Photograph/Gabriel Fuchs

After having made fun of my photographer friend Anita for oh-so-long, I finally went to her home country India. Even though she is from Hyderabad, we met in Mumbai where she decided to guide me. However, I quickly realised that one does not need a guide to experience Mumbai. This is a city that is so rich of impressions that no matter where one walks, one is bound to experience something notable. Mumbai is a city that has lots of everything and lots of nothing.

Anita, having lived in Mumbai, was however undaunted by all these impressions. To her, it was simply a part of India. To me, it was about combining sympathy for the street vendor selling socks to a population mostly wearing sandals – if they wear shoes at all – and surprise at being offered drugs by street-hustlers just by showing my Swedish face on the streets.

Such a situation would also mean lots to photograph, right? But really, what does one photograph in Mumbai? The poor? Nothing enchanting in that. Only rich people claim that the poor are happy. However, there is nothing charming—at all—about being poor and destitute.

So, does one instead photograph the landmarks of Mumbai? Well, I tried taking photos of Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus and was promptly stopped by a police officer wearing an assault rifle. This is probably the world’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site that tourists are not allowed to photograph for security reasons.

With this in mind, I felt what was finally “photographable” for a tourist like me was the general street activity and the colourfulness of the saris. But herein appeared a paradox; the impressions of Mumbai were so strong that I got lost in them. I almost forgot to take photos because of all these impressions. As for Anita, I lost her for real. I was so into trying to comprehend everything I saw that I wandered off in my own direction in some alley. No other city has made me forget neither Anita nor taking photos.

Photograph/Gabriel Fuchs

So I wandered on in these alleys where people stared at my camera as a prized object, feeling that I would be offensive taking photos of beggars with leprosy or children sleeping on the street. Maybe it is just the fact that I am unused to seeing this and simply does not know how to handle the situation, but in the end I took fewer photos than I would ever have imagined. What Anita did, I did not know; I had forgotten her completely once I realised that I was not going to find her anyway in a city where the streets are more numerous than the photos being taken by a photographer on high-grade memory cards.

All in all, my first experience with Mumbai was not one of seeing nice and beautiful things. It probably offered the strongest impressions I have had among all places I have visited and I saw tons of interesting things, but beautiful? Nah, not really.

But I certainly had one beautiful experience later in the evening when I was reunited with Anita at the hotel. Being an Indian—and an Indian photographer no less—she had of course taken more photos than even a photographer on high-grade memory cards. Anita can do that, no matter where she is.

The birthday cake gives a number of opportunities to shoot interesting photographs. This photograph effectively depicts the birthday kid’s curious expressions. Photograph/Gio Zizzo

Birthdays are filled with wishes, moments and loads of fun. Raj Lalwani lists a few simple tips on how you can capture the joy and excitement of the celebrations.

There is a birthday in the family and preparations are rushed. As you get ready for the celebrations, you try and recall whether everything is in place. Food, check. Cake, check. Invitations, check. But more importantly, make sure your camera is ‘checked’ too. Photography is indeed an integral part of all birthday celebrations. But while a number of birthday pictures tend to look similar, we do not realise that we can give such photographs a unique touch, using the most basic equipment. Keep these simple tips in mind to make your birthday pictures stand out.

Candid Moments are Sweeter
Birthdays are full of candid moments. The expressions of kids, the mood swings and interactions between them, the elders playing with the children, all make interesting subjects. To capture these, keep your camera ready at all times.
You can try catching their attention in different ways. Call out someone’s name and catch their expression as they look towards you. Alternatively, talk to them to capture their reaction. You can also shoot a number of frames of someone who is posing for you. They will wonder why you are taking so long to take one photograph and react in their own inimitable style.

Inflatable castles with sea of colourful balls and balloons are quite popular in kids’ birthday parties. They make vibrant and lively pictures too, because of their candybright colours. Photograph/Cynthia Sapna

Capture People Bonding
Birthdays bring together family and friends. Establish relationships by shooting the way people, especially kids, interact with each other. Shoot in such a way that these interactions narrate great stories. Zoom in close on the two or three people you wish to capture, and let their smiles do the rest.

Shoot Before the Party
Capture the atmosphere at the venue, before the party has actually begun. The setting up of decorations and balloons, the hustle and bustle, the different moods and expressions of the birthday kid, are all scenes that make great birthday pictures.
Zoom in on the cake, streamers, or balloons. These are characteristic of each birthday, and their pictures will make your album complete. Besides the cake and the party decor, you can shoot a pile of gifts, or an array of food.

Have the Guests Arrived?
Every guest brings with them, their own personality to the party. Someone may walk in quietly, while another might choose to announce their arrival loudly. Have they got any gifts? Can you guess what the gift is by looking at the package? Catch the spontaneous reactions that occur at these times, especially those of the birthday kid.

Images shot before the arrival of the guests help emphasise the pre-party preparations and can make your overall set of pictures more complete. Photograph/Ana Maria Santeiro

Time to Cut the Cake
This would be the most important part of any birthday. Shooting a photograph of the cake being cut can be quite challenging. Candle light by its very nature, lends a warm tone to a photograph. Avoid using flash unless absolutely necessary, so that you can capture that warmth. At this time, there are a lot of things you can shoot—the cake itself, the birthday kid making a wish, the candles being blown, the cake-cutting ceremony. People clapping and singing can also make good subjects.

Capture expressions, especially during snacks. Use a shallow depth-offield to blur distractions in the background. Photograph/Ben Mcleod

Let us Play Games!
The games are usually the craziest and most fun-filled part of the birthday. It will also be the time when you will need to be most active, since you may have to go from one end of the room to the other to get a good photograph! To keep up with those enjoying the game and capture their joy, be a part of the revelry yourself, and shoot as many pictures as possible.
The continuous shooting mode of your camera will help you capture the essence of the action. It is usually better to enable the central focus point and select your focus rather than let the camera choose the focus for you. Experiment with different ends of the zoom. Include all the kids in the frame, and then try zooming in.

Candles make great subjects too! Zoom in close and shade the lens with your hand to avoid flaring or ghosting. Photograph/Steve Woods

See Beyond the Poses
Posed shots can often be repetitive and mundane, so try to make them more interesting. Shoot pictures in which everyone has different expressions, or is looking in completely different directions. You could also pretend that you are done shooting, and then capture the moment when they ease out of their pose!

Make Everyone the Photographer
Never do the shooting alone. Pass the camera around to your friends and family members. Not only will you get to be part of the photographs, the others will bring their own style of shooting and may shoot subjects that you did not notice.
When giving the camera to others, who would be better to shoot the birthday than the birthday kid! So let the child record the birthday party in the manner he/she chooses to. Also, photographs from a kid’s perspective are often more dynamic, since things are seen from a different height. Learn from this while shooting yourself, and bend down to the eye level of a child.

Use selective focusing to isolate expressions of children at the party. Creative framing and interesting compositions help enhance the mood in the picture. Photograph/Nurshaela

The Venue is Important too!
A child will always remember the place where he/she celebrated his/her birthday. So whether the venue is your house, a restaurant or a park, try to include the environment in some photographs to capture the feel of the party.
Once you are done shooting, you can arrange your pictures in the form of a collage, an album, or even an audio-visual. Towards the end of the party, connect the camera to a television and play the images so that everyone can look back at the fun. Undoubtedly, great photographs help make the special day a lot more memorable.

How to Avoid ‘Candle Ghosts’ in Your Photographs

Photograph/Raj Lalwani

When you point your camera straight into a light source, ghost-like images of the light get formed in the image. This usually occurs in compact cameras and DSLRs with low-end lenses. This problem often comes up, especially when taking a photograph of the candles on a cake. You will, in fact, be able to notice a hint of the ghosting while looking through the viewfinder.

To get a ghost-free image, alter your position with respect to the candle flame. Shoot from a higher or lower angle to avoid ghosting. If this is not possible, use a lens hood or cup your lens with your hand. If nothing seems to work and the ghosting continues to occur, ensure that the ‘candle ghosts’ are in a part of the frame that does not distract, and they do not block someone’s face.

Take advantage of your child’s daily activities, like the feeding time, to shoot messy yet adorable pictures. Experiment with vantage points to enhance the mood of the picture. Photograph/Brian Cooper

A baby’s early years are an important time of their life. Samira Pillai shows how you can use patience, timing and a bit of luck to shoot some great photographs of your baby.

The arrival of a new member brings tremendous joy to a family. Naturally, taking pictures of the baby becomes the first priority. Babies can be quite the naturals in front of the camera. The challenge lies in how to make more than just ‘cute’ pictures. To shoot adorable yet stunning pictures that your kids can look back at in wonder when they are older, take advantage of the following photo opportunities.

When They Are Newborns
Since most babies do not move at all or even assume really funny poses while asleep, make it a point to keep your camera ready. Set the shot and choose a nice, comfortable bedspread for the baby. Your baby will place its hands and legs on either side, and their head will be angled to one side—and that would be the shot you are looking for.

Let your child be their natural self when photographing him/her. Engage them in conversation and banter, to bring out the best from them. Photograph/Alok Brahmbhatt

All Dressed Up
If you plan to do a portfolio of your baby’s very first pictures, remember to keep the clothing simple. The colours, too, should be neutral. Pastel shades like pinks, blues, and yellows work best as they complement babies well. With light colours like these, remember to overexpose by half a stop from the camera’s reading to get the colours right. Never clutter the frame with too many props, and do not dress them up too much. Keep it as natural as possible, for more pleasing photographs.

Newborns cannot ‘pose’. So take the help of your partner to hold them up the way you want. Then, vary the aperture settings to blur the background. Photograph/Carin Araujo

Bath Time!
This is an excellent photo opportunity! During bath time, get your partner or family members to help you keep the baby busy. Some babies love splashing in the water, while wearing the goofiest expressions on their faces. Photograph them playing with their bath toys, with the person bathing them, or when they are covered in soapy lather. You can also photograph them just after their bath, when they are being towel-dried, powdered and clothed.

Photograph your baby with the father or mother holding it. The bonding of a child with parents is an essential part of the initial years. Photograph/Ben Earwicker

When They are Being Fed
Feeding time can give you stunning black and white photographs. When the baby is being fed either by the mother or with feeder bottles, go for a tight close-up. When your children are old enough to eat by themselves, they love playing with their food. This is the time when you should get the messy look in your photographs. Remember to capture their happy expressions while they are eating. Talk to them and trigger the shutter when they pause to look at you.

Go down to your child’s height to shoot photographs. This helps in establishing a better connect when shooting, and results in a picture that has more impact. Photograph/Martin K

With Favourite Toys, in Favourite Places
Generally, when kids are dressed and well-fed, they are at their playful best. They spend time with members of the family, engage with siblings, and idly play with their toys. Some children will even have their favourite toys and corners in and around the house. If they happen to be the naughty types, you are sure to find them indulging in innocent mischief. Their expressions when ‘caught’ can be priceless.

‘The’ Moments of Growing Up
Your baby’s many firsts—smile, crawl, walk, bath—are critical moments that you would want to have a visual record of. But to ensure that you have strong photographs, wait till the baby is ready, rather than trying to get it to do something you want. Catch their attention by calling their name, or making funny noises. If your baby waddles with a walker, or a family member is trying to teach them to walk, photograph the baby with them.
Their response to you is what will make the photograph. Ensure that the background is clean and use a shallow DOF to blur the clutter.

Experiment with tight cropping to focus on the features and expressions of your child. Go close or use the telephoto end of your lens to achieve this. Photograph/Samira Pillai

With Loved Ones
Your child’s photo album would be incomplete without parents, siblings and grandparents. Make it a point to capture your baby interact with other members of the family, and do not forget to include yourself in these pictures. Some of the most poignant photographs can be made by shooting a father holding his child, or a mother holding her baby close to her chest. When grandparents hold their grandchild, capturing their fragility makes for an endearing photograph.

Also, organise a photo-session with the entire family. Choose a space in your home where everybody can be accommodated— the sofa set in the hall, or even in your baby’s nursery. Direct everyone to their place and let the baby be the centre of attention. Then, place the camera on a tripod, table or shelf, set it on self-timer and run into the frame yourself!
With babies, it is more about what you photograph than how you photograph them. Techniques only enhance the visual strength. Years down the line, time will seem to have gone by quickly, but by shooting great photographs of your little one, you would have preserved their childhood forever.

Use Available Light
A baby’s eyes are very delicate and sensitive to any kind of harsh, bright light. Thus, the use of the right kind of light is important.

Photograph/Samira Pillai

• Make use of natural light whenever possible. Light coming in through windowpanes, or diffused light of early evening are perfect for rendering natural skin tones.
• Flash is best avoided, because it can cause discomfort to a child. Direct flash can harm a newborn’s eyesight or cause trauma.
• If you are shooting outdoors, and the sunlight is too harsh, use fill-in flash to reduce the contrast.
• When you are indoors, take advantage of nearby lamps. Keep the flash turned off, boost your camera’s ISO, and use a tripod to see what results you can accomplish.

Experiment with Compositions

Photograph/Ankur Aras

• Shoot Extreme Close-ups: Babies give the most adorable expressions— they yawn, smile, and form an ‘O’ with their mouth when surprised. Encourage these by playing with them. Then, get as close as possible, fill the frame, and focus on just the face. Also, focus on just the feet, hands, eyes, nose, toes and ears, especially when they are newborns.
• Go Down the Child’s Height: Shoot pictures from a baby’s perspective. This will minimise distortion, and also give a personal touch to pictures. Also, there is a greater chance for interaction and expression when the baby can see you.
• Let a Family Member Be the Background: Have an adult hold the baby in a way that the person becomes the backdrop for the baby. This is more useful when photographing newborns.

Wild desert blooms against the moon? Not really. These were shot against a lamp in Samira's terrace garden. Photograph/Samira Pillai

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. –Author Unknown

I know a person, Samira, who is really into photography. She is so much into it that she actually rarely has the time to take any photos. It is difficult to be more hardcore than that. Samira arranges and prints photos by other photographers. And when she does not do that, she writes about photography. Like most artistic professions, it is hard work to make a decent living out of it. Therefore, Samira works long hours. Consequently, she usually only has the occasion to take photos the little time she is at home. Given that she is a tea drinker and that she never has time to really take photos, her resulting photos make others wonder if she is simply holding the camera in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, trying to relax after a hard day’s work. No matter if this is true or not, her friends call her a “teapot photographer”.

The truth is, Samira enjoys teapot photography, but working with photography she would, of course, not admit to that. After all, teapot photography seems so simplistic. And peculiar. But then again, teapot photography would hardly be the only peculiar thing among photographers…

One of the world’s foremost bird photographers, Brutus Östling, once spent three weeks up in a tree in some shed he had built and where he had even installed a toilet. Now that really seems peculiar. Teapot photography all of a sudden seems like a pretty reasonable kind of photography, at least compared to some hardcore bird photography.

And then there is the assistant to Steve Bloom. Steve is one of the world’s most impressive wildlife photographers. How do you think he smells after having spent weeks on some hot savannah trying hard not to get too close to the lions, hyenas, and whatever other hungry and antisocial carnivores are moving about in the bushes? Now, how do you think the assistant smells, having to follow along carrying all those heavy 600mm f/4 lenses and tripods as massive as oil pipelines? And he is not even taking photos, at least not photos that are published all over the world. Try googling “assistant to Steve Bloom” and there will be no results at all. But he does exist. One really has to like photography in order to put up with all that. Teapot photography, on the other hand, not only seems reasonable, but a lot more relaxing as well. Just like a cup of tea.

And what about the ferocious competition among news photographers? For them, the best way to get good photos is to be where the action is. The problem is, there are so many photographers out there that they push each other to be not only where the action is, but in the actual action. That is a great way of getting smudged lenses. Or a lot worse. And on top of that, it can go like it did for Robert Capa on D-day. After having survived the first wave of the landing in France while taking photos of living and dying soldiers, most of the photos were accidentally destroyed during development. I suppose that the most dangerous thing with teapot photography might be to accidentally trip on some sleeping housecat in the living room – which, if you were the assistant to Steve Bloom, would actually be really dangerous as that sleeping cat would be a lion. And they are really grumpy when woken up by clumsy photographer assistants.

So, teapot photography should perhaps not be underestimated. It is simple, relaxing, and with few hazards involved. At the same time, its simplicity is – like for everything simple – a real challenge to exploit successfully. A nice home, some soft curtains, a wooden table, a fauteuil with a foot stool, and a light coming from the side can really test the ability of any photographer trying to get the most out of such an everyday situation. Add some flowers, a teapot and a beaten guitar, and all kinds of moods can be expressed. No bird photographer stuck in some tree is gonna match the possibilities presented to a teapot photographer.

Samira’s teapot photography should therefore not be taken too lightly. And best of all, anyone can try teapot photography. Except those who prefer coffee.

“Are you the type that whitewashes walls or produces murals?”

I wish I had photographed the sky on my wedding day. I had an early morning wedding and the late October skies were perfect. I did not make a picture of it, though I had two different cameras with me on the way to the temple. I regret not doing it. Now I have to keep reminding myself exactly how blue it was and what the cloud formations looked like, lest I forget.

I cannot blame the photographer hired for my wedding for not taking a picture of the sky. After all, it is a strange thing for a wedding photographer to document. Perhaps, he did take a picture but did not send it along with the rest of the photographs, considering it to be too mundane. If only he could make me an anniversary gift of a picture of the sky on my wedding day, I would be absolutely thrilled.

Amongst all the various genres of commercial photography, wedding photography is flourishing while the others are on a decline because there is now an inherent need for artistic documentation at weddings. Over the last few years, professional photography, be it advertising, journalistic, wedding or art photography, is leaning more and more towards candid, thought-provoking, detailed, sensitive documentation. With all the visual stimuli and digital technology that the world is now exposed to, the difference is a shift in the way audiences perceive and appreciate images. They know that simple representations are no longer technically challenging.

When it comes to professional work, you need to ask yourself if you are the type that whitewashes walls or produces murals. Extreme specialisation in photography is the way of the future. Old-world commercial photography forms are giving way to new ways of seeing. For those of you who wish to make a living through photography, it is best to be prepared. The change is coming.

Photograph/Ali Al-Muallem

Trying to learn photography, I have begun to read internet discussion forums. And boy can this be interesting! Not only does one learn about photography, but one can also observe human behaviour at its core. The questions people ask, the responses others give, and the general comments about this and that, can reveal quite a bit about these people and their psyche, intelligence, and personality. Here are some examples of what I mean.

What lens should I buy for my [insert camera of your choice]?

The answer here is always “That depends on what you want to photograph” whereby the person having asked the initial question responds something in the line of “A bit of everything”. Well, good luck in finding that lens which will do everything, like a 10-400 mm 1.4 tilt/shift macro lens. Good luck.

Sometimes, the question can be more poignant, at least when it comes to revealing the person behind the question.

I have just bought a Leica M9. What lens should I buy with it?

Here we have someone who spends 7000 USD on a range-finder with manual focus but has no idea what lens to buy. But hey, it’s fun to have the money that allows you to buy stuff without having a clue what to do with it.

And then there are all the questions about other peoples’ comments.

I have decided not to buy the new [insert camera of your choice] because I heard that it has slow autofocus / has the wrong colour / has the button too high or low or too much to the left / etc…

Yup, if someone have heard these things, then they must be true. Because why would anyone tell something untrue? And why do we need to know what someone is not going to buy? After all, there are many things most people shall never buy. But if such comments are commonly accepted, then let me announce here Radioactive Cameras and now that I am not going to buy the Pentax K7. In case anyone is interested in knowing this.

And then there is the opposite, i.e. comments about what people will buy together with some reason for it.

I am gonna get this new [insert camera of your choice] because it has more features than the last model. With this new camera, I can finally achieve some good photos.

No, you can’t! Just as I cannot write better with newer version of Microsoft Word, so you cannot take better photos with a later version of a camera. Different, perhaps, but better? Nope. There are also the pedantic photographers.

When I enlarge the photos taken with [insert camera of your choice] at 200%, I see that the images are not crystal sharp. This is crap!

Well, the problem with being a pixel-peeper is the same as being a Peeping Tom; one is wrongly focused… And talk about that, if one is that wrongly focused, how shall it be possible to get the complete picture? (Man I am getting philosophical here, all thanks to discussion forums about photography.)

In the line of these pedantic, there are also comments about cameras that do not exist.

I am considering buying [insert camera of your choice] but I suppose there will be an updated model out in six months. So I think I will wait. Or maybe not. What should I do?

Then there are the plain nonsensical.

Today I was going to order [insert camera of your choice] but it was out of stock. I just wanted to let you know.

Thanks for telling! We were really wondering… But the top one comment is this.

Are cameras made in Japan radioactive these days?

But of course they are! Just like the German Leica cameras are full of mustard-gas because of World War I. This is too bad if you prefer ketchup.

You think these comments seem weird or simply ridiculous? They are, however, for real. As I said, many comments are really expressing more about the person behind the question or comment than about photography.

But discussion forums can of course help a lot too. Whenever I have some kind of problem figuring out a feature on my nice shiny camera, I can find the answer on these forums. This is great!

At the same time I learn a lot about other photographers and Ali Al-Muallem their psyche. This is… interesting!

This is a prisoner portrait of Alphonse Capone, better known as Scarface, who was arguably America’s most famous gangster. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Urvi Bhanushali looks back at the dark side of portraiture, with prisoner portraits shot just before the criminals went to jail.

Novelist Doug Coupland had once said, “We are rapidly approaching a world comprised entirely of jail and shopping.” If that is the case, then it is only natural for prisoner portraits to be in existence, and of such importance. Prisoners holding a numbered placard, some with fear in their eyes, some with an uncaring smirk, have all found their place in history through the portraits that are shot when they first enter prison.
What is it that is so captivating in each of these photographs? Why do we stare at these pictures? Have you ever walked through the hallway in a police station with mugshots of wanted criminals and arrested gangsters staring at you? Have you observed similar pictures of celebrities when they have got into trouble with the law? A practice that began in the 1800s, each prisoner portrait has a story behind it, and that is what makes the concept of prisoner portraits so compelling.

The first few prisoner portraits were shot even by gardeners!

Scattered Experiments
Prisoner photography began as an experiment. The idea of using photography to identify and record each prisoner started around 1844 in Belgium. There was no professional photographer, no professional equipment or any kind of techniques involved.
Absolutely anyone who was available was called to shoot these photographs and the framing was inconsistent. On some days, prisoners were photographed by amateur photographers, and some days were even clicked by a gardener! In essence, the efforts of taking such photographs were pretty scattered till the 1850s.
Initially, photographing prisoners were frowned upon by the prison authorities in other countries. However, over time, the idea gained a lot more acceptance and prisoner portraits were shot in places like Paris, Spain, Germany and Italy. By the late 1870s, this process gained some pace. Soon enough, suggestions and discussions began on how to make this entire exercise structured and more consistent.
At this time, prisoner portraits were only shot in the big cities. Funnily, this was because it was believed that the urban criminals were more dangerous than the rural ones, and so keeping a tab on urban prison inmates was of more importance. This period also saw the idea that only individuals who were arrested for serious crimes were suppose to have their photo made and archived.

Birth of the Mugshot
As prisoner portraits gained popularity, the police had to figure out how to organise the images and archive them. Many police departments were getting into trouble, trying to maintain the records of an ever increasing number of detainees. Initially, an attempt was made to sort the records by classifying the type of crime but that did not work well as some people were booked for multiple crimes.
Finally, in 1882, French police officer Alphonse Bertillion, devised the idea of arranging criminal records according to the anthropometric data, or the physical attributes of any human individual. Bertillion also proposed the use of fingerprints, which could then be matched with each prisoner portrait. This system was named after him and called Bertillonage.
Another thing that happened was the introduction of the concept of mugshots. The US-based Pinkerton National Detective Agency were the first ones to create mugshots that were inspired by the style and look of ‘WANTED’ posters.

A lot of attention is dedicated to viewing prisoner portraits of celebrities who get in trouble with the law.

Digital Killed the Iconic
In modern times, the significance of prisoner portraits has changed quite a bit. People are now more interested in looking at mugshots of famous people in their most vulnerable moments. In fact, there are some popular websites like www.thesmokinggun.com that have dedicatedly uploaded mugshots of actors, politicians and musicians, right before they are taken to jail.
Modern-day prisoner portraits are digitised. The accused do not hold placards anymore because all their details are directly linked to the police department’s database. However, it cannot be denied that the most iconic prisoner portraits have been the old ones with a famous personality carrying a placard that bears their name—a visual that is often spoofed even today.

Famous Prisoner Portraits

Gang of Ragpickers on Chowpatty beach. Bombay, circa 1979. Photograph/ Pablo Bartholomew

Pablo Bartholomew ponders over how the meaning of photos changesover time, and talks to Raj Lalwani about memories, associations and life.

"The value of a photograph depends on who is looking at it.”— Pablo Bartholomew

Pablo Bartholomew has alwaysbeen known as one of the finestphotojournalists in the country.However, that is a crown that he wears with some discomfort, mainly because he does not actively practise the genre anymore.
While he talks about his current standing as one of the most respected names in Indian photography, he wonders, “Maybe I should work for a daily newspaper for sometime, not in an advisory capacity, but as a photojournalist who goes on field. I can be a little more selective in terms of which assignments I take up… I will not go and shoot portraits of any random kaddhuram.”
Humility, wit and an incessant urge to go past boundaries are qualities that define both Pablo the person and photographer. Not only do his pictures have a deep sense of intimacy, but also a nuanced understanding of the lives within the frame, an insider’sview and a celebration of the mundane.

Roadside Studio, Bombay, circa 1979. Photograph/ Pablo Bartholomew

Behind the Iconic Imagery
As an admirer of his work, I always found it difficult to go up to Bartholomew and speak to him. To my surprise, despite his photographic stature and a personality that may intimidate the uninformed, Pablo is jovial and friendly.
Some of his most iconic work was produced during his photojournalistic days, including a World Press Photo award winning image of a baby being buried during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.“I was not the only photographer at the scene, but then, most news images have near-similar versions by different photographers. Even if my images are published in India, my name does not suggest I am an Indian. I am not a Singh, Rai, Kapoor or Patel, so the common man does not connect as easily.”

“ A lot of work is put on a pedestal simply because there is no sense of education and awareness.”

Between Two Worlds
A conversation with Pablo Bartholomew is something like a movie that shuttles between two plots, or two settings, just like his photography that shifts between his personal and photojournalistic images.
“I enjoy travelling through eras. It is like looking at an old family album and seeing visuals you relate to, recalling precious memories. In fact, in another exhibition, I displayed my work along with my father’s photographs, trying to build associations that transcend the years.” Pablo’s father, Richard Bartholomew, was an art critic,whose photographs portray the art circles of his times. While Richard never formally trained him, both their works celebrate the personal, and use it to portray society.

Ragpickers fighting, Shuklajee Street. Bombay, circa 1979. Photograph/ Pablo Bartholomew

Visual Remnants of an Experience
From his early documentation of morphine addicts that won him the World Press Photo award at 19, to his current work that portrays the lives of Indians living abroad, Bartholomew’s work includes several genres and milestones. The binding factor that defines all his photographs, though, is a sense of warmth, intimacy and most of all, life. Pablo talks fondly about a picture from his Bombay series, “I never wanted to simply document the city. These photos are a collection of my experiences, of the life I have led and the stories I have in my bag.”

to see more of Pablo Bartholomew’s work visit www.pablobartholomew.com

Sony DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro SAM

Shridhar Kunte tests the Sony DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro SAM to see if this lens offers anything apart from its attractive low price.

Sony’s fortunes in the interchangeable-lens camera market have seen a revival with the new NEX and SLT cameras. However, the availability of lenses has always been a problem, especially in India. The DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro SAM is an interesting product though. Not only is it really economical, but also seems to be a versatile product on paper. Let us see if the performance matches up.

Features
This 1:1 macro lens is targeted at entry-level DSLR users. When mounted on Alpha bodies it gives an effective focal length of 45mm with a fast aperture of f/2.8, thus making it a fast normal lens as well. The minimum focusing distance is 0.13m, at which the magnification ratio is life size. This is not ideal for a macro lens, as you do not have a good working distance. It also becomes very difficult to light the subject at such close proximity. In fact, one can easily say that while this is a 1:1 macro lens, if you want to work comfortably, the magnification ratio you can achieve is only half of life size.
The lens construction is extremely simple—there are six elements arranged in five groups. To my surprise, there is no special (aspherical or ED) glass element, which made me doubt the potential optical performance before actually using the lens.
Considering the fact that all Sony DSLR and SLT cameras have sensorshift stabilisation, the camera-lens combination automatically gets stabilised. The lens accepts 49mm filters. For a lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8, it is great that the diameter has been kept this low, because the filters for this lens will be less expensive.

Handling
The lens balances perfectly on the Sony SLT Alpha 55 body. With the overall weight of 150g, the lens feels really light. The internal components are mostly engineering grade plastic, including the lens mount, which is also made of plastic. All this gives a cheap feel to the lens.
During focusing, the front lens group moves, but the front element itself does not rotate. This makes it easier for someone to work with polarising filters or even ring flashes. The AF/MF switch is easy to reach with the left thumb, while keeping a firm grip over the lens barrel.
The focusing ring is narrow, but can be easily rotated for manual focusing. The lens has a rotation of 90° in which it focus from infinity to 13cm. The focusing distance scale is clearly marked in feet as well as metres, but I felt the need of depth-of-field scale which was missing on the 30mm f/2.8.

Performance
With the look and feel of this lens, I was not expecting too much in terms of quality, but I was proved wrong. The 30mm is quite a good performer. In terms of AF accuracy, the lens is quite good, when capturing subjects at the minimum focusing distance, but it gives mixed results when focused at infinity.
The Smooth Autofocus Motor enables quick AF, but the operation is not silent at all, unlike USM or PZD lenses from other manufacturers. The lens exhibits good control over ghosting and flare.
Between f/4 and f/11, this lens is extremely sharp, especially in the centre. The problem though is the fact that at f/8 and f/11, it is difficult to throw the background out of focus, even if the backdrop is far from the subject. At wider apertures, it is difficult to get the entire subject sharp. In that sense, choosing the perfect aperture becomes even more critical.

Conclusion
In terms of features and build quality, one may not take this lens very seriously, but the quality is a surprise package—it produces sharp images and also controls optical aberrations quite well. Moreover, at a price of Rs. 12,990, it is really difficult to criticise this set of optics. This is, by far, the most economical macro lens available for any mount. The fact that it can also be used as a fast normal lens makes it a unique two-in-one package.

Who Should Buy It?
Alpha users who are taking their first steps into close-up and macro photography.
Why?
This is, by far, the least expensive 1:1 macro lens available in the market and still delivers efficient performance. It also doubles up as a fast normal lens.

The focal length makes this lens more suited for still subjects, and the sharpness is good. Exposure: 1/160sec at f/11 (ISO 800). Photograph/Shridhar Kunte

Final Ratings
Features
1:1 magnification, fast aperture
16/20

Performance
Excellent sharpness, minimum aberrations
32/35

Build Quality
Plastic barrel, smooth finish
20/25

Ergonomics
Lack of focus limiter switch
11/15

Warranty & Support
Wide area of service network
3/5

OVERALL: 82%
Value For Money: 4/5 stars

I waited for an hour in front of this Reebok hoarding, to capture the bustling shoppers. Only in this frame did I find someone being conscious of the ad at the backdrop, and trying to get as close as possible to it. Photograph/Sreedeep

Sreedeep captures people against the landscape of the brands that have begun to contribute significantly to the identity of an Indian city.

My Assignment

• Description: I spent a little more than a week to compile this series.
• Notes: You do not need to have a camera with a high megapixel-count and host of other features to work on this assignment. With an idea in mind, and of course an eye for composition, one can still dare to walk out and get some shots that make a point.

Our cities are surrounded by images of brands. They are magnificent and colourful visual messages, that have invariably become a part of the city’s landscape. This series of photographs captures these brands and their visual manifestation in the form of billboards, posters, standees and various other forms of media in and around centres of consumption. In a way, it also shows the Indian city that constantly goes through change with the intrusion of these brands.

My Perspective
Brands have become a part of us too. We wear ubiquitous logos, in our quest for identity and status. The messages that they communicate to us constantly prompts us to live our lives through a string of shopping expeditions.
As consumption becomes central to our lives, there is a gradual disappearance of space outside the world of consumption. This sheer presence and proliferation of brand propaganda motivated me to archive today’s Indian city—in this case, Delhi.

This image’s textual richness along with the mixture of meanings that it exhibits struck me immediately. Though I feel, waiting a bit longer would have offered me something more interesting. Photograph/Sreedeep

The Process
Before I bent my back for this series, I thought about a few points I could focus on. I realised that visibility in previously untouched spots is essential for the success of a brand. Hence, I wanted to concentrate on the sudden increasing presence of brand images in certain places where it was earlier not visible. I also realised that these images act as an unalterable backdrop against our regular, daily activities. These images are there irrespective of the liking and disliking of those who overlook them. Therefore, it was necessary to capture the commercial propaganda with the people in the foreground.

The final series of photographs that emerged does not merely reveal the grandeur of the logo, but also the life in front of the logo. If you take a closer look at each photograph, the brand contradicts sometimes, but other times it may enhance the sprit of the advertised product and its message. All of these, in some way or the other, reshape our sense of being in this changing Indian city.

On a weekday afternoon, this hawker selling unbranded stuff had little business to do, as I was busy capturing the irony of his presence in front of a super-brand. Photograph/Sreedeep

My Equipment: Although I have been using a Nikon DSLR for almost a year, none of these photographs were shot with an SLR. I used a Canon A400.

Tips to Get Started

• Market as a space of ‘consumption’ and ‘social-gathering’ offers endless themes to explore. Pick your focus before clicking the shutter, to avoid the problem of choosing between plenty of options.
• Patience and timing are key. Take time to frame and wait for the right moment, till you get what you want. Most importantly, allow people to first feel comfortable with your presence, and then, if possible, forget your presence with the camera.
• For thematic brilliance, try to layer your frames with more elements, movements and expressions. This would result in many meanings emerging out of a single composition.
• To escape the harsh lighting conditions during the day, shoot inside the markets and malls. Keep the later half of the afternoon and early evening for outdoors, when the colour saturation is maximum.
• Take prior permission before you go and shoot inside showrooms or malls, to avoid hassles and disturbing the authority.