Asian photography realestatephotoediting october 2017 by Amy Nguyen

editorial

The One Day theme

or a monthly magazine it can get challenging sometimes to come up with new content from time-to-time. And this was even more evident in our case, since we are in the 29th year of our publication. But for an industry that doesn’t turn the technology switch ever so often, we seem to be doing a pretty decent job I feel. And while thinking about how we can help our readers in mastering or at least learning the basics about variety of topics in a short span of time, we came up with the theme of ‘One Day’. This issue in many ways will be an encyclopedia for many readers, especially amateurs. Since our September issue was focussed on professionals and semi-professionals in terms of the content, we thought it would be a great learning curve for the amateurs to learn as many topics as they can in one single day. The topics covered in this issue range from the ‘Photographers Most Memorable Days’ to ‘Learning Travel Photography in a Day’. But we have not only stopped at providing content covering a single day but also featured the work of Singapore-based photographer Mindy Tan. Combine that with the images of Navratri in our ‘Festivals of India’ section, this issue truly covers the beauty and magnanimity of India. In our review sections we have featured the continuations of our shootouts in the memory industry and also featured the shootouts in the All-in-One segments. This is rounded off well with our exclusive review of the newly launched Fujifilm X-E3, the video review of which is available on our website and you can catch that anytime. Yet another issue and yet another rounding off of comprehensive content compilation. . 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

Bhavya Desai

nEw DElhI buREAu Toprit Saifi EDITORIAl TEAM Souradeep Roy Mrinmoy Choudhury sPEcIAl cORREsPOnDEnT Lopamudra Ganguly (Delhi) DEsIGn Goraksh Kokate Rajendra Gaikwad MAnAGER ADvERTIsInG Laila Rupawalla Dy. MAnAGER ADvERTIsInG Kora Ganguly MARkETInG ExEcuTIvE Ragini Desai Laukik Pawar cOPy DEsk Sameer Gadkari PRODucTIOn MAnAGER Manoj Surve

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Vol. 29 - no.10

tipS and techS

One day travel phOtOgraphy ShOOting and editing daily vlOgS Special feature

Photographers’ most memorable assignments ShootoutS

• Micro SD Card • SD Card excluSive review

Nikon D850 A SAP MediA PublicAtion

hOw tO prepare fOr a ShOOt in under a day ShOOting feStivalS in a day learning manual lenSeS and manual fOcuSSing new Section

Festivals of India -Navratri pro-profile

The Streets are Talking

Mindy Tan

Image: Mindy Tan Cover Design: Rajendra Gaikwad

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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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.

octoBer 2017

Contents News •

• • •

Canon India continues pledge for social development with second anniversary celebrations of Sol Gohalia village adoption GoPro launches the HERO6 BLACK priced at `45,000 Photoquip introduces JUPIO batteries and chargers Xiaomi launches Mi A1 with Google in major next step for Android One

Ask Your Expert

pro-profile • Mindy Tan

30 2

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october 2017

festivals of iNdia • Navratri

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pHoto featUre Special feature

PhotograPhers’

most memorable

assignments

Each photographer, from every genre, has some dull days and some very exciting days. Some assignments can be a cakewalk, and some can be more challenging and memorable than others. We spoke to three photographers from three different genres, World Press Award winner Altaf Qadri, renowned chef and food photographer Michael Swamy and award-winning wildlife photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee, and they narrate to us one of their exciting and challenging assignments that they have worked on.

Altaf Qadri

Altaf Qadri narrates to Asian Photography of a day spent in Kashmir covering one of his most difficult assignments. Qadri shot the body of a 16-year old Kashmiri boy who was shot during an Indian police firing. Here is the detailed chilling account.

his photograph was taken during the funeral of 16 year old Feroz Ahmad, alias Showkat Ahmad who was killed when personnel of Special Operations Group of Indian police fired, without any provocation, on civilians during a relaxation in pro-freedom strike given by Hurriyat (Freedom) conference, an amalgam of various pro-freedom political parties, in Palhalan village of

of Ramadan. He was standing outside the chicken shop when he was shot in the abdomen. A local resident, Ghulam Muhammad, said he was going to home after offering prayers in the mosque and suddenly after two minutes there was commotion and he heard gunshots only to find Feroz in a pool of blood outside a shop with chicken in his hand. Four persons, including Feroz, were killed and dozens were injured, many of them seriously, in the incident taking the toll of civilian deaths in the valley since June 11, 2010 to 69 till September 6, 2010. Getting to Palhalan to cover this funeral was probably one of the hardest thing during my recent assignments in Kashmir. As soon as we heard about this incident, me and one of my colleagues, who works with the Associated Press Television News, took a motorcycle and left the office for Palhalan, which is around 30 kms from Srinagar. We were soon joined by around a dozen of photojournalists and video journalists, all on motorbikes. We were stopped by Indian paramilitary troopers at various places. Somehow we managed to reach Pattan, which is a town just 2 kms before Palhalan. It was all deserted with paramilitary and army soldiers patrolling the streets. We were stopped by a paramilitary officer, who ordered us to leave immediately from there. I tried to convince him that we were journalists and have to go to cover the incident. But he threatened us with dire consequences if we didn’t retreat

tips aNd teCHs 46 One Day Travel Photography 52 Learning DSLR in a day

back in two minutes. He even said that it is the media who highlight these killings otherwise no one would come to know about incidents like this. Sensing danger we turned back. We just rode back for some five minutes when locals guided us through an alternate road which passed through rice fields, streams, and orchards. As we were passing through orchards we met other photojournalists who had driven from Srinagar. So we rode together in a group. After some point we reached a small stream which was to crossed using an only plank. Three motorcycles crossed with ease but a fourth one, a photojournalist working for a local English daily, lost his balance and headed straight into the stream drowning him momentarily, we

North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Eyewitnesses said cops fired directly at people who were running for their lives. The 16-year old from Palhallan village received a bullet injury in the abdomen and died on the spot. Feroz was sent by his aged father to market to buy chicken and other food items on the eve of Shab-i-Qadr - holiest night of the year for Muslims during the holy month

58 How to prepare for a shoot in under a day 64 Shooting and editing daily volgs

all helped to get him out. As soon as we entered the village we heard pro-freedom slogans from a distance raised by mourners carrying the Feroz’s body. As soon as the body reached his home, his sister jumped on to the hospital bed, on which the body was carried from the hospital, and embraced the dead body of her brother. “Let me see his face. Let me see him one last time,” she cried. “He can’t die and leave us alone - please wake him. He is not talking to me,” she cried. I was shocked to see all this happening just in front of my eyes. It’s not that I had seen a dead body and mourners for the first time, but it was the situation as a whole which shook me. I quickly ran to the second floor of their house to get a photograph which shows the whole scene. The only thing on my mind at that particular time was how to get pictures and reach Srinagar safely. There were four funerals in that village but we could shoot only one as we had to rush back to Srinagar and file the pictures. For me this particular picture portrays the inconsolable grief of a sister. It looked like as if she was trying to wake-up her dead brother from a deep sleep. She, in fact, depicts the pain of an ordinary Kashmiri woman, whose brothers, sons, fathers, or husbands have been killed, arrested for life or simply have been disappeared involuntarily. This pain can be seen in each and every nook and corner of Kashmir.

68 Learning to use manual lenses manual focus

OctOber 2017

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

tips and techs

SHOOTOUTS



• • Learning a

DSLR in a day

So you bought a DSLR this festive season and are wondering how to go about using it? In this article we will teach you the basics of DSLR photograpy and what the different features are compared to your previous point and shoot, so that you can go out and shoot Navratri, Durga Puja or Diwali on your own!

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2 OctOber 2017

eXClUsive review

CaMera review

• Nikon D850

• Fujiﬁlm X-E3

80 92

Photoscape

Photomontage

88 

 OCTOBER 2017

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

One of my friend told me about your magazines and photographs and I saw your photo gallery. I am really delighted to see such creativity, the pictures are awesome. And also it inspired me to improve more in me. I am a photographer as a part of my hobby and I have been practising photography of my own for last six months and I have improved much apart from this your photos in gallery helped and inspired me for more. Thank you. Ravi Ranjan Kumar Tezpur Dear Ravi, We are happy to know that you have liked our magazine and also have been following the same to improve upon your photography. We are trying to do our bit to inspire everyone and also constantly take inspiration from the industry and readers like you. Do share your work with us so that we can also have a look at the same. Also for all the other readers who have been sending us emails who want to share their images with us then kindly share your work with us in the Photoscape and Photo-Montage sections. We would love to see your work and give our feedback on the same.

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The Letter of the month will receive 1 Year Subscriptieosn) (12 E-Issu Dear Sir, I am a very old reader of the AP magazine and have been in the photographic trade since 30 years. I read the September 2017 issue of the magazine and the article on GST and I must say it was truly wonderful. Although most of us in the industry know about the GST and have been trying to understand it well, having an article that puts most of the information in one place was very informative. Also industry leaders giving their inputs on the GST were also refreshing since it is important to understand what the leaders think as well. Nitin Kamat, Banaglore Dear Nitin, We are happy to know that you liked the article on GST and also all the information and the input that was provided in the feature. We have been getting a lot of emails from consumers as well as manufacturers about the clarity regarding the same, and that’s why we felt that it would be great to feature an article on the same. The industry and its people were very supportive and clear about their understanding and thoughts on this matter which made the information come through really well. In case if you have any further questions then do feel free to ask us or get in touch with us.

SPECIAL FEATURE

DECODING GST FOR THE IMAGING INDUSTRY In many ways 1st July 2017 will etch its way in India’s history as a monumental change and reform in India’s taxation regime. Many call it ‘THE’ biggest move after India’s independence while others haven’t welcomed it with open arms. Whatever you may call it, an opportunity or a challenge, it is clear that the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by the Government is one of the biggest moves in India’s existence. In this article Bhavya Desai decodes GST, its opportunities, impact and the implications on the imaging industry.

o if you have been listening to this word GST, which seems to be dominating the business circles in every conversation and have been wondering, how is this going to affect you? Then this article will give you a quick 101 on the same. What is GST? GST stands for Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is a comprehensive indirect tax levied on manufactures, sales and consumption of goods as well as services at a national level. Ideally it replaces all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Indian Central and State Governments. Basically it is a uniﬁed tax structure across India which eliminates differential duty structure and taxation system across different states in India. How does this matter and affect the consumer? So if you are wondering, how does this matter to me? Then you need to think again because the introduction of GST will have massive positive impact on the pricing structure of products, introducing a uniﬁed pricing policy to product categories across India. For example, a camera purchased in Maharashtra earlier would be priced lesser or more (depending on the state) elsewhere. So if a camera before VAT was costing `100 (excluding tax) in Maharashtra, then it’s eventual MRP would be `113.50 to a consumer. The same camera in Tamil Nadu would cost the consumer `114.50 since it levied a VAT of 14.5%.

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AUGUST 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Another simple example is of the automotive industry. Have you ever wondered that a car of same make and year bought by your friend/family in a different state was far cheaper than what you paid for? In simple words this was due to the introduction of number of layered taxes levied by the Govt on the showroom price of the car. Hence a luxury car in Delhi would cost at least 7-8% cheaper than in Mumbai since there were number of additional taxes that were levied on products entering Mumbai in the past. So the biggest change that one will see with the implementation of the GST as a consumer is the uniﬁed

taxation system on products across India. Which means now if you buy a camera, car, or any other product across the country, it will have the same prices across the states. So depending on the state you are, the % increase or decrease in prices will depend on what the % of taxes were earlier. But one good news as a consumer that you might ﬁnd is that there isn’t been much of a change in the pricing of the products in the imaging industry despite GST being implemented. As Nikon India’s MD, Kazuo Ninomiya clariﬁes, “We welcome the new structure of the GST regime as it has brought the new era in the indirect taxation landscape

Mr. Kazuo Ninomiya

AUGUST 2017

news

Canon India continues pledge for social development with second anniversary celebrations of Sol Gohalia village adoption

ommitted to create a significant and positive contribution towards the communities it operates in Canon India marches forward with its social endeavours. According to the company, started in 2012, Canon India’s flagship CSR programme, ‘Adopt a Village’, incorporates four adopted villages at present. Reportedly adopted in 2015, 40 kms from Kolkata, Canon’s fourth village, ‘Sol Gohalia’ today denotes its second commemoration of adoption. According to Canon India, this is yet another milestone in the journey of the ‘Adopt a Village’ programme, which focusses on comprehensive advancement of communities dwelling in these villages. Home to more than 4,500 people earning their employment from daily labour, irrigation and small businesses, Sol Gohalia in the past two years reportedly witnessed noteworthy improvements in the fields of 4E’s-eye care, education, environment, and empowerment leading to holistic progress and development. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India, said, “Commitment to the community comes very naturally to all Canon employees across the country. It is an integral element of our brand’s DNA and reflects prominently in our work ethics. Under our initiative Canon Involve, our employees regularly engage with the children to contribute to a brighter today and tomorrow for them. On our association with Sol Gohalia completing two fruitful years today, it gives me immense satisfaction to say that we are heading in the right direction. I am extremely delighted to see the noticeable changes the village has experienced, and yet these efforts have only motivated us to further amplify our efforts, reach out to more communities and inspire others to come together and work for the betterment of the society.” The press release also states, “The

special day was marked with celebration, enthusiasm and vigour amongst one and all. The village school Principal gave a warm welcome to the employees with his speech. School children brimming with vigour presented regional dance and singing performances themed around the Durga Puja. A special cake cutting ceremony took place to mark the second anniversary of the village. An origami workshop for children was facilitated, post which art and craft material was distributed to the children as the festival and anniversary celebration gifts. With the participation of more than 135 students from the village school, Sol Gohalia Nimnubuniyadi Vidyalaya and 14 Canon employees, Sol Gohalia anniversary celebration was a notable event in the CSR journey of Canon India.” Canon stated in their press release that the village has undergone noticeable developments in the past two years since its adoption. Children earlier shying away from school and basic health care are now excited to dress up in their presentable uniforms, study sincerely and even ace tests. A friendlier infrastructure was established at the school premises, seating more students for better education and enlightenment. There reportedly is increased understanding about the importance of basic education. More than 130 students are being reformed and educated on a daily basis where basic computer class training and e- learning platforms are creating a sense

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

of curiosity and constant engagement. In the last one year, 810 people from the community were benefitted from the Resource center according to Canon. A daily habit of reading newspapers is also reportedly encouraged as a part of practical knowledge that is being imparted to the children on a daily basis. Understanding the value of co- curricular activities; regular music, dance, sports and arts and crafts sessions are organised to engage with the students. Numerous basic educational programmes have been undertaken by the school authority such as Basic English, geography, reading newspapers and life skills. Canon has also stated that there has been a growing emphasis on the increment of new enrollments as well as bringing back the students who dropped out of school for various reasons. Focussing on basic healthcare and eye care, the vision center has continuously been utilised to check the vision of the Sol Gohalia residents and the people from the nearby villages. Spectacles have been reportedly shared and wherever required surgeries have been recommended. 963 patients having eye related problems were addressed in the last one year. A recent eye care camp witnessed the participation of 139 villagers. Canon India’s four adopted villages in the country includes Ferozpur Namak in Haryana, Maharaja Katte in Bangalore, Karanjoti in Maharashtra and Sol Gohalia in Kolkata.

news

Gopro Launches the Hero6 BLack priced at `45,000

oPro, recently unveiled HERO6 Black, claiming it to be the most powerful and convenient GoPro, yet. Powered by GoPro’s custom-designed GP1 processor, HERO 6 reportedly achieves an entirely new level of performance including stunning 4K at 60fps and 1080p240 video and reportedly the most advanced video stabilisation ever achieved in a GoPro. GoPro also launched Fusion, its bar-setting waterproof, mountable 5.2K

spherical camera. Additionally, GoPro also reportedly introduced new mounts and accessories plus a new Follow mode for its Karma drone. GoPro’s founder and CEO, Nicholas Woodman, introduced the HERO 6 Black and Fusion cameras to an international audience at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California. “HERO6’s next-level image quality, video stabilisation and three times faster QuikStories performance makes it a

powerful storytelling extension of your smartphone,” said Woodman. “It’s never been easier to live it, and then share it… using a GoPro.” The HERO6 BLACK will be priced at `45,000. The camera is said to feature a 4K60 and 1080p240 video packed into a rugged, waterproof, design. The company also claims that the HERO 6 also has dramatically improved dynamic range and low-light performance as well as an added digital zoom. Developed from the ground up to maximise a GoPro’s capabilities, GP1 reportedly enables twice the video frame rates, improved image quality, dynamic range, low-light performance and dramatically improved video stabilisation over previous HERO camera generations. The company also claims that the GP1 automates all of these benefits, allowing users to capture vibrant videos and stunning photos without messing around with complex image settings. GP1 is also said to advance GoPro’s capabilities in computer vision and machine learning, enabling HERO6 to analyse visual scenes and sensor data for improved automated QuikStories.

Photoquip introduces JUPIO batteries and chargers

hotoquip India Ltd has introduced JUPIO batteries and chargers at the recently concluded India International Photo Video Trade Fair 2017. JUPIO is a Netherlands-based manufacturer, having its presence in over 55 countries. Established in 2006, the company has been manufacturing the entire spectrum of batteries and accessories including all photo & video camera batteries and chargers, camera grips, power banks, solar chargers, USB cables, car chargers, laptop chargers,

universal battery chargers etc. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Pulin Soni, Addl. Director, Photoquip India said, “It is with immense pleasure that we bring to you JUPIO, one of the most credible names in the 3rd party battery and power accessories segment. Having understood the repercussions that cheap, inferior-quality alternatives can have on our gadgets, it is only wise that we invest in the reliable quality that JUPIO provides as a perfect power alternative.” “We are thrilled to have Photoquip

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India Ltd. as our exclusive partner to distribute JUPIO products in the beautiful country of India. We are certain that the Indian people will love our innovative and top-quality products.” Mr. Martijn Evertse, Managing Director, Jupio Europe B.V. The current line-up of JUPIO products available in India includes camera batteries and battery grips, camcorder batteries, drone batteries, PowerVaults for D-SLRs and Laptops, and USB accessories, and come with a 3-year warranty.

news

Tamron announces the development of a new ultra-telephoto zoom lens 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD

amron Co., Ltd. has announced the development of a new ultratelephoto 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD zoom lens (Model A035) for fullframe DSLR cameras. The lens manufacturer informed that the advanced optical design of Model A035 includes 3 LD (Low Dispersion) lens elements for greater aberration reduction and Tamron’s original eBAND Coating for superior anti-reflection performance. At 1,115g (39.3 oz) the new lens is the lightest weight in its class and features magnesium material in key areas of the lens barrel to improve weight reduction, strength and portability. The Model A035 is said to deliver fast and precise

autofocus performance and consistently powerful VC (Vibration Compensation) benefits thanks to the high-speed Dual MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) control system that is found in the latest Tamron lens models. Model A035 is fully compatible with Tamron’s 1.4X tele converter that multiplies the lens’s focal length, and

the Tamron TAP-in Console which enables lens customisations for focus adjustments, VC mechanism adjustments and more. Additionally, an Arca Swiss compatible tripod mount is available as an optional accessory. Tamron believes that this combination of features and optional accessories join to create a lens that photographers everywhere will enjoy using in various shooting situations, including low-light conditions that require handheld operation as well as those where convenient attachment to a tripod is preferred. The lens will be available for Canon and Nikon mount, and is planned to be launched by the end of 2017.

Vitec aquires JOBY and Lowepro

itec recently announced the acquisition of photographic brands JOBY and Lowepro. With a worldwide presence across 22 known brands, JOBY and Lowepro have joined the Vitec Group portfolio as part of the Photographic Division, sitting alongside other Vitec owned, photographic brands Manfrotto, Gitzo, Lastolite by Manfrotto and Avenger. The acquisition Vitec believes will enable them to become the leading global provider of accessories within the newer and fast growing iPhonography and vlogging markets, as well as strengthen their position within the photographic bags market. JOBY introduced the GorillaPod in

2006, which transformed the camera accessories market, while Lowepro is a market leader in bags designed to protect electronic and photographic devices. The release stated that Lowepro remains the recognised market leader of photographic bags, with its focus on supporting the professional outdoor and adventure photographer and will perfectly complement the Vitec owned brand Manfrotto, with its range of photographic bags focussed on supporting professional urban and studio photographers. Vitec informed that they plans to integrate the two brands into its Photographic Division, with existing organizational structures under

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the leadership of Marco Pezzana, Photographic Divisional Chief Executive. “We are proud to announce that two remarkable brands within the photographic accessories market, JOBY and Lowepro, will join the Vitec Photographic Division,” Pezzana commented. “We pride ourselves on supplying the leading photographic brands to the global market. This natural addition to our business strengthens the already outstanding offering we provide to our partners worldwide.” He continued, “We believe that our extensive knowledge of the photographic market will enable us to add a wealth of value to these already leading brands. JOBY and Lowepro’s product development expertise, coupled with our established global distribution network, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, creates exciting opportunities for both Vitec Group and our global partners.”

news

Xiaomi launches Mi A1 with Google in major next step for Android One

iaomi recently announced Mi A1 in collaboration with Google, the first device to run on the evolved Android One programme. Mi A1 runs on stock Android to offer a software experience designed by Google, underscoring Xiaomi’s commitment to providing more choices for users. Priced from `14,999 in India, Mi A1 is a device that combines hardware innovations, including an optical zoom dual camera setup, with Google-designed software. At a launch event in New Delhi, India, it was announced that Mi A1 would be available in India and also in more than 40 markets around the world including Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, Poland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Mexico. Local pricing in these markets will be available at a later date. Xiaomi Senior Vice President Wang Xiang said, “Mi A1 is a strategic device in our global expansion, marking a milestone on our quest to bring innovation to everyone. From the beginning Xiaomi has been all about choice, and we are delighted to offer users a new way to experience the power of Xiaomi.” Wang noted that this is a logical extension of Xiaomi’s long and fruitful partnership with Google. “Google has been a great partner, and given our strong collaboration, we thought their idea to launch a Xiaomi smartphone on Android One would be a great opportunity to give our users a different user experience. I’m truly excited about what this partnership will bring to our users across the world!” “By taking this next step with Android One, we are excited to be working with partners around the world to bring high quality Android device experiences to more consumers,” said Jamie Rosenberg, Google’s VP of Business & Operations, Android & Google Play. “Mi A1 marries excellence in device design with a simple and pure Android experience, the best of Google built in,

and a commitment to future software and security updates. We’re thrilled to welcome Xiaomi and the Mi A1 to the Android One family.” Xiaomi informed that the Mi A1 incorporates a dual camera configuration similar to that in Mi 6, Xiaomi’s latest flagship device, with wide angle and telephoto lenses. The two lenses allow Mi A1 to calculate what is in the foreground and what is in the background, creating a depth-of-field effect that typically requires a DSLR lens to achieve, allowing the user to create photos of unparalleled clarity and colour. In addition, an improved Beautify mode that makes selfies look more natural, now works with the both the front 5MP camera as well as the 12MP dual rear camera. Mi A1 supports 2x optical zoom, which makes photos of distant subjects remain clear, while 10x digital zoom is also supported. This is Xiaomi’s first Android One phone, with a software experience designed by Google, offering users a pure Android phone that Xiaomi promises will stay fresh over time with OS upgrades. As an Android One smartphone, Mi A1 comes with the most popular Google services built-in as default, such as free unlimited high quality storage from Google Photos. Available in Black, Gold and Rose Gold, Mi A1 has a full-metal body design that measures just 7.3mm in thickness, with discreet separation lines and rounded edges. It also comes with a rear fingerprint sensor. Featuring a 5.5-inch 2.5D curved glass screen featuring Corning Gorilla Glass protection, Mi A1 also boasts a 10v power amplifier for deeper lows and higher volumes. A dedicated amplifier is said to provide support for highimpedance headphones (up to 600 ohms). It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor based on

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

the 14nm manufacturing process, as well as a 3080mAh battery. With 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, Mi A1 became available nationwide in September via Mi.com and Flipkart. Key features of Mi A1: • Premium full-metal body • Dual camera, optical zoom:12MP wide angle + 12MP telephoto, 5MP front camera • Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with 14nm FinFET technology (Octa-core 2.0GHz) • 4GB RAM + 64GB internal storage • Up to 128GB microSD expandable storage • 5.5-inch full-HD Corning Gorilla Glass display • 3080mAh battery, USB Type-C port • Rear fingerprint sensor • IR blaster, with Mi Remote App • Dual SIM (3-choose-2 hybrid SIM tray) • Dimensions: 155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3mm • Weight: 165g • Available in Black, Gold and Rose Gold • Stock Android

AYE

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

I am a new reader of your magazine and I was looking to buy a telephoto lens. What will be best option for Telephoto Lens within a budget of Rs. 15000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 30,000? Dhruba Ghosh, Kolkata Dear Dhurba, There is a number of information that is missing in your email for me to be able to give you constructive advice. For instance, what is the mount that you are looking at is the most important one, full-frame or cropped sensor. Also if there is anything specific that you would like to shoot which would help. But since all this info is missing I am going to go ahead and suggest both the popular mounts to you. So below are the Nikon Lenses that you can buy: AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300MM F/4.5-6.3G ED VR AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300MM F/4.5-6.3G ED AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G ED VR II AF-S DX VR ZOOM-NIKKOR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G IF-ED

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Answered by Bhavya Desai Editor, Asian Photography

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AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300MM F/4.5-5.6G ED VR Unfortunately, Canon doesn’t have any telephoto lenses that might fit in this budget which means that you can have a look at the third party manufacturers like Tamron, which has the new SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD and also Sigma and Tokina as well for a good lens.

I came across your website from the FB page and the new video that you have put up. My hobby is photography and I am a resident of Patna. There is no one who can organises a photography contest here. Can you please organise a photography contest in 2017 here? I am just a beginner at the age of 14. Please do it, it’s my humble request Atul Kishor, Patna Dear Atul, I am glad that you came across our magazine through our FB page and also saw the latest video that we have put up. I am always happy to assist the younger people in order for them to take a more serious plunge into the world of photography. We just concluded an edition of Artistique which was an India wide contest and would’ve been happy to have assisted you there. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to have one single contest for a specific city since it takes the opportunity away from the readers in the other states. But we will be coming up with another contest in a few months and it would be open to everyone. Alternatively, you can also take part in the Photoscape section of our magazine which is like a mini-contest every month where we feature some of the best images from our readers.

I am shooting a model in an outfit which is deep purple in colour and velvet material. However, it is looking black at night. What lighting and photography lights are needed for it to look purple and not black. TKL, Pune

ion Quest Month of the

Dear TKL, The problem you have mentioned is because these is not enough light, and secondly some colours tend to look darker in an image. You can try using the pop-up flash of the camera or place the subject in a well lit environment. Alternatively, if you are shooting with lights (studio light), you have to make sure the subject is well lit from all sides. Lighting is very important, integral and most to learn about part of photography. Improper lighting is the main reason the dress looks black.

Hello sir, I am an amateur photographer, and came across your magazine a while ago. It has really helped me understand and improve my photography. I recently came across BIS. Can you please help me understand what it exactly is? Ashok Dear Ashok, We are glad to know that you like our magazine, and it’s been helpful to you. Coming to your question about BIS, it stands for back-illuminated sensor. Also known as backside illumination, it is a type of digital image sensor that is different from your regular image sensor. It is designed such that the image elements are located at the back of the sensor instead of the front to increase the amount of light captured. It is known to improve the low-light performance of the camera.

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“We are not dreaming of an overnight change” From being one of the traditional pillars of the photographic industry to now focussing solely on the digital revolution in imaging, Fujifilm has seen a dramatic change over the past decade, especially when it comes to image capturing. For a company that has been somewhat missing from the Indian camera market for a while, Bhavya Desai set out to get the answers in a conversation with Toshihisa Iida, GM, Optical Device and Electronic Imaging Products Div, Fujifilm.

efore we get into understanding what was the reason why Fuji hasn’t strongly pushed their digital cameras in the Indian market, it’s worth visiting the memory lane to understand their presence. For a company that has a very strong heritage when it comes to the photo-finishing industry, their foray into the digital cameras was as early as 1988 when they announced the first digital camera that could save images to a memory card. With a measly 5-10 images in a 2MB capacity, the innovation paved the way for the future. But your guess is as good as mine as to why the company didn’t follow up aggressively on the technology since it continued to be recognised more for its strength in the photo-finishing footing. But at its peak around around 7-8 years back, the company shipped 11.6 million pieces of camera, which was around 1 million units a month. But with the changing environment and market dynamics combined with the challenges in the traditional photographic business, Fuji made a decision that effectively would change its fortunes in 2012-13. The decision included focussing on mirrorless cameras and doing away all the other formats in the digital segment. “Based on that strategy we carefully picked the markets that we should be focussed on. Fortunately our strategy worked,” said Iida and they were able to capture between 20-25% of the mirrorless market by value. Although globally the markets still continue to be in favour of DSLR with a 60:40 divide even today, that balance moving ahead seems to be dwindling. Iida-san predicts that by 2019 mirrorless will overtake DSLRs globally and Fuji is setting a strong base in order to capitalise on that change. But what is the challenge at its core when it comes to the entry-

barriers for Fuji in India, especially since in India it is not necessarily known for its cameras. The General Manager is well aware that Fuji is not known for their hardware in India. “But we have to change that perception, to create a brand image, it may take time, but as long as we have right communication with Indian customers, they will begin to recognise that we have a very good camera system.” We have a strategy outlined in that case he adds. At the heart of that strategy are the key USPs of the products, according to the company. This includes its lens portfolio at No.1 position, followed by the image quality and its portability. All of this combining in an APSC format product differentiates Fuji’s offering from its competition.

Fujifilm X-E3

And Fujifilm isn’t exactly banking on people to switch to their cameras in a hurry. Like most manufacturers they understand that this is a slow process and are willing to invest time into this. “Just changing interchangeable system is something of a big barrier for the customers since they are already invested in a lens portfolio. So this is their asset and that conversion is not likely to happen over night.” That is why we started X100 which was a fixed range camera. When the customers started using the X100, they realised how image quality was good

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Toshihisa Iida

then started switching to small cameras and maybe two or three lenses, he added. ‘We are not dreaming of an overnight change’. That’s why we have lens line up from small affordable lenses to the more expensive lenses. We are happy that our customers are using X100 or XC3 may be with one or two small lenses and gradually switching. Currently the manufacturer has no plans to change its focus and move towards the entry-level mirrorless offerings. “It’s a matter of prioritising” as Iida-san puts it. And while Fuji has had some supply issues in the past with the products not being easily available, the company has managed to sort out that challenge as well. The latest offering from Fujifilm, the X-E3 will be launched in the 2nd week of October 2017. We have already put out its exclusive video on our Facebook and YouTube channel and a complete review of the same is also in this issue as well. How the Fuji products will appeal to the Indian consumer in the future remains to be seen. But from the product perspective, the company seems to be on the right track.

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Navratri 22

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Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec Aperture value: f/4.0 ISO: 5000 Focal Length: 39.0 mm

ndia is a land of varied cultures and rich heritage, and this is clearly depicted in the numerous festivals of the country. India is sometimes known as the land of festivals, and rightly so, with the number of different festivals we have over the year. There are festivals for every season and every state during which people all over the country indulge in the zeal and festivities of the events. All the festivals and celebrations depict the cultural unity and integrity of the country. During the festivals, people take part in the ceremonies and rituals irrespective of their caste, creed, age and status. The main idea of any festival are the people who are uniﬁed by a common belief. After the month of August, The festival calender in India gets packed as many festivals keep following one after another. After the end of Ganesh Chaturthi, comes the time of Navratri, Durga Puja and Dusshera. But Navratri marks the beginning of the nine days of the festive extravaganza. Navratri is one of the largest Hindu festivals celebrated every year. The exact dates of the festival are ﬁxed by the movement of the moon according to the Hindu lunar calendar but approximately it takes place around end of September or the start of October. The festival of Navratri is marked by the celebrations of nine days. On each day one of the nine incarnations of the Goddess Shakti is worshipped. The nine incarnations of the Goddess can be listed as follows- “Maa Shailputri”, “Maa Brahamcharini”, “Maa Chandraghanta”, “Maa Kushmanda”, “Maa Skandamata”, “Maa Katyayani”, “Maa Kalratri”, “Maa Mahagauri” and “Maa Siddhidatri”. The festival of Navratri owes its origin to a number of historic legends and stories. The festival is celebrated in various parts of the country along with different rituals but however the central idea remains the same. Apart from India the festival is celebrated with much pomp and joy in different parts of the world wherever Hindu diaspora exists. Apart from worship, dance and music forms an integral part of the cultural event and are carried out in various ways across the various parts of the country according to the regional traditions. The initial day that is the 1st day of the

Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec Aperture value: f/4.0 ISO: 5000 Focal Length: 24.0 mm

Apart from India the festival is celebrated with much pomp and joy in different parts of the world wherever Hindu diaspora exists Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Shutter Speed: 1/1328 sec Aperture value: f/5.6 ISO: 4000 Focal Length: 188.0 mm

OCTOBER 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

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festival of Navratriis also considered as the commencing day of the New Year as per the Indian traditional culture. The day is celebrated with much pomp and vigour and is considered to be a holy day for starting any new venture. This year Navratri had begun from September 21 and ended on September 29. According to the legend, it is said that Shiva gave permission to Durga to see her mother for nine days in the year and this festival also remembers this visit. The festival is dedicated to Durga, the mother goddess who also represents power. Durga annihilated the demon Mahishasura after a relentless battle lasting nine days and nights. During Navaratri, people invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as “Durga”, which literally means the remover of miseries of life. Goddess Durga is also referred to as “Shakti” (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction.

Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec Aperture value: f/5.6 ISO: 3200 Focal Length: 24.0 mm

As the festival of Navratri arrives everyone gets into the mood of singing, dancing enjoying and partying around. The last four days of Navratri

OCTOBER 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

is considered to be very highly-packed and energetic in terms of celebration. Garba and Dandiya are basically very famous Gujarati dances where people

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come in traditional dresses at night to the Navratri venue and dance along with friends and family and enjoy the festival. Disco Dandiya on the other hand can be termed as a modern extension to the traditional Garba where there is a mix & match of both Disco and Dandiya. In this form of celebration various DJs are invited at the clubs, discotheques and parties to set the mood with their high energy music. People also perform Dandiya with two sticks in their hands and enjoy the mood of Navratri to the fullest.

Bigger cities with usual space and other restrictions are also not left behind when it comes to celebrating Navratri

Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec Aperture value: f/4.0 ISO: 5000 Focal Length: 24.0 mm During the days of Navratri, people in various places have different beliefs and follow them accordingly. In Gujarat and its surrounding areas, people refrain from eating non-vegetarian food, alcohol etc as it is forbidden for them. Some people walk around bare feet for

the nine days of the festival. In some other parts of India like West Bengal, the people indulge in more of food and pandal hopping during the days of Durga Puja. Other cities celebrate Navratri and Worship Ambe Maa referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Cities, streets and areas are

Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec Aperture value: f/5.6 ISO: 4000 Focal Length: 70.0 mm

Exif Info: Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec Aperture value: f/5.6 ISO: 4000 Focal Length: 113.0 mm

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decorated and lit up during these days and the people take time to leave their homes and enjoy with their friend and family. Major attractions like huge and unique pandals made to attract more devotees. People take on the streets and usually walk to see these pandals. Thousands of people can be seen on these days. Bigger cities with usual space and other restrictions are also not left behind when it comes to celebrating Navratri. In mumbai there are various open to all associations which organise, control and administer the festival and give a great experience to city dwellers as well. Such is the energy and power in these nine days. Every individual is at a different state of happiness and joy of being together. The last day however is full of emotions as it’s time to bid adieu to Maa Durga, as she returns to her husband’ Shiva’ after spending the days at her mother’s home. The tenth day is Dusshera and people celebrate Dussehra by burning a efﬁgy of Ravana and celebrate the win of good over evil. People share and exchange gifts, sweets and good wishes and pray for the well being of their family and friend. With a heavy heart and with a new hope to see Maa Durga again in the next year people commence Visarjan and hope for her early arrival again.

TEXT AND IMAGES: MRINMOY CHOUDHURY

OCTOBER 2017

pro-profile

The StreetS are Talking 30

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

After a stint as a newspaper journalist, she moved her focus to documentary photography. Through her lens she take a peek into a people, and captures their psyche and emotions in her images. Her photographs are known to be straight-forward, and sometimes confrontational. She has won the Society of Publishers Asia (SOPA) award for excellence in Human Rights Reporting in 2007, and become a successful commercial and documentary photographer. Having worked with clients like Shell, Uniqlo, Mini Cooper and Huawei, and done editorials for Reuters, The Associated Press and Die Zeit, she is also an ambassador to Fujifilm. This month we speak to Singapore-based photographer Mindy Tan, and take a look at her extraordinary street and documentary photography.

Mindy Tan

october 2017

indy Tan first dabbled with darkroom printing post highschool holidays, using her father’s Nikon F3 and FE3 from his camera box. She found the process to be a lot of fun, mixing up chemicals and waiting for images to magically appear on paper. That was when she says she found out about the magic of light. Later, Tan started working as a reporter for newspapers, and instantly had the desire to be a photographer. A few years later she decided to leave the press to challenge herself and see what she was worth on her own. That’s when she became a documentary photographer. Tan doesn’t recollect her first shoot. She says she started off when she was in university playing around with a roll or two, and shooting lots of still life and things like chairs, tables and nightscapes. But it was her reporting days that shaped her photography, as she says, “it’s always about the story”. Her first story was about a kindergarten kid who was selling his drawings - of imaginary creatures, drawn onto cardboard boxes from empty fruit cartons of a fruit stall where his mum was

working. “He made all those drawings in a single line, never lifting his pen off paper. It was a human interest, positive energy type of story, and that has always been the kind of story I enjoy most, whether its told using pen or camera.” Tan is widely known for her street and documentary photography work, which distinctly stands out among the plethora of street photographers out there. Her photographs are always about the human condition - always on emotions, moments and story-telling. She loves observing people and their quirks. When asked how she got into the street photography she says that there was no such way that she got into it, and she just loves observing people and their quirks. “It would be a lot more difficult if I’m told not to shoot stories or people, I’m naturally inclined towards human behaviour.” Tan’s aesthetic of photography is quite a straight-on, full-frontal approach. She says she is all about getting as near as possible to the subject, in order to understand it. Tan says that she likes to watch movies as inspiration, to stop thinking

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

about photography. “I like enjoying life, enjoying the light, the weather and seeing many beautiful or funny moments appearing in front of me is inspiring enough. But to not be able to pick up the camera to photograph the moment would be a torture.” Tan looks up to the work of a variety of photographers like which include Jacob Aue Sobol and Daidō Moriyama. A few movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel and La La Land also inspire her. Street or documentary shoots might seem like a cakewalk to some, but they require adequate preparation as well. Tan says she gears up for these shoots by packing well and resting up the day before. About the preparation she says, “Make sure you have everything in your bag charged batteries, water, spare batteries

october 2017

and SD cards, charged phone, cash, tissue paper, and sunblock.” Street photography poses its own challenges, and we asked Tan what are some of the main challenges. She said, “Shooting in different countries sometimes presents different ethical problems. Some nationalities tend to be more ‘private’ about their photographs being published. Some, like in Germany there are stricter rules about photographing people especially children.” In 2015, Mindy Tan spent about 10 days in Pyongyang, North Korea and shot a series of images. This series explored North Korea and portrayed sights from the land that very few have had a chance to witness. On her blog she writes, “10 days in North Korea, taking in the sights and sounds of Pyongyang, the demilitarised zone, and the countryside was an eye-opener. I can’t say I’ve seen it all, but I’ve been allowed more leeway than expected to make my own observations and opportunities to come close to locals.” She says that photography in North Korea isn’t a

october 2017

right moment, and capturing it. We asked Tan if she ever decides any ideas or concepts for a shoot. Tan said that for a street shoot, she has some brief idea of the mood to achieve for the day. Whereas, for a documentary shoot, it’s more about asking oneself the right questions. “In general, go with the flow, but keep thinking,” she said. Tan believes that for street and documentary photography, one needs to have an inquisitive mind, and be able to overcome his/her own shyness. Besides street and documentary photography, Tan also shoots weddings.

part of the culture like most other parts of the world. “Like the old days, it was something our grandparents would dress up in their best for, on a special occasion and formally photographed, from head to toe.” She adds, “To capture an authentic moment, I feel, was often interpreted as an act of scrutinising a person’s actions, right or wrong- and generally scorned upon. It is drawing attention to a single person, in a socialist society that moves in masses. A monk, in a temple, on being photographed said “I feel like an animal in the zoo.” Tan says that she was glad to have been there to witness it “no other story can take that away first-hand experience.” Naturally so, the set of images went viral, and became popular in the online

community. We asked Tan to tell us a little about her experience of shooting these images. “It was by chance. I uploaded a set of images on Facebook for my FB friends which garnered a lot of shares and people asking me to make the images public. It went viral once I changed the privacy settings and I also decided to upload more images to the album to complete the set. My mailbox was full everyday, with people asking me how I got access, how much I spent, which camera I used, and which tour company to sign up for. I also received personal and heart-warming emails from Koreans and overseas Koreans, as well as lecturers asking if they could share those images to their students in class.” Street photography is all about the

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

When Tan first quit her job to become a photographer in 2008, she used the Nikon D300, then progressed to the D700 and D750. The 50mm prime was her primary go-to camera for all types of shots, she says. Two years ago Tan switched to the Fujifilm mirrorless system, using the XT2 as her main camera, and main lenses are the 16mm f/1.4, 23mm f/1.4, 56mm f/1.2.

We asked her how she approaches that genre of photography and she said, “It is largely the documentary photography of a wedding day. Not much different from a regular documentary shoot. I react to the moments.” When it comes to post-processing, Tan says that it is not very important to her photography, and most of the work is done in camera. “Fujifilm has its own film simulations and highlight shadow settings. I don’t post-process very much. I crop maybe 5 - 10% if I have to crop. Otherwise I won’t take

the image.” She says she would like to shoot more of Singapore. “I feel I haven’t done enough. Living in the same place year in, year out does numb you. But the familiarity gives you the best advantage of understanding a subject and being able to produce the best shots from it.” As an advice to those who are interested in entering the field of photography Tan said, “Be tenacious. Never give up. Make photography your life.” www.instagram.com/tinyhumanmind www.mindytan.com

TexT: abhishek desai

october 2017

Special feature

PhotograPhersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

most memorable

assignments

Altaf Qadri

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

North Kashmirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Baramulla district. Eyewitnesses said cops fired directly at people who were running for their lives. The 16-year old from Palhallan village received a bullet injury in the abdomen and died on the spot. Feroz was sent by his aged father to market to buy chicken and other food items on the eve of Shab-i-Qadr - holiest night of the year for Muslims during the holy month

OctOber 2017

Michael Swamy

Renowned chef and food photographer Michael Swamy shares with us his experience shooting for a day for his upcoming cookbook Masala Dabba.

n this cookbook, I explore the use of a given spice blend beyond it’s obvious usage. For example, I have used pani puri masala in a raita or chilli flakes in cupcakes. The cuisine base is Indian however the recipes are creative and each recipe comes with some sort of spicy twist. The preparation actually begins more than a week before the shoot. Here is a quick lowdown of the same. 7 days before the shoot: All recipes are in place and have been tried and tested several times. The colour of each recipe is clear to us and as a chef, I prefer to photograph real food without adding any chemical or non-edible substances in it. We decide on the look of the book and zero in on a look with brush painted wooden backgrounds on which we will use ceramic crockery of a rustic look. We decide on doing only 5 to 6 dishes a day so as not to get repetitive with presentations and plating.

Day -6, -5, -4, -3: We get all the crockery and props together and roughly decide which plate or bowl we will use for which dish. It’s a rough decision because 60% of the time, we end up submitting to immediate inspiration and using something totally different than planned. Despite having decided on wooden backgrounds we also source tablecloths and stone slabs in case we want to do one “odd man out” shot. Day -2: We shop for all the dry ingredients and start making space in the fridge and freezer. Day -1– We buy tons of ice. We do not cook anything the day before because colours and textures of fresh real food change much faster than the chemically

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

laden stuff made for adfilms. We buy the meats required and spend a long time patiently cutting it and wrapping each piece separately and storing it properly. Knives are sharpened, brushes are cleaned, a ton of tissues are bought. All dry ingredients are checked one more time to make sure everything is in place.

Day of the shoot

7 am – We are at the nearest fresh produce market armed with our list of vegetable and fruit requirements. We have our favourite vendors who know how picky we are and who over time have come to understand our work. This is the most important part of the assignment. Because the success of the

shoot depends on the quality of produce used. 9:30 am - We are at the kitchen (studio) and breakfast is ordered. By the time, breakfast arrives, we split up. I (or the photographer if I am only styling) start setting up camera. There are no lights in this case as I decided to shoot this book in natural light. Mugdha starts prepping for the dishes of the day. This includes any accompaniments shot with the dish. Sometimes we are assisted by interns sometimes not. This time we aren’t. As the photographer sets up, the stylist informs him/her of the amount of space required near the main table for him/her to place tools or portable stove in order to be able to put finishing touches just before the click to ensure optimum freshness. In the kitchen, any fresh herbs/flowers/leaves are sprayed with ice water at regular intervals.

11 am – Breakfast is done, crockery and props for the first shot are set up and a dummy of the food is placed in the plate/ bowl which will hold the “hero”. I check the lighting, angle and frame. Frame is adjusted according to how we want the layout of the shot to be in the book. This shot takes about an hour and a half. About 60 to 80 clicks are taken and a tiny adjustment made to the set-up until I (or the photographer) am satisfied with the set-up for the day. A 10 minute estimate is given to the kitchen. (The simplest dish on the menu which cooks the fastest is planned for the first shot) 12:30 pm – I am ready for the first shot of the day. Mugdha keeps her styling tools on standby near the main table. Ice is kept on standby as are things like oil & honey. Tissues, earbuds, cotton, etc is also on standby.

OctOber 2017

more minutes are spent in adjustments. Now the food looks cold again so the chef stylist in me wakes up and uses a combination of oil, ice and a combination of techniques like blanching and stir-frying to revive the dish. However, the fresh greens in the dish have died out. Time is running out. It’s already 2:30 and only the first shot has been canned. The dish is remade a third time and quickly plated only for me to say “We need to change the bowl. I don’t like it”. The bowl is replaced, food revived once more (everyone is irritable) and shot is FINALLY taken. 3 pm – The third set-up is in place. Lunch has been ordered. The sun continues to travel its course and light continues to change. Only now, evening is setting in fast. We have 3 dishes and only 3 hours of decent light. The third dish is a pilaf. As it’s brought to the table and as I am about to plate it, I realises that the pilaf looks great in the pan itself! Mrunal rightly points out that placing the pan there doesn’t make sense thanks to the props set-up for a dining scene. A snap decision is made and the table is cleared of all the props. The pan is placed, the handle adjusted and shot is taken. It’s a brilliant shot – perfect in the first go! Dish 3 done! 3:30 pm – We can’t believe our luck! A shot finishing in under 30 minutes! Lunch has arrived but time is running out. Then Mrunal and I set-up the shot, and

12:45 pm – The accompaniment is placed in its plate or bowl and minor adjustments to are made with mirrors and thermocol because it being natural light, the look has changed owing to the sun’s constant movement (despite us being indoors). Mugdha goes back to the kitchen to continue her work while I adjust the frame with the help of Mrunal (the third team member). 1 pm – The second dummy of the recipe to be shot is plated. Shots are taken and adjustments made. As I signal that I am ready for final shot, the final dish is plated. We either replace the main bowl (if we have more than one piece of the same) or quickly replace the

food. In this case, we clean the bowl, replace the food and take the shot. First shot of the day is canned. 1:15 pm – First shot is cleared. Mugdha tells me what the next dish will be. Mrunal and I set up the next shot together. 2 pm – Dish for second shot of the day is ready. Accompaniments, props, etc is in place and so is the dummy. The dummy is okayed and we replace the dummy with the real dish. I get a phone call and disappear for 10 minutes. The dish has gone cold and flat. As I am back, meanwhile, Mugdha is re-making the dish. By the time the dish is ready, the light has changed yet again and 10

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

I insist on a 10 minute break for lunch . We gulp down the food. Mugdha makes the accompaniments and the dish with Mrunal’s help. This one requires rotis in the background. The dough is ready but light is fading fast. It’s already 4 pm. The main dish is ready but you can’t just serve it on its own! Luckily we find some stale pav leftover from breakfast. Thankfully, the dish belongs to a community which is known for it’s love of bread. The pav will do perfectly. We need two pieces and

we have two pieces. But one is torn. I suggest placing them like a pile one on top of the other. I adjust the camera and focus such that the pav go into soft focus. Dish 4 is sorted. 4:30 pm – We have been up since 5 am and on our feet since 7 am. Everyone is tired and the brain is slowly giving up and everyone is getting irritable and snappy. Dish number 5 is going to take a bit long to make. I decide to change the plan but the prep is ready and we don’t want to waste any food.

Again, the frame is set-up and everything is in place. I anticipate the movement of the light and set-up the frame such that by the time the dish is plated, the light positions will be perfect for it. Fortunately having spent so much time in the wild, I’m able to read natural light movements accurately. Dish number 5 gives no trouble of any sort. It’s already 5:15. Tea is served and a 10 minute break taken. Light is running out very rapidly and the team, including me, is really exhausted. We have, as usual been drinking less water so our feet have begun cramping. 5:45 pm – The shot is set-up and the dish with its accompaniment is ready. Mugdha is bringing out the pan of fish curry from the kitchen. She trips over a wire and the pan falls to the floor. The curry has spilled and most of the fish pieces are broken. Only one in fact, has remained intact. We are all stunned for a second and suddenly realise the curry was hot. All of us make sure no one is hurt or burnt, but the light has faded completely and only one piece of fish is left. The bowl chosen was a large one because we had planned to show a meal for 4. I decide to try a different shot, and set up the light, all the props are removed and a stone plate is placed. I place the one good piece of fish, drizzle it with sauce and take a tight top-shot. Dish 6 is done! 6:45 pm- We go through all the shots together and decide what NOT to do for the next day’s shoot in terms of accompaniments, placement of bowls, etc. 8 pm - Kitchen and studio are cleaned up. It’s been a 13 hour day – one of our shorter days! We head home only to come back at 7 am the next day for yet another unpredictable shoot. One very important thing to note is that if I am only styling and someone else is doing the photography, at least 2 meetings are done with the photographer (or client) to discuss the look, props, colours, backgrounds, frames, etc. The photographer is shown references of dishes to be shot so he/ she gets an idea of the colours and textures and can decide on lighting and mood accordingly.

OctOber 2017

Dhritiman Mukherjee

Dhritiman Mukherjee has photographed a number of animals and birds all around the world. Many of them being extremely rare to find. We profiled this talented photographer earlier this year, where he spoke to us about his various thrilling expeditions in the wild, and in the sea. Here he talks to us about his experience shooting the Narcondam Hornbill, only found on the island of Narcondam towards East of India.

this research tour, as he was working on a species of a bird named Narcondam Hornbill. This is a type of hornbill only found on this island, and nowhere else in the world. When I go for particular projects, it very rarely happens that I go to shoot something and I get it on the first day. Usually if I go to shoot for like 10 days, then 9 days I might not get anything, but on the 10th day I shoot the subject. I spent 18 days on this island, and

n March 2014, I had gone to Narcondam, accompanying two scientists, SACON scientist Dr. Shirish Manchi, and Dr. Asad Rahmani, then director of BNHS. Narcondam is a small volcanic island located towards the East of India. Located in the Andaman Sea, it is part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Classified as a dormant volcano, it covers barely 6.8 square kilometres. Dr. Manchi had invited us on

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

photographed this species of Hornbill. When we had gone there it was the nesting time for these birds, so they were really active. I spent the first few days doing the recce of this island and surveying the terrain and the birds. It happened to be the nesting time for the birds. Hornbillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make holes inside the trees, and the females stay inside the nest for up to three months, from when they lay the egg, till the time the baby hatches and comes out of the nest.

The male collect the food and feed the female, thus the male are very active during this period. I spent some time observing the birds, their feeding pattern and their behaviour. I was able to identify trees and 3-4 nests where they feed. I spotted nests at three or four places. And I also spotted a huge tree where many birds would come to feed. When it comes to birds, we are used to seeing certain type of images, so I decided that I wanted to do it differently. I set up a hide in the tree, and created a space for me to stay on top of the tree. The space I built was in the between tree trunks on top of the tree. I built it in such a way that the birds could not see me, but I could see the birds clearly. The advantage of doing this was that I could get eye-level shots. Commonly people get shots of birds from below. We are used to seeing such images, as the birds are always on top, so you always see them from below, and don’t get too many different angles. Such images will not be so interesting, as we are habituated to seeing that. Whereas when you get the birds from a top-view, it is something different and interesting. It is unlike that what viewers generally see, which is the birds belly from the bottom, and not the back. So I stayed inside the tree for six days with some food and water. Several birds would come there, and were very active, and would feed. I could photograph them from there. In the evening I would climb down from the tree and sleep in the camp. Then in another place to photograph the behaviour in the mates, I fixed up a rope on the top of the tree, and would climb using that rope to get a unique top angle of the nest. Though the birds were active, it’s not like I got the shot on the first day. I first fixed the rope on the tree, and let the birds get habituated with the rope. It took a few days to set up the thing, and everyday I would do little modifications of the setup, positions and postures etc. You have to do these changes after observing the birds, their movements and behaviour. It was 18 days work on this particular bird. Generally with wildlife photography, a common challenge is with the subject

and find it. However, it wasn’t the case in this assignment. The birds are found only on this island, and as the island was not that big, the density of the birds was also quite good. They did not seem to be shy either, and since the island is not that big, and the bird is only found on this island, the density of the bird is quite good. The challenge during this assignment was deciding how to shoot the bird, and then planning the setup accordingly. I had visualised how I would like to shoot this species of bird, such that it creates an impact on the

viewers, and at the same time also give them some scientific information. Shooting them in that way, I was able to also collect a lot of scientific information. When I was photographing the nesting bird, I could see that the male feeds the female food, and this occurs every 45mins. If you see the sequence, first they feed fruits, after that they bring some insects, so it’s a combination of vegetables, vitamins and proteins. In one go they feed 10-15 species of insects. So shooting them in this way I was able to collect this information through the images. You can also tell what insects live on the island and what fruits grow there, and other such scientific information. It was a complete story The other reason why this is so interesting is because this bird has previously been photographed by some people. But the way I have shot this bird, nobody has such set of images. To add to that, nobody can go there now. There is a radar station there, which was protested heavily by activists. Now the army is working there, and nobody is allowed to go there. We were lucky to have gone then, and worked on this bird. TexT: ABHISHeK DeSAI

OctOber 2017

Tips & Techs

One day travel phOtOgraphy W

ith long weekends becoming increasingly popular, one or two day trips have become a huge hit. These trips can be hugely satisfying as one gets respite from their daily work lives and gets to spend time somewhere away from their normal routine life. Travel photography is also a big part of these trips as photographers get a chance to indulge in their hobby for a day or two. In this article we will discuss how to go about photographing your short trips from start to end.

Pick your destination

Choose your destination wisely. Your destination will depend completely on the weather, time of the year and number of holidays you get from work. Think about the various photography opportunities you can get on the trip and see if it suits you. Check for flight or bus tickets or make driving arrangements. If you plan to go hiking then see how the weather will be in the next few days. Make sure you plan ahead accordingly since it will be disastrous if you face adverse weather conditions on such a short trip.

Pack your bags

Depending on how the weather is, and what kind of trip you plan, pack your bags accordingly. One day trips for photographers mean less amount of clothes and more equipment! Make sure you select your lenses and cameras accordingly. If the hike is too long, pick lenses sparingly and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make your bag too heavy. Carry a tripod whenever possible if you are planning to shoot landscapes. Tripods can come in handy if you want a self portrait and you are travelling solo. Make sure you research about

the place online as well, so that imminent dangers such as mosquitoes, leeches etc can be tackled by carrying necessary precautions.

take Photos of your comPanion

Make sure to take photographs of your companion as well. This makes for great filler photographs if you are making an album on your travels. If you are travelling solo, take photographs of your car or your motorcycle as they will be your companion on the tour. These images help to tie the story together instead of it being a collection of landscape photographs. Many photographers love short motorcycle rides on the weekend. Make sure that you place your safety first and not take unnecessary risks when shooting. Do not ride or drive and shoot.

be different

Being different is what separates one photographer from another. Different photographers have different styles of shooting. While one photographer might just shoot landscapes, one might shoot

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

only portraits or human interest stories on their travel. Make sure you have absolute clarity on what you wish to shoot. If you love shooting portraits it does not mean you cannot shoot landscapes as well. But when you display your travelogue to others the photographs should be coherent and linear. If your trip involves shooting photographs of wildlife or birds, make sure you wear dull coloured

clothes and not make too much noise as other people also might be waiting to photograph the same subjects.

try new things

People travel because they want to try new things. Travelling for photography is no different, be it a month long travel plan or a short one day trip. Places like Varanasi, Shillong, Lavasa, Agra are

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your bag so that if you spot something, you can be ready to shoot in a matter of seconds.

tricks of the trade

extremely lively and people there are quite friendly as well. Leave your bubble and talk to people, try new food, try a genre of photography that you haven’t or are not comfortable with. Sometimes these trips can clear one’s mind which helps them to concentrate on shooting something that they are otherwise scared of.

stay focussed

The main difference between a long trip

and a short trip, photography wise, is that a short trip requires a photographer’s full attention. He or she needs to keep thinking of getting nice frames while enjoying his or her short vacation. Even though a normal person goes to a vacation to completely clear his or her head, a photographer should always think of what can make a good frame, at the back of their mind. Always keep your camera by your side and not inside

These short trips provide numerous opportunities for photographers to use different techniques that they otherwise won’t be able to do. Images of lightning or star trails are among the top ones. Light painting can also be done if the area is pitch dark. Many hiking trails allow camping, which is a good idea if you are interesting in shooting these things. Put your camera on a tripod and use the bulb mode as much as you can. If you are visiting a new city, you can shoot light trails of cars passing by if you find a good vantage point as well. Panoramas are also something that a photographer can try out. If you have just started out as a hobby photographer then try to use the basic things you have learnt like depth of field, rule of thirds etc on your compositions. We hope this article helps you in preparing for your upcoming one day trip and encourages you to take your camera along with you! Make sure you stay safe on your trip, pack accordingly and try out new things! TexT: souradeep roy

october 2017

tips and techs

Learning a

DSLR in a day

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

OctOber 2017

Zoom

DSLRs are quite different from point and shoot cameras and it is quite easy to get perplexed when starting to use a DSLR. The first difference you will notice is that the lens is sold or packed separately. In DSLRs zoom is not calculated in ‘times’ or ‘x’. There is no 15x zoom but it is calculated in mm. A point and shoot has, what is known as optical zoom, and the DSLRs usually use focal length. The calculation is: optical zoom = maximum focal length / minimum focal length. So an 18-55 mm lens is actually 55/18 = 3.05x zoom. You might be wondering why are people paying so much for lenses with such little zooming capabilities and why isn’t there a lens that has a zoom of 83x like the Nikon P900 has. Well, the short answer is image quality and inability to fit innumerable lens elements into a telephoto lens. If manufacturers were to build an 83x telephoto lens it would be huge in size thus rendering it useless. The best way to start off is to have an 18-55mm or 18-135mm lens which will serve the purpose of a beginner. These are also known as kit lenses as manufacturers bundle these lenses with the camera kit when selling.

megapixel

In your quest to buy a DSLR, many

amateurs have suggested to you that more megapixels mean better images. Hearing their advice and comparing with your point and shoot camera you have ended up at the camera store to look at a Canon 5DS or a Nikon D850 only to hear that it exceeds your budget by a lakh or two. You are quickly brought down to the ground by the shop manager who is asking you to buy a 12.2 Megapixel DSLR. What happened there you thought? Let’s understand megapixels quickly so that a lot of other things are clarified. The point and shoot has a smaller sensor while a DSLR has a much bigger sensor. This effectively allows the DSLR to capture more detail compared to a smaller point and shoot. It also means that a DSLR does not need as many megapixels to shoot higher resolution photographs. If you pack a lot of pixels onto a small sensor, and then use the same number of pixels on a larger sensor, the pixels on the larger sensor are bigger. If every other parameter is kept equal then the image taken with the camera with a larger sensor will have a better output in print. To better explain, if you are a beginner who is interested in showcasing your images online or just printing it for viewing then a simple 12 megapixel DSLR is enough. Here is a size chart for maximum print sizes in comparison to minimum megapixels required.

mode dial

You might have seen this if you had a prosumer camera before upgrading to a DSLR. Albeit there might be a few new things you will see, but considering our readers who have shifted from a low-end point and shoot to their first DSLR, we will discuss the mode dial in detail. Point and shoot cameras that support mode dials will have different

Max Print Size

Minimum MP

Resolution

4 x 6″

2 megapixels

1600 x 1200

5 x 7″

3 megapixels

2048 x 1536

8 x1 0″

5 megapixels

2560 x 1920

11 x 14″

6 megapixels

2816 x 2112

16 x 20″

8 megapixels

3264 x 2468

16 x 24″

12 megapixels

4200×2800

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

scene pre programmed settings so that the user can take photos of different scenes at just the touch of a button. However these settings are not full proof and the camera cannot be programmed to suit so many different kinds of lighting and scene conditions. For this reason, DSLRs have different manual modes which enable the photographer to

tweak the settings according to their needs. This requires you to know and understand the basics of photography to be able to successfully use. We will go into that in our next point but lets discuss the different manual modes first. A DSLR mode dial may or may not have the scene modes, but will definitely have four different manual modes, namely

Full manual (M), Aperture priority (A), Shutter Priority (S) and Programme (P) modes. The full manual mode allows you to change the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and all other settings and give you control over the entirity of the cameraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s features. The aperture priority mode lets you change the aperture while the camera controls the shutter speed and

OctOber 2017

ISO to give you the correct exposure. The Shutter priority mode allows you to control the shutter speed while the camera controls the aperture and ISO. The programme mode allows you to control the ISO alone and the camera changes the shutter speed and aperture to keep the correct exposure. Now to further understand what these are, let’s talk about them in detail.

exposure

A photograph’s exposure determines how light or dark the photograph will be. It is determined by the amount of light falling on the sensor and the time for which it falls. Exposure depends on three crucial things – Shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Shutter speed is the time for which the shutter opens up to let light fall in the sensor. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30). Shutter speed can be more than a second as well and you can understand that if it is followed by a double quotes, for example 1.3”, 1.6”, 2” and so on. So in low light condition, we will require the shutter to be open for longer periods of time, thus the shutter speed should be less, i.e the shutter speed value will be less. If the shutter speed is too slow then there are chances of camera shake or blur. If it is too fast, then a moving subject will be frozen. Aperture refers to the opening of a lens’s diaphragm through which light passes. The aperture values are 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16. The lower the value the bigger is the opening. So an aperture of f2.8 will let more light into the sensor than f16. Aperture also affects the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the area of acceptable focus. Depth of field is what separates the point and shoots from the DSLRs by a mile. The lower the f/stop the larger the opening in the lens, the less depth of field the blurrier the background. This adds a very cinematic effect to your portraits but make sure you do not go too low on the aperture value or the depth of field will be too shallow and for a portrait, the nose will be in focus but the ears will be out of focus. In low light conditions

OctOber 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

the aperture needs to be wider, i.e the f- number should be lower and in good lighting conditions, it will be vice versa. ISO is another important aspect of exposure. In film photography, ISO or ASA was used to measure the sensitivity of the film but these days, it is used to measure the sensitivity of the sensor.

The measurements are in numbers – 100,200,400,800,1600, 3200, 6400, 12800 and so on. So it will be easier to shoot in low light conditions if the ISO value is kept high. Let’s say that you are shooting a moving subject in low light conditions and you cannot reduce the shutter speed or your subject

will have motion blur. What do you do? Increase the ISO value and your sensor’s sensitivity will increase. The next logical question obviously is why we don’t always keep the sensitivity high. The reason that we don’t do that is because increasing the ISO has its downsides as well. The higher the ISO value, the higher the noise in the picture will be. Image noise is random (not present in the object imaged) variation of brightness or colour information in images and causes the final output to look grainy and unsharp. ISO should always be kept at the lowest amount and should only be increased if needed. These are some of the basics of DSLR photography. Even though there is a lot to it, it is impossible to learn everything in one day. If you understand the above mentioned pointers then you will be good to go atleast exposurewise. Read our magazine every month to learn photography in-depth!

text: sOuradeep rOy

OctOber 2017

Tips & Techs

How to prepare for a sHoot in under a day I

f you are wondering how long does it takes for a photographer to plan and execute a shoot, you will be surprised to know the amount of planning and consideration that goes in for the actual results. It is mandatory for photographers to maintain the level and quality of work when shooting in situations where most of the factors are out of the photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand, else why would someone hire him/ her. This is the same requirement across all genres of photography. A properly planned shoot will not only allow you to shoot with ease for the entire time of the assignment, but also will allow you the creative space to

do and try new concepts and make better images. This is same across all genres of photography be it fashion and editorial, travel or photojournalism and documentary photography. Imagine a client asking you to shoot an assignment the next day and you are entirely clueless about your approach. It is highly confusing but as a photographer you have no other job than to deliver the quality. Sudden arrival of work needs some amount of instant planning that will help you organise a shoot in under a day. We have chosen some factors which need to be clear before you proceed for your shoot.

Flow oF work

A basic flow of your work is very important. From the start till the end we suggest you to arrange for the necessary things on a paper. A flow chart of the events that are going to take place or the steps you are going to follow. This flow chart or flow of events will be your main point of reference on the D-day. You will be referring to this flow chart and go about your shoot. Once the things fall into place, you will see how easy it becomes to shoot without having to worry much.

ConneCting

The next point is connecting to people who will also be a part of your shoot. For travel and photojournalism assignments, locals who know the place will help you get around, communicate in case of a language barrier and sort your local connections. For a fashion assignment, you will need to connect to make-up artists, stylists, hairdressers and assistants for helping on the set. If you are shooting indoors with only one person we suggest you take a friend who could at least hold the reflector

so that you can play around with compositions and lighting. Photography students make good interns as they have the zeal for learning and they get hands on experience on the set. But be sure to pay them some amount for the day or at the least cover their expenses so that they do not feel ripped off for their services and learn a thing of two.

researCh and ConCeptualisation

Proper solid research is the first step to a successful event, in this case a day of shooting. If you are travelling for an assignment, be sure to check the local tips and articles on the internet. Traveller reviews and suggestions are useful to a great extent. Having friends, or people you know or fixers in the place you are travelling is a boon. The research is a small part of the entire conceptualisation. With your research you can put the visual cues together and start imagining the probable pictures. With the amount of data in the web you can actually take it to search images from your place of travel and that will somewhat give you an idea of what is in store. For

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

fashion and editorial photographers, conceptualisation is everything. Each and every shot you take has to be planned and executed in the most correct way to ensure quality without loosing time.

equipment and gear to Carry-

When going on an assignment, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very important to carry only what is important. Camera bodies, lenses, batteries (charge and extras), memory cards (empty), cables, laptop, reflectors lights and any other piece of gear that you might need. This is usually the case with fashion photographers who do on-location shoot. For travel photographers and photojournalists, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usually the cameras and lenses along with a set of charged batteries and empty cards are all that they need. Above all a strong sturdy waterproof and protective camera bag is all that you need to carry your gear safely. Do not carry too much stuff like extra clothes and rather carry portable power banks, water and snacks so that you can save yourself, if the situation goes haywire in any case. Always wear shoes when going to shoot. Your crew is very important, so make sure everyone is safe.

logistiCs and stay

Final shoot

If your assignment is taking you to another end of the country, its suggested to look for good travel and stay options. Make a list of available transport resources and place to stay. Communicate in case you have any doubts. Have a place prebooked so that you do not waste time looking for places and can take rest or plan further after you travel and you can change the place of stay later if necessary. However on an assignment, luxury takes a back seat. If local help is available at your disposal, make sure to use their help in the best way possible. Always be alert about your gear and belongings. Be calm and composed,

october 2017

you have a team that looks forward to function along with you following your instructions. Behave and speak to everyone in the same manner. No one like to be addressed in a bad way. There are times when you will lose your patience and that will very much affect

the quality of images that you make. A calm and peaceful working environment is every professionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream and so you have to be at your professional best to deliver quality of the next level. A few jokes to life up everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind and spirits is highly recommended.

BaCking-up and CheCking the Files

Now comes the most important part ie. backing up of your images. If you are out for more than a number of days it is recommended to carry a laptop or a small notebook computer to backup and view your images. Leaving images in the memory card to copy them later is not advisable as you might lose the entire card or just a bad day when your card gets corrupted. So backup your files and make copies too so that in worst of cases you are still left with all the images. Apart from all these preparations, it is very important to yourself healthy and in a state to deliver maximum performance. Eating too much spicy food and drinking might just land you up in trouble the next day and you end up sulking rather than making exceptional images. Advice the same to your team and also the respective models who would be a part of the shoot. If you are traveling, its recommended not to have street food and water as you might fall ill. Always carry bottled water and stay hydrated. A relaxed body will always propel the mind to function better. TexT: MrinMoy Choudhury

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Tips & Techs

Shooting and editing daily

vlogS

ith new media changing how one absorbs daily news and people changing their modes of communication to online media, daily vlogging has become a very important tool to showcase your life and the life of others. The challenges to this are that one has to shoot, create a proper storyline and edit the videos to make them interesting, all in one day! Many photographers have started vlogging as it is a good way to keep oneself busy and to show how interesting a photographer’s life is. In this article we will discuss how to go about starting and maintaining a daily vlog and the different challenges one might face.

What is vlogging?

Vlogging is a way of journaling your life through new media or digital media. Vlogging is short for video logging or using video to document one’s life on a day to day basis. Consumers love to see and hear about someone else’s life if it is interesting. This is why many interesting people would have their daily journals

published. Vlogging can also be a great way to share your life with others.

What is the inspiration?

People start a vlog for different reasons. Many start a vlog if they get a new pet cat or a dog and share their life stories

with others. Many moto-vloggers share their everyday experiences on the road – be it sharing videos of other drivers making mistakes or breaking traffic rules or just videos of them doing good deeds and being good samaritans. Vloggers can find inspiration in anything in their life as long as it is out of the ordinary.

october 2017

One should not limit themselves to shooting themselves doing the same things over and over again everyday. Add something for all kinds of audience. Understanding your audience is key but do not let your audience dictate your life because that can prove to be detrimental. Make sure to look at other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vlogs and understand what they are doing right and see what would work for your audience. While many people start vlogging and then figure out that they are not getting a considerable number of eyeballs and stop, keeping at it is what will seperate you from the rest. Remember that all vloggers started somewhere and kept doing what they loved.

Which platform should you use?

One of the biggest issues one faces when starting to vlog is to choose the platform. With multiple platforms being used by people these days, concentrating on one is quite difficult. Here as well, your content is very important. If you believe that your content is more on fun and entertainment, then youtube or facebook live is the best way to go as people usually like to enjoy light hearted videos on it. If you plan on a serious

vlog where you talk about subjects pertaining to history or physics or any other important issues regarding society or such then Vimeo might be good for you. If you are not sure about what direction you wish to go with your vlogs then you can start with youtube as it is the most widely used website for vlogging.

hoW to make time for vlogs?

The top questions from new vloggers include this topic. Most successful vloggers earn from clicks, views and based on the number of subscribers they have. People who are just starting out and cannot leave their day job have to balance both without harming their daily lifestyle. Spending sleepless nights wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help you longterm and it will affect your quality of work both in your day job and in your vlogs. The solution to this is to do both at the same time. Your day job is part of your life and if you had to write a diary then you would have included instances from your day job as well. Why not do it for your vlogs? But

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

first make sure your company and your colleagues are okay with you including them in your videos. You can also shoot interesting things while heading to office or while returning from. Shoot when you are going out with friends, or going for a walk. Keep an hour or two everyday in the evening or night for you to edit. If you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been able to edit then wake up early next day and do it. Tell your viewers why you couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find time and tell them what you did instead. Make your vlog a fun affair to make sure of viewer engagement.

concepts, video shooting and editing capability and an interesting daily life that amalgamates into a package for viewers. Finding time to edit is a challenge, having a good machine to edit might be a challenge, even learning editing softwares can be a challenge. Vlogs might not be as easy as writing a diary but the returns are greater too. Imagine hundreds of thousands of viewers taking interest in your life or in your pets. Many pet vlogs receive toys for the dogs or cats to play with from viewers from different parts of the world!

What are the challenges?

hoW to monetise vlogging?

There are several challenges associated with vlogging, probably why not everyone vlogs and not everyone succeeds. Vlogging is a combination of

The only way to grow as a vlogger is to earn money from it. Vlogging might start as a fun thing to do, but in order to bring forth new content everyday one must

dedicate the entire day to it. To ensure quality and frequency you will have to face a choice of wheather or not to leave your day job and become a full time vlogger. Money might be the only thing that binds you to your day job at that point, but there are ways to monetise vlogging as well. Websites like youtube etc pay content creators per view once you reach a certain number of views on your channel. So once your channel has a substantial number of regular viewers you can start to think about leaving your job. Another great way to monetise your blog is through product placements and direct advertisements on the vlog itself. Many companies pay vloggers, instagrammers and other social media influencers to sell their products through advertisement. TexT: souradeep roy

october 2017

Tips & Techs

Learning manuaL Lenses and manuaL focussing M

ost of the lenses for cameras come with an autofocus system which enables the user to automatically focus at the desired subject. Auto focus is not a new invention and has been around from the time of analogue cameras. As technology picked up its paces, most manual cameras and lenses started incorporating auto-focus into their systems. Yes auto-focus has its own pros and cons, but using auto focus while shooting is definitely one big advantage that all users would vouch on. Auto-focus may be important for users now, but most modern lenses do support manual focus which can be toggled via a switch on the lens, or the camera body. Manual focussing as we may think is not useless at all scenarios like landscape, portrait and macro photography. Even the old family album lying in your attic has 50% or more number of images shot using manual focus. Let us find out why manual focus is important and how to manage using manual focus. Also in this article, we will show you how you can also use a fully manual vintage lens on your DSLR camera using a very simple technique and give you some extra ordinary results.

How to manual focus on an slR/DslR cameRa

In the past, most SLR cameras were fully manual, meaning all the settings of aperture, shutter speed is done on calculation basis depending on the ambient light. Since the cameras lacked manual focus, the SLRs came fitted with a Ground Glass screen with a split-

screen in the middle of the viewfinder. The image through the viewfinder will appeared broken. Once you start rotating the focussing ring, you can see the image in the center of the viewfinder, you will notice the image becoming clearer and once the image has the focus on the desired subject. Once the focus is accurate, you can take the image by pressing the shutter. Now this process is not easy when you try it out for the first time and there are a few things to note before you actually begin to practice manual focus. Although you can try the trial and error method which you can eventually master and focus very easily, but knowing the fine details will make you perfect every time you manual focus. Manual cameras are not used or found in use much but most DSLRs support completely manual modes and manual focus. To take things a bit to

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

the upper understanding level, we have attached a fully manual and almost 40 year old Asahi Pentax SMC 55mm f/1.8 lens with the help of a generic adapter which allows to mount the lens on a DSLR camera, in our case it is a Canon mount adapter for a EOS 7D Mark II.

Knowing tHe basics of lens anD manual focus

On the lens (a completely manual lens in our case) you will notice various numbers and markings on the outer barrel of the lens. The manual lenses have a fully functional aperture ring and you have to make changes on the lens aperture ring to change the settings. The DSLR camera will not register the F-number as there is no electronics in the manual lens to confirm the f-number. So its a completely manual process where you might have to note down the

EXIF details for each shot you take. The other ring is the focus ring and the minimum and maximum focus distances including infinity is marked on the lenses. These markings you and idea of the distance of the subject from the camera and you can assume the distances and preset your focus for moving subjects. Similarly the same focus ring can be found on newer lenses along with a distance scale. The rotation on the old and new lenses are different. Manual lenses have more rotation for the focus ring as it helps to achieve fine tuning in focus and to have maximum rotation with minimum change in the focal plane. Having a fully rotating focus ring can be deceptive and so manual lenses have specifically designed focus rings for maximum utility. Focus magnification is possible when you are using a fully manual lens on a digital camera. Some lenses provide focus peaking to assist in manual focus. But with a vintage fully manual lens, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different ball game.

Knowing tHe Plane of focus

Plane of focus might sound tricky but it refers to the vertical plane of a scene in or its thickness. Confusing? Look at the image below and see how changing the f-number affects the focal plane. The bigger the aperture, the thinner the focal plane is and vice-verse. So your selection for the right aperture for the right kind of image is very important. Once you get hold of the assumption of the plane of focus, you will find it easier to focus manually as you already know the distance you have to focus and the exact plane when you want to focus. Focal plane is an imaginary plane and runs parallel to the plane of the sensor of the camera. To any change in angle of composition of a photograph will cause the focal plane to change as well. To make sure that you nail the focus every time you manual focus, a few tips on how to make manual focusing more easy.

ambient light- As you might know well how much the ambient surrounding light makes difference to your picture. Always look for light around you as with less light and a fully manual lens, the viewfinder will do dark as soon as you make changes to the aperture i.e change the f-number to a higher value which in turn allows less light. As the aperture is manually controlled by the user, it is recommended to use the ambient light as a advantage. Else you can shine a beam of light at your subject and set your focus. However that might not be the option always. catchlights - Whenever you are using manual focus and taking portraits of individuals, group or may be an animal, try to follow the catch-light in their eyes. As we always tend to focus on the subjectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye while shooting a portrait, the catchlight in their eyes is what will help you focus better. If you have a perfect focus on the eye, the catchlight will appear as a dot or as the shape of the light source. You will notice the catchlight is blurry and not as the shape of the source.

october 2017

focus and recompose- The focus and recompose technique is mostly used on digital as it minimises the time to compose and individually focus on the subject as well. Once the subject is in focus, the photographer holds down on the shutter button maintaining the focus on the subject and recomposing the picture with minimum loss in focus. Similarly you can do this with an all manual lens as well where you can pre-focus and then recompose according to your image. Once a certain part is in focus, it would not change unless the camera or the focus ring has been moved. Viewfinder attachment/ loupe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Loupe is a attachment that can be attached to LCD screen of a DSLR. It has a magnifier inside and is covered so that there is no light going in when the user puts his eye to see. The result is a magnified image on the screen which is easy to focus. However, when using the Loupe, the camera has to be in live-view mode which in turn slows down the camera to an extent, but then manual focus is all about time. Practice- Manual focus needs a lot of practice. I am pretty sire that one can

pick-up the technique in a under a day but then with regular practice you eyes will measure the distance and you can set focus just on an assumption basis and still be 90% accurate. The more you practice, the better your eyes train to recognise things in focus. Note: It is very important to do proper research before attaching a manual lens from the 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to a DSLR. Read forums and articles to help you in the research. A generic metal adapter

Shot using SMC Pentax 55 mm f/1.8 adapted on a Canon 7d Mark ii

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

should be fine but make sure to get one that fits the camera well. Also some manual lenses do not adapt to modern DSLRs, as they have manual aperture levers which interfere with the cameraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mirror. So it is important to find the best suited lens and adapter. So proceed with care and caution before adapting a manual lens. We have shot using the Pentax manual lens and a Canon 7D Mark II and shared the results TexT: MrinMoy Choudhury

Tips & Techs

Shooting

feStivalS in a day

estival season is the busiest time of the year be it for shopkeepers or journalists. With Ganpati, Navratri, Durga Puja and Diwali happening in a span of two months (Durga Puja and Navaratri happening simultaniously), and Diwali right around the corner, we thought it would be great to include some general tips on shooting a festival in a day!

Be aware of the surroundings

There is so much that happens during the festivals that one needs to be aware of what is happening around them. Always stay alert when shooting a festival so that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end up missing a moment. Look for colours and expressions that might be interesting. Look out for something out of the ordinary.

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Carry fast lenses

Festivals can be challenging to shoot because of the difficult lighting conditions. Carrying fast lenses can help a lot in low-light shooting as well as to shoot fast moving objects without having to worry about a motion blur. Carrying a long lens and a mid-range zoom are the best ways to never miss a shot.

Carry two dslr Bodies

It is best to carry two DSLR bodies if posssible so that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end up switching lenses when something interesting is happening near you.

researCh the festival

It is impossible for everyone to know the intricacies of every festival. Thus, a certain amount of research is necessary. Learn about the different rituals and when it happens. For example during the Durga Puja, the most visually interesting parts are on Dashami, namely Dhunuchi Nachch and Shindur Khela. A little bit of research can go a long way in terms of getting the best images.

dress appropriately

You might not have to wear the traditional clothes, but dressing in a

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

kurta or even a well ironed shirt when going for a shoot can help you a lot. You will be much more well-received by your subjects or even the organisers of the festival.

time management is key

Since you only have a day to shoot, time management is of utmost importance. If you do not find anything interesting at one festival spot, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit around waiting for something to happen, move to some other temple or garden. Festivals are supposed to be busy and there will be some festival or the other where there will be something happening. Start early and shoot as much as you can before afternoon as the light is the best during early mornings. Make a proper time table and achieve the goals in time. TexT and images: souradeep roy

october 2017

MeMory card shootout

Micro SD Card Shootout For a quite a few years the use of memory cards has not been restricted only to digital cameras, and it has expanded to other consumer devices like mobile phones and tablets which have adopted use of external memory, along with having a sizeable fixed internal memory. Even a lot of action cameras make use of Micro SD cards to store images and videos. With the upward rate of growth of technology used in such devices, there is more demand on the memory cards. With devices where users play games, watch movies, and more, the memory cards need to have significant transfer speeds for stutter-free operation with sizeable storage capacities. Hence this year, we asked for the companies to send in their best Micro SD cards and decided to put them through our tests.

Contenders Kingston 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3

SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3 Transcend Ultimate 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3

he contenders for this month’s SD card shootout were Kingston, SanDisk and Transcend. Each manufacturer was asked to send their best UHS-I card in the 64GB category that support FAT32 file format. Kingston sent in their Kingston 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3 card priced at `3,299 which claims a read speed of 90MB/s and write speed of 80MB/s. Similarly, SanDisk sent in their SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB microSDXC UHS-I, priced at `4,350 which has a card speed of up to 95MB/s. Transcend sent their Transcend Ultimate 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3 with a claimed read speed of 95MB/s and write speed of 85MB/s priced at `6,300. The Benchmark tests The Micro SD cards were put to test on various aspects, in

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Parameters

We have taken the following things into consideration while reviewing the cards:

• Crystal Disk Mark 3.0.1 • Folder Test • In Camera performance

terms of testing them with specialised software Crystal Disk Mark 3.0.1, that calculates read and write speeds, the folder transfer test, and the in-camera performance test. The test was to check the read and write speeds, performance, and their rating with respect to each other. Crystal Disk Mark 3.01 In the Crystal Disk Mark test, there was a close battle between the three competitors. SanDisk recorded a read speed of 30.58MB/s and a write speed of 27MB/s, where as Kingston was close behind recording a read speed of 30.52MB/s, whereas the write speed was recorded as 26.52MB/s. Transcend was ahead of the two, recording the read speed of 30.62MB/s, and a higher write speed of 27.20MB/s.

Kingston

Sandisk

Folder Transfer Test We put each card through the paces to check which clocks the fastest. This test was done by creating a folder which contained data worth about 2.02GB. Transferring the folder from card to computer was recorded as read time and from computer to card as write time. While SanDisk clocked a read time of 1min 20.4seconds, it had the fastest write time at 1min 38.8seconds. Kingston clocked the fastest read time of 1min 17.8seconds, but lagged behind in time to the write time with 1min 41.8seconds. Transcend clocked a read time of 1min 19.4seconds, faster than the SanDisk but slower than Kingston and a write time of 1min 44.9seconds, which was the slowest. The graph below will help you understand the read and write times for the respective microSD cards. 120 100 80 60

Read (Seconds) ad (Seconds) Write (Seconds) ite (Seconds)

40 20 0 Kingston

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0

SanDisk

Transcend

In Camera Performance In this test we made sure that the camera used for all the cards was same and on the same settings. The camera that we chose was the Canon 6D, which was set to 1/125s, Aperture 7.1 and ISO 100 on a continuous shutter in manual mode. The process was followed by setting the stop clock to infinite, and as the shutter was released the In Camera Performance Test (fps) clock timed the number of shots, on the basis of which In Camera we calculated Performance the frames per Test (fps) second. To our surprise all the three cards gave the same output Kingston SanDisk Transcend at 4.36fps.

Transcend

Conclusion

Transcend Ultimate 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3 In the CDM test, Transcend was ahead of the two, recording the read speed of 30.62MB/s, and a higher write speed of 27.20MB/s. It clocked a read time of 1min 19.4seconds, and a write time of 1min 44.9seconds in the folder transfer test, not acing the test. The in-camera performance was a tie at 4.36fps. At a cost of `6,300, this is the most expensive cards of the three, and yet unfortunately did not yield exceptional results. SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3 In the Crystal Disk Mark test, SanDisk had the second best read speed of 30.58MB/s and a write speed of 27MB/s. In the folder transfer test, SanDisk clocked a read time of 1min 20.4seconds, it had the fastest write time at 1min 38.8seconds. SanDisk tied with the other cards at 4.36fps in the in-camera performance test. Costing `4,350, the card is second most expensive among the three, and performed well, coming in second place in the shootout. Kingston 64GB microSDXC UHS-I U3 In the Crystal Disk Mark test, Kingston recorded a read speed of 30.52MB/s, and a write speed of 26.52MB/s, the slowest of the three. Whereas in the Folder Transfer test, Kingston clocked the fastest read time of 1min 17.8seconds, but lagged behind in time to the write time with 1min 41.8seconds. It had the same 4.36fps as its competitors in the in-camera performance. Costing `3,299, Kingston is the cheapest of the three cards and performed decently throughout the shootout giving results close to the other cards, winning the shootout.

october 2017

MeMory card shootout

Secure Digital (SD) Memory Card

Shootout

With the rapid improvement of the photography industry and associated industries like the data storage industry newer products keep hitting the market with improved performances. Millions of dollars are invested in camera manufacturing every year which result in the improvement of the image quality thus affecting the image and video sizes produced by DSLRs and other digital cameras. The data storage manufacturing companies attempt to fabricate equally state of the art products to compliment the cameras. The two primary ways to do so have been increase in storage capacity and better and faster reading and writing speeds. Keeping that in mind we asked the card manufacturers to send their best 64GB secure digital cards and we pit them against each other.

Contenders SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS- I 64GB Card Transcend Ultimate SDXC UHS- II 64GB Card Kingston SDXC UHS- I 64GB Card

he contenders of this month were SanDisk, Transcend and Kingston. We asked each company to send their best 32GB secure digital card. SanDisk sent the SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS- I 64GB card which promises a transfer speed of up to 95mb/s and is priced at `3590. Transcend sent us the Transcend Ultimate SDXC UHS- II 64GB card which promised to deliver 95MB/s read and 85MB/s write speed and is priced at `6000. Kingston had won the shootout last year, and sent the Kingston SDXC UHS- I 64GB card which claims a write speed of 80 MB/s and read speed of 90 MB/s which is priced at `3500. Class 10 UHS-I/II/III are some of the fastest SD cards available in the market currently and handles the highest quality standard definition in stills and video recording. For today’s full HD or 4K shooting DSLRs, a Class 10 would be a prominent and logical buy in terms of ease to carry, performance and reliability. The benchmark tests We have been known to follow the industry very closely

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

A Class 10 UHS-I/II/III is one of the fastest SD cards available and handles the highest quality standard definition in stills and video recording. For today’s full HD or 4K shooting DSLRs, a Class 10 would be a prominent and logical buy in terms of ease to carry, performance and reliability. Parameters

Like every year we have taken the following things into consideration while reviewing the cards: • Crystal Disk Mark 3.0.1 • Folder Test • In-camera performance and have always innovated and modified our tests according the industry’s improvements and standards. This year we have three tests to determine the winner of the category - Crystal Disk Mark test, Folder Transfer Test and In camera test. Crystal Disk Mark 3.0.1 The first card we tested was the SanDisk, which clocked 30.35Mb/s read speed and a 26.55 Mb/s write speed. Transcend recorded a read speed of 30.62 Mb/s and write speed of 27.19 Mb/s. Kingston on the other hand recorded a read speed of 30.59 Mb/s, and a write speed of 26.91 Mb/s.

SanDisk

Transcend

Folder Transfer test We put each card through a folder transfer test. For this we changed our standard parameter and we created a folder containing 2GB (Instead of 1GB) data which included videos, photographs, mp3 files and word files. We transferred the folder from the computer to the SD card and vice versa and recorded the time taken to do so. Transferring the folder from card to computer was recorded as the read time, and from computer to card as the write time. The read time for the Transcend was 1 minute 38.4 seconds followed by Kingston which also clocked 1 minute 38.4 seconds. SanDisk was faster by a few milliseconds then the other two clocking 1 minute 38.1 seconds. When it came to the write time, Kingston clocked 1 minute 18.8 seconds. SanDisk had the write time of 1 minute 18.6 seconds. Whereas Transcend was 1minute 18.4 seconds, a few milliseconds ahead of the other two cards. 100 90 80 70 60

Read (Seconds) onds) Write (Seconds) onds)

50 40 30 20 10 0 Kingston

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0

SanDisk

Transcend

In-Camera test We took the SD cards and ran it through our next test, the in-camera test. The camera used for the test was a standard Canon 6D with fixed shutter speeds of 1/125s, Aperture 7.1 and ISO 100. The camera was set to continuous shutter and photographs were taken in RAW. Photos were shot for 30 seconds and the total shots were divided by 30 to get frames per second comparison of the three. Transcend had the score of 1.92 fps, whereas Kingston had a score of 2.06fps. SanDisk was a winner in this category at managing 2.24 In Camera Performance Test (fps) frames per second. Each of the cards fought neck in each of In Camera Performance the tests, proving once Test (fps) again the fierce but healthy competition between the manufacturers. Here is a Kingston SanDisk Transcend roundup of the shootouts:

Kingston

Conclusion Transcend Ultimate SDXC UHS- II 64GB Card Transcend had a fastest read and write speed in the Crystal Disk Mark test at a read speed of 30.62 Mb/s and write speed of 27.19 Mb/s. In the folder transfer test Transcend tied with Kingston in the read time at 1 minute 38.4 seconds and writing speed was a couple of milliseconds faster than the other cards at 1minute 18.4seconds. It was the last in-camera performance test with a score of 1.92fps. Overall the Transcend Ultimate SDHC UHS-II 32GB Card performed decently in the shootout, but at a price of `6000, it is almost double the cost of the other two, thus taking the second place. SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS- I 64GB Card SanDisk came third in the Crystal Disk Mark test with a read speed of 30.35 MB/s, and a write speed of 26.55 MB/s. In the folder transfer test the SanDisk had a slightly faster read speed by a few milliseconds, clocking 1 minute 38.1 seconds, and was second best by barely 2 milliseconds in the write speed department clocking 1 minute 18.6 seconds. It had the best score in the in-camera test scoring 2.24fps. Priced at `3590, it is comparitively a pocket friendly high-performance card, thus ties in the first place with Kingston. Kingston SDXC UHS- I 64GB Card The Kingston consistently performed toe to toe in every test. It had the second best score in the Crystal Disk Mark test, clocking a read speed of 30.59 Mb/s, and a write speed of 26.91 Mb/s, and also in the in-camera performance test with a score of 2.06fps. In the folder transfer test it was close to its competitors with a read time of 1 minute 38.4 seconds and a write time of 1 minute 18.8 seconds. Though it did not ace any of the test, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peformance was consistent, and the card is budget-friendly at `3500, thus winning the shootout.

october 2017

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW

e Pric 50

,9 `2,54 nLy) yo (bod

Nikon D850 After a lot of teasing by Nikon, they finally launched the much talked about new full-frame DSLR, the Nikon D850. Nikon has been in the full-frame game with pretty solid contenders like the D810 and a slightly modified version, the D810A, they were missing some of the updates that the other manufacturers have been playing with for a few iterations now. The Nikon D850 is the answer to the huge fan-base of Nikon users. The manufacturer has made improvements to the D850 and it fits right in the race of the full-frame cameras and more precisely the DSLRs. Nikon has put in their best resources in building this camera and it is evident from the warm support it has received from the photography community. All this stir is caused by the newly-developed sensor and the vast multi-usage portfolio of the D850 which challenges some of the other cameras in this category. With a recent report from Petapixel, the Nikon D850 has received 100 points on the DxOMark test which is the most obtained by a DSLR camera, explains its ability. We received the camera from Nikon recently, and put it to test. Read on to find out how this beast performed.

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Sample Image

Look, Body and FeeL

SpecificationS Body type

Mid-size SLR

Max resolution

8256 x 5504

Effective pixels

45.7 megapixels

Sensor size

Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm)

Sensor type

BSI-CMOS

ISO

Auto, 64-25600 (expands to 32-102400)

Lens mount

Nikon F

Articulated LCD

Tilting

Screen size

3.2”

Screen dots

2,359,000

Max shutter speed

1/8000 sec

Format

MPEG-4

Storage types

SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II supported) + XQD

USB

USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)

Weight (inc. batteries)

1005g (2.22lb/ 35.45oz)

Dimensions

146 x 124 x 79mm (5.75 x 4.88 x 3.11”)

The Nikon D850 has been built around a newly-developed 45.7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor (BSI stands for back-illuminated sensor) and coupled with Nikon’s Expeed for the image processing power. The sensor also does away with the Optical Low-Pass Filter (OPLF) to retain more detail in the images. Apart from the host of new features, the D850 also embraces the new changes that have been incorporated in the new design. The result is a better performing sensor in different conditions and low noise in high ISO situations. The moment you take the camera in your hands, you are genuinely impressed by the superior deep grip which is covered in textured rubber, enabling a good hold on the camera during long periods of hand holding. The major changes include the redesigned body, a newly added multi-selector joystick and an improved button layout for the ease of use. The rear LCD display is now a 3.2 inch 2.4

october 2017

Sample Image

million dot display which is also tiltable. The first Nikon full frame DSLR camera to sport a tilting display was the Nikon D750 which was very well received. The auto-focus system has been borrowed from the Nikon’s flagship DSLR, the D5, and so you get 153 focus points, of which 99 of them are cross-type with 3D-tracking to ensure focus when shooting fast-moving subjects. The D850 however feels lighter than its predecessor, but somehow the weight scales are tipped by a few more grams than the Nikon D810 which took us by surprise. The D850 feels extremely rugged and solid in hands. The ISO count is now expanded to up to 26500 and a base ISO count of 64. Apart from the new sensor, the D850 shoots 4K videos in 30/25/24p without any cropping or pixel binning. This results in very high resolution videos captured using the full length and breadth of the sensor. The D850 also features 4K and 8K timelapse shooting. Along with Full HD videos, the D850 also shoots slow

motion in Full HD at 4X and 5X speeds which can be directly played out of the camera. The addition of focus peaking makes it easier to use in manual focus mode. The video segment has taken a major leap which is a welcome change for all those who seek an all-round camera for both stills and video work. The D850 now manages to shoot at 7 fps in continuous high shooting mode and this can be expanded to a hefty 9 fps speed with the use of an additional battery grip. The viewfinder of the Nikon D850 is a charm to look in to. It’s big and bright and probably the brightest of all Nikon DSLR optical viewfinders. It displays all major information that is overlayed on the viewfinder and can be customised as per one’s needs. The memory card slots now allow you to use an SD card and a faster XQD card. Both XQD and SD cards provide high readwrite speeds, XQD being the faster one in the game makes it reliable for shooting high resolution videos. However high speed SD cards are very reliable and will

Sample Image

october 2017

ISo PerFormance

200

400

800

1600

6400

12800

Sample Image meet the needs of a heavy user as well. The battery life on the Nikon D850 is what we can expect from a DSLR in this category. The D850 manages to shoot around 1700 shots on a full charge and after a full day of abuse these was a little more juice left. With added WiFi and bluetooth for wireless connectivity via Snapbridge and weather sealing on the Nikon D850 makes it seem like a fullframe dream. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a look at the quality of its output.

PerFormance and Image quaLIty

Performance is priority for the new D850. The images shot in RAW contain wide details and the dynamic range is excellent rendering great details in both shadows and highlights. The colour reproduced are balanced and neutral and the images have great contrast without much unnecessary saturation. There are several picture control modes which allow you to select between different settings like neutral, standard, vivid, monochrome etc and also custom picture modes to allow the user to create his own picture mode and save it. Similarly the out of the camera JPEG files were 25 megabytes in size on an average and were extremely detailed. The focussing is fast and accurate and the multi-selector button allows you to toggle through the focus points on the screen. The 7fps burst mode is pretty impressive and you can keep shooting hi-resolution JPEGs or RAW images without having to worry about the buffer being full. The videos shot using the D850 were exceptionally great. The cameraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4k videos as well as 4k/8k time-lapse and full HD slow motion videos for that

october 2017 www.asianphotographyindia.com

Sample Image

ultimate smooth look. The tilting screen is useful and helps you to get those tricky angle shots. The metering system provides fairly accurate readings for exposures according to what you would like the light on the image to be. The rear LCD is now touch enabled and is quite responsive unlike many other cameras.

ISo PerFormance

The Nikon D850 meant outright performance when it came to low-light situations. With images up to ISO 3200 showing no signs of noise whatsoever. You can get usable images up to ISO 6400 but most of us will not need to go up to such a high setting most of the times. The ISO range has been expanded to ISO 25600 but most photographers probably will not want to push as that will invite much unwanted noise.

and it is evident from the kind of performance it delivers. This is not only us but the entire photography fraternity that has its heart pacing since the D850 has been launched. The Nikon D850 is majorly an upgrade to the serious DSLR D810 and also a worth considering for those using the smaller Nikon DSLRs, and want to advance to a professional DSLR. The D850 checks all boxes when it comes to features and image quality. This camera is so versatile that it can be used by professionals shooting different genres including photojournalism and sports. The 4K shooting makes it a video maker’s dream and the right pricing makes it a competitor for someone’s first full-frame camera. The Nikon D850 has been priced at `2,54,950 (body only) and sits well between the current line-up of full frame DSLRs.

Look Body and Feel rating Featuring good ergonomic design and easy to use button layout.

Performance rating Brilliant images, sharp details and great dynamic range. Great ISO performance in low-light, 4K videos and timelapse

Overall rating A perfectly neat package for an all rounder. Performance is priority.

concLuSIon

Nikon has left no stone unturned when it came to developing the D850

teXt and images: mrinmoy choudhury

october 2017

camera review

e PriC 0 0 0 , `70

In a very recent launch event, Fujifilm introduced their latest camera, the X-E3. Asian Photography had attended this event hosted by Fuji in their HQ in Japan and a video review for the X-E3 has been put on our Facebook/ youtube page already. In this detailed review, we put the camera through its working paces and find out what this camera can actually do.

Fujifilm X-E3 Look, Body and FeeL

The Fujifilm X-E3 is a small handy mirrorless camera that has been designed keeping the retro looks in mind (as it is with most of the Fujifilm cameras). The build of the camera is solid and feels light and compact in the hand. The camera supports interchangeable lenses and can take up lenses from the existing Fuji XF mount lenses line-up. When you look at the camera, you will wonder if it is a 35mm SLR or a rangefinder camera from the 1970s. But turn around and you notice a 3-inch LCD display, carefully placed buttons and a new Joystick which replaces the directional scroll-pad from the earlier model of the camera, which was the X-E2. On the front of the camera, you will see a small rotating dial, on the top you see the Fujifilm logo, a shutter speed dial and an exposure compensation dial, which many will appreciate. The on/off switch

Tech Specs Sensor: 24 megapixels, APS-C CMOS sensor (23.6 x 15.6 mm) X-Processor Pro ISO: Auto, 200 - 12800 (expandable to 100-51200) Lens mount: Fujifilm X Number of focus points : 325 Viewfinder/LCD: 3” Fixed electronic touchscreen LCD, 1040000 screen dots, 2,360,000 resolution Weight (inc. batteries): 337 g (0.74 lb / 11.89 oz) Dimensions: 121 x 74 x 43 mm (4.78 x 2.91 x 1.68”) Exposure control: TTL 256-zone metering, Multi / Spot / Average / Center Weighted Viewfinder: 0.39-in., Approx. 2,360K-dot OLED color viewfinder, Coverage of viewing area vs. capturing area : Approx. 100% Movie recording:4K [3840 x 2160] 29.97p / 25p / 24p / 23.98P, 100Mbps Continuous recording : up to Approx. 10 min. Full HD [1920 x 1080] 59.94p / 50p / 29.97p / 25p / 24p / 23.98P, 36Mbps • Continuous recording : up to Approx. 15 min. HD [1280 x 720] 59.94p / 50p / 29.97p / 25p / 24p / 23.98P, 18Mbps • Continuous recording : up to Approx. 30 min. • • • • • • • • • • •

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is integrated with the shutter button placed in the middle of it. The shutter speed dial also has a small toggle switch which allows you to switch between auto and manual setting modes. The front houses an AF illuminator light and a AF-S, AF-C and M mode dial. The design of the camera is very minimal as Fujifilm described the camera to take photography back to the basics. The camera mainly is aimed towards a hobbyist and enthusiast market. The viewfinder is an EVF type and has received a major bump in its resolution than its predecessor, which enhances the viewing experience and also gives a 100% coverage of the scene when you look through it. The X-E3 ditches the pop-up flash for a bundled hot-shoe mount flash provided in the box. The flash however is a folding type and does not support multiple tilt angles as the case with external speedlights. A ‘Q’ marked button is seen on the right side of the back of the camera and it takes you to the quick settings which you can use to change settings on the go. The

rear LCD screen is a fixed type and does pose the need of a tilting screen at least, as it is quite a standard on cameras these days.

Image quaLIty

We paired the X-E3 with a Fujinon

23mm f/2.8 lens and went around carrying it on a regular basis. Before we speak about its performance, it’s very important to let you know that this camera ticks all the boxes for you if you are looking for a small and pocketable camera, assuming people who shall use

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october 2017

ISo PerFormance

it for their daily use and some may be for their street photography sessions. This camera is non-intimidating and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t usually put people off when you point it towards them (personal observation).

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The Fujifilm X-E3 comes equipped with a 24 megapixel APSC with X-Trans colour filter and supports ISO from auto and 200-12800. The X-E3 comes with improved AF tracking, thanks to a newer

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algorithm, now 50% smaller objects can be tracked with ease. All aside, the X-E3 now shoots 4K at 30p with pixel binning. The XE3 becomes Fujifilmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first body to offer an always-on low-power Bluetooth

images will hold better detail and more colour information so you can assume the final images to be crisp. Being an APS-C sized sensor camera we cannot expect it to deliver ultimate low-light photography abilities, but if paired with a fast lens like the Fujinon Super EBC XF 23mm f/1.4 R, the image quality is definitely sufficient.

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concLuSIon

The Fujifilm X-E3 might be a newer version of an existing series of cameras, but it is a change which is very refreshing and brings in a host of physical and operational changes to the camera including Bluetooth connectivity. If you are looking to buy your first capable camera or graduating from a smartphone/point and shoot camera, it’s a worthy buy. The Fuji lineup has now more number of lenses making it easier to choose lenses according to one’s choice of shooting. The Fujifilm X-E3 has been priced at `70,000 and will be available from12th October.

Look Body and Feel rating Extremely minimalistic design, compact and easy to use.

Performance rating Good performer for images, good lineup of native lenses as well. Supports Fujifilm simulation. link to your smartphone. Once paired over Bluetooth, you can simply fire-up the Fujifilm app on your phone and it’ll automatically connect to the camera using Wifi for remote control or image transfer – much easier than manually browsing and selecting Wifi networks. The image quality from the Fujifilm X-E3 is good enough in the JPEGs straight out of the camera. The colours look neutral and identical to real life scenes. The autofocus is fast and

snaps into focus quickly on the half press of the shutter. However there have been a few hit or miss in low-light situations which is further eased by the AF-assist beam. Although it is not a major drawback, and the target audience might not feel the difference.

Overall rating The camera has a neat body design, it is easy to use and provides optimal image quality for the price. .

ISo PerFormance

The ISO performance is good and produces usable results till ISO 3200 if you need it that high. The RAW

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Everything is different under the water. Particularly lighting, follows different principles and patterns. Light need to be about six times stronger than on land depending on depth. Lights need to be either constant, ambient light or strobes that are connected directly to your camera. Another challenge is dealing with radio trigger. The models need to adapt to shooting in a near zero-gravity environment. I advised my model to hold her breath for few seconds and pose. I too acted fast and took the frame well in time. I used red, white and yellow sari to get curves and contours. It was really a challenge for me as well as my model Priya Jha to see things in a whole new light.

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