Sunday, June 14, 2009

Kalyan Varma's photography workshop - Of lenses and landscapes

Lalbagh has never seemed so beautiful or so complicated as it did this Sunday. "Perspective" is the word. Till today all I saw in Lalbagh was the never ending green patches of grass and some contrastingly colored beautiful flowers. See it from a "photographer with a mission" perspective and you'll marvel at how much Lalbagh has hidden in its moist grassy patches and that beautiful little hill top.

Kalyan Varma, the wildlife photographer ( and an amazing person ) conducts these regular photography workshops and I was lucky enough to be a part of this weekend's workshop. It was a basic workshop that discussed all the fundamental and extremely essential photography concepts which help make a good photograph. A two day session which armed the wannabe photographer in me with some great know-hows. Kalyan, who believes in sharing both his photos and his knowledge (which I respect to no end) gives you some of these wonderful insights about the nitty-gritty of making a photograph look the way you have always envisioned.

Our photography assignment at Lalbagh ( of course it was not a stupid theory cramming session at all ) was to capture the essence of the structure on top of the Lalbagh hill. Trust me, it certainly isn't as simple as it seems. However, I set out with great enthusiasm hoping to get some decent shots. To be honest, I was really surprised at how well some of my photos came out (though most others were as sloppy as usual). It's absolutely amazing how knowing about stuff like lenses and shutters can give an edge to what you capture! Recipe -> Know the basics, use your sense of aesthetics throw in some amazing guidance and voila!

The blurred look I have always craved for.. that striking sharpness I never got.. that particular smile, the soft look .. the seductive dewdrop - all this is now going to materialize!!

Learning the photography tricks - magical .. meeting the magician in person - an honour.

Yours "click"fully,
Gargi