had been looking forward to this day fome some time..... Nijhum Dwip only lived in my imagination, but always eluded me..... well, until now...... thanks to TTL, and especially Shudipto, I've been granted an opportunity to visit this unique place....
the group is really big.... almost too big for comfort actually.... and the island is almost too small for such big group of people...... the weather seems good..... this year there hasn't been a very active cyclone season..... so, winter is knocking pretty early.... humidity is low and temperature is dropping, especially during the night......
the whole journey would be a journey by boat.... it would be a long one.... so, enjoying the stay on the boat would be the key to enjoying the overall tour......
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Lamisa eats up Daddy's strobe!!
yes, she did!!!...... well, not actually!! :)
I was just experimenting with the new white backdrop that I've made at home..... actually my family members helped me with it..... I invested my time behind making the backdrop stand up...... and it was a big challenge....... preparing a home-made stand made of cheap materials thats gonna withstand the weight of an 8'x8' curtain was surely a challenge...... ultimately, it wasn't as sturdy as I had hoped, but it worked..... and the system is sufficiently flexible to be able to update it......
while shooting, I encountered many obstacles, which I hope to eliminate gradually..... I don't have the desire to learn everything in one day..... so, no hurry!.... one of the lessons was the difficulty of getting high-key with this backdrop..... a white paper or a white wall is so much easier achieve this.... the second lesson was the need for a GoBo (Go-between) or a flag to be able to control the direction or spill of light, especially with my speedlights..... more like the Barn Doors used on studio strobes...... in the following pics, I needed the GoBo to prevent light from falling on my cutie's face...... the third lesson was the distance between the subject and the backdrop..... I had space constraints and the backdrop was too short on the ground to facilitate a full-body high-key..... the last and the most annoying lesson was a seamless backdrop is imperative for high-key...... I would rather try to use this backdrop for non-high-key images, utilising the wrinkles on the backdrop, rather than trying to correct it..... anyway, lets see what happens.......
here's Lamisa, chewing up Daddy's strobe...... actually, only the strobe's cover :)
setup........
I was just experimenting with the new white backdrop that I've made at home..... actually my family members helped me with it..... I invested my time behind making the backdrop stand up...... and it was a big challenge....... preparing a home-made stand made of cheap materials thats gonna withstand the weight of an 8'x8' curtain was surely a challenge...... ultimately, it wasn't as sturdy as I had hoped, but it worked..... and the system is sufficiently flexible to be able to update it......
while shooting, I encountered many obstacles, which I hope to eliminate gradually..... I don't have the desire to learn everything in one day..... so, no hurry!.... one of the lessons was the difficulty of getting high-key with this backdrop..... a white paper or a white wall is so much easier achieve this.... the second lesson was the need for a GoBo (Go-between) or a flag to be able to control the direction or spill of light, especially with my speedlights..... more like the Barn Doors used on studio strobes...... in the following pics, I needed the GoBo to prevent light from falling on my cutie's face...... the third lesson was the distance between the subject and the backdrop..... I had space constraints and the backdrop was too short on the ground to facilitate a full-body high-key..... the last and the most annoying lesson was a seamless backdrop is imperative for high-key...... I would rather try to use this backdrop for non-high-key images, utilising the wrinkles on the backdrop, rather than trying to correct it..... anyway, lets see what happens.......
here's Lamisa, chewing up Daddy's strobe...... actually, only the strobe's cover :)
setup........
Friday, 23 October 2009
Strobist Experiment: Orange Gel Filter as Hair Light
this was one of my first experiments with Orange Gel Filter that came with the SB-900..... for once, wanted to use a reflector to reduce the shadows on the subject's right..... but at that time, I didn't have a stand to hold the reflector...... and there also wasn't anyone to act as a human stand.... the backdrop came naturally as a result of slight light falloff from the umbrella..... use of a softbox might have demanded another light for background illumination.......
anyway, the end result, though a bit dark on the subject's right, kind of satisfied me..... the shadows gave sort of a thoughtful mood, I think......
setup.........
anyway, the end result, though a bit dark on the subject's right, kind of satisfied me..... the shadows gave sort of a thoughtful mood, I think......
setup.........
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Strobist Experiment: Orange Gel Filter on Background Light
had been experimenting with gel filters on flash units for several days...... mainly for hair light....... still struggling to get perfection out of that.... used snoot to get proper direction out of that snoot..... I tried that on this occasion too, but quickly found out the difference and rather used the flash without the gel filter..... this the whole background a glowing look, which is what I was really after......
this was the first time I successfully used the Simpex Prolite 400D flash head in a softbox..... I had to modify it with two thick layers of home-made diffusion materials..... now I can dial-up the power level somewhat...... I still think this flash head needs more control to work properly.....
the reflector is really struggling, along with its stand..... the makeshift stand can't be bent in any direction, which makes sure that the reflector only works horizontally...... and this horizontal workability also happens to be at a fixed height..... this need to be fixed...... and the other thing that I had noticed about the reflector is the focused beam of light..... its workable angle of view is pretty narrow..... so, the subject's slight movement takes the reflector out of use.....
anyway, this was a late night photoshoot once again........ and the idea of looking up basically came from my wife...... it was one in a series of shots..... and this one turned out to be the most interesting.......
setup.......
this was the first time I successfully used the Simpex Prolite 400D flash head in a softbox..... I had to modify it with two thick layers of home-made diffusion materials..... now I can dial-up the power level somewhat...... I still think this flash head needs more control to work properly.....
the reflector is really struggling, along with its stand..... the makeshift stand can't be bent in any direction, which makes sure that the reflector only works horizontally...... and this horizontal workability also happens to be at a fixed height..... this need to be fixed...... and the other thing that I had noticed about the reflector is the focused beam of light..... its workable angle of view is pretty narrow..... so, the subject's slight movement takes the reflector out of use.....
anyway, this was a late night photoshoot once again........ and the idea of looking up basically came from my wife...... it was one in a series of shots..... and this one turned out to be the most interesting.......
setup.......
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Kali Puja, Shakharibazar, Dhaka, October 2009
17 October 2009
I had been dying to go out with the camera....... in recent times I had to be satisfied with mostly in-home photo-sessions.... the tour to my Nanabari at Hajiganj, Chandpur was a really refreshing one..... but its been more than two weeks since then that I've clicked outside my home...... the opportunity to break this jinx came in when Shudipto once again invited everyone to a photowalk in the narrow alleys of Shakharibazar...... TTL did it again........ its Diwali; Kali Puja..... and it was a holiday too!!..... what else do you need?...... after missing out on the opportunity to go to Lalon Mela at Kushtia, I was really hungry.......
the special thing about the event was that it all started from late evening..... I arrived there with by little brother-in-law Riad by around 9:00PM..... just thought that we were too late...... but soon found out that we were actually almost too early....... the narrow stretches of Shakharibazar were packed with people..... the lanes were semi-blocked by numerous 'Puja Mandaps'...... but around half of them were empty!!..... the deities were yet to be brought there...... but there still were some to give the feeling of the event.....
it was an event of lights and devotion...... candles, lamps and firecrackers stole the show..... the confined alleys made the place extremely warm...... we were sweating like pigs...... and the pushing and pulling in that crowd made walking difficult, but mandatory...... we had some hard times stopping in the path to take a few snaps......
most of us left the place before 10:00PM, when we also started to move.... it was a short walk..... but it sure gave me a feel of the event...... this was the first time I went to Shakharibazar during a Puja festival...... and I think the effort was worth it......
Lights of devotion........01
Heavenly artists........
With the mother.........01
With the mother.........02
Lights of devotion........02
I had been dying to go out with the camera....... in recent times I had to be satisfied with mostly in-home photo-sessions.... the tour to my Nanabari at Hajiganj, Chandpur was a really refreshing one..... but its been more than two weeks since then that I've clicked outside my home...... the opportunity to break this jinx came in when Shudipto once again invited everyone to a photowalk in the narrow alleys of Shakharibazar...... TTL did it again........ its Diwali; Kali Puja..... and it was a holiday too!!..... what else do you need?...... after missing out on the opportunity to go to Lalon Mela at Kushtia, I was really hungry.......
the special thing about the event was that it all started from late evening..... I arrived there with by little brother-in-law Riad by around 9:00PM..... just thought that we were too late...... but soon found out that we were actually almost too early....... the narrow stretches of Shakharibazar were packed with people..... the lanes were semi-blocked by numerous 'Puja Mandaps'...... but around half of them were empty!!..... the deities were yet to be brought there...... but there still were some to give the feeling of the event.....
it was an event of lights and devotion...... candles, lamps and firecrackers stole the show..... the confined alleys made the place extremely warm...... we were sweating like pigs...... and the pushing and pulling in that crowd made walking difficult, but mandatory...... we had some hard times stopping in the path to take a few snaps......
most of us left the place before 10:00PM, when we also started to move.... it was a short walk..... but it sure gave me a feel of the event...... this was the first time I went to Shakharibazar during a Puja festival...... and I think the effort was worth it......
 |
| From Kali Puja, Shakharibazar, Dhaka, October 2009 |
Lights of devotion........01
 |
| From Kali Puja, Shakharibazar, Dhaka, October 2009 |
Heavenly artists........
 |
| From Kali Puja, Shakharibazar, Dhaka, October 2009 |
With the mother.........01
 |
| From Kali Puja, Shakharibazar, Dhaka, October 2009 |
With the mother.........02
 |
| From Kali Puja, Shakharibazar, Dhaka, October 2009 |
Lights of devotion........02
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Strobist Experiment: Three-light Setup
it was another hasty photoshoot...... wasn't 100% satisfied with it..... there are still some shadows that I would like to eliminate...... but it was fun..... both for me and for my models...... the reflector was the third light here...... but I'm yet to get perfection from it..... perhaps I would try to get a bigger one or a softer bounce card....... lets see where it goes.......
the setup........
the setup........
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Strobist Experiment: High-speed Sync (Auto FP)
always wanted to put the background out....... but struggled all throughout because of lack of background setups..... just made this discovery to shoot at very high shutter speeds (well beyond the camera's normal sync speed)..... this made the use of background completely redundant..... also used a snoot to give more directional light; avoiding light-spill on the background....... the background went completely dark even though it was a white wall just 3-feet behind the subject......
loved this possibility...... would surely try out more using different setups....
loved this possibility...... would surely try out more using different setups....
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Lamisa poses for Strobist, 04 October 2009
it was another hasty setup...... the main idea was to utilise the umbrella along with a reflector, so that another flash could be freed to be used either for background illumination or hair light...... the background illumination worked fine before and worked again this time too..... the use of reflector against an umbrella was the first for me..... and another first was the use of a stand to hold the reflector..... in another earlier shoot, my wife helped me being the human stand....... well, you don't always get that advantage...... here is the result and the setup used........
the hair-light experiment wasn't that satisfactory, because of lack of preparation...... need to develop a better snoot or a grid to work with the gel filters....... hope to do this again some day soon.....
the hair-light experiment wasn't that satisfactory, because of lack of preparation...... need to develop a better snoot or a grid to work with the gel filters....... hope to do this again some day soon.....
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Indian Embassy Visa line....... a photostory missed!!
had a really weird experience at the door of the Indian Embassy today...... I heard about all these peculiarities before.... but this was my first experience with it..... first things first..... I would never have gone through these kinds of painful experience for my own benefits..... only a serious emergency could make me do this..... and it was something like that......
around 300 people were already in line when we reached there by around 6:00AM...... and many were sleeping on the road.... it was a Sunday, first day of the week...... and Sundays are usually more busy...... the crowd eases as the week progresses..... this is daylight saving time and the month of October is here...... so, 6:00AM is complete darkness..... these people had been in line for the most of the last evening and night..... but we had a deal with a "professional queue guy"...... he manages several people who stand in line for all night..... and others pay out to take their positions...... these are called "dalal" or brokers by most..... and although none can prove that they are in violation of any rules, they are looked at as part of an illegal gang...... whatever the case, this is an easier method for those not willing to spend their bed-time on the streets and having the ability and willingness to spend for that instead.....
these brokers were working in collusion with the police very openly.... the duty police officer knew every single broker and he seemed to have trusted the brokers more than the others not using a broker....... it was quite obvious that all the people there spending the night there had some interest...... and most of that interest came from the smell of money...... there were people selling the services of filling-up the forms, photocopying, pen and stapler, tea and snacks, and even a place to store your bag, as the Embassy didn't allow bags inside..... small children had their pockets filled with cash just by selling pen and stapler services.... an old woman was keeping the bags saying that she couldn't run away with those..... I also kept my bag there......
the other thing that had a profound influence on me, was power..... these people held some power here that was hard to break by most... and that powerful position allowed them to behave as they wished with whoever they wished to...... they were ready manhandle anyone who didn't follow their rules there..... and the police worked hand-in-hand with these people...... it was almost as if these brokers were part of the system in place!!
we used a couple of brokers who somehow managed to squeeze the two of us into line...... but not without some hassle..... we had to pay Tk 1,200 to the guy for managing the two positions..... we had serials of 23 and 24...... the next phase came when the clock ticked 7:00...... a huge clamour started....... the duty police official went crazy and began to shout, "stand in line!!"...... we quickly realised that it was time for a higher police authority to came up and screen out the people who couldn't show any document to prove that they were the actual applicants....... and even though there were some screening-outs, somehow our serial numbers went back to 35 and 36...... this higher official went through the visa application forms of everyone and gave serial numbers to everyone....... proxy people were all kicked out..... this was the moment our broker was worried about most... if his people were kicked out of line without a client, we wouldn't get anything.... the guy next to us wasn't ready with his forms..... so, the official actually gave the number and signed on his palm!.... and also warned him that he had to get everything completed and got signed on the papers......
emotions were running high from the start..... there were lots of loud voices and pushing and pulling..... the brokers played their due part until the higher police official came up..... it was 'police time' from 7:00 onwards..... the officials looked at us and asked if we were using any brokers to get our positions..... because, according to him, we didn't look like people who stood in line for long..... this was the same question asked by an Embassy official at the entrance..... I was struggling to find out the motive behind such a question....... it was almost as if an Indian visa was something to be achieved..... and visa without an overnight toil would be something illegal...... this question irritated me most......
anyway, the line began to move from 8:30AM onwards...... our turn came quite quickly...... 20 people were taken in at a time...... and we had to stand in line several times inside the embassy...... the visa processing officials tried to present themselves as the most powerful people on earth...... and they used all their power to prove that they were gods there...... we had little problem overcoming this, but some others had some really hard times without any reason..... the officials wanted to make sure that getting Indian visa stayed in their (applicants) head as one of the toughest things they've ever achieved!!
I was thinking what an opportunity this was to do a photostory...... but it was one of the most difficult..... those people, all were pouncing on sort of revenue and none would want to feature in front of a camera.... and judging by the emotions of the place, I could imagine what sort of a trouble one would face with a camera in hand...... and in any way, I couldn't carry my camera inside the Embassy... so, I left the camera back home..... keeping the camera inside the bag and keeping the bag with that woman didn't look like the most prospective thought.....
it seemed ridiculous to me people had to go through this kind of trouble to get an approval to travel to India..... I would never have gone through such a process unless it was mandatory for me...... the human lines outside Indian Embassy in Dhaka epitomized the one-sided relationship existing between the two countries......
around 300 people were already in line when we reached there by around 6:00AM...... and many were sleeping on the road.... it was a Sunday, first day of the week...... and Sundays are usually more busy...... the crowd eases as the week progresses..... this is daylight saving time and the month of October is here...... so, 6:00AM is complete darkness..... these people had been in line for the most of the last evening and night..... but we had a deal with a "professional queue guy"...... he manages several people who stand in line for all night..... and others pay out to take their positions...... these are called "dalal" or brokers by most..... and although none can prove that they are in violation of any rules, they are looked at as part of an illegal gang...... whatever the case, this is an easier method for those not willing to spend their bed-time on the streets and having the ability and willingness to spend for that instead.....
these brokers were working in collusion with the police very openly.... the duty police officer knew every single broker and he seemed to have trusted the brokers more than the others not using a broker....... it was quite obvious that all the people there spending the night there had some interest...... and most of that interest came from the smell of money...... there were people selling the services of filling-up the forms, photocopying, pen and stapler, tea and snacks, and even a place to store your bag, as the Embassy didn't allow bags inside..... small children had their pockets filled with cash just by selling pen and stapler services.... an old woman was keeping the bags saying that she couldn't run away with those..... I also kept my bag there......
the other thing that had a profound influence on me, was power..... these people held some power here that was hard to break by most... and that powerful position allowed them to behave as they wished with whoever they wished to...... they were ready manhandle anyone who didn't follow their rules there..... and the police worked hand-in-hand with these people...... it was almost as if these brokers were part of the system in place!!
we used a couple of brokers who somehow managed to squeeze the two of us into line...... but not without some hassle..... we had to pay Tk 1,200 to the guy for managing the two positions..... we had serials of 23 and 24...... the next phase came when the clock ticked 7:00...... a huge clamour started....... the duty police official went crazy and began to shout, "stand in line!!"...... we quickly realised that it was time for a higher police authority to came up and screen out the people who couldn't show any document to prove that they were the actual applicants....... and even though there were some screening-outs, somehow our serial numbers went back to 35 and 36...... this higher official went through the visa application forms of everyone and gave serial numbers to everyone....... proxy people were all kicked out..... this was the moment our broker was worried about most... if his people were kicked out of line without a client, we wouldn't get anything.... the guy next to us wasn't ready with his forms..... so, the official actually gave the number and signed on his palm!.... and also warned him that he had to get everything completed and got signed on the papers......
emotions were running high from the start..... there were lots of loud voices and pushing and pulling..... the brokers played their due part until the higher police official came up..... it was 'police time' from 7:00 onwards..... the officials looked at us and asked if we were using any brokers to get our positions..... because, according to him, we didn't look like people who stood in line for long..... this was the same question asked by an Embassy official at the entrance..... I was struggling to find out the motive behind such a question....... it was almost as if an Indian visa was something to be achieved..... and visa without an overnight toil would be something illegal...... this question irritated me most......
anyway, the line began to move from 8:30AM onwards...... our turn came quite quickly...... 20 people were taken in at a time...... and we had to stand in line several times inside the embassy...... the visa processing officials tried to present themselves as the most powerful people on earth...... and they used all their power to prove that they were gods there...... we had little problem overcoming this, but some others had some really hard times without any reason..... the officials wanted to make sure that getting Indian visa stayed in their (applicants) head as one of the toughest things they've ever achieved!!
I was thinking what an opportunity this was to do a photostory...... but it was one of the most difficult..... those people, all were pouncing on sort of revenue and none would want to feature in front of a camera.... and judging by the emotions of the place, I could imagine what sort of a trouble one would face with a camera in hand...... and in any way, I couldn't carry my camera inside the Embassy... so, I left the camera back home..... keeping the camera inside the bag and keeping the bag with that woman didn't look like the most prospective thought.....
it seemed ridiculous to me people had to go through this kind of trouble to get an approval to travel to India..... I would never have gone through such a process unless it was mandatory for me...... the human lines outside Indian Embassy in Dhaka epitomized the one-sided relationship existing between the two countries......
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