adjacent ghats very clearly.

The Royal family also takes part in this yearly festival and their presence at the Gangaur Ghat is awaited by the locals

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and tourists. The Royal family takes to proceed on their royal boat along with a few more boats with people performing live. The Gangaur ghat is overflowing with locals and tourists by the time the evening sets in. The festivities continue with dance and various other cultural performances. After the end of the rituals, the idols are then immersed in the ghat or tanks of water, by the women, bidding farewell to Gauri as she makes her way back to her beloved Lord Shiva.

Udaipur is connected by air, trains and road from major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and all places in Rajasthan. The nearest is the Maharana Pratp airport at Dabok near Udaipur. The Udaipur City railway station is located right in the heart of the city. .

TexT and images: mrinmoy choudhury

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Pro-Profile

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The Thirst for Travel

Growing up in Nigeria, studying in America and photographing the polar regions, Lola Akinmade Åkerström’s journey has been an exhilarating one. With a degree and a career specialising in Geographic information Systems, she is today one of the foremost travel photographers in the world. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + leisure, Slate, lonely Planet, fodor’s, National Geographic Channel, several in-flight magazines, New York Times online. She has also bagged a number of awards, including winning the 2018 Travel Photographer of the Year Bill Muster Award. She talks to us about her experiences over the years, battling institutionalised racism, and her undying love of capturing cultures through her lens.

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L

ola Akinmade Åkerström’s is an adventurous story, from studying geography to becoming a traveller and going on to explore the world. But it all started back in her home country Nigeria. She had always been fascinated by geography and culture, ever since she was young. At the age of 15 she moved from Nigeria to the United States to start college. With a technical educational background, she worked as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programmer and system architect for many years. However, it was her love for travel that pushed her towards photography. Whenever she travelled, she would take pictures of scenes and situations that she would bring back and paint from as an oil painter. She soon realised that her photos were strong enough to stand on their own and she ditched oil painting and started exploring photography as a medium of expression.

Moving from oil painting to photography, she started off with a

Minolta film camera. From her early travels in Scandinavia to volunteering with the Eco-Challenge expedition race in Fiji, she found the feeling of creating art and trying different compositions was nothing short of invigorating. From National Geographic Traveller to BBC and more, once she started getting her work published, that was when she was ready to call herself a professional photographer. Today, shooting as a professional there is another set of feelings overwhelming her, ones of appreciation and gratitude that she is now being paid to bring her own vision and style to travel photography, she said.

It’s her deep-seated love for travel and geography that naturally directed her into travel photography. She has the knack for exploring culture through food, tradition, and lifestyles and her work evidently encapsulates these interests.

Her approach to travel photography is two-fold, she explains. “When shooting landscapes, I try to convey the feelings

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of being there – was it moody? scary? awe-inspiring? – and this subconsciously manifests itself while editing too. When creating environmental portraits of people, I’m very cognizant and respectful of making sure how I present them to the world is how they want and choose to be presented to the world, not what I want.”

Having never gone to a photography school, Lola considers herself a selftaught photographer who is still learning. But as she started wading her way through her career, there were a couple photographers whose work she truly admired from the onset. “I love working with natural light and Mitchell Kanashkevich is a master when it comes to working with natural light during his travels. My fascination with National Geographic led me to some portraits by photographer Alison Wright. But when it comes to photographing complete strangers, my friend Joel Carillet has an uncanny gift of approaching even the most sensitive subjects and coming away with amazing portraits.”

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Lola’s African heritage plays a large role in inspiring her aesthetic style, and she is drawn to colours and vibrance. “I grew up surrounded by a lot of colour and contrast so that is what my eyes naturally see and gravitate towards. So, my editing style is rich in terms of dark colours, heavy contrast, and vibrance.”

She also loves isolation and focusing on specific subjects or elements and loves vignetting.

For Lola, preparing for a travel shoot entails a large amount of research from the get go. “Where I’m going, what types of images already exist, how I can create something different and unique. I make

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sure I have some local contacts – not only as fixers (depending on the length of the assignment) but to also get their local expertise and knowledge as well.

And then, I leave myself flexible and open for serendipity because some of the best images are made that way.”

For Lola the main reward in this field is getting to do what she’s truly passionate about while exploring the world. However, that does not come that easy. As an African female travel photographer, she tells us that one of the main challenges for her is still battling institutionalised racism and prejudice.

“After all, the typical image of a travel

photographer that is still being flashed by media is of the rugged white male who looked like he just scaled Everest.

So, that is what I have been actively battling against as well. To fight the single story of what a successful travel photographer looks like.” Speaking of hindrances that she faces, she added, “Beyond constantly being aware of one’s safety, also being granted access into male-only domains and not being taken as seriously within patriarchal structures as a male photographer would can be challenging—but not impossible.”

She tries to get to Nigeria once every year if she can and her Nigerian roots

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play a part in her life and her profession.

“Mostly from the cultural aspect. I grew up with strong cultural values and so it is this I subconsciously seek when I explore other cultures and lands.

What makes us similar, what makes us different, and why.”

Speaking about the importance of post-production in your photography, Lola said, “It is key because it helps communicate the emotion of being there based on how one edits their photos.

As I already alluded to, I love isolating elements so I use vignetting to further draw the eyes to my subjects. Also, because I used to be an oil painter, my

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use of colours and contrasts are deep and heavy because that is what I as an artist naturally gravitate towards.”

With an endless list of achievements, Lola says that she is humbled by every award or shortlist. The biggest achievement for her as a travel photographer, beyond seeing her work in the pages of National Geographic Traveller, was winning the 2018 Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year award from the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW). “The symbolism of an African woman being crowned the best of the lot in that particular year is significant and probably an historic moment for both me and the organisation itself.”

As a travel photographer who loves environmental portraits of people, Lola stresses on the need of having the skills of sensitivity and respect. “The minute you ask someone to invite you into their personal space, the interaction no longer becomes about what you want, but rather, what they are willing to share and give you. I think we need to reduce sneaking shots of people and instead, approach and acknowledge them.”

Lola has an affinity with colder countries, and she has explored them at great length, including Greenland,

the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and other Nordic countries like Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, including the Lapland region. One of her dreams is to some day visit the North Pole. She has spent some time exploring indigenous Sami culture as well. Speaking about it, she said, “I am interested in culture and the more different the culture is from my own, the more it draws me to try to understand it. In terms of a wishlist – Antarctica, Svalbard, both the North & South Poles as well as the Kola peninsular of Russia remain on my dream list.”

With so many years of travel exploring 60+ countries, Lola has a number of memorable shots. But she narrated to us two that instantly came to her mind. The first image was shot when she was in the Seychelles on assignment for the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. Lola went out with fishermen Jerry and Leopold to go pull out fish traps, and captured them. Narrating the moment, she said, “The look on Jerry’s face when he found his trap full of fish showed me what true passion is. These fishermen go out every morning before dawn because they truly love what they do. What will you wake up before dawn to do because you’re passionate about it?”

Her second image was created when she was husky-sledding in Jokkmokk, Swedish Lapland. During a short pause, one of the huskies turned to look at her, they locked eyes, and she captured that exact moment. “That photo has opened many doors for me – especially within the National Geographic brand,” she said.

Currently Lola has a couple photography assignments coming up, as well as travels to China, Tanzania, and more. She is now also a featured contributor at Adventure magazine. “I would love to lead travel photography workshops in the future but need to find the right partners. I have a couple personal projects and ideas in the works too. Overall, I am looking forward to pushing myself and growing as a photographer too.”

Lola’s words of wisdom to aspiring photographers is to specialise and find one’s niche. “The time to be a generalist

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Weapons of ChoiCe

When Lola crossed over from exploring photography as a hobby to pursuing it as a profession, her first DSLR was a small Nikon D40.

“It was a far cry from the gear top photographers were lugging.

But some images I took with that small D40 netted me a couple awards and shortlists, and that was when I realised my craft and technique was more important than my gear. While I’ve certainly upgraded my gear today, I still have that little D40 that opened up this world to me.”

She has stuck with Nikon through the years, and owns Nikon bodies (D750 FX, D700 FX, D300 DX) as well as a ton of Nikkor lenses, including 24-70mm, 70-300mm, 24-300mm, 18-200mm, 50mm, 85mm and 14-24mm. She also has a backup Sony A7 mirrorless camera.

is long gone. The industry is so saturated and to be able to stand out, you need to be able to offer something different.

Try to find your niche and develop that niche. Start building your online presence around your niche so people can start finding you. Plus, the main benefit is that you’ll be focused on what you’re actually passionate about, and that passion will sustain you during the highs and lows,” she concluded.

Find Lola at her blog – www. lolaakinmade.com – and on social media as @LolaAkinmade.

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Pro-Profile

The Wandering Soul I

After quitting her corporate job of over seven years as a software engineer, she took to her passion – travel. She explored india’s vast diversity and began freelance travel writing extensively. Along the way, photography became a critical aspect of her detailed storytelling. Her adventures have taken her to remote and offbeat corners of Mongolia, Turkey, indonesia, Nepal among others. Her work soon began getting published in a variety of publications including National Geographic Traveller, BBC Travel, Travel + leisure, Discover india and The indian express among others. This month we go on a journey with Neelima Vallangi to explore her work, the diversity of india and beyond.

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t was purely by chance that Neelima Vallangi first fell in love with photography. Essentially a traveller, deep in awe of India’s stunning natural diversity, she had the desire to hold on to the fleeting memories of travel, and her interest in photography piqued 8 years ago, when she bought her first semi professional camera for a trip to the Himalayas. Having never handled a professional camera before, she was extremely anxious about shooting in manual mode and ruining her vacation photos. Even though her photography skills then were practically nonexistent, Vallangi was fortunate enough to be in an effortlessly beautiful land like Ladakh, where even an amateur could take a photo and it would turn out quite alright. That encouraging experience

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boosted her confidence and set her on a path that would quite literally take her places later.

When exploring her options as a freelance travel writer four years ago, she took up photography professionally. “It was also by happenstance. Ever since that first published story featuring both my words and images, it has been an exhilarating journey,� she said.

Vallangi identifies as a traveller first and photographer next, and believes that it was perhaps predestined that she falls into this genre. She has always been driven by a curiosity of life elsewhere and lands unknown, and that curiosity has spilled into all aspects of her life, instigating her to leave a stable corporate job of seven years and plunge into the frigid waters of freelancing as a travel photographer and writer.

As Vallangi never actively thought of photography as a career, she did not go looking for a mentor in her early days. But for her the pages of National Geographic and GEO were the biggest sources of

inspiration. She says she also found a lot of inspiration on Flickr, back when it was a thriving medium for serious-amateur and semi-pro photographers to showcase their work, especially in the categories of landscape and travel portraits.

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Having never trained in photography formally, Vallangi says that she is still trying to arrive at a distinct aesthetic, when it comes to her photography. But she is intensely drawn to the overpowering nature of

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wilderness and the raw beauty of pristine environments, which is emphasised a lot in her work in the form of dramatic compositions with a profusion of colours. “At the moment, I would say that perhaps my style reflects more in the subjects I choose rather than the way I present those subjects.”

Vallangi prefers working in locations that haven’t been talked about extensively. So when preparing for a shoot the utmost priority is finding a reliable fixer, be it a guide or a taxi driver or even a guesthouse host, to show her around and let her in on the local secrets.

When zeroing on a story or a destination, she does a lot of research online, looking for tips on interesting and underreported travel stories. “The blogosphere is a great resource for such tipoffs, local bloggers and intrepid travellers are usually one of the first to bring such stories to light before the media picks up on it,” she explained. She also work on a lot of adventure stories, which involves spending weeks in the mountains, cutoff

for Vallangi is not falling into the trap of stereotyping and thinking in clichés.

“Travel photography is especially prone to much repetition due to overexposure and set expectations, whether it is a festival or a community or a destination.

from civilisation. Preparing for those shoots involves training to be in shape so she can climb and still shoot despite the unforgiving altitudes and weather conditions.

The biggest challenge in this genre

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My way of sidestepping this landmine is by looking for stories where no one goes. Therein lie the rewards of working in this field.”

She has been fortunate enough to have camped inside a volcano in Indonesia on a full moon night, spend months in the most surreal pockets of Himalayas, witness surreal festivals with Shamans and strange rituals in Arunachal Pradesh, meet local artisans who are doggedly protecting their ancient art forms in Kerala and watch eternal flames along the Anatolian coast

in Turkey among others. “It is certainly a rare privilege that my work takes me to the most beautiful places on this earth, for which I cannot be grateful enough,” said Vallangi.

In a world where photography is a “boys’ club” and where women have safety concerns when travelling solo, it is evident that female travel photographers face a mix of both of these realities while operating in a patriarchal hegemonic realm. We asked Vallangi if she ever faced any hindrances as a female travel photographer, and she said that

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occasionally it gets hard to have faith in her instincts as a single woman in far-flung locations. During her early days of chasing a story, she recollects feeling extremely uneasy one morning when a bunch of teenagers she had just met in a remote village in Nagaland, offered to take her some place in the hills without telling her any details. “As we climbed through the forest, away from the village,

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my stomach was in knots wondering if I was being taken for a ride. In the end, it turned out they were only trying to surprise me but that incident has left me more cautious about managing shoots in remote locations.” But she says that the incident did not make make her see strangers as less trustworthy. “It was just a good reminder early in my career to assess situations carefully

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before proceeding. Also, as a woman, sometimes it gets difficult to get the men to take me seriously while working in the field in certain communities. At the same time, being a woman also gives me easy access into the homes and lives of other women.”

Vallangi sees post-production as vital step in delivering a high quality final product, an image that is as close to

reality as possible. In travel photography, creating visually striking photographs is a necessity, for which she often shoots during golden hours, revisits a location several times to find optimal shooting conditions and find vantage points with sweeping views. “But since any scene can vary widely just over the course of a single day, such photographs are often viewed with a critical lens suspecting

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digital manipulation. So it is very important to not go overboard with postproduction but it cannot be done away with entirely either,” she explained.

One skill that Vallangi feels is highly underrated is being able to find a good story. “It takes a lot of research to find an angle that’s both empathetic and intriguing at once. This is especially true when working on assignments where a specific story needs to be explored as opposed to destination shoots. I think having the ability to flesh out a story is a huge asset; it can lead to satisfying projects that are insightful and enlightening in some way.”

One of her favourite places she has been to is Mongolia where she got to spend few weeks travelling and camping in the steppes of the country.

Recollecting the experience she said that just being in the expansive landscapes with the long daylight hours was pure magic. A destination on her unfulfilled wishlist is Greenland. “Just the fact that I know so little about it makes me want

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Weapons of ChoiCe

to spend few weeks there learning the way of life of people living in such harsh environment.” Himalayas and Arunachal Pradesh are also two of her favourite destinations where she’s been to several times. “It is a dream for me to spend few months at once in each of these regions and work with the local communities on a long term reporting project.”

Vallangi’s most memorable shots are the ones that were totally unexpected, and one such image is a shot of Milkyway on a full moon night in the Andaman Islands. She was alone on a remote beach that night in absolute darkness. As she was packing up to go back to her hotel, she stole a glimpse of the mesmerising sky. Describing the experience she said, “For very few minutes after the moon rose, the Milkyway was still visible, giving me some unique shots of the moonlit forest under a star-studded sky.” She is also particularly fond of her image of a Shaman inaugurating a tribal festival in Ziro. “My generous local hosts took me to the ceremony and it was

Vallangi practiced compositions on a compact Sony Cybershot for two years before moving to a Canon DSLR for manual controls.

She likes to keep her gear to a bare minimum because she has to carry all her equipment while trekking in mountains or hiking in remote locations. She uses a Canon body with Canon 24-105mm and Tokina wide angle lens and a very light hiking tripod

by Slik. She works with available natural light, so she does not carry any additional lighting equipment.

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such an atmospheric setting with no other travellers around, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. As photographers, don’t we all strive for such moments of exclusivity!”

Vallangi is also interested in documentary photography as a way of accurate and in-depth story telling and is looking forward to merge that with travel photography. Currently she’s working on publishing past photography projects as photo essays and travel features with various publications. “I’ve racked up quite a collection over the years which unfortunately haven’t seen the light of the day yet,” she said.

Her advice to those entering the field of photography is that equipment does not limit photography as a craft.

“You can shoot on a mobile or a film or a digital camera but it is the eye that has to be trained first. It helps to cultivate a complementing skill such as filmmaking or writing to go along with photography. Also, in the initial years it is quite normal to experiment with various

genres and styles of photography but I would implore photographers to follow their hearts and not just the latest fad.

Photography requires you to bring a lot of passion to the field and a subject that won’t stir your emotions will not lead to

work that can in turn stir the viewer’s emotion.”

Readers can explore her travel stories and accompanying photographs at https://neelima.contently.com.

TexT: abhishek desai

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FEATURE

Folie à deux over Triple Talaq Bill

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I

nstant “Triple Talaq” or “Talaq-eBiddat” is an Islamic practice that allows men to divorce their wives immediately by uttering the word “talaq” (divorce) thrice. It is a form of Islamic divorce which has been used by Muslims in India, especially adherents of Hanafi Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence. There are several forms of Talaq of which “Talaq-e-Ahsan” is the ‘most proper’ form of talaq. In this form of divorce, the husband expresses divorce in single sentence - “I have divorced thee” - during the period of Tuhr (when the wife is not menstruating) and then has to wait till the iddat period is over. Iddat period for someone who has been divorced by her husband is usually three monthly periods and during this time, she cannot marry another man. This period is used by most couples as a reconciliation period.

If before the completion of Iddat, the husband resumes co-habitation with his wife or says that “I have retained

Talaq can also be conveyed in writing and many husbands have been known to write a letter, or even send whatsapp or facebook messages to let their

thee”, the divorce is revoked. While there are many forms of Talaq, instant Triple Talaq has come under question the most in recent times. Instant Triple

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spouse know of the divorce.

On 28 December 2017, Lok Sabha passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017. The bill makes instant Triple Talaq (Talaqe-Biddah) in any form — spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp illegal and void, with up to three years in jail for the husband. This decision came about when several muslim women accused their husbands of divorcing them over the phone or message while living abroad for work where they found new partners. The Triple Talaq has reportedly

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been supported by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a non-governmental body that supervises the application of Muslim personal law.

It propagates that the State does not have the right to intervene in religious matters. As many as 22 Muslim majority countries – including Pakistan and Bangladesh – or their provinces have abolished Triple Talaq either explicitly or implicitly.

Several women’s protests have been organised over Instant Triple Talaq decision since 28th December 2017 countrywide and on 31st March

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2018 Mumbai saw one of the biggest gatherings. The protest rally was organised by Women’s Wing Mumbai, in response to the call given by All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). Women protestors gathered by the thousands and “condemned the government’s move to criminalise Talaq and said it is anti-women, anti-children and it will destroy families and damage Muslim society severely.”

Even though the crowd of around 40,000 women attended the event, from all walks of life, it is widely reported that many women were told that the bill is the “first step’’ towards the Uniform Civil Code, that the BJP has long pushed for and were not informed on the finer details.

Following the rally that saw speakers like Dr. Asma Zehra, President of Women’s Wing of AIMPLB, Prof Monisa Bushra Abidi, Advt. Munawwara Alware, Mrs. Arshia Shakeel and likes, the AIMPLB’s Women’s Wing submitted a memorandum to the governor of

Maharashtra with their demands. Prof Monisa Bushra Abidi stated that, “India is a secular democratic country where ‘Right to Freedom of Religion’ is among fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Majoritarian attitude of the

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government in bulldozing this Bill into a piece of legislation is unfortunate. This bill is completely Anti-Muslim and it is not acceptable to Muslim women at all”

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Tips & Techs

10 Unexplored Places in India

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Summer is the time for travel, outings and vacations for most, and for budding photographers it means a great opportunity to do some travel photography. But we have seen most of the popular travel photos of famous monuments, parks, beaches and cities across India. If you’re tired of visiting typically touristy places crowded with photographers clicking from the same angles, then we have a unique list for you. We have jotted down 10 unexplored explored or offbeat places across India that you can visit to capture images that not many others would have. These places though less explored, have also started gaining popularity with wandering souls, so make sure you head there soon to get your perfect shot!

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 Majuli, Assam Located in Assam on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, Majuli is the biggest river island in the world. In 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India. It is definitely a place that one must visit once in their lifetime.

The island spreads over 421.65 square kilometers, and it is one of the must visit places in Assam. The place is only accessible via ferries, that last about an hour long, and can be taken from Jorhat. Mostly tribals inhabit the lands, and Majuli is also one of the potential contenders of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Its highlights are its culture, food and serenity.

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 Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh Situated in Arunachal Pradesh, Ziro is one of the most beautiful places in the North Eastern State. This quaint town is blessed with an aura of its own, and incredible experiences. The place is far away from all the typically touristy places, and is a perfect offbeat destination for you to start with.

Reportedly, it had been shortlisted for inclusion in the Tentative List for further nomination to UNESCO for inscription in the World Heritage Site. The part of the town which is the centre of economic activities and where the administrative offices are located is called as Hapoli or locally known by the Apatanis as “Hao-Polyang”. The best way to experience the town is not as a tourist, but as local. The locals are very friendly and welcome you with all smiles. You can see rice fields and greenery sprawling across large areas. The town also hosts Ziro Music Festival, which could be a good time to try it out.

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 Patan, Gujarat Patan, located in Gujarat, was founded back in 745 AD by Vanraj Chavda, the most prominent king of the Chavda Kingdom. It’s the one of the newest addition to India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. While the place has many beautiful temples, lakes and scenic views, the must see here are the beautiful step wells. Rani ki Vav is the most popular one, and it was built in 11th Century. This majestic step well of Maru-Gurjara architectural style is designed as an inverted temple as obeisance to life-giving water. Patan is is also quite renowned for Patola sarees, and it is known to be one of the finest handmade textiles across the globe.

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 Hemis, J&K When it comes to off-beat places in India, there is no dearth of them in the mountainous regions. Ladakh is one such place, favoured by adventure enthusiasts and thrill-seekers, who plan bike trips with friends. However, there is one place in Ladakh, that is still quite unexplored - Hemis. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, Hemis is a treat to the eyes. The must-visit place in Hemis is undoubtedly Hemis Gompa. Visit this gorgeous monastery and you’re sure to find some peace and tranquility, away from the city.

If you want some adventure, then visit Hemis National Park. This is home to the ever-elusive snow leopard, and if you’re lucky you might just spot one.

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 Spiti, Himachal Pradesh If you are out to visit the offbeat, then you cannot miss the beauty hidden amidst the high altitudes of Himachal Pradesh - Spiti.

Situated at an altitude of 14,931 ft, magnanimous and dynamic barely describe the beauty of this place. Spiti is a must visit spot for adventure seekers, and those who want to get away from the city and escape in the mountains. The large mountains surrounding the valley are usually covered with snow, with patches of green. It offers a combination of trekking, camping and mountain biking, or you can visit the villages of Ki, Kibber, Kaza, to spend some time. There are beautiful monasteries too that one can visit. If nothing else you can just simply take in the larger than life beauty of the mountains.

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 Gandikota, Andhra Pradesh Located in the Kadapa District of the state of Andhra Pradesh is Gandikota.

A small village but home to something majestic - a 300 foot deep gorge.

Known as India’s answer to the Grand Canyon, this huge gorge is said to be carved by the Penna River as a result of erosion of rocks over thousands of years. It’s possible to hike up to the top of the gorge, and the hike is moderately difficult. But once you reach the top, there are some really stunning views overlooking this massive canyon. If you visit here, then don’t miss out on the 13th century Gandikota Fort, a red sandstone citadel with 101 bastions.

The best time to visit here is in the winter months, as the summer months can get really hot for hiking.

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Kaas Plateau, Maharashtra Another hidden beauty that the state of Maharashtra has to offer is Kaas Plateau.

Located about 22kms from Satara, on the Sahyadri Range of the Western Ghats, Kaas Plateau is something you should definitely visit. Go here during the months of August or September, and you will be in view of a 1000 hectare plateau that is layered with hundreds and thousands of beautiful and colourful flowers. While this might not compare to the Himalayan Valley of Flowers, it is definitely enough to titillate one’s Bollywood fantasies of running across fields of beautiful flowers.

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 Radhanagar Beach, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Radhanagar Beach, also known as Beach No. 7 is located in Havelock in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This idyllic beach, though recently getting popular with travellers, is still one of the best beaches you would visit in the South Asian region. The expanse of the white sand beach, with the calm and cool blue waters makes it a must-do. You will be able to get your perfect sunset and beach shots here.

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 Lonar, Maharashtra For readers from the West coast, especially Mumbai, you might think there are hardly unexplored places nearby. But Lonar in Maharashtra will prove you wrong. Located in the Buldhana District of the state, the tiny town of Lonar is home to Lonar Lake which was formed due to a meteorite impact 52,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch. It is the only known hyper velocity impact crater in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth, and is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument. It is located about 500kms away from Mumbai, and the best time to visit here is usually between October-March. This place also has religious significance, as there are some Hindu temples surrounding the lake with legends attached to them.

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 Mawlynnong, Meghalaya Probably one of the most unique places you would visit, Mawlynnong is located in the North Eastern state of Meghalaya. Awarded as the ‘Cleanest Village in Asia’ in 2003, this little village is blessed with breathtaking natural beauty, and is known for its eco-friendly community. There are endless caves and waterfalls and other scenic attractions here to explore, but the most unique thing you will see here are the living root bridges. A true marvelous wonder, there are bridges created out of roots of trees. You can get some wonderful shots of these beautiful structures.

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Tips & Techs

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How to regain inspiration W

e have all felt uninspired at one point of time in our lives and while our first instinct is to blame ourselves and give up, there are a lot of ways to find inspiration in the field of art. In this article we will discuss how one can get back their inspiration to work harder and produce beautiful images again and not give up.

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Use your camera at home Often you will find that the weather, your health or any other factor might come in the way of photography and if this persists long enough many a times, people loose the will to go out and shoot. Everyone who isn’t working in the photography business like us, faces this problem at one point or the other in their lives. The best way to get through it all is to fiddle with your camera at home.

Try shooting how the light changes through the day when you are at home, try shooting still life or slow motion or anything that pleases you. Home is a beautiful place to photograph, try taking pictures of your family or roommates.

This exercise lets you stay in touch with your inner photographer even if you are bound to your house.

Set smaller goals This is a tip for any field of work that you are stuck in. Be it your work, your relationship, your photography – breaking a bigger goal to several smaller

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go for a walk nearby if you don’t have too much time. Street photography is a great genre to practise to feel inspired. If you like wildlife, landscape photography or macro photography go to the nearest wildlife sanctuary or go for a trek on the weekends. This will refresh your mind and help you feel inspired again.

goals help you achieve them easily.

Setting a huge goal that will take years to achieve only make you loose focus and steer away from working towards the goal. Smaller goals are easier to achieve and thus provide the much needed boost to push through. Try and make one photograph a day, then decide on making at least two. Wake up early and go to shoot if you have office in the day or go out after office. It might seem tiring at first but remember why you started photography in the first place – because you love doing it. If you love something, it won’t feel like a chore.

Go outside There will be times when you won’t feel like going out to shoot even though there is no reason not to. Fight with your instincts and take the leap. Pick up your camera and go out. There is no better alternative to going out of your house as it makes for a refreshing change of pace. Once you are out of the comfort of your home you will feel much better. Start shooting,

Travel That brings us to our next pointer.

Travelling can bring back inspiration to shoot like magic. Travelling is a great way to unwind and relax but it is also a great way to find inspiration. Many teenagers travel around the world before starting college as it provides a safe atmosphere for the person to find himself or herself.

Booking a ticket to a picturesque place can immediately make you want to start shooting again. Places like Varanasi, West Bengal, Meghalaya etc are quite popular amongst photographers in India and there is a slight chance you might get to know some new photographers on this journey as well!

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Shoot everyday Making a habit of shooting everyday will ensure that you stay focussed on your hobby. Like any hobby, you get better at what you practise. Shooting everyday will help you hone your skills and when you see positive results, it will further inspire you to shoot. The little effort you put in everyday will help you go out and

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shoot again the next day. Photography is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Keeping at it is the only way to ensure that you get great pictures. Going out one day in a month won’t help and you will feel uninspired if that one day does not produce good results. Going out everyday will help you get more number of good photographs.

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Take up another hobby along with photography Sometimes taking up another hobby for a while also helps. Now, this might not help everyone but some people have said that sometimes, getting away from photography has helped them get back to it again. Anything from stamp collecting to chess to any outdoor

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games can help you shift your mind and concentration from photography for a few days. After a few days or weeks you should yourself feel like going out with your camera since that has been your passion and liking all along.

Gather knowledge Looking at other

photographer’s

work, reading about them and their life can also motivate you to get back to shooting again. Make the internet your friend and research how other photographers shoot, how they edit and select photographs, what they research about etc. There are so many great documentaries on photographers, photojournalists etc

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on the internet. You can go out and buy their books as well. Look at your friends’ work and your colleagues’ work as well. While it is good to draw inspiration from other people’s work, make sure you do not end up emulating their work or style.

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TexT: souradeep roy

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TIPS & TECHS

FIRST TRAVEL T

ravelling can be a lot of fun when you do it alone, or are with your family and close ones on a vacation. But travel photo tours can be quite different from the traditional vacation. In this article we will discuss a few things to keep in mind when going for your first travel photo tour.

What is a travel photo tour?

Googling “Travel photo tours� will open up thousands of pages with several photographers and photography websites offering this tour package. This tour is a unique way to travel to places for a photographer who does not wish to go into the intricacies of doing deep research and instead are more comfortable to turn the journey into a learning experience. These tours include expert photographers who take you around a certain city or location and mentor you in photographing a wide array of subjects ranging from landscapes to city life to monuments etc.

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L PHOTO TOUR

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What is the purpose?

The sole purpose of travel photo tours is to learn while travelling.

Travelling provides a great opportunity to face multiple challenges in terms of shooting different genres like landscape, architecture, cityscapes, macro and so on. These tours also give you a chance to learn from your favourite photographers as you get to accompany them and learn their techniques while they shoot. These first hand experiences help a lot when you are very new to photography and is a much better and fun way to learn compared to learning from the internet or learning in a classroom setting. While in a classroom you will learn the theories quite well, their application and use can only be learnt once you start shooting.

What should you learn before you take the trip?

There are three levels of photography tips – Beginner, intermediate and advanced. You should pick the one that suits you best. If you are completely new,

something just for this trip. If you have a camera and a kit lens, just get that. It’s not the last opportunity you are going to get to take a tour like this. If there are opportunities to borrow equipment from a friend then we suggest getting a mid range zoom, a telephoto zoom and a wide zoom lens to cover the entire spectrum. Carrying a tripod and a flash can also help when shooting in the night or shooting backlit subjects respectively.

then take the beginner course. If you know the basics of photography such as how to set exposure, how to frame, how to use your camera then take the intermediate tours. Take the advanced photography tour only if you have been photographing for a long time, know a lot about the theory of photography and want to sharpen your skills as a photographer. Learning the basics is always helpful. Exposure triangle – Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO are the basics that you should absolutely learn before going on these trips. The more you know from beforehand, the easier it is to concentrate on things like framing, setting up a shot etc which will yield better results photographically for your trips.

What gear should you carry?

Most photo tour websites and most expert photographers avoid this question since many fanatics end up buying expensive equipment without thinking. So, the best advice is to carry what you have. Do not invest on

What are the types of travel photo tours?

There are several types of travel photo tour options available to photographers. Depending on the difficulty level and depending on the genre you like shooting, you can select from a wide range of photo tours. These tours can be anywhere between a one day trip to a week or month long tour as well. Several photographers provide a quick one day trip to places near the city for a small amount of money to a group of photographers teaching them the basics of photography and helping them

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shoot using the newly taught methods.

Wildlife tours usually last for 3-4 days or even a week or two depending on where you are being taken. Many wildlife photographers might take you to places in Africa or landscape photographers might take you to places like Greenland etc for longer periods of time. You need to understand where you stand – photography skillwise - to find out the best tour options for you.

Talk to the expert and explain to him or her how much you know and he or she can suggest the best options for you.

How to make the most of the trip?

Now that you have booked your trip, you have set off on your first photography tour, how do you make the most of it? Patience is an important part of these tours. Many photographers get impatient when the expert teaches something you already know to the other members. Be patient and listen carefully. An expert has been working on the field for a long time and will divulge certain information from what he or she has experienced. These small things are what you are here for.

Make sure to take notes of anything you feel is important. Take notes of the things that you learn and try and shoot accordingly on the trip. Try and be different from the group. Shooting the same subject from a different angle, point of view or even a different setting can impress the expert photographer and help you on your photography journey. Try and experiment as much as you can, ask questions if you have doubts. Remember that everyone has a learning curve and this trip is a great opportunity for you to learn.

Selecting final edit Select a few good photographs every night when you get back to your accommodation and edit them. Ask the expert to review the images and show him or her your entire day’s work to see which photos he or she thinks should make it to the final edit. This will help you understand the aesthetics of photography and help you differentiate a good photograph from a bad one.

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Tips & Techs

Lenses to consider when beginning travel photography F

or most of us, taking a vacation and travelling means a lot of fun and a lot of images too. Yes we know how much people love to take pictures of be in one. This is same for almost everyone unless you are the kind of person who is more involved in taking the picture rather than being in it.

As DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have become very popular among consumers now, the overall quality of the images have also increased. If you are someone who is a pure photography enthusiast or a serious hobbyist, you will need a range of suggested lenses to take your travel photos to a whole new level. In this article we will talk about the most common lenses and focal lengths that would cover pretty much everything under the sky.

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Before we dive into details, it is necessary to know that travel and photography go hand in hand and so as cameras and lenses. The better cameras you have, the better the lenses need to be to complement the quality of the cameras. Also lenses can be expensive especially the ones which have a wider focal length or wide open apertures.

This makes the choice of lenses a bit confusing but there are ample options from most manufacturers to suffice your needs.

To begin with we shall consider the basic lenses first The kit lens The kit lens of any DSLR or mirrorless camera is by far the most usable lens and the cheapest among all. Most

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cameras come with a kit lens as option.

However lenses like the 18-55mm or the 16-50mm lenses which are commonly supplied as kit with mirrorless and DSLR cameras, have one drawback which is the available focal range. For crop sensor cameras, the 16 or 18mm focal length roughly translated to 24m to 28mm and around 75-80mm on the long end in 35mm effective focal length. Now if you consider the range it is not too wide and neither long. So there is little you can do. Also kit lenses usually come with narrow apertures of f/3.5 to up to f/5.6 which is not the widest of apertures. This will not allow you to shoot in extreme low light situations and also restrict the background out of focus rendition. To make these lenses a bit more usable, manufactures have made kit lenses which range from 18mm to up to 135mm.

These 18-135mm lenses are similar to kit lenses in terms of aperture range but the focal length is longer making it more versatile with a notch of better optics. The longer end will also allow you

same applied for Full-Frame cameras where the kit lens ranges from 24mm to up to 120mm. The aperture is usually a constant f/4 but the overall optical quality of the lenses and images rendered are better than the kit lenses form APSC cameras.

to take portraits as the longer end will have a better background out of focus rendition. Also, you will have the benefit from stabilisation that comes built in with such kit lenses. So an 18-135mm lens will make your choice of lenses simple and keep the weight minimum. The

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The Primes The prime lenses are the holy sanctum for every photographer, be it a beginner who is more amazed by the ‘Bokeh’ and those who consider its optical quality rather than considering it only for making bokeh images. The prime lenses with focal lengths of 35mm and 50mm are the most used primes. The 35mm focal length is slightly wide but still allows you to go closer to your subject. The 50mm focal length is considered to be a normal focal length when used with a full frame camera. The 35mm lens roughly translated to 50mm focal length and is perfect focal length for a crop sensor camera. The prime lenses allow you to take close up photos without having too much in the background. The wide open aperture helps you to eliminate distractions from the background simply by throwing it

the better the glass, the bigger the lens and the higher the price. But you will have enough budget friendly options to choose from when buying a prime lens.

For travel photography, the prime lens can be a go-to portrait lens.

out of focus. The optical quality even from the cheapest prime lenses is very acceptable, especially if you are a beginner. The apertures differ from f/2 to up to f/1.2 for some professional primes. However, the wider the aperture,

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The wide angle lenses Now this is the main part of travelling, i.e. taking images of the location and landscapes of the places you visit. The most useful lenses in there scenarios are the wide angle lenses.

Wide angle lenses will allow you to take much wider shots than a regular kit lens or a 24mm lens which is also considered as a standard wide lens. The wide lenses usually differ in focal ranges but most of them begin at 10mm to 24mm for crop sensor camera compatible lenses and 16mm to up to 35/40mm for full frame

lenses. Some wide lenses also come with wider apertures of f2.8 which makes them even more capable in shooting at low light situations. The downside of wide angle lenses is their price for some pro quality lenses and the total weight.

Wide lenses are designed to pack more optics inside and hence add to their own weight.

However manufacturers have designed light lenses with narrower apertures which needs less complex optics but still delivers quality.

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The all-in-one zoom lenses These are by far the most tempting lenses when looking for lenses that would do it all.

The all-in-one zoom lenses are made in such a way that they can go both wide and pretty much long enough to meet your telephoto lens needs.

The all-in-one zoom lenses are common from most camera and lens makers and are quite useful when you have one. The sheer happiness of not having to change lenses when shooting and being able

to take a wide and telephoto image with the same lens. These type of lenses have good quality optics and stand between being too cheap and too expensive. The options would range from crop sensor camera compatible lenses to full-frame compatible lenses. In short your money would be rightly invested if you opt for an all-in-one lens. However if you have special needs or do not want a lens that does it all, its not mandatory to buy one.

For beginners, these lenses are a really good choice.

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TexT: mrinmoy choudhury

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Tips & Techs

Culture through travel photography T

ravel photography is different for different people. Some like to capture monuments, whereas others like to shoot majestic landscapes.

However, the common element that stays is that we as photographers go to usually foreign or unfamiliar places and capture them with our cameras. We capture the beauty of the places, but we also capture an essence of the culture.

This month we explore how culture can be documented through travel and

street photography, its nuances, from being respectful of a culture to getting into the details and beyond.

The local perspective When we travel to places, we are usually after all tourists. We often visit a place multiple times and inch closer to seeing the place more like a local. This is the key to capturing the essence of the culture, seeing like a local.

Once your perspective is that of a

local, you are able to get to the intricate issues or facets of the culture, that a tourist would often overlook. In many countries or cities that are typically popular with tourists like New York, Paris or London, the shots of Times Square, Eiffel Tower and London Eye are done to death. What would be more interesting is to see this city like a local, and capture the unseen, unheard and the underground.

This is even more important in countries or cities that are not explored as much. You will always find postcard shots of sunsets, sunrises, monuments etc. But go that extra mile, speak to as many locals as you can, do that extra research and find out the intricacies of living there. The local customs, traditions, food, way of life, and capture that.

Sense and sensibility While you plan to see like a local and get into the details to document a culture with street and travel photography, the most important tool you will need is cultural awareness. Until you are able to respect the diverse cultures and traditions across the globe from one location to another, you will not be able to capture the culture truly. The first and foremost aspect of this is understanding that photography is in not seen the same way in one culture as it is in another. Certain cultures might be open to photography of subjects, places and people, whereas others might be more conservative and it might be frowned upon. You should take the effort to understand this, instead of dismissing it, and work your way accordingly.

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For example, photography in North Korea is very complicated.

The country is very wary about how they are propagated through pictures clicked there, and one is not allowed to photograph certain things. Beyond that, the culture of photography in North Korea is such that, people are known to often frown at you, if captured unaware.

As they consider being photographed an occasion, and hence being captured candidly is not taken positively. You have to be aware of these aspects of cultures and respect them as well.

The fact that you are able to capture and experience such interesting scenes, cultures and people is a big gift in itself.

So it is undeniable that you should be respectful of the people who belong to that culture or location. Street photography rules vary from country to country, so make sure you check into that when you do your research about the location. It is always a good idea to ask people before clicking their picture, and if asked kindly, people are always ready to pose. Sometimes as a kind gesture, you can also offer to send them

their pictures, via post or email.

Another important aspect is being aware of what you photograph and how you portray the culture through your pictures. Photography is a very powerful tool, and your pictures can carve an image of the culture. This does not mean always capturing a culture is positive light, but it means that your pictures are shot free from biases, prejudices or xenophobia. While reality of being absolutely and completely free of any biases and prejudices might be nearly impossible, you should strive to achieve it.

Get into the details Now that we have spoken about awareness, it’s time for you to explore further. The beauty of travel is getting the chance to dive into foreign culture and experience things you have not experienced before. It’s often easy to skim a culture from top and only focus on aspects that are popular and widely known. It takes a keen eye to go beyond the surface to dig deeper into the intricacies of a culture. When you are able

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to capture the finer details and the nuances of a culture, is when you are able to do justice to the place.

Being able to get into the details and capture them requires a keen eye and a creative perspective.

Whether it is the seemingly monotonous nature of life in a tiny village, or a never before seen colourful and intriguing custom, you should be able to reign your camera to capture these aspects in a unique way, showcasing the details. You can employ your photography skills like various compositional techniques, trying different shooting angles etc, that will highlight the details, and capture the essence of the culture.

Going beyond While it is important to get to the attention to detail, it’s also essential that your photography also has something

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embrace that and translate it into fantastic photography, that will truly make you successful in travel photography.

You should be able to go beyond simplistic shots that are clicked aimlessly pointing anywhere. Your images should be able to reflect a sense of understanding of a culture’s aesthetics. They should be able to speak about a location’s beauty or harshness, about the temperament of its people, and exude a sense of wonder from the viewers.

These are some of the critical points you can take into consideration when documenting a culture through travel and street photography. When you travel to places you get a unique opportunity to experience and photograph some of the most wonderful things across the globe.

Make sure you make the most of it!

unique. Sometimes some places and cultures, and their traditions, might seem shocking or outrageous to your sensibilities, or simply seem basic or monotonous, but it is your ability to

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Tips & Techs

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n most of the cases with digital photography, users have the option to select the output file and its file format for the final images. The most common of the formats is ‘JPEG’ and is represented by a ‘.jpg’ extension after its filename. The JPEG files out of the camera is more than enough if you are shooting family pictures or may be a vacation, but if you intend to extract more details out of your pictures, you will have to shoot the images in a format which will record and retain more information on the camera’s sensor. There are many advantages to shooting RAW some of which we have pointed below.

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More tonal range and brightness The overall tonal range recorded by The RAW image format is very wide and you will record the entire usable tonal range in the scene. Tonal range of an image represents the amount of contrast, or detail, in the image and is determined by the image’s distribution of pixels,

ranging from the darkest pixels (black) to the lightest pixels (white). This allows you to later do post production bring out the maximum true to the real scene details in the images.

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More room for error correction Digital cameras are always forgiving allowing you to

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High quality file output The RAW files out of the camera record the most amount of light and details from the scene. The information of colour is recorded in its most true format and the files are very heavy which means you can shoot less number of images in the same card with JPEG files. There is an option to capture both RAW and JPEG file formats for the same image which will allow you to view JPEG files easily on camera or transfer for social media sharing.

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take as many as images until you feel satisfied with one. Shooting in RAW format makes you a lot more confident in case you have messed up the exposure or the white balance. All parameters like distortion correction, aberration corrections, noise reduction etc work better on RAW files simply because there is far more detail and information about the colour than a JPEG file.

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Adjusting the White Balance In a very plain definition, White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the “colour temperature� of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. When you take the image of a person or object in a certain light, say a yellow light bulb, the image rendered is yellow in colour because of the light falling on the subject. Now if you instruct your camera to account for the white balance it will adjust the colour to normal white light and make the image look true in colour.

In most cases we tend to keep the WB in auto which work well for most cases.

But in RAW image format, you do not have to worry about setting the white balance for every image and leave it in auto WB. Later during post production, you will get the chance to fix or change the white balance of the image and fine tune it to get the correct colours.

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More detail and no loss This is what we have mentioned again and again.

The RAW image format is able to read and store the maximum amount of information in the file. This allows you to edit the images with maximum available details from the shadows and highlights making the images very close to the true scene. There is almost no or very minimal losses when editing RAW images.

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Better colours and printing RAW files may look a bit dull when viewed directly out of camera, but the details and amount of information stored is maximum. The colours are recorded in their most true output and later post production can bring out the best colours in the image. This applied very true when you are someone who takes pleasure in printing images and store them for long. Printing such images becomes a good deal as the printer will be able to print better details in the image as the file has all the colour information stored. However you have to edit a RAW file first and then take up the printing to get the most out of the files.

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• Bigger file size RAW image files tend to be heavy, some cameras with higher megapixel count will produce RAW files till 30 MB or even more. This makes it difficult of the camera to handle and sometimes the cards used need to be of higher writing speeds. So you will get to store less number of images in RAW format as opposed to JPEG images. This creates the need of having faster and more number of high capacity memory cards. High speed memory cards are demanded by professionals and are bit expensive when compared to lower speed memory cards.

• Slower to operate This is one main issue with shooting RAW files. The overall speed of the camera goes down and is completely dependent on the camera, its buffer and the write speed of the card. So the overall performance of the camera takes a minor hit when it comes to shooting RAW. In case you are using a pro level camera, your camera will have a bigger buffer to allow shooting more number of images, but then again the buffer will fill up slowing down the continuous shutter speed. So as a whole, shooting RAW will decrease your camera’s speed to an extent. Not something you should worry about much.

TexT: mrinmoy choudhury

These are by far the most common explanations and advantages for using RAW file image format while shooting images. However shooting in RAW always has its won cons too and its important to know about too.

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• Needs processing Raw files need processing which is necessary. RAW files are like digital negatives which have to be processed to get the maximum details out of it. So if you are doing something that would require smaller file sized images, you will have to shoot in JPEG mode to get smaller files and also to allow easy transfer of the images from the camera to a device.

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Tips & Techs

How to colourise old pHotograpHs

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olourising old photographs can be really fun and interesting as well as invaluable to your family. Old photographs can be landscapes, portraits or just your family photographs. With the advancements in technology, it has become quite easy to colourise black and white photos

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and it is only going to get easier with more advancements.

Many old films have been colourised as well and people have received it quite well too! In this article we will discuss ways to colourise old photographs using Photoshop. While this might not be the perfect colourisation, it comes quite close to it.

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Step 1 Open your black and white image in Photoshop. Select a part of the image that you will like to colour using one of the many ways to select an area – Magic wand, quick selection tool or polygonal lasso tool.

Step 2 Go to the bottom right corner and click on new adjustment/fill layer and select solid colour. Since we selected the water, use the colour blue.

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Step 3 Select the ‘Normal’ tab beside the opacity tab and change it to either ‘Hard Light’ or ‘Soft Light’ or ‘Linear Light’. You can choose any of the other ones depending on the image.

Then change the opacity to mix the colour well with the old photograph.

You can also play around with the ‘Fill’ to see what suits your image best.

Step 4 We then select the reflection of the hills and colour it blue using the same technique. This time however, we use the ‘Refine Edge’ tool for the top part of the hills since there are trees and the borders of the selection will be uneven. Use it according to your needs by using the ‘Smart Radius’ on the ‘Edge detection’ panel.

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Step 5 Follow the same steps for the mountains, the sky and the wooden dock as well.

While the mountains and greenery might not be perfect since the edges are not always selected well, it might prove to be a bit difficult to colourise landscapes but family photographs are much easier as there are clearly defined borders to them.

Here is a family photo that I colourised

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TEXT: SOURADEEP ROY

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REVIEW

PricE

99 `14od9y,9 only) (B `172,999 )

(Body + grip

Fujifilm X-H1

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The Fujifilm X-H1 is the recently launched flagship X Series mirrorless camera, sitting above both the X-T2 and X-Pro2 in the range of Fujifilm mirrorless cameras. As you would expect for a camera aimed at serious enthusiast photographers, pros and videographers alike, the X-H1 features a 24.3MP APS-C X-Trans III CMOS, and a host of comprehensive features, including in-body image stabilisation which is a first for a Fujifilm camera. We recently got our hands on the new camera and put it through the tests. Read the full review to find out how it fared!

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Look, body and Feel The Fujifilm X-H1 is a camera that is designed and aimed at serious enthusiasts and professionals. The X-H1 is both dust-proof and water-resistant, while also being designed to operate in temperatures as low as -10C. The X-H1 camera body has magnesium alloy used for the shell is 25% thicker than that used in the X-T2, and it sports a highquality scratch-resistant coating.

The design of the X-H1 is a fusion of the X-T2 and the medium-format GFX 50S when you see it from the top, with the most notable feature taken from the latter camera being the pronounced handgrip. This gives a much more satisfactory grip in the hands especially if you’re going to be shooting over long periods.

Another feature carried from the medium format Fujifilm GFX 50S is the 1.28-inch LCD on the top of the camera. It displays all key shooting information like settings, number of images remaining, card used and battery status indicator, but it does come at the expense of the dedicated exposure compensation dial.

To make things easy to use, there is a little exposure compensation button next to the shutter release. The controls of the X-H1 are quite similar to the X-T series, with dedicated dials for ISO and shutter speed (both featuring locking buttons to prevent accidental movement, along with switches for drive modes and metering coupled in the same dials which can be turned and feature a click action for every change you make. The X-H1 is highly customisable, with the segments of the four-way control pad on the rear, as well as the dedicated function buttons, all capable of being assigned different functions via the menu.

The X-H1 benefits from a small focus lever, while there’s now a dedicated AF-On button on the rear of the camera for back-button focusing, a technique many photographers swear by – although if we’re being hypercritical its positioning could do with shifting about 5mm to the right so the thumb falls more naturally on it.

Apart from these changes, the newly designed shutter mechanism is a lot quieter and smooth. The electronic shutter can be discreet and make no

and an ‘F-log’ shooting mode. There’s also a new ETERNA film simulation setting which Fujifilm reckons is ideal for shooting movies which simulates the look of cinematic film, creating understated colours and rich shadow tones. The X-H1 gets a bigger electronic viewfinder with 3.69 million-dot OLED unit, although the magnification is down from 0.77x to 0.75x.

noise at all.

The Fujifilm X-H1 now has improved video recording capabilities over the other offerings in the X series line-up. Along with offering 4K recording (3840 x 2160) at 30p, the X-H1 also offers DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) at up to 24p, and being capable of shooting at up to 120p in Full HD. Fujifilm has also doubled the bit rate on the X-H1 over the X-T2, increasing it from 100Mbps to 200Mbps

Sample Image

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Sample Image

ISO, performance and image quality The camera shoots 8fps with mechanical shutter, but the X-H1 can shoot at a faster rate of 14 fps if you opt to use the electronic shutter (for 27 raw files), while should you add the optional VPB-XH1 battery grip to the mix, the burst rate increases to a fast 11fps with the mechanical shutter.

The battery grip adds more weight and mass to the body of the camera but it surely becomes a charm to hold for long periods. The body looks chunky along with the grip and has the capacity to hold three fully charged batteries i.e. one inside the camera body and two inside the battery grip. The battery grip can be charged separately or when attached to the camera by a power adapter. To charge the battery inside the body of the camera you can simply swap the battery and put it inside the battery grip in case you forget to carry your battery charger.

With the Fujifilm X-H1 using the same 24.3MP X-Trans III CMOS sensor as other

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vivid colour reproduction of The Velvia simulation. In a nutshell, these images straight out of cameras are way better than editing RAW images for hours.

Dynamic range is amazingly stored and you can recover most of details in RAW files during post-processing.

X Series cameras, image quality doesn’t disappoint at all. As we have seen with the other Fujifilm cameras, the sensor does an excellent job of resolving detail, while the colours recorded are hard to be false.

While the ISO range compared to some other cameras seems a bit of a downer, the X-H1 makes up for this with how well it handles the noise. Images shot at the lower end of the sensitivity range display almost clean you’ll have to look really closely for signs of noise and artefacts. It is only when you hit ISO 3200 that the noise starts to appear, while at ISO 6400 and ISO 12,800 you’ll start to see colours become a little less saturated, and colour noise becomes more pronounced along with loss of details. The X-H1 features film simulation filters like the previous X-series cameras, including the new ETERNA mode that’s aimed at video shooters. These modes can produce some lovely results like the Acros Monochrome Mode and the

Conclusion The X-H1 is Fujifilm’s most advanced X Series camera to date without question, along with a range of new and refined features. These include the arrival of IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation), a brilliant high-resolution EVF, advanced 4K video capture, touchscreen control, and an all-round tougher build, the X-H1 is definitely a camera to look for.

Although there are a few cameras which directly enter the X-H1 territory with bigger sensor and more usable features, the X-H1 still holds its grounds when it comes to a reliable, fast and performance focussed mirrorless camera.

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ISO Performance

ISO 100

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Sample Image

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Look, body and feel rating ` Absolute stunner, great design, amazing to hold grip

Performance rating ` Great images out of camera, film simulation modes and updated video features.

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Overall rating

` A great camera to buy for both enthusiasts and for professionals for daily use or a second camera body.

Good range of lenses. Great battery life with the additional battery grip.

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TEXT and imagEs: mrinmoy choudhury

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PHOTOSCAPE

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Name: Kinsuk Das Camera Model: Nikon D7000 Aperture: f/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec Focal Length: 52mm ISO: NA

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Name: Rahul Sharma Camera Model: Nikon D5200 Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec Focal Length: 55mm ISO: 1600

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PHOTO-MONTAGE

Montage

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Send your entry to asianphotographyindia@gmail.com and tell us why we should feature it

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Gudhi Padva (Marathi, Konkani) Is a spring-time festival that marks the traditional new year for Marathi people. It is celebrated by all the Maharashtrains on the first day of the Chaitra month to mark the beginning of the new year according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar. The word Padwa comes from the Sanskrit word Pratipada, which refers to the first day of a lunar fortnight. The festival is observed with colourful floor decorations called Rangoli, a special Gudhi (flag garlanded with flowers, mango and neem leaves, topped with upturned silver or copper vessel), street processions, dancing and festive foods. A notable sight during Gudhi Padwa at every household. Signifying victory or achievement. The whole arrangement is hoisted outside each household, typically to the right, or through a window or terrace. It is visible to everybody. Villages or neighbourhoods also come together and host a community Gudhi Kavad, which they carry together to the local Shiva temple. Some temples are located on the top of hills, and groups work together to help reach the kavad to the top.

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-Yamini Krishna 94 - AsianPhotography april 2018

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