The Self Critic Shutterbug

Av: F/8; Tv: 0.001s (1/1000); f: 6mm; ISO: 80

This is actually an old photo I took with my friend’s Sony DSC-H2 camera during a trip to the wonderful temple at Somanathpur. The sky was brilliant that day with very well-defined clouds and the sun was out.
As I looked up to the sky that time, I saw this brilliant ray of sunlight coming out of the clouds. I tried to capture it as a backdrop to the wonderful architecture of the temple. This photo had to be in Black and White because of the amazing shades of gray in the sky offering differing levels of contrast, which B & W portrays so majestically.
Because I was shooting directly at the sun, I preferred very minimal exposure with very short shutter speed and a low ISO.

To get the silhouette effect of the temple with that camera (in which I could not adjust the area of focus and the level of focus) I aimed the centre of the field to a bright area (like the sky) while keeping the click button half-pressed and then changed the camera position to aim at the temple. (This is a method to get great silhouettes with any basic camera, actually)
The different levels of gray in the sky offer a great amount of dynamism. Infact, it does offer an intimidating and scary image; like that of an impending disaster (as shown in the movies :p)

I could have tried to follow the Rule of Thirds here; but that would mean zooming out and I feared if the effect of the Ray of light would be dampened and lose prominence.
The Lens Glare in the photo can be both a boon and a bane. I guess, in this case, it isn’t so bad (position-wise). So, it does make the photo look better.

Tags: Black and white, clouds, silhouette, Somnathpur, sun rays, temple

Av: F/5.6; Tv: 1/60(0.017)s; f: 55mm(35mm equivalent – 338mm); ISO: 200; Metering mode : Matrix

One would think this photo was taken in a remote village; while actually, it was taken in a fun park I visited recently. Pot making was offered as one of the attractions at that place & as I was passing by the place, I just flicked my camera into the Black and White setting and took a couple of shots; one a telephoto and this one I zoomed in to focus on the work going on. I did not have to resort to too much Post Processing – just a little a minute tweak to the levels and a frame did the job.
What I like about this photo -

• The centre pot and the pot-making process in focus; with the wheel in a motion-blur grabs the attention in a very nice way.

• The sharpness and the cripness of the photo is another point in favour.

Improvements I would like -

• To take the photo to another level, the photo must capture the natural pottery with the pot-maker in the frame.

• In this photo, a clearer or plain background without the people would have been better.

• With regards to angling, I would also like to try another shot with a flatter angle – ie. sitting at the level of the photo and taking a shot.

Tags: Black & White, pot, pot-making, pottery