Photography - 4

Photographs are created by exposing light on a photo sensitive material, earlier it was films and now it is a sensor in a digital camera.

A photograph is dependent on three factors to control the quantity of light required.
1. Shutter speed
2. Aperture
3. Sensitivity of film/sensor
In the above diagram, I’m using a quantity of water as an analogy for the quantity of light.
First let’s look at Shutter Speed – it is a measure of how fast the camera shutter opens and closes. This determines the amount of light that is entered. We need more light in dark and less light when the surroundings are bright.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds. ( 1/30s is larger than 1/1000, in cameras it is shown as 30, 1000 etc.)
Next we look at the aperture; it is nothing but the opening through which the light travels. It is normally denoted by f-number. (f/2.8, f/4,f/8,f/16 etc.)
Smaller the f-number larger the aperture, more quantity of light is allowed to pass through.
The last factors is Sensitivity, it is measured in ISO number, lower the ISO number more sensitive the film or the sensor. The advantage of digital camera is, you can set the sensitivity. Earlier in film cameras the sensitivity was fixed. (like Kodak 200,400 etc) . Typically the ISO value ranges from 100 to 1600.
In digital camera you can play around with these three parameters to get a perfect photograph.
Apart from these parameters the most important element that impacts your photograph is the type lens used. (below 21 mm as Macro, 35mm medium, 50mm normal, 85-135 Telephoto/zoom, above 300mm Super Telephoto)
Go ahead and experiment !

Photography - 2

Photography is like painting; here you use light instead of paints to create your image. Unlike painting it is quick and can be done anywhere any time. But it is similar in the way you use the canvas to put the subjects. (For the technically inclined it is called Composition)
Choose what you want cover (subject) in your photograph, in the above set of pictures-First (1) picture captures, The Dog, Ball and bags in the background etc. Picture 2 indicates what areas you can include in the photograph. Picture 3 indicates the final picture, you might decide to include the tennis ball to indicate the playful nature of the dog or you can exclude it.
When you are taking Landscape/Nature we can use the rule of 1/3rd .
Divide the frame horizontally and/or vertically into three parts. For landscapes one part cover sky, other for the subject and one part for land. If you are taking picture of a person, divide the frame vertically into three parts and have the person at one side.

If there is railing/road in the frame, have it end at one corner, as shown by the arrow in the above picture.
Finally there are two principles that one should follow in photography
1. Follow all the rules
2. Break all the rules

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Photography - 1

They say … "A picture is worth thousand words" - true indeed in the context of photography. It is a great medium that captures the scene, the emotion and feeling.  It is a medium that can freeze the time. When we see an old photograph,it brings back the old sweet memories with nostalgia. 

In the last decade with advancement of Technology, photography has become affordable. We have decent cameras in mobile phones these days.

Photography is combination art and engineering.

I'm not an expert in photography, but I love photography and taking pictures. In this series I will share some basics so that we can learn and improve.  

What is photography?- according to me, it is a process of taking a picture on a camera. From the time you think, select the subject, capture it on your camera, download (or process if it is a film camera) , post process, print, store and share with others.

At each stage there is chance to learn and enjoy.

There are no good or bad photographs- there are just photographs. In next few weeks I will share different aspects - from types of Cameras to some basics of photography.

Just enjoy the journey!

Two wolves

Every year we start with a New Year resolution and in a few days time it goes out of existence. Not only resolutions many projects, new initiatives, hobbies we lose the enthusiasm.  We start with lots good intentions after some time we lose interest.

After some time you stop doing anything new due failure of earlier initiatives.

What stops you is not the failures but the conversation you have about that failure, Your mind tells you something like- "You can't, just leave it", "again you will fail" , "You are stupid"

This is automatic; as soon as you start your journey, your mind or some little voice inside you will tell you that - it is not for you.

It is very important to listen to your self.  What you listen to you is very important.

Let me illustrate that with this beautiful story -

A Zen master was teaching his disciple monk about what is life: "A fight is going on inside me," said the master. "it is  a terrible fight and it is between two wolves."

One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego

The other one is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, sincerity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too"

The monk thought it about a minute and then asked the master, "Master, which wolf will win?"

The Zen master simply replied "The one you feed"

It is simply where you channel your energy.  When you start any new project, initiative; you start with some intention and purpose, Keep that alive.

During the journey you will face lot of hurdles, disempowering thoughts that take you away from your path. At that time just look at which wolf is winning – it will be definitely – The one you feed.

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published in Thoughts@Work  Newsletter - to subscribe, write to mithare@gmail.com

2010

The year 2010 is already here, it is a good time to spend some quality time and create what you want to accomplish this year.

Create goals which inspire you. It is not just the destination; it is the journey that matters.

The following five points are for you to support you in accomplishing your goals.

1.    Honor your word – Give and keep your word, do what you said you will do, by the time you said you will do it, if you are not going to do it communicate as soon as you come to know about it.

2.    Go Ahead and Make Mistakes – Most of us have a block for being perfect.  We mistake being perfect for excellence.  Excellence comes from continuous improvement and learning from mistakes.

3.    Develop efficiency – It is the ability to cause and make things happen.  Everyday practice doing daily tasks better than what you normally do.

4.    Be present to you goals but always focus on your actions. Only ACTIONS will give you Results, Nothing else.  You can't play football looking at the scoreboard; your focus needs to be on your actions.

5.    Also it is not just winning the game that matters, what really matters is, how you  play the game and why you are playing the game.  When you play just don't play, Play to WIN. Play and enjoy the journey of your life."The possibility of your dream coming true makes life interesting"! –from Alchemist