Kishor Krishnamoorthi’s WebsiteKishor a.k.a Mjuboy’s Blog

This is the first part of a new series that I have planned. The series titled ‘The Making of  a Photograph’ will be a detailed explanation of some of my photoshoots. For this post, we will look into my latest photoshoot taken a few days ago on a foggy day and appropriately titled ‘A Foggy Day‘.

It was the 14th of January, a Wednesday and a very dull and boring one it was. On the way back home from University, I noticed the thick fog that enveloped everything around me. I quickly realized that I could take advantage of this weather and take some interesting photos. After heading home, I managed to convince my housemate, Jack to model for a few photos even though he was a bit reluctant to leave the warmth of the house. He wore a large and heavy full length coat along with a hat to portray a character of mystery which would go well with the fog.

We headed into the fog and walked to the fields. The first shots were just of him walking into the fog. I just asked him to walk ahead while I stayed back and took photos of him walking along. I used my Tamron 18-250mm for these shots since I wanted to use the wide angle to show the perspective. You can see the first shot on the right. I used the classic Rule of Thirds to compose the photo, with the sky dominating the photograph. In the next photo, I also used the Rule of Thirds but let the landscape dominate the photo as you can see here.

After this, we slowly came up to the tree which is lightly visible through the fog in the previous photos. I asked him to go stand by  the tree and face the landscape. I got down to a low angle to isolate him from the background and captured a shot continuing with  the mystery theme which you can see here.

After this shot, we continued into the fields trying to think of new ideas when I spotted a man walking towards us through the fog. I quickly asked Jack to look at the man and I managed to capture my favourite photo of the day as you can see below.

As the person approached us, we quickly pretended to be taking photos of something else but we neednt have because by some rare coincidence, it turned out be our other housemate, Tom. After a quick greeting, Tom said he was willing to do some modelling as well which was great for me! So I changed some of my ideas to include two people but struggled to think anymore unique concepts. As with the previous photos, I asked them to walk along while I followed and took photos. I changed my lens at this point to my Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 to have a more distanced and telephoto look to the photographs. But before they started walking, Tom had an idea to walk right into the fields and stand in the dense fog. It sounded like a good idea so I asked him to go along. Unfortunately, it didnt look as great as we expected it to but it was a part of the experimenting that we did so it didnt matter too much.

Then they continued walking while I snapped some shots from behind them. Using manual focus on my 135mm at that amount of light was a bit tricky but the slight out of focus only added to the effect of the photograph. Following this, we reached a downhill which made a clear-cut horizon against the fog. I had already planned to have Jack in this photo so I asked Tom to stay with me while Jack walked on. I changed my lens again, this time to the ever famous Canon 50mm f/1.8 and slowly waited as Jack trudged through the mud. We shouted and asked him to stop once he had reached the horizon. I got some lovely shots of his dark figure silhouetted against the fog and then once I was satisfied with the shots I had taken, we walked towards him and once we got closer, Tom had a instantaneous idea and pretended to hold a gun towards Jack and this resulted in a slightly candid, humourous and still mysterious photograph.

After this, I thought we had covered every single possible photograph in the fog but I hadnt thought broadly enough. Once we came up to the woods, I pictured another nice concept and asked Jack to walk through this random path. He walked around ten metres before I got a satisfactory and asked him to come back. You can see that shot here.

All the photos were processed in Adobe Lightroom starting off with some presets and customizing them until I arrived at a look I liked. I hope everyone learnt something from this walkthrough. I know it isnt perfect so all criticism is invited which will help me improve my future posts.

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But my internet was, for around 3 weeks. We successfully managed to get internet yesterday and even though I had managed to adapt to an internet-less life, there are still several things that one requires the internet for. Google Calender was effectively replaced by Post-Its and I think I’m still going to have Post-Its around because they are really handy. The main downside was the fact that I had to head down to the University Labs everytime I wanted to check my email and also that Steam refused to work in offline mode. But obviously all of this is now settled and I can go back to my routine internet life.

Several things have happened since the last time I posted here. One major thing which had happened and that I hadnt noticed was that I had won the first prize in the September HPC Photo Contest with the theme ‘Black and White. I’ve posted the winning photo below and my thanks go out to those who voted for me.

University has been going fine as well, we’ve had our first lectures last week and will have our first classes this week. I’ve also got a job with the Students’ Union as the official photographer which is great since I totally enjoy my work. And I was also unanimously voted as the Course Representative for my degree scheme couple of days ago and I shall definitely work towards the betterment of the courses at Uni.

Living in a house is a great experience, very different from last year’s on-campus accommodation, both in positive and negative ways. Positive since everything is your own space and you have a sense of home and personal attachment to the place. Negative is the slightly longer walk to University. But overall, I do prefer the house to last year’s towers.

Somehow, this term, I miss India a lot more than I did last year. My family, my friends, the food, the place, the atmosphere, but I’m sure everything will work out eventually.

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Continuing my monthly series of photographs, here is the second post showcasing my favourite landscape photographs. You can see the first post of the series here.

Glorious Illumination, Copyright of Timothy Wolcott.

Rightfully titled ‘Glorious Illumination’ by landscape photographer Timothy Wolcott, this spectacular photograph taken in Antarctica has inspired me to visit Antarctica atleast once in my lifetime. The exotic and unique location of this photograph, the amazing use of negative space, the graceful fusion of water and ice and the abundance of my favourite color, blue, makes this one my most favourite landscape shots of all time.

Morning Tree, Copyright of Richard Smith.

Taken in Keswick, England, this beautiful photo of dawn is what I imagine Paradise to be. A stretch of lush green grass with a river flowing next to it, and topped off with a view of mountains and peaks. This photo just feels so serene and peaceful,and along with the tree in the foreground, nothing seems wrong.

Beacon Rock, Copyright of Luke Olsen

As a long time fan of dusk and night shots, this photography instantly appealed to me by being a combination of sunset and lights.  The near perfect composition leading the eye to the red light on the left is beautiful. The low angle on the shot and the seemingly universal depth-of-field was the result of the Canon 24mm TS-E f/3.5 L which is a tilt shift lens. They require a decent amount of knowledge to master and once you know how to use it well, you can create masterpieces like this one.

On Top of the Divide, Copyright of David Gong.

The blending of motion and stillness in this shot of the moon and some rocks is simply breathtaking. It was shot on a film camera (Nikon F100) with a 15mm fisheye lens to give the bulging wide angle effect to the photo. The movement of the clouds has been captured with a long exposure of 180 seconds and an aperture of f/5.6. Its photos like these that made me fall in love with night photography.

Heading Home, Copyright of Aditya Mopur.

Simplicity is the name of the game and this photograph does wonders to portray it. The use of the rule of thirds, and the muted colours convey a sense of peace and serenity. And the title of ‘Heading Home’ depicting an Indian boatman gives one a sense of nostalgia and sentiment for the motherland.

Night Sky in the Outback, Copyright of Jeff Nyveen.

Having attempted to shoot Star Trails twice, I know how tough its too get a good shot. This particular photo has a ridiculously long exposure time of 4 hours. Normal digital cameras would probably die if they were set up for a 4 hour long exposure and hence, this was taken with a film camera. The inclusion of the dark trees definitely adds to the photograph which would’ve otherwise been a bit bland. The random colors of the stars also adds to the already colorful pinkish-orange sky.

If you have any landscape photographs that you wish to share, please do post them in the comments.

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Following on the popularity of the London Photography Wallpapers which were featured in Smashing Magazine, I decided to release 6 more wallpapers, this time of my hometown, Hyderabad, India. I’ve also included 6 resolutions this time to accomodate everyone’s desktop sizes.

Charminar – The Symbol of Hyderabad

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Chowmahalla Palace

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The Real Hyderabad

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Moving Lights

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Mecca Masjid

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Red and White

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I hope everyone like this batch of Wallpapers as well, please feel free to leave your comments. And these wallpapers are also dedicated to a friend who will be leaving Hyderabad soon in search of greener pastures, you know who you are.

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I’m going to kick off this post with some very sad news, one of the best violin players in India, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, passed away yesterday night due to a cardiac arrest. He was 75 years old and had been awarded a Padma Shri title. His classic style of music will be sorely missed. You can watch his work here.

I also have some good news, my last photo of the 365 Day Project, ‘Day 366‘ had appeared on the frontpage of Flickr Explore. It feels really nice to have the final photo of the project become popular, it give me the satisfaction that I’ve achieved a lot with the project. I’ve taken a screenshot of this memorable event which you can see below. My thanks to everyone who viewed, commented and favorited the photo.

Day 366 on Flickr Explore

And as I mentioned earlier, Sony has announced their newest dSLR, the A900 with a full frame sensor and a whopping resolution of 24 Megapixels and thus winning the megapixel race among dSLRs. It also features a 2.5-4 stop internal image stabilization feature, a 100% viewfinder and dual BIONZ processors. It has a bust rate of 5fps which might seem a bit low but then again, you’ll probably used such a highres camera only in studio situations which wont require high burst rates. The ISO range is decent, ranging from 100-6400. And the fact that it only costs $3,000 makes it a clear winner.

Sony has also announced two new lenses to accompany the A900. The first is a 16-35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss priced at $1,800 and the second is a 70-400mm f/4-5.6 costing $1,500. Both of them will ship in Jan 2009 and seem very impressive indeed.

This is obviously a problem for Canon who seems to be slightly going down in the market due to lack of innovation. It has everyone eagerly awaiting for the new 5D for which they have released a teaser saying “Destined Evolution’ which has only increased expectations. But the real problem here is not the A900 but since Sony manufactures the sensors for Nikon, there is a good chance that a D3x will be announced sporting a 24MP sensor and 25600 ISO which would make any loyal Canonian cry. But only time will tell so lets wait and see.

Apple has also announced the new generation of iPod Nanos. They dont have any spectacular improvements function wise but look better with a curved slim body and lot of fancy colors. Take a look at it here.

If you are Bulgarian, you should probably hang your head in shame since Slovakia beat Bulgaria in women’s ice hockey with a final score of 82-0. Read all about it here.

And thats all for now folks, but keep your eyes peeled for some wallpapers soon!

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Around this time last year, I decided to embark on a journey that, over the course of a year, took me to many places, it made me do things I would have otherwise never done, it led me to meet new people, it changed the way I saw things, it had more effect on my life than I thought it ever would.

It was the 365 Day Project, a resolution to take one good photograph everyday from the 9th of September 2007 to the 8th of September 2008. It isnt any special date, just a random on which I thought that it would be fun I started the project. I did not know if I would have the will power to complete it but I thought that it would be interesting if I gave it a try and I’ve never regretted that decision to start the project.

The project has definitely fulfilled its purpose – to improve my photography skills. Even though I still consider myself far from the professionals, I have definitely improved by a remarkable level over 366 days and I am pleased about it. It has also had several positive side effects such as making me learn new things about photography, and whenever I took a photograph of a new and unusual thing, I used to read up on that as well and this has increased my general knowledge too.

I am of mixed feelings today. I am happy since I am no longer obliged to produce a good photo everyday but I also feel sad since it’s almost like a part of me has left me. I’m sure I’ll feel better over time and I will probably do another 365 Day Project sometime later but not in the near future because I’ll be entering my second year at University and academics does have more importance than hobbies. I will continue photographs, no doubt about that, but the frequency might subside a little. The final photograph of the project can be viewed here.

You can see the set of all the photographs here and you can also view a slideshow of all the photographs here. I hope you enjoyed watching the photos everyday for the past year, you can keep yourself updated with the photos I take in the future by visiting my Flickr Photostream often or adding me as a contact on Flickr or subscribing to this RSS Feed.

Thanks to my family for supporting me with this project, my friends for always being there to participate or help with the project, and every single person who has been following this project. Thank you!

Update – I’ve found out that the final photo has made the frontpage of Flickr Explore!

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I have to admit that I am sometimes completely out of ideas for the 365 Day Project and this is usually at around 9 at night when I only have 3 more hours to get an idea for a decent photo of the day. And then I try one of the following tips to manage a last minute good photo.

1. Look around you.

Some of the most impressive photographs that I’ve seen are of things that we use in our daily life taken from a different perspective. Going down to macro level on random things lying on your table can make them look surprisingly good. Try and get some sort of symmetry/perspective with the object and there is a high possibility of getting a good shot from a simple object. Most Point ‘n’ Shoot cameras have a macro mode with a minimum focus distance ranging from 0cm to 5cm. It is usually denoted by a flower symbol and can be enabled either by a button on the body or in the menu depending upon your model.

For dSLRs, you can either get a dedicated Macro lens like the Canon Macro EF 100m f2.8 or Nikkor Micro 105mm f/2.8 VR or alternatively, you can get a lens which can deliver results close to a true macro. A dedicated macro lens like the ones mentioned can give level of 1:1 magnification which means that the size of the image on a full frame sensor will be equal to the size of the object. Lenses like the Sigma 70 – 300mm Macro f/4-5.6 can give you a ratio of 1:2 which means the size of the image will be half of what it is in real life. This ratio is probably enough for most users and the lens also doubles as a telephoto zoom lens.

For people who dont wish to buy a new lens for macro, you can get some extension tubes which are placed between the lens and camera. Since they move the lens away from the sensor plane, it increases the size of the image, thereby creating a pseudo macro lens. The downside is that you cannot focus on infinity with the extension tubes in place and it also reduces the amount of light hitting the sensor so it would be advisable to use a tripod for the resulting long exposures. The 50mm f/1.8 is the recommended lens for using extension tubes but you can also try it with other lenses that you already own. You can also get some close up filters which can be fit on the end of the lens and they reduce the minimum focusing distance of the lens. For the more adventurous, you can try a reversed lens technique which involves reversing a lens and placing it infront of another lens which is on the camera body. Personally, I’ve never tried it but it apparently results in some interesting macros with a magnification higher than 1:1.

Here are a couple of shots that I took of my speakers and a pound coin, both were impromptu and turned out better than I expected.

2. Go for a walk

A short walk around the neighbourhood with the prime objective of taking photographs can yield good results and make you notice new things. You’ll look at the same place that you see everyday with a different eye and observe small details that you may missed earlier. These small details can possibly make a nice photo, either in macro or just as a landscape shot with unique aspect.

Go to the local park and you can get some nature shots of flowers, trees and the greenery there. You can also probably spot some kids playing in the playground and get a few playful photos of them. However, make sure you ask their parents for permission or they might get offended by this stranger with a camera snapping photos of their children.

You can get the best landscape shots at twilight so depending on your location, start off from home about 30 minutes before the sun starts to set and you should be able to take some nice landscape photographs of your locality. You can use your kit lens but if you do have another walkaround lens or all purpose zoom lens, take that one with you, just to be ready for all types of opportunities.

I got this shot at a stroll in the evening and this one at a walk in the night.

3. Browse Flickr.

Flickr is one of the largest photo sharing websites used extensively by many photographers, both professionals and amateurs. Due to its huge popularity, you can find thousands of photographs on any subject that you like. You can find a lot of shots which will inspire you and give you ideas to recreate the shot and maybe modify it to your liking.

You can start off by going to ‘Explore‘ which is a day-by-day catalogue of Flickr’s most popular photos for that specific date. You can choose to surf to a specific date of the year and see the popular photos for that date, I usually start by going to the date of my birthday but you can always chose any date that you wish. You can also select a ‘tag’ that you find interesting and it will show all the popular photos with that tag. Another new option is to surf the geo-tagged photos, so for example, you can see all the geo-tagged photos which have been taken at the a specific street in Paris, etc.

Another thing which I like to do is to go through the photo pools of several groups. You can search for a group and most of the time, there always exists a group filled with similar ideologies like you. You can then surf through the various photos in the group and try and find something interesting. You can also go through the photostream of the individual photographer who took a photo that you liked to see more of his work.

All of the photos that you find interesting can serve as inspiration to you and give you new and fresh ideas for photos that you may not have thought of by yourself.

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These are 6 photographs that I really like, handpicked from over 150 photographs from my favorites on Flickr.

Copyright of p0cket-paul.

The above photograph has a special significance to me since it was the first image that I added as a favorite on Flickr more than a year ago. Other than the obvious reasons of why one would like this photo, it was taken by a Film Camera (Canon A-1) which gives it a nice grainy black and white effect which I love. And the pure candid feeling of the photo puts it above many others and the fact that it looks like the photographer is grinning broadly adds to the mood.

Copyright of Ronald Suello.

I loved this shot the moment I saw it. It was the shot that inspired me to take up Strobist style of photography seriously and invest in new lighting equipment. It is also the single shot that inspired this entire set of mine on Flickr. This shoot has a ‘coolness’ factor to it which sets it apart from other alcohol bottle shots. And the motion of the water frozen forever simply makes it one of the best alcohol based shots I have ever seen.

Copyright of Eldad Hagar.

The expression on the face of the tiger, the ripples in the water and the grabbing paw make this an amazing wildlife/action shot. The shot is action packed and the motion blur created by the tiger as it burst into the water give it a sense of motion. The fierce and hungry look on the face is priceless and it probably would take a lot of effort to recreate this awesome moment.

Copyright of Matt Cohen.

Do I really need to explain why this photo is amazing? The timing, the action captured, the amazing glass used (Nikkor 70-200 2.8 VR) and the high ISO (2500) come together to create what can possibly be named as one of the greatest rodeo shots ever. I was simply awestruck by this photo and its my dream to capture a similar shot before I die.

Copyright of Tom Atwell.

I could’ve never imagined that one drop of water could be made to look so beautiful and artistic. And what makes this photo one my favorites is not only the fact that it looks spectacular but also the way it was taken. As said in the comments by the photographer Tim Atwell himself, he used a sound activated time delay circuit to activate the flash for this photo. Pure genius.

Copyright of Trey Ratcliff.

Two reasons why this I love this photo, number one, it is of India and number two, it was taken by HDR Guru Stuck in Customs. High Dynamic Range, more popularity know as HDR is a type of photography where 3 or more bracketed exposures are merged to form one photo. Its a tricky procedure and there are thousands of bad HDRs out there but few people like Trey have managed to master the process and produce wonderful images like the one above. If you want give a try at HDR, make sure you read his tutorial here.

I hope everyone like this post, I plan to make this a regular post like this, maybe every month, so please leave some feedback which will help me improve my posts.

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Its been about 45 days since I’ve come down to good ol’ Hyderabad and I’ll be going back to University in just over a month. I’ve done a lot over the past month or so and there still remains a lot to get done before I head back to Essex.

Driving lessons have been going on well, I’ve had about a week’s worth of classes so far and I’m finding slightly difficult to coordinate all my limbs to do different things while still looking at the road but I’m sure it’ll become second nature eventually.

I was also accepted by Visage Images to publish photos on their website for sale. I still havent put up any photos yet as the agreement is still being processed but I’m sure they’ll go up within the next fortnight.

And yesterday, I had what was probably one of the best photoshoots ever at the local basketball court with a few friends. Two of them, Chris and Tharun were very helpful with the lights and all. Our main man, Ranjith was the model, and also did an excellent job. I’ve uploaded the photos from shoot on Flickr and you can see the set here.

And I’ve got a chunk of stuff to get done before I get back to Uni, which I’m trying to do little by little everyday so that I dont get a shock on the day before I go.

I’ve been following the Olympics with some interest, esp. after seeing the photography gear that they use to shoot the Olympics. Its very impressive, I highly recommend that you check it out.

Olympics Gear. Copyright of Vincent LaForet.

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For my 18th Birthday, I shall be giving away 6 free photography wallpapers which were taken by me in the wonderful city of London. I hope you like them!

London Underground

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Lloyds Building

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London Eye

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St.Pauls Cathedral

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The Streets of London

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Millennium Bridge

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You can see more of my photography work at my Flickr Photostream.

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