Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Smart Photography

WE ARE GLUED TO THE GLOBAL IMAGING INDUSTRY Our team is updated with all the benchmarks and road blocks that the field of photography and imaging across the globe experiences. This helps us record the changes in the global perspective, thus making us the first to predict which products will be a rage in the Indian markets. WE’RE IMPARTIAL Loyalty towards our readers is a given, and their best interests are always on our mind. Every verdict is honest and not influenced by advertisers or personal favorites. So when we say a product is a ‘BEST BUY’, then, it is just that! OUR TESTS ARE CONDUCTED BY EXPERTS All equipment go through a series of tests at the hands of our experts. Our reviewers are experts in the field of…

Born in New Delhi, Ashok Dilwali is an ace Indian photographer. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Ashok is known for his extensive photo-series on the Himalayas. Ashok lives in New Delhi and manages the prestigious family photographic concern, Kinsey Bros, whose field of specialisation is studio portraiture and commercial works. But the Himalayas remain to be his first and foremost obsession. His journey and experiences are exceptional and inspirational. He has travelled widely in Europe and USA and has won international awards for his work. Ashok Dilwali claims that his biggest achievement in life has been being able to bring the grandeur of the Himalayas to millions of homes and offices. How has growing up around cameras and darkroom helped you hone your photographic skills? It wouldn’t be wrong to say…

Umesh Thakker is a self-taught freelance hobbyist photographer. He started a few years ago with portraiture and landscape photography and soon graduated in the art of editing. On occasions, he used to create greeting cards for his doctor-son but he wanted to create ‘something different’. One day, as he was watching the movie ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’, it struck him with an idea to create miniature representations of human fantasy and day-to-day situations that could be used as greeting cards or posters. His first attempts were well appreciated and lots of people asked him as to how he created the miniatures. Umesh says “I believe every picture should tell a story. So after getting inspired with an idea, I try to visualise a story that would connect with…

Ajay Sood (Travelure) OSM (Outlook Social Media) Shutterbug of the Year 2016 Pro Travel Photographer. Photo Jurist. Photo Educator. · SPEAKER (Architectural & Travel Photography): · TBEX Europe 2016 (Stockholm) · TBEX Asia 2016 (Manila) · TBEX International 2017 (Jerusalem) · TBEX North America 2017 (Huntsville, AL) WINNER: · India’s Biggest Blogging Contest - Cox & Kings’ Grab Your Dream (Season 2) · National Geographic Traveller’s Get Out There Photo Essay Contest As US Space and Rocket Center is here, Huntsville, Alabama has a nickname - the Rocket City. While in Huntsville for TBEX North America 2017 (TBEX: Travel Blog Exchange), I joined a walking tour of its historic district - a small area comprising Twickenham, Old City and Five Points. Twickenham has structures that came about between 1810 and…

Praying Mantis becomes Prey This picture of a bird (looks like a Babbler to me) with a Praying Mantis comes to us from Saransh Fattepuria via email. I like the fact that Saransh has photographed his subject from (more or less) the subject’s eye level and not from his own eye level. I also like the fact that he has used a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. While the picture is nice, I feel that due to the soft lighting along with the use of wide-open f/5.6 aperture, the image lacks contrast. In Photoshop, I have slightly increased the contrast and also toned down the foreground. A bit of sharpening was applied along with some hue/saturation for the mantis. Our Imaging Expert No one can take…

80,000 T he 100-400mm focal range is much sought after by all nature and wildlife lovers. All the major manufacturers have such a lens in their range. With us this month is Sigma’s 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary. In recent times, every Sigma lens tested by SP has been special. Will the 100-400 repeat the success? Design & Build Quality The Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary is a compact zoom lens designed for full-frame cameras but can be used with APS-C sensor models, with an equivalent focal length increase of 1.5x for Sigma (SD1 Merrill) and Nikons, and 1.6x for Canons. The external body is made from Thermally Stable Composite material and the build quality is superb; so is the finish. The lens is suitable for sports,…

Write to us at: Smart Photography, Next Gen Publishing Ltd, Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumbai 400013. E-mail: sp@nextgenpublishing.net Exciting Dear Editor, Every month something unique is presented in SP . In June 2017 issue, it was ‘Monsoon Photography’. Earlier when there were no smartphones it was difficult to capture the monsoon memories. Today we can all photograph these special moments as we feel much more closer to the nature in monsoons. Kudos to the team of SP magazine! Yours faithfully, Mahesh Kumar. Interesting Team SP, The June 2017 issue of Smart Photography was extremely interesting. I always look forward to the articles in the learnings section of the magazine. They are not only interesting but always very helpful for budding photographers…

Sukumaran Menon is a Bangalore-based Foundry Consultant by profession and a hobbyist photographer. Although he has been photographing for several years, it is only since 2012 that he started pursuing his hobby seriously. “Photography helps me express myself and provides an opportunity to look at life through various perspectives”, says Sukumaran. Abstract, heritage architecture and non-human compositions are his genres of interst and Europe is one of his favourite destination for photography. Sukumaran’s love for B&W photography is deeply reflected in his work. To view more of Sukumaran’s work visit: www.sukumenon.me Camera: Nikon D600 Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/125sec ISO: 200 Camera: Nikon D600 Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/2500sec ISO: 100 Camera: Nikon D600 Aperture: f/1.7 Shutter Speed: 1/60sec ISO: 200 Camera: Nikon D600 Aperture: f/3.2 Shutter Speed: 1/1250sec ISO:…

During my school years we had a Konica Minolta point and shoot film camera which was mostly used during functions, festivals and trips. It was my duty to take the photos and I gradually became interested in photography. I wanted to know how an SLR works and what is the photography process. When I was in an art school I learnt about camera manufactures like Pentax, Nikon, Olympus, Canon etc. It was during this time that I took up a course at the prestigious National Institute of Photography (NIP) in Mumbai. I received in-depth knowledge about photography and other technical processes like film development and printing. In the year 2001 I bought my first SLR – a Nikon F80. It was considered to be one of the best Nikons at…

Exposing for HDR I have tried my hand at creating HDRs but have always failed. While I seem not to have any issues while post-processing in Photoshop, I think my problem is knowing exactly how to expose for HDR. Can you help? Arun Pathak, via email For those who may not be aware, the imaging sensor in our digital cameras cannot faithfully reproduce the brightness range that is often present in a brightly lit scene. HDR imaging is a method that allows us to record a higher range of brightness than what is possible through a single frame exposure. Generally, we create a bracket of 3 or 5 frames with varying exposures and then blend them together using a suitable software. Many books have been written on this topic which…

Born in Bareilly, India, Dr. Pankaj Sharma has been involved in the field of art photography for more than 20 years. A monochrome photography aficionado, Dr. Pankaj Sharma’s stint with photography dates back to 1990s when he got his hands on his grandfather’s camera, an Agfa Click III. Pankaj Sharma used this classic gear on a trip with his family, where he tried to click a few pictures of them and the surrounding landscapes. As the film was processed and pictures were printed, he instantly fell in love with the emotions that were evoked by those black and white photographs. “I noticed that the pictures which had dramatic interplay of light and shadow looked amazing”, says Pankaj Sharma. Talking about his perspective on B&W photography, he listed out a few…

Dhritiman Lahiri is a professional photographer. He specialises in architectural, travel, landscape & wedding photography. His love for photography began when his father gifted him a Kodak KB10 film camera while in junior college, back in 1998. He has worked in the corporate sector for 18 years before making the critical decision of turning his hobby into his profession. He founded iClickWeddings which provides wedding photography services across India. His love for travelling made him start OneLifeFewClicks where he actively conducts workshops & photography tours for aspiring photographers. To view more of his work, visit his websites: www.iclickweddings.com and www.OneLifeFewClicks.com Paigah Tombs or Maqhbara Shams al-Umara are one of the most famous monuments of Hyderabad, known for their excellent architectural beauty. Paigah Tombs were constructed by the Paigah family, who were…

Smart Photography has been continually receiving requests to start a basic course for beginners. With this in mind, we have asked a very knowledgeable photographer from Chennai to take over writing these articles. We have also requested him to be as jargon-free as it is possible, so that newcomers to photography feel comfortable to pursue the hobby. The author, Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic field for over three decades and has extensive experience in both film and digital photography. Being an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a unique and deep insight into the technical aspects of digital photography and equipment. He has published several articles on photography and some of his writings have also been published in the well-known international magazine Popular Photography. An…