My first Maternity Photo shoot in Goa, India

Hello everyone!

How are you all doing?

I have been pretty busy these couple of days, so couldn't blog, my apologies.

I have been experimenting lately with different types of photography and I have been very blessed to shoot a very young and bubbly couple who are expecting their first child.

I just told them about my new venture on Sunday right after the morning church service and told her my idea of dress and location, and this couple were more than happy and obliged to participate.

I was pretty anxious as to how the shoot would progress as this is my first time, I really prayed hard for everything, and I decided to experiment with all the shots I had noted in my Idea book which I keep updating everyday.

I wanted the shoot during the dawn so that I could have those beautiful sunlit pictures of the gorgeous mom-to be, but the day was very over cast and I doubted if I will be able to use just the natural light to brig in the magic.

In-spite of certain difficulties, I got my kiddo ready, and left for my client's place at 4.00, and was pretty happy to see her wearing a dress as I had envisioned, and my floral headbands which I fixed very urgently were a hit too, she looked dashing in my blue headband which was in contrast to the pink shades of their dresses.

We thought of a location earlier but due to lack of much light decided to check out a location very close to the client's house, and that was what I exactly wanted and praised God as soon as I saw the place. I had also prayed for pink flowers, cause that was the theme but couldn't find something fitting my imagination. but as soon as I reach the location I see the dry grass lined with wild asteraceae pink flowers everywhere, I grab a few, n viola and my DIY prop is ready. I was very happy and praised God again.

The lady just entered her 8th month, and was very radiant, she does not have any fat at all and I pretty surprised by her posing abilities, on the contrary I was scared and extra careful, but the girl was very enthusiastic and climbed the lil' hillocks with ease. 

She, is a natural poser, and her husband too, they made my work pretty easy, and dressed perfectly too.  

Hope you like my work.

Do visit my FB page for other pictures in the series.

  

INFANT PHOTOGRAPHY

Hello!

A very good morning to all of you.

How was your day yesterday? Mine went smoothly...spent a lot of time playing with my naughty little 6th month old munchkin, my little one is growing pretty fast and I'm loving it!!!!

I always love clicking kids, and i especially love to capture the candid random stuff they do..I never kinda like the posed and poised kids pictures, I always believe in clicking them randomly in their own world. 

The best tip to photograph kids is...BECOME A KID AND MINGLE WITH THEM.

Kids do not usually get very friendly wit the strangers around them , but when you tell them stories, talk to them ,interact with them, do the silly stuff they do..they instantly connect with you and that's when you start clicking them.

My interest in Infant or rather children photography spiked when my little baby boy was born.

I kept clicking many pictures of him, I was away at my mothers place during pregnancy and delivery and I made sure to click enough pictures of every new thing my kid did so that my husband wouldn't miss any of the cute little actions he did in his absence.

But these days I got so busy and caught up with stuff that I don't really click many pictures...but then I realized that he is increasingly getting active these days so, I need to document every mile stone of his. And I started to click him innovatively and will keep clicking more.

Here is a sneek-peak into ADVENTURES OF SHAUN MANASSEH KOLA...:)

Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot cameras IV

Hi! 

Hope you are all good today, and did you enjoy my yesterdays post?

Let us continue the tutorial in macro photography, we have discussed 3 points so far, now the next point of importance is STURDINESS OF HANDS OR TRIPODS.

Using tripod is a very important step to achieve those wonderful macros, tripods allow us to achieve the details of the subject very well because the lens is stable and the chance of moving is eliminated, which results in blur free images. The usage of tripod becomes inevitable especially while shooting insects outdoors. The insects are either very fast moving like dragon flies, bees etc or the branch or flower on which the insect is sitting or feeding might be swaying in the breeze, remember not only high velocity wind effects the picture quality but even a little breeze can do much harm, and the lens when set in macro mode is vulnerable to even these slightest changes in the air, so If you want a better macro photograph, consider getting a tripod very soon just like me or you will end up getting such blurry images .

I will very soon get a tripod and will post it's details very soon.Very good tripods are available even for a lesser price. Check out this link from Flipkart for a variety of tripods in an affordable range. 

Word of caution: Please read the customer reviews and various video links attached on the site before purchase.

Okay, people don't be disheartened if you cannot think of getting a tripod now, I will post a few pictures which I took without tripod and will surely hope that even hand held shots can be wonderful. The trick is to have very sturdy hands.
The following two picture were hand held

Or another cheap idea is to rest our camera on something solid if available. 

Eg. I would like to display two images here which have been shot in an interval of a minute, the Exif,is the same but a slight variation in the angle which they were shot.

You can click on the images for a closer view.

The two images displayed here are of Euphorbia milli flowers from my home garden(not much of a garden though) both of them look equally good, they were clicked using all the earlier mentioned points in the previous posts like a shallow-depth-of- field, an appropriate angle to showcase the pollen inside the flowers, and the white balance is set properly as to not burn the colors of the image.

But the only difference is that the first image was shot by resting the camera on the window grill while the second shot was hand held.

Now when they were zoomed to 100% and cropped appropriately it resulted in the following images, 

Now do you see the difference in the clarity of the pollen?

The first image has a relatively clearer pollen than the second image.

That is the reason the camera has to rest on some support, but that is not possible every time, is it? Hence the importance of tripod cannot be ruled out in Macro photography.

Hope my article helps, do write in if you have any doubts and I would be honored to reply. And keep checking for my further tutorials.

PS: Please click on the images for a bigger view.

Have a great day people, keep smiling and Keep clicking.

Cheers, Deepthi Nannam

Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot cameras III

Hello everyone!

How are you all doing?

Hope you have enjoyed my last post on Lighting tips in macro photography for Point and shoot cameras, If you haven't read it yet then please do visit  because the present post is a continuation of the last post.

Don't you ever look at the wonderful macro pictures on the internet and wonder if you could also click something like those. But very often we get discouraged because we do not have the right gear for that, and admit it that we do envy the fact that those people have those hi-fi cameras and fancy lenses. But do not be dis heartened dear friends because I'm a person just like you, having only a "POINT AND SHOOT" camera. But that doesn't stop me from experimenting time and time again until I get the desired results. 

The macro mode built in the point and shoot cameras also give some amazing photos provided you are ready to keep trying no matter what and God willing some day you might own a brand new DSLR and those fancy lenses like others, but till then keep pushing your Point and shoot to its limits like I do and trust me, your camera will become your best friend and your pictures will start speaking your thoughts.

For the picture to convey your words an important thing to remember is THE ANGLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

Trying to capture a something in almost the same way becomes monotonous after some day and people loose interest in your pictures, so this article will emphasize on the Angle involved in photographing using Macro mode.

Let me explain my point to you through an example

Above are the three shots of the same flower(These are the tender buds of the Euphorbia milli).

1.

In the first picture we observe that the angle is very common this is the common mistake people do while clicking the macros of a flower, they go quite close and they try to focus from an angle above the flower. 

The cons of doing so are that the image is out of focus because the subject is too close to the lens and the details are lost making it a bad picture.

2. 

The second picture is taken by tilting the camera at an angle which is slightly away from the perpendicular shot above. 

Pros: The details of the flower are retained

Cons: The composition is not very interesting

Nevertheless some people might like the picture, depending upon their personal taste.

3.

The final picture shows the buds in a bokeh backdrop, +which has been achieved using a shallow depth of field and the rule of thirds (This will be explained in the coming posts, so stay tuned )have been used to compost the third picture which makes it an interesting composition. 

Pros: The availability of a far away background with trees have been used here to make the subject stand out, and it gives a professional touch.

Stay tuned for the next posts on tips for macro photography.

BOKEH, RULE-OF-THIRDS, DEPTH-OF-FIELD etc will be explained in my coming posts.

PS: Please click on the images for a larger view.

Till then have fun, keep smiling and Happy clicking people.

Cheers,
Deepthi Nannam

Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot Cameras II

This post is a continuation of the last post.

So, we were discussing the various possible subjects in macro photography. Today I will give a few more examples and then will move ahead with lighting.

The other subjects can be Insects which make for interesting subjects only when the focus is at the right point.

Wasp clicked by my husband using Nikon L820
Look at the clarity, even the fur on the wasp is clearly visible

For more of the interesting Insect pictures please visit the following link INSECTA

2. LIGHTING

Lighting plays a very important role in macro photography, in any photography as a matter of fact though.

The best light would be the sunlight, especially early in the mornings and in the evenings when the glow of the sun is soft and is at an angle and sun casts a beautiful glow on the subjects.

Please avoid shooting when the sun is at its peak and the skies are clear because the intensity of the sunlight is very harsh at noon which makes the highlights of the picture to be "blown out". And the natural hues or color of the subject changes.

So, while shooting outdoors white balance should be taken into consideration to capture the real colors and to retain the freshness of the subject. Choose the sunlight option under white balance for shooting outdoors.

Shooting in very harsh light and without setting the white balance resulted in "blown up" image and false colors 

The same flower shot at a different time of the day when it was cloudy and with white balance set to Sunlight

The above two photos were shot using a 5mp Samsung duos phone camera.

But when the subject is being shot indoors, then the flash plays an important role, make sure that the camera is not very close to the subject as the flash can cause a shadow. Select the Fill flash option which is more desirable while using flash.

Flash plays an important role even outside when the subject is constantly moving due to wind, the usage of flash enables us to freeze the motion in other words it eliminates blur.

The following examples illustrate this.

Buds of the wild neem (Melia azarderach), the flash has cast a shadow

By properly distancing the subject the fill flash option can be used to create stunning images

Though these flowers were captured during day light the shadow of the tree, and it was quite windy which made me use the flash. 

This ends the topic of lighting, the post will continue with the remaining topics.

Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus )

Hello!
These days I'm so engrossed in Bird photography, that when ever I get some free time i.e. when my 6 month old son sleeps or when my husband has a holiday or during weekends I go out hunting to shoot new birds and to keep them caged in my computer :)

I now present to you all a new debutante in my collection of bird photographs. THE GREATER FLAME BACKED WOODPECKER( Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus)

I saw this bird perched high on a rain tree outside my window a very long time ago and tried capturing it but couldnt capture it clearly due to the thick foilage of the rain tree and very recently the neighboring apartment people had half of the tree overlooking my window chopped down which brought tears in my eyes and the thought of not having any more birds come made me very sad, but neverthless I never lost heart as that is a way in which I tend to spend my little free time, and have been eagerly waiting for it to show up again and I'm pleased to tell you all that it was back and though it was very high like the last time the lack of obstructing branches made my job easy. Though the bird seemed to be in a hurry, I managed to grab some beautiful shots of the magnificent creature.
Hope you like them.

TIPS FOR IDENTIFICATION:
1. Un marked golden yellow to dark brown back and wings
2. The red hood is characteristic of males

Adult male greater flame backed woodpecker

characteristic red crown of an adult male

Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot Cameras

MACROS....oooh!

I kind of like the term and also love clicking in that mode...who doesn't?

I'm neither a professional photographer nor do I own a professional DSLR camera with a fancy Macro lens. (No offense to people with those wonderful Cameras).

Rather I'm an amateur with a great enthusiasm and passion for photography and I own a Bridge camera. But that doesn't stop me from getting some wonderfully clean and crisp macro photos, it shouldn't stop you either.

Today I'm going to illustrate neatly about the steps involved in macro photography with relevant examples.(All the photos in this post are clicked only by a point and shoot camera  by me unless and otherwise mentioned).

First of all...check out for the following flower like symbol on the camera to go to macro mode.

Click on this button, and start clicking, but some cameras like Sony cybershot, etc do not have a special button for macros but rather you have to set your camera in auto mode and get the camera closer to your subject and your camera automatically displays the symbol and you can start clicking.

And before you get close to your subject please press the shutter button slightly which allows you to focus on the subject properly and then in the next click you can start clicking, perfectly focused pictures. And when you slightly press the shutter button then you can know which part to highlight in your picture and the you can blur the other parts.

Important points to remember in Macro photography:

1. Subject

2. Lighting

3. Angle of Photography

4. Steadiness of hands or Tripod

5. Post-processing

And most importantly PATIENCE

All there are interrelated and cannot work without each other.

We come across many interesting things and little creatures in our daily lives which may seem mundane but after careful observation would make for some wonderful SUBJECT..

There is no hard rule, just let your imagination run wild and in no time you will have great pictures. The subjects may be flowers, insects, still life or any thing.

Today I'd like to discuss in detail how ordinary things seem extraordinary in Macro photography. The main focus of the article is upon the FLORA. Check out my Facebook link for other  macro flora subjects

Droplets of rain on a Euphorbia milli leaf with the refraction of the building in the back ground.

These are the flowers of a variety of wild grass which were swaying in the wind, their rich color against the blurry background makes it a good picture.

This is a wild Fabaceae flower(Need help with the ID), The monotonous green of the leaves makes the bright orange stand out

These are the sexual stage of a moss called Funaria, these are very small in size almost a cm or so and go  UN-noticed by everyone

Here the concentration  is on the pollen which being in the same color as the flower stands out cause it has been focused upon.

These are very few examples of what the subjects can be and will discuss the rest in the coming posts. Till then Keep smiling and keep Clicking.

PS: Please click on the images for a larger view.

Cheers,

Deepthi Nannam

White throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

I'm on a look out for birds these days and one day in the evening I went into my balcony to close the windows, just then I saw a brilliant display of blue fly across me and I ran to capture the beauty.

White throated kingfisher on a rain tree branch

White throated kingfisher

Please click on the images for a larger view.

An important point to remember in bird photography is to use shallow depth-of-field well so as to create an un- cluttered background which makes the subject stand out.

Bird Photography. Warning: It is quite addictive

Photographing inanimate objects is a very wonderful thing but the real challenge comes in while photographing animate subjects especially birds cause they are quite unpredictable and are very easily scared and fly away, I very clearly remember photographing a Purple rumped sunbird when I was on a vacation and I loved it so much That I got hooked to it instantly and have been on a quest since then to capture as many birds as possible. Hope I get to fulfill my desire to capture those lovely winged creatures and showcase them to people around so that we could all praise the Creator for His Awesome creation.

Check out this space for Bird Photography.

Cheers,

Deepthi Nannam

Hi!

How are you all?
Hope life has been treating you all well.
We have been blessed with a handsome baby boy.

My little munchkin Shaun Manasseh.

Tried my hand at INFANT  PHOTOGRAPHY (BODY-PART)collages and I'm quite happy with the result.
This was when he was a month old, and in a week he will be 6 months old.

That reason is obvious enough to justify my long absence I guess :). And I hope to be regular now, wish me luck folks.

Taj Mahal of Rice

Yeah! you heard it right.

Take a look.

Captured this amazing piece of art at Shilparamam, Hyderabad.

I was just blown away looking at the workman ship and the finesse of this art.

This great work was accomplished by a master crafts man called ANAND (9676653187) using rice and erolite in a duration of 6 months, tough eh!!!

Every nook and corner is made of rice, there was a replica of Eiffel tower too.

Kudos to the craftsman, btw it costs 2 lakhs INR (JUST IN CASE YOU ARE INTERESTED).

Lord's Glory

Took this picture on our way to Hyderabad from Pune.

Am very alto-phobic, so i was worried as it was my first flight, but thanks to my darling hubby who kept monitoring me....and the scary height no longer bothered me, rather the flight was a pleasant and a very wonderful first time experience.

The most awesome-st thing about the journey was that I could see the clouds in all their grandeur...at a few places they were scattered, few places like a plain which was as vast as a beautiful playground, few were rain clouds, ah...just cant stop describing their beauty(the description may seem strange but pardon me...coz this is my first time).

The moment I liked the most was when the sun was shining at its brightest and the clouds looked as if they had a golden lining around....oh!....can't stop praising The Almighty for His wonderful creation. Glory be to Him and Him alone. And this scene kept me wondering as to how the heaven would look like, when His creation could be this beautiful, then just imagine how beautiful His abode is gonna be! 

Touch me not

This plant should probably be renamed as TOUCH ME..cause everyone who finds this plant seems to touch it instantly..lol

No matter how insignificant we are......

Photography 365

Day 9

Milk weed bug on a wild fern

I captured this milk weed bug on the way to cortalim, Goa.

This bug reminds me of the various n number of creatures created by the God Almighty...and I wonder...!! How did He draft such variety? such colors, such patterns and what not...just cant imagine how He managed to draft the blue-print of the creation.

Ranging from the microscopic organism to the blue-whale He created everything. But no matter what the size is, what the color is...and irrespective of how the creatures look...God cares for all of them. HOW WONDERFUL IS OUR GOD!

The same thing applies to us humans...it is written in the Bible...Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (NIV). So no matter How poor we are, how ugly we look or how insignificant we are, or any problem we might be facing...God is with us and he takes care of us, so do not be disheartened or do not worry cause we have the heavenly father.

Leaves and thorns....

He-ya!

Sorry for not posting in 365, my computer was down.

Photography 365

Day 8

I took this picture at my Granny's garden. Captured this early in the morning when everyone in the house was sleeping. Just cant tell you how good it feels to go around clicking pictures when no one is watching..the best feeling ever..its like I'm lost in my own world with no one to other.

Don't the dew drops look heavenly...? What a bliss it was going around and finding the nature at its best...it was as if the whole garden had a thorough shower from the heavenly father...looking fresh and clean..ah! what bliss...Thank you Lord for your wonderful creation.

Caption this....!

Photography...365

Day 7

Caption this....!

Butterflies everywhere...

Photography...365

Day 6

Hello!

Instead of a single photo I decide to upload few today, the reason is that I got a handful of butterfly photos..rather overflowing in number. Lol

I happen to spot many butterflies on a soap nut tree from my neighbors place and did a photo shoot of them for about 2 hours or so in the hot sun.The result is I ended up with beautiful pictures, But photographing butterflies can be a pain...needs lots of patience, which is said to be very little in me by my beloved family...;-).

Hope my hard-work paid off...and you like them. 

Butterflies..butterflies...

Colorful little butterflies...

You fly here and you fly there....

I can follow you everywhere...

Mom is shouting...be back here...

but when I'm with you I don't care...

wish I could be like you...

Going everywhere.... 

Butterflies..butterflies...

Colorful little butterflies...

Author-Deepthi Nannam

It's high time...we should start doing something

In the thirumala express....

This photo is not a part of PHOTOGRAPHY...365

Hi!

Today I wanted to write something serious and thought provoking.

Yesterday we Indians celebrated our 66th INDEPENDENCE DAY....so far so good and Happy....but!!!!!

OK..! before we get into our discussion mode...let me explain about the picture.

This picture was taken In the Thirumala express from Vizag to Tirupathi.

It was a fateful evening...I went to collect some certificates from my college...I had my ticket reserved to go via tatkal..but unfortunately could not get one to return home...so I decided to get into the train with one of my juniors without a reservation..I mean into the Ladies compartment unreserved!!!!

We squeezed into it with much difficulty...then stood by the door for about four hours...Holding tight...it was scary but also little fun. Then as the stations came by..there was no way anyone could step in....no place to put even a singe foot....but a police came at Rajamundry station and started saying...get some people into the washroom and you will find space...!!!!!!! How disgusting is that??????

There were people everywhere..mothers with little children...old ladies....and some adamant people would never move and adjust to give place even though it was there...sad...:(

The whole night went by with me and my junior standing...and sitting on the floor...children crying....women fighting....oh...what a mess it was...! I literally stood for the whole night...there were only four seats in the bogie accommodating..12 people(4X3) and four individual chairs..accommodating 4 people...And the upper seats for luggage but people were there here too...the capacity of the Bogie was a meager 20 to 30 people but..trust me..there were about 100 people...!!

The people were here there and everywhere, they were sleeping haphazardly...I felt so sorry for the little kids and the old women. (Have a look at the picture for a clear image of how people slept)....finally my place came at 4.30 in the morning and Daddy dear was waiting for me. How relieved I was to see him and my destination. I will never forget this journey ever in my life.

I got home and was happy to see mom...but my thoughts were still with the people on the train...and wondered how tough life is for many people out there...?

But still our country and leaders speak big words boasting about the development happening and false stuff like that. Where are we heading? Is our country on the right path?

THINK!!!!!

In spite of all the propaganda and the glorious manifestos during the elections..our country still remains a place which is in NEED for all the basic amenities, proper modes of transportation, and many more. 

Nothing can happen until we raise our voices against the many evils like corruption, and various other  white collar crimes. So, its high time we do something.  What do you say?????

This train thing may not be big...but it is one among the many inconveniences we face even after 66 years after independence.

And I am very thankful to the almighty for all the things he gave us and I pray for the million others who are still in need.

Green, green and green

Photography...365

Day 5 

Guess what it is?

Green, Green and green...

Here, there and everywhere...

From the grass so lean.....

to the birdie's queen...

From the heart of a seed....

you rise to be a mighty tree...

Our hearts are so happy..

when we see you everywhere...

Author-Deepthi Nannam

Pearly drops on a leaf

Photography...365

DAY 2

Rain water droplets on Colocasia leaf

I took this picture at Selaulim Dam...it was raining hard while we went around but when it stopped raining, it looked as if the surrounding had a very good shower.

It was hot and sultry
suddenly it started to rain...
soaked up everything dry
but the trip wasn't in vain...
cause the world became fresh and clean
and vanished all our heart's pain.

Author-Deepthi Nannam

Don't mind my silly poems :P...Am just writing them as I blog by.