Story of Faces and Races Zubin Balaporia

Seeking Guidance When Seeking Guidance, the Answers Must Always Come From Above.

FACES & RACES By Zubin Balaporia

The idea behind a great photograph is that it must tell a story. Technique and skill are secondary. First, one has to spot and capture a moment and that moment must “speak” to the viewer. Zubin iterated, “For me, interesting faces & races immediately tell a story.”

By traveling around the world, he enjoys meeting, talking and photographing “real” people, those who are not famous or well known. They may not be high achievers or famous personalities, but through their faces, they display character and always have nicer and interesting stories to tell.

So, it all started at the ripe old age of 45, when Zubin was on a trip in Germany with his friend, Subir Chatterjee, who is a brilliant photographer and professional film maker. While watching Subir photographing, it struck him as to how much his skill, technique and knowledge impacted his photography. This began to arouse a mild curiosity in Zubin and before long he was shooting wildly on an iPhone 4.

Being an adventurous traveller, his next trip was a solo expedition to the Amazon. Then, he began to learn, read and study photography with a new Sony Rx-100 Mk II. Post the Amazon trip, he decided to get himself a better camera, therefore, he bought a Nikon D810 and a Nikkor 24-70mm lens. In 2016, he began to professionally print his photographs and the idea to do an exhibition was born. His first exhibition in 2018 was called “Blessed by the Light” and a few more have followed.

This amazing series, titled “Faces and Races” is something Zubin wanted to do for quite a while. He added, “To document honest people in their natural surroundings and tell a story is all I want the observer to embrace. Hopefully through my photographs, the viewer will find himself or herself, teleported to the very places, faces and races that I have had the pleasure of visiting and photographing.”

Zubin’s tryst with photography started very late in life. By profession he has and always will be a musician. But to him, music and photography are like two long lost siblings. Composing, arranging and producing good music is akin to composing and taking a great photograph. According to him, “Though music will always be my first passion – photography is becoming a very close second and these days I find myself working more on my photographs than my music.”

Zubin Balaporia has performed as a Keyboardist for over 30 years. He is a full-time founding member of the cult Indian Rock band INDUS CREED. Touring the world has given him the opportunity to visit many strange towns which have fuelled a wanderlust. Through the lens and his photographic prints, he would like his pictures to teleport viewers to the very places & faces that he himself has visited. www.zubinbalaporiaphotography.com zubinbalaporia

The Old Lady of Temisgam

The Old Woman of Kanji

Wrinkled Story

Joyous Monk A young boy monk in Punakha monastery in Bhutan is happy to be part of my photographic journey, as continues on his.

Appy Monk After a long session of meditation, a monk in Bhutan looks quite happy, whilst enjoying a chilled juice.

Naga Warrior from the Yimchunger Tribe

Naga Warrior from the Chang Tribe

Naga Warrior from the Angami Tribe

Shroud

Reminisce

Sasan Girl

Reverence A nun in a monastery in Thimphu is deep in prayer as she walks with her prayer wheel around the compound. Deep faith and reverence are a part of her spiritual life.

The Matriarch of Dah

The Weekend Photographer: John Van Put (2012)

The Weekend Photographer by John Van Put was published in the year 2012 by New Holland Publishers Australia. The author states clearly that he is not a professional photographer, although it might provide a distinction without a difference.

In the introduction part of the book, the author confirms photography as an essential part of his life. It’s one of the greatest forms of escapes from the day-to-day activities of his everyday job.

The author is a weekend photographer who states that he is his own critic. The manner in which the work is conducted or considered is not commanded by anyone else. Eventually, this can become a significant source of income for someone else’s expectation, but the author would lose the very basic principle for what he currently enjoys doing.

At the outset, John Van Put makes it clear of him not being a professional photographer or a profession he wished to pursue on a full-time basis. As the name suggests, he enjoys capturing photographs on weekends unless he is on a prolonged holiday.

Along with this, he captures photos for himself just for the fun of it and that is what the author wants to aim at all its readers.

John Van Put had an eye for the dramatic shots. Most of his photos are taken while he is traveling abroad in Washington DC, Florence, Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Paris, Niagara Falls, and Baltimore.

Luckily, he was one of the greatest fortunes of living in an area equipped with world-class photographers. None other than Sydney. According to the author, the environments of Sydney are one of the significant subjects that contribute to most of his photos in the book.

The book is thematically organized into various chapters that focus on Seascapes, Night Landscapes, High Definition Range, Nature, Monochrome, Storms, and Sunsets.

The book provides a nice gist of all the captured photographs by him that helps the reader with all the shooting information in it. Most of them just have exposure settings. He has used relatively expensive and high-end gears for capturing marvellous photos. For example, the Canon EOS 5D Mark ll.

The book, in general, focuses on how the dramatic shots were captured and involved brief information about the postprocessing tasks. A dramatic shot cannot be clicked simply just by going outside, processing software, High Dynamic Range photography is some of the essential requirements to capture such images.

However, it seems that there is a significant omission on the part of the image-making process. Indeed, considered as an integral part of how these images were made. John Van Put has made sure to include minimum text possible. Wherever the text is, it focuses on how the photographer approached the challenges of capturing in that particular location. However, the text might not provide you with any detail that may enhance your own shooting.

The Weekend Photographer by John Van Put (2012) is kind of a book that may or may not be liked by every type of photographer, but it focuses on plenty of examples of capturing in dramatic locations, especially on weekends. The book also provides you with some insights into the decisions that went into every photograph.

Last but not least, depending upon your photographic taste, almost all the images are heavily processed mainly with the usage of High Definition Range. For sure, it may offer a person with a positive or a negative side towards the same.

Nishad Kinhikar nishad@chiiz.com

Nishad Kinhikar, is a 21-years-old budding engineer, passionate world citizen, and a youthful individual looking to innovate and inspire all with his sweet words. “Aiming to Bring the change, one step at a time,” he quoted. nishadkinhikar4