FRAME AUG, 2019 | 01
Interview
R
TARUN VISHWA
iew ev
PUS M Y OL OUGH T
6 G T
I THRIVE UNDER PRESSURE &
THAT IS WHO I AM. Photofeature / Cover NIHARIKA
ONE STOP SOLUTION TO ALL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY NEEDS.
O-9, Block O, Veer Savarkar Marg Lajpat Nagar 2, New Delhi 011 40451074, 8826268119/029 www.gppro.in And more.
FRAME CONTENT PHOTO FEATURE
Niharika Singh Dalal INTERVIEW
Tarun Vishwa REVIEW
Olympus Tough TG-6
FOREWARD
आते हैं ग़ैब से ये मज़ामीं ख़याल मे ं ‘ग़ािलब’ सरीर-ए-ख़ामा नवा-ए-सरोश है Two decades ago when it all started I was shuffling between the role of a photographer who was learning and a teacher would loved to share. My inspiration was always the sound of the heart and vision of my future where we could be more than just a ‘self’. What started with five of us as core members is now a 100 member strong. ‘PhotoCommune’ owns its existence and success to our members who believe in following their hearts and a bigger supporting group who keep us inspired to explore, discover and share. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new venture ‘FRAME’ a visual archive of our journey. We hope for your continuous love and support in the days to come.
Idris Ahmed
PHOTO FEATURE
I THRIVE UNDER PRESSURE &
THAT IS WHO I AM. Featuring NIHARIKA SINGH DALAL | By Monica Jha
Just like life sometimes there are no roads to walk, even when you are aware that sky isn’t your limit. The earth could be an unsafe haven but silently awaits loving depths of the seas. We might believe that we are made of absolutes but there is absolutely more to life than what it might seem. More fulfilment in becoming who we want to be, irrespective of how surreal it might seem or how flimsy the start once is. “I venture into anything that I get intrigued by, sometimes it works other times it doesn’t. I am extremely comfortable with talking about failure, even my own. When you fall off a 330-kilo bike on a deserted road, a hundred things can go wrong yet one has to be calm and patient. You have to rise even if it means pain and hurt, or when you ascend into the deep seas you have to be physically and mentally present. Any pressure can have a totally perfect endeavor wasted.
PHOTO FEATURE
“People pointing out that I am a female
We definitely had situations where he was a
rider is the only real problem I have faced.
‘strict’ father. As time went by we got closer
My mind doesn’t register my gender as a
and taught each other, just like friends. In
criterion when I try things I put my mind to.
fact, when I was studying law it was him who
The roads don’t know nor do the bikes, it is
pushed me to pursue what he had seen me
the zeal and strength of an individual that
grow doing. He gave me the confidence to
makes a journey happen.
choose to build on who I really was. I left law and chose design soon after.”
Where you come from or where to want to go are secondary. Thrill is a choice and
When we surrender into the unknown, we
adventure is what life means to me. Be it
uncover a side of us that we might have never
challenges that a tough road summons or
believed to exist. We learn how to celebrate
the darkness that unknown depths of the
ourselves and to respect each other.
sea brings, I thrive under pressure and that is who I am.”
“It is in our nature as human beings to maneuver and explore the world inside
Contrary to popular belief that describes
and around. Some abide by roles and some
men in real unattractive light, helpless
make their own, leaving behind a story
and incompetent as a nurturer, my father
which is unique and profound in its own
has played the role of both parents. Most
right. There is a power in the process of
importantly the pillar of our family and my
becoming a better and a braver person each
hero. He did a great job in taking care of my
time you want to give up.
brother, our two dogs and me even when he
I design for work and I am also a licensed-
was probably facing his biggest loss.
deep diver. I love the sarees my mom left behind and I am a biker. I am a daughter,
PHOTO FEATURE
a nurturer to my 8 and half year-old dog. I live so many lives but I am my own being. “Some days are good and some are overwhelming, especially when there is such immense pressure on women of today to be perfect and all-rounders. A sound life has become a luxury, we have to look at the gray areas and be gentle on ourselves. I am definitely on a quest to know who I really am and become all that I can be while I voyage though this beautiful thing called life.
Images by Idris Ahmed
INTERVIEW
In Conversation with Fashion Photographer Tarun Vishwa |
By Monica Jha
In a world where time is seen as an absolute reality and money as it’s synonym, the life of an artist is seen as paranormal. The life of an artist is not measured by the number of years or the times art is practiced but the timelessness of the art that is created. It is the smaller moments of gratitude and bigger moments of sorrow that an artist experiences during the process of uncovering one’s heart where the reality actually lives.
What separates a good photo from a
Tarun Vishwa, a name that has
photograph that has the potential to
contributed not just inf inite beautiful
become a piece of art ?
photographs but a visual perspective to the inf inite possibilities that your passion
When most of us today have the tools to
can have. Also, known as someone who
make as many photos as we want without
chooses to stay away f rom the hustle
having to anticipate like in the analog days
bustle of the many mediums of social
what does it take for a photographer who
media that today’s Instagram generation
has shot hundreds of fashion magazines,
swears by.
thousands of globally celebrated faces to subliminally incorporate his aesthetic while
He stands by his belief that “Following
creating something that is relatable.
your heart” without missing out on the importance of a process” can also enable
Ignited by the glory of creating something
us to find our real selves. It guides us
noble with preset buttons on his brother’s
through processes, its inevitability and
camera to becoming one of India’s most
the way rules work. The latent part of it
celebrated photographer. With one of the
is that it teaches how to break the very
most credible folio of modern Indian Fashion
rules which make for the foundation of
Industry, we explore a little more about one
photography when they don’t serve your
teenage boy who took great pride in the first
vision in the right way.
photo he had ‘clicked’ 20 years ago.
INTERVIEW
How did the process start for you?
What is the life of a professional photographer like?
Photography is as much a technical process as it is a creative one for me, I have
There are two kinds of clients. One that cares
always been mesmerized by the beauty
mostly about the existing appeal of a brand
and potential of a single photograph. After
and the other that wants to see mark of my
more than 5 years of working in a colour lab
vision in the assignment. The later definitely
with no real plans to pursue photography, I
is what I still get excited about since it is
signed up with a short-term photography
always an opportunity for me to paint my
course that eventually changed my life with
collective inspiration and express myself as
more than I could have ever asked for.
an artist.
I gradually understood that an image in
Nevertheless, it always is an intense process
your head which is a vision in its own right
where it is just not me but a massive
is actually played as a game of shadows and
team that works endlessly in bringing the
light. One needs to know the many ways
vision to life. Unlike the olden days when
to do it but most definitely the right way
photographers sat at apex of the decision-
to do it as it sometime can mean shooting
making process, today it is all about team
under unexpected circumstances with no
work.
help and other times could mean a massive production with a humongous team.
What is that one thing that a photographer
It is a unique opportunity to see things
must know?
through someone else’s eyes and to be able to understand the process they choose. It’s
Photography definitely is one field which
the combination of practice, perspective,
is as much an art as it is a technique. To
and persistence that a ‘Guru- Sishya’ bond
succeed in this field, one ideally should get
can bring which is so special.
educated about the entire process. After haggling with reels and prints
The one job where you felt like things were
for more than six years and shooting
starting to move in the right direction?
‘unprofessionally’ a brief stint with a school in Mandi-house opened my eyes to ‘The
Every shoot is special in its own right but the
process of Photography’. I could now click
one that really touched me was one this one
photos not just out of a whim or the sheer
in an old theatre near Rajiv chowk. Like love
love for it but also on a ‘brief’. Education
you can’t explain the reasons but it is that
helped me actually become a ‘Professional
feeling that cannot be explained that makes
photographer’ where I could now use it as a
it that special. I don’t think that it was that
way of expressing myself and living my life off
one day or a particular shoot that showed
it. Another thing that always helps is to learn
me strength but a series of professional
from a professional who can guide you at the
assignments and years of undocumented
right moment and correct what is wrong.
hours purely for the love of the art.
INTERVIEW
This is an occupation where you are your own
cameras with the best teams.
boss and have to set your own standards.
The standards are very high and a lot
Being able to achieve the balance can bring
is at stake sometimes behind just one
you progress but there definitely is no limit to
photograph. Most advanced editing tools
learning.
that have probably been invented by nonphotographers have transformed the way
Personally, even today it’s hard to find
many ways to interpret ‘perfect’.
perfection in a picture and I am never really satisfied.
So, the process is evolving, it’s rapid, it’s contextual, it’s evolving and timeless. It can be completely different for each individual
So, what really is the “Process of
but one thing is static, the way your tools
photography?
work, the way these modern-day inventions have taken years to come to this place of
I shot my first photographs on analog
social connectivity needs to be explored with
camera. Comparatively, it was a little arduous
great patience and enthusiasm.
and a little different with limitations in its structure and function but not many people
To understand the process is to not take any
know that there was a way to work around
aspect of it for granted, how hard your team
with them during pre-production. One
works, the way you deal with your clients
could select from a collection of rolls with
but most importantly how the process has
a certain technical specific to serve varying
helped you see things in darkness and to be
light situations. Today I shoot on the fastest
your own light.
INTERVIEW
What are some challenges that you faced
replacing professional cameras the toughest
in the past and what do you think the
thing to do is to find the balance being
future is like?
relevant and authentic.
Today we have cameras that do not fail to
It is beautiful to come across work of
impress, apps that have brought the world
artists who really just take you on a journey
of photography to every other person. Set
of the world that they live in, literally
up on a solid foundation of what the future
and figuratively. The present is time for
of photography can be. With billions of
exploration and experimentation and I have
photos shared every single day and phones
a lot of hope for the future of photography.
REVIEW By Idris Ahmed
Olympus Tough Tg-6 is a pocket-sized powerhouse camera with rugged built and decent image quality. It has amazing performance particularly
and dual locks on each of the camera’s two
while shooting underwater & macro.
hatches. The double latches make changing
Olympus Tough TG-6 features a 12MP
the battery or connecting a cable a little
backlit 6.2mm x 4.6mm sensor size,
awkward, but these stir more confidence
4.5-18mm lens (25-100mm full-frame
that the hatch won’t pop open when
equivalent), a maximum aperture of f/2 with
camera falls.
ISO range from 100-12800 and the ability to shoot in RAW which means that you can
In addition to focus stacking and focus
recover details and make decent size prints
bracketing, microscope functions are
after post processing.
among the absolute highlights of the TG-6, this camera has an absolutely insane close-
TG-6 is waterproof to 50ft and freeze-proof
focusing distance of up to 1cm from the
to -10°C, to achieve this level of sealed-off
lens, I was able to take shots in focus with
attribute, Olympus uses an all-metal body
the subject literally hitting the lens.
REVIEW
Since underwater shooting is one of the
360p, the prospect of ‘super slow-mo’ 480fps
specialties of TG-6 it was important to
should be enough to excite any videographer!
consider some improvements in this respect. Now we have a choice of three
Though Olympus Tough TG-6 seems quite
different underwater white balance modes:
similar to its predecessor TG-5 but with a
Shallow, mid-range or deep. Each of these
screen that’s double the resolution, high-
is tuned to account for variations in how the
speed video options and a new underwater
light filters down through the water.
mode, the TG-6 packs some worthwhile new features.
I was immensely impressed by high-speed recording modes for video. In addition to
Thanks to anti-reflective coatings on the
being able to shoot 4K video at 30fps, it can
sensor cover glass on both sides. I guess this
also record 1080p up to 120fps, 720p at 240fps
change should lead to reduced flare and
and 360p at 480fps. And while most people
ghosting, which will mainly be noticeable on
are probably reluctant to drop all the way to
high-contrast edges.
VERDICT
The Olympus Tough TG-6 is designed with adventure in mind! It is waterproof, dustproof, shockproof and crushproof (up to 100kg). What impresses me most is the combination of size & durability; since it fits in your pocket it is a perfect companion when you are traveling light!
WORKSHOPS & PHOTO WALKS | PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES | STUDIO ON RENT
www.photocommune.org ï… photocommune
Design by Spiritnoise
Time to follow your heart !