Mention India to most people in America and it conjures up images of an unknown land, often mired with notions of Poverty, the Caste System, excessive Population, and perhaps most recently, Software! After all, that is how the media has portrayed India.
But honestly, how many of you thought 'COLOR'?
That is what India truly is. Color. Color in our Diversity, Color in our Religion, Color in our Festivals, Color in our Languages, but most noticeably, Color in our People.
I look at the picture above and am still struck by the elegance and color. A special occasion - hardly. These are probably most of the clothes she owns and the jewelry is most likely inherited. She is out carrying a tray of henna, along with the assorted tools to decorate the hands of young women - a custom that is common at Indian weddings. Some of my favorite pictures from this and other trips are viewable at my Gallery.
Photography changed my perspective of India 21 years ago. As a young idealist, when I went back to India after having received a brand new education in the US, I saw what most people from the US see. Crowds, traffic, power outages and more traffic. That was in 1982. When I went back in 1985, I worked for Kodak and had discovered photography. This time I saw India through the lens. Color, character, contrast, contradiction. But always, charm. It was an amazing realization, a realization that led to peace with who I was, peace brought out by photography.
Photographing people in India is not easy. The overhead sun creates a lot of shadows and contrast. It is best to take pictures in the shade of a building or at dusk. People are usually friendly and willing to be photographed, though often curious as to why. A long lens helps isolate the subject from the background, while a conversation puts them at ease. The picture above was made with Kodak Portra 200 film, at dusk by the Ganges, in the holy city of Haridwar.
This picture is being featured on the homepage of kodak.com for the next two weeks. More of my photos from In and Around Hardiwar are in my Gallery Premier account. Take a look and let me know what you think...
There's something mesmerizing and often delightful about being able to freeze an action moment in time - that split second moment that even your brain can hardly recall. How much "air" can you really catch on a bike or on a sled? Capture that moment, and a picture can tell the story. Two of my favorite action shots are included in this entry. The first picture is of my nephew Ross flying high while sledding in Tahoe. The second is a picture of my nephew Grant "catching some air" while testing out his new bike ramp.
Trying to capture an action shot with your digital camera can be challenging and frustrating. One of the main reasons for missing an action shot can be due to shutter delay - that delay between the time you press the button and the moment that the picture is actually captured. On some digital cameras, this delay can be significant. Although many newer digital cameras are addressing this issue, it can still be a problem. Another issue is good ol' human reaction time. Even if you owned a camera with zero shutter delay, your finger might not react quickly enough to capture those faster moments such as your son pitching in little league. Is the situation hopeless? Not at all. With just a little know how and practice, you too can become a digital action photographer!
While there are no guarantees, here are some tips to help you out:
- Use the "Sport" mode: many recent cameras have a "Sport" or "Action" shot mode. This mode typically presets camera settings to be optimized for action shots, thereby increasing your chances of getting a good shot.
- Use the "Burst" mode: many cameras also have a "Burst" or "Multi-Shot" mode. In this mode, you hold the shutter button down and the camera captures a number of pictures in rapid succession. For example, on the Kodak V550, you can capture up to 5 pictures at a time, at a rate of 3 pictures per second. This helps to address issues related to delayed reaction time.
- Follow your subject with your camera: as the action is taking place, frame your subject and move the camera along with the subject as you are capturing the picture. This is a technique referred to as "panning" your camera with your subject.
- Shoot before the shot: try to anticipate your shot and press the button just before the shot you really want; this will help address issues with shutter delay.
So what about me, what do I do and how did I capture that biking and sledding picture? I always use "burst" mode and pan my camera with the subject. I also try to remember to anticipate my shot. In general, it usually takes me lots of attempts and I end up deleting a number of pictures that do not turn out. Sometimes my nephews get exhausted before I do. But, practice helps and when I do capture "that one shot" it's all worth it in the end!
Do you have a cool action shot to share? Add a link to the comment section or submit your picture to Kodak's Picture of the Day.
I love taking fun pictures and I also love doing stuff with those pictures. So I am really excited about this blog. Here is the kind of thing you can expect from me.
A friend of mine uses the same Kodak V550 that I do. I was browsing through her vacation pictures on the camera display when I started to notice some of the pictures were little 9-up shots in one screen. She explained that she set her preferences so that whenever she shot video the camera created these still frames. How could I miss that feature?! My mind swirled with possibilites.
The first idea was to create a flipbook (or "kineograph" if you're feeling fancy). When you thumb through the pages of a flipbook, the pictures on the pages animate. These video stills are perfect for this!
To start, I made sure I had my "video print" setting on and then I took some videos of my cat spinning in circles.
I printed two video capture stills out on an inkjet printer, cut them out and stapled them together. It worked! I think if I printed on heavier paper it would have worked better because the paper tended to stick together.
Everyone is getting a flipbook for the holidays this year!
