When you hire a photographer, check if he/she is the REAL DEAL! 

Meeting the Stars of Photography & more

Yesterday, the day it rained most in the past couple of years, I was in the company of Mr. X (a Pro photographer who I won't name) along with a large chunk of my students. While it poured outside, we had discussions about careers in photography and other such arty stuff.

Before yesterday, I only had heard of Mr. X in photography circles. I had never seen his work (except a single piece at last year’s PGI exhibit). You may call me ignorant, but it is hard to find information on photographers in India! We do not have access to these guys unless we stalk them or camp outside their studios or have-a-friend-who-knows-a-friend-who-knows-them.

It wasn’t easy getting to the Academy with all that rain. I waited for about twenty minutes just to find that trains were running late by more than an hour and there was no sign of one arriving anytime soon.  Now, it would take some motivation to get out from the railway station and catch a rare sighting of a cab. I tried. It was pouring, but I walked out. There were close to 50 people trying to spot a cab. It might have been easier to spot a Tiger outside Matunga station.

Finally, I got one. He took some persuading, but agreed at last. I get to the Academy an hour late. By then Mr. X was running through a slideshow of his work. He was patient and explained in detail what exactly goes into creating each shot. There was pin drop silence in an otherwise chaotic room. I could tell that the students were in complete awe.

He came across as a very nice and chilled out guy. He has two decades of experience in this field (that’s something) and mostly likes shooting food and spaces. His work spoke volumes of his professionalism which quite frankly is hard to find in India. Having been in this field for a few years myself – I have learnt that the overall photography circuit in India is loosely connected by

1. The Equipment Enthusiasts
2. The Artsy-Fartsy crowd
3. The “Its-just-a-hobby, but I don’t mind shooting your family over the weekend” kind

At some point we all have strived to get that amazing sunset shot or the fascinating bee on the flower shot. I know you have too. But here’s the deal – Photography is not just trying to achieve that. It’s actually a lot more complicated than picking up a DSLR, setting it on the auto mode and clicking away! Like any other art form, you may take a lifetime trying to be good at it. And there’s only so many sunsets that you want to shoot. 

I always expect my students to be original in their approach. It could be a street photography assignment or a commercial product shoot. Try shooting something in your own style. That’s what you’ll be known for.

The Equipment Enthusiasts: These guys are the ones who need to buy that new 500mm lens from the L series that can only be brought here from the US! I don’t mean to disassociate equipment with photography, but the truth is, you cannot be a better photographer if you own the latest, most expensive equipment. One needs to put thought into their work. Along with being technically precise, the photograph has to bring about an emotion when looked at.

The Artsy-Fartsy crowd: This category is on the other end of the spectrum. The problem here is that the technical part is taken too lightly. Having a shaken image (which looks like a mistake) to show “emotion” is not cool. It’s a matter of convenience. I don’t mean to be picky, but a lot of people can tell the difference. It’s a never-ending debate – It’s my art, I can do what I want. But Picasso practised his art for years before his style was accepted. It takes consistent accuracy and development.

The “Its-just-a-hobby, but I don’t mind shooting your family over the weekend” kind:  These guys have their foot in both camps. They are not professionals but neither can they be called fakers. They might have taken up photography as a hobby, but can’t make a stable living out of it. So they have a day job and then they have photography as a “bonus”.

One of the points I remember Mr. X mentioning was that, “Photography is not for the poor”. We thought it was an obnoxious statement at first, but I guess it is true. A serious photographer needs a camera that can create images that can be blown up into a hoarding or needs to have that calibrated Mac monitor that displays colours precisely. You need to be doing this full-time so that these investments make sense.

Not to sound 20 years older than my age, but the digital age has done more bad than good for creative photography. When we used film, we were frugal. We used our resources smartly, only clicked the shutter when the frame was perfect. Today, if you meet an Equipment Enthusiast, he’ll want to buy a camera that shoots five frames per second even though he only shoots still life.

Basically, a photographer should be a combination of the above stated categories and more. There is a shortage of conceptual photographers in India. A balance of technique and concept is healthy and that should be understood by all who aspire to be photographers. Developing an original style over time makes your work stronger and more meaningful. So, think about the next shot you take, unless you’re just an Equipment Enthusiast and not a photographer.

An article I found on silly photography laws in India.

Photography: Why Foolish Restrictions?

A photograph accompanying this article shows London airport, one of the largest, most elaborate and important in the world. 

The original shows every detail of hangers, runways, administrative and public buildings, as well as construction in progress on new facilities to handle the jumbo jets, when they come. 

The photography reveals, in fact, every minute detail of military importance to a potential enemy. Yet it was taken by a London commercial firm of photographers and published in a famous magazine of world-wide circulation. Any member of the public can buy as many original copies of it as they like for a few shillings. 

Forbidden 
Here in India we are told as soon as we take off in an I. A. C. plane that the use of cameras during flights is forbidden, though many of us would like to take snapshots of the temples and villages over which we pass at low altitudes. 

On the ground, glaring notices warn that photography is strictly forbidden, though many of us would like to take pictures of our friends leaving or arriving or the spectacular take-off of Boenings and Caravelles. 

No one forbids photography on international flights. On my way to London last year I took perfectly satisfactory photographs of the Gulf of Aquaba and of the Suez Canal from the V.C. 10 in which I was a passenger, and this was just two days before the start of the six day war - the air below us thick with jet fighters. 

For some quite incomprehensible reason, officials in India are mortally afraid of photographs. Could it be, one wonders, that photographs are apt to reveal incontrovertible evidence of negligence and inefficiency. Every where photography is frowned upon and often quiet illegally-forbidden. 

This goes to such absurd extremes that in a recent visit to Orissa, at a remote region on the southern finger of Chilka Lake, I found a notice announcing that photography was not forbidden! It would never have occurred to me or anyone else, that it was! There was nothing there to photograph anyway-nothing but a few barren hills and a flat, featureless stretch of the lake. Nothing, in fact, except the absurd and badly written notice itself! 

On my first visit to Calcutta, a few years ago, I was greatly impressed by the smartness of the policemen there, clad in immaculate white overalls, with contrasting black belting and white plastic helmets of the most modern pattern. I wished to take a photograph of one of them and merely out of polinteness I first asked if he would mind my doing so. 

"No!" he said bluntly.
"But why ever not"? I asked him
He though for a minute and then: "No rule permitting," he said.

Can freedom and progress, I wondered, ever flourish in a community where nothing can be done without legislation of some kind to permit it? 

These idiotic restrictions can, and often do, have serious results and are another of the many reasons why India has such a bad name among international tourists, any why so many are frightened off. 

For example, foreigners have been arrested for taking photographs of the Howrah Bridge, though picture postcards of the bridge can be bought anywhere in Calcutta. Many photographs, including captions giving every possible technical detail about the bridge, have been published in newspapers and elsewhere from the time it was built. Back in Europe or the United States, the word quickly spreads among intending visitors that its no good going to India where it is often actually dangerous to take photographs. 

I was informed recently that even in the celebrated Hanging Gardens of Bombay there are notices up forbidding photography, on account, apparently, of some reservoir or other just below. 

Professionals
Another absurdity concerns ordinance survey maps of India. At one time any membger of the public could buy large-scale maps of India, but since the Chinese invasion of the north-east this has been forbidden. Now the last ordinance survey of India was carried out in British days-1943 was the year. I believe and naturally the British still have the maps. Anyone can buy a complete set of those forbidden maps in London to do what he please with them. 

For the professional press photographer working in India the prospect is even worse. A few months ago I watched Madras harbor lobourers unload a wheat ship, wasting a great deal of grain by the use of hooks which tore the sacks. An official told me that he had frequently tried to prevent the use of hooks, but the men threatened to strike. A photograph of this waste, appearing in the press, would do much to arouse public opinion on the side of the officials. But as the harbour is a restricted area I was not permitted to perform the public service of taking it-which is very much a part of my job. 

A few month ago I was repeatedly threatened with arrest by a sub-inspector when I took photographs of a perfectly ordinary lorry crash on an open road. 

A few days later I sent on of my photographers to the Madras High Court to take a picture of the bronze statue there of Sir Bashyam Iyengar, the first Indian Advocate General and the first Indian to be knighted. Sir Bashyam happens to be my wife's great grandfather. We wanted a good picture of the statue and the inscription for family reasons. 

My photographer was bullied and insulted by the security officer there, who again threatened him with arrest should he dare take the photographs. It is certainly difficult to see why a photograph of a bronze statue should constitute a security hazard! 

Now what is the actual legal position of taking photographs? Why does the British Government raise no objection to a photograph of London airport being widely published? 

The answer is that any potential enemy of the State could take such photographs any way, and quite certainly many of them already have. 

Opportunities 
It may be recalled that the photographs President Kennedy caused to be taken of Khrushchev's missile based in Cuba prevented a world war by rousing universal public indignation. 

Photographs of any installations of military interest can be taken with little risk of detection. There are of course the highly sophisticated methods such as high-flying aircraft fo the celebrated U-2 type, or the artificial satellites, and so on. Photographs of the London airport kind could easily be taken from regular civil aircraft of a foreign nation while circling to land, and no one would be the wiser. 

Down on the ground, the old-fashioned spy himself has limitless opportunities. He can use subminiature and button-hole cameras, telephoto lenses and even infra-red photography at night. In fact anyone taking the necessary trouble could secure all the photographs he liked under the very nose of security officers. 

Prohibiting photography at such places therefore puts a potential enemy under no disadvantages whatsoever. It does, however, bring the nation into ridicule and serves as a constant and totally irrelevant irritation to perfectly innocent press photographers, visitors and tourists, And India can be sure that any potential enemy who wants the information such photo0graphs could bring, already has them. 

The affair with the sub-inspector-which I am glad to say is at present the subject of an enquiry - is not an isolated incident. 

I was once physically prevented from taking photographs of a minor political demonstration by two burly plain-clothes C.I.D. men. During rioting we have had occasions when our photographers have been physically abused by the police and the film torn form their cameras. 

The latest was during student rioting in Madras on December 10 when the camera being used by an Indian Express photographer was confiscated on the direct orders of the police Commissioner. 

When it was pointed out him that him action was illegal and that interference with the freedom of the press was unconstitutional, this officer's reply was that it was he who was giving the orders there. 

The camera was later released, but no apology has since been forthcoming despite strong protests lodged with the Chief Minister of Madras and the Central Minister for Information by associations of Press Photographers situated as far away as Delhi. 

Libellous 
In all these cases, of course, the police are acting quite illegally. A policeman's duty is to enforce the law, not to invent it. There are, of course, certain laws governing photography which are internationally observed. For example, you may not publish a photograph which constitutes a libel and can be subjected to heavy penalties if you do. 

You may not take photographs in a court of law (though they do often enough in America) and I am strongly in favour of such restrictions. Then there are the laws of copyright, of privacy and so on. 

Photographers, whether amateur or professional, must also exercise restraint and good manners in the pursuit of their craft. There are many who do not, and are a disgrace to the profession but these are a small minority execrated by the rest of us. 

As for the Defence Regulations we have them as though we must sincerely hope they will sensibly changed. 

It would be very much in the country's favour if press photographers-Indian or foreign - were allowed into places like Assam and the Mizo Hills, just as photographers using still and television cameras roam freely in South Vietnam, often dropping by parachute or landing by helicopter in the midst of vicious, raging battles. 

It is the work of cameramen in Vietnam that has turned such a large number of the American people against the horrors of this war - or any other for that matter. Yet the United States government encourages photography there, not the reverse. 

Sailors on foreign vessels in Indian ports can take all the picture of those ports they like without showing themselves if need be. But privilege is denied to all Indian photographers. 

Officials including police officers who mistakenly believe that they have right to forbid photography whenever they like, should be properly apprise of their position in law, while restrictions on photography at places like airports and harbours should be removed as foolish anachronism. 



Source: http://bit.ly/fmFXcS

An article on me in India's largest women's magazine - FEMINA

Published on November 4, 2010

HOME AGAIN

Its a brain drain in reverse. Entrepreneurs, artists and even IT folks prefer India to work in. Three women tell us why its good to be back. By Binal Ghelani.

THE ARTIST RETURNS
A photographer with a business streak, Jesal Bhuta, 28, returned to Mumbai from the US, and set up a studio. She reflects on the opportunities the city has to offer and the changing mindset towards creative endeavours.

A restlessness begins
"After graduating with a Master's in fine art with a specialisation in photography, I wanted to work on a variety of projects, so freelancing was a prudent way to go. Because of my proximity to California's Silicon Valley, the demand for corporate/editorial portraiture was high, but the artist in me wasn't satisfied. Then work possibilities started dwindling as the economy got worse. India, on the other hand offered great opportunities for small businesses in the creative field.

"This is how my photography studio, Click, was born less than a year ago in Mumbai. The work environment in the US is more organised and pays better if you land good projects. It's a bit more competitive in India, considering everyone haggles for money and gets away with it because there are so many other self-proclaimed photographers in the field."

Welcome to Mumbai
"I thrive on challenging projects, which are abundant here. But there are glaring differences in the work culture. People here are now beginning to experiment with their wedding photographs or their product shoots, which takes some convincing. People are more trusting of an artist's judgement in the West.
"For the first few months, I did not know where my next pay cheque was coming from. But, I am passionate about my work. That's what keeps me going. And Mumbai is making my dreams come true."

80 MP sensor!

Press Release:
Leaf Unveils 80 Megapixel Aptus-II 12 World’s Highest Resolution & Most Versatile Digital Camera Back

Leaf Aptus-II 12/Aptus-II 12R Exposes All: Now the Devil Can’t Hide in the Details

TEL AVIV, Sept. 20, 2010 – Leaf Imaging today introduced the world’s highest resolution, one-shot medium format digital camera back. The Leaf Aptus-II 12 (and Leaf Aptus-II 12R with internal rotating sensor) delivers the world’s highest-quality image capture. It is both a major technical advance and another important illustration of the benefits of medium format camera technology – namely, the ability to support a very large image sensor, with enormous light sensitivity and high dynamic range.
The powerful new full-frame 53.7 x 40.3mm 80 MP CCD sensor is at the heart of a system specially designed for a range of photographers such as commercial/advertising pros, archivists digitizing and persevering rare treasures, and fine artists. Whether the subject is architecture, landscape, portraits or product advertising, the sheer quality of detail is unsurpassed. This level of resolution eliminates moiré and more perfectly renders objects – from the texture of fine fabrics to the smooth curves of car metal.
"There's no question that more megapixels in an image sensor offers significantly higher detail and larger output sizes," said Tim Grey, photographer, author, and respected digital imaging expert. "While there are software products that can enhance and enlarge a photo, the result will never truly be more information than was captured by the image sensor. For photographers who need maximum detail and the potential for particularly large print sizes, medium format digital backs represent ideal tools."
With built-in SensorFlex technology, owners of the Aptus-II 12/Aptus-II 12R back can choose to shoot images either at full resolution or they can “dial down” to select an aspect ratio, such as the 1:1 with 60MP resolution, that will satisfy their particular project requirements – enabling faster processing and smaller file size.
“The Leaf Aptus-II 12 and Aptus-II 12R represent just another step in delivering our customers both the power and the flexibility they need,” said Dov Kalinski, CEO of Leaf Imaging, Ltd. ”Today’s professional photography requires great flexibility – infinite detail, rich color and razor sharpness. These systems deliver all this and more.”
The Leaf Aptus-II 12 and Leaf Aptus-II 12R support a wide range of camera brands including Phase One 645DF and AF and Mamiya 645DF and AF cameras, most Hasselblad V models and a selection of large format cameras via adaptors.
For full product specifications, including all supported cameras, please see http://www.leaf-photography.com/products_aptus212.asp
Leaf Aptus-II Product Family
The Leaf Aptus-II series of digital backs offers professional photographers the speed, image quality and flexibility to allow their work to keep pace with their imaginations. Designed to support photographers wherever they are shooting, Leaf Aptus-II series backs offer the largest display, 3.5” (6x7 cm), and only touch screen display controls in the medium format market.
Pricing and Availability  
The Leaf Aptus-II 12 and Leaf Aptus-II 12R digital backs are priced at  €23,995 / $31,995. Both of these camera backs can be ordered now from Leaf Partners worldwide. For the Leaf Partner nearest you, please see: http://www.leaf-photography.com/findaleaf_nam.asp.
The Leaf Aptus-II 12R and Leaf Aptus-II 12R digital backs ship with Leaf Capture workflow software.

Leaf Aptus-II 12 specifications

CCD Size	• 53.7 x 40.3mm • 80 MP
LCD	3.5 inch (6x7 cm)
Capture rate	1.5 sec/frame
Largest File size	480 MB 16 bit TIFF
Sensitivity	ISO 80-800
Dynamic range	12 stops