Focalplane

We photographers are a crazy lot, first we buy super expensive gear and then we get into this endless loop of buying other necessities and accessories. On top of the necessities list is a camera bag which can safely hold our precious gear from accidents and natural elements. I have been using the Kata Bumblebee PL-220 for almost 3 years now and I thought its about time that I pen down my experience with this camera bag. As I won't be going into all the features of the bag you can find them here:  http://www.kata-bags.com/bumblebee-220-pl-for-2-pro-dslr-up-to-8-lenses-500mm I primarily bought it for hiking and this was one of the bags which comes under the Pro-Light series. The bag itself is around 3kgs which is pretty light for the kind of protection you get with this bag. Apart from the light weight what got me hooked to this bag was the design and the Gecko straps. The back of the bag actually looks pretty neat and the overall quality and construction gives a feel ...

Sometimes you end up on location and you find the frame that will look the best visually is obstructed either by something man made or something natural like a tree. The man made stuff can still be taken care of but you just can not chop off a tree for a shot. I was stuck in a similar situation recently, I took a back up shot first just to be safe and then I captured real frame. I was thinking I will do something about this tree in post but I had no idea that I will end up chopping the tree, at least in post it's all legal. This is the 'Before' shot Apart from the tree I ended up growing some grass in the foreground, removing the cars and stacks of bricks from the background. And lastly I thought if I have cut a tree I must plant one too so I planted a tree in the background, that tree helped me get rid of the stack of bricks. The client was more than happy. Looking at it now I feel I can still make it look better, but then I think about the Fine art images ...

A must watch documentary for every creative. Take time out and watch it. http://vimeo.com/34608191

The property is close to the Kanha National Park. There are loads of outdoor activities to keep you busy even if you decide not to visit the national park. The food is great with some great service to back it all up. A must visit for someone looking for a holiday in MP, India.

Shot the iconic Mercedes Benz M-Class in the dusty plains of MP and then up in the Himalayas. The shots were supposed to have a Travel feel to it and highlight the car at the same time.

I could hear the bird singing or was it my imagination. At that moment I didn't care, everything was melodious and peaceful and it was a moment in time. I have tried to capture a few more of such moments and I hope some of you will be able to relive that moment through these images. Please let me know if you do as it will inspire me to capture more of such moments.

Did these corporate portraits some time back. The brief was to deliver very simple and clean B&W portraits of the employees. We decided upon a basic three light setup and the result was pretty decent although the client was more than happy. Moral of the story: Sometimes the clients requirement is more important than your own creative vision and satisfaction.

It was long on the cards and finally I managed to squeeze some time of my not so busy schedule to do a photographic tour of the Mystic Himalayas. Decided upon Binsar considering it has good options to trek around from, good views of the snowcapped Himalayas and I had never been to Binsar, thus it was locked and loaded. Got myself booked at the FRH Binsar, a British era building with squeaky wooden floors and only solar energy for power. Stayed there for five days and each day the sunrise and sunset were different, not all of them favoring photography but i guess it is part of the deal. If i had to put my experience  in one word and several images (my preferred language to communicate) it would be "Magic". I have tried to capture the same 'Magic' in these images...

Ever Felt that itch...itch to take a few pics asap and you have decided upon the subject too. For me the subject was a deodorant can lying around in the house, black, metallic and with no artificial lights whatsoever i was pretty much dependent upon the natural sun light coming through the window. Gathered a few reflectors (white paper) and started playing with the whole setup and ended up with this...

I always look fwd to the five days in a month when Moon is in all of its pristine glory. This time around I was lucky to get some clouds creating depth and drama in the images. The fun part was that I had to constantly check my exposure as the clouds were moving very fast, constantly changing the desired exposure. And yes it was cold!! On the actual full Moon night there was not even a speck of cloud around. Better luck next time!! Some  images from that cold cold night...