Distance apart, yet close by hearts...

Being far from the only person who dreamed of my existence even before I was actually born, and the only person who sees every bit of goodness in me, is really testing the potential of our bonds. Your birthday marks a very special day in our lives. You are not only my loving aai, but a best friend, who probably knows all my secrets and a best teacher, who taught me to strive endlessly for the people we love.

Aai, many many happy returns of the day... May god bless you and fulfil all your wishes... ultimately, fulfilment of your wishes itself means Our success and lots of happiness in our way... Love you so much aai and miss you a lot... Stay happy and keep smiling.... smile emoticon 
Lots of love from me and Aditya...

Happy Birthday Aai...!!!

Fall in Aachen

         Mesmerizing and pleasing, are the colors of Fall... No wonder why people 'Fall' in love.... Because Fall itself is so wonderful and lovely... Coming from the land of India, I was absolutely ignorant about the fall colors and the colorful avatar of the nature. But being in Germany now, I am fortunate enough to witness my first Fall ever. So cheerful and full of mirth, is the weather around me. With slight hint of rising chill in the air, and the sun shining brightly over me constantly portraying new nuances and shades of fall.

        I have made an attempt to capture some beautiful Fall colors around me in this series. Next year, I will be more prepared to capture the fall images at various near-by locations, and probably more experienced by getting your feedback and reviews on this series.

        Do watch these photos in full screen mode and enjoy Fall in Aachen.

‪#‎Aachen #Fall #GauravChingale #GauravChingalePhotography

Positive Impact...!

              My intention of writing today's blog is what impact does winning a competition have on our minds and our aspirations. Even though we struggle a lot in creating something novel, we end up finding the achieved technique already used by someone earlier. Is the creativity losing its essence in this modern age? Are the people becoming less expressive? Why is this dearth of creativity becoming so obvious even when the technology has advanced so much as to assist the artists at infinite lengths?

             Winning a competition gives us a social exposure and a social authorization of being a 'good artist'. The level of competition defines the scope of social circle that would applaud you as an artist. But yet the part of applaud is always sweeter than the mundane criticism. This award is not just limited to the piece of metal or the paycheck that the contest offer, but it has immense positive impact on the artist's mind, providing a greater impetus and freedom to work more confidently in the field. The social stigmas that he faces start to seem trivial and that is the moment when an artist can unleash the true creative side deep within his mind.

             With this note I would like to suggest everyone that each one of us should start participating in as many as possible contests. This would transcend your skills to the new heights and you would find yourself appreciating the works of other artists. When one learns to appreciate the works of others, that marks beginning of the road towards supremacy. This ability to appreciate 'what's good in others?' imbibes the greater reflection of your knowledge and humbleness. Don't waste time in judging the credibility of the contests or the amount of cash prize it offers, just think of the amount of confidence and the impact it will have on your mind after winning it!

Recently there was a famous photo competition named ''DRUSHTIKON'13''. This competition encompasses all the renowned photographers from India. My two images were selected in Top 200, amongst thousands of entries and finally one image was selected in top 100. This image was showcased in famous city Art Gallery, where many people applauded the photo. Being among those Top 100 images makes me feel so privileged and makes me more open to the way the society sees our work...!

Mysterious Eyes: The unsaid story of a road side guy

Kid-o-graphy...!

             Have you ever scrolled down quickly over a pic of cute kid smiling at you,radiating the happiness in his soul? The mesmerizing photos of cherubic kids never go unnoticed. We always tend to like the photos of kids and babies. They are so innocent and cute, that we feel that each and every moment has to be freezed and captured. This sensation of each and every parent has opened a new realm for the professional photographers of this age. Kids photography was used to be done by very few people. But now it has become the obsession to have a portfolio of our own child done from a professional photographer.

              Even though photos of these cute and innocent kids are a bliss to see, Kidography (that's what i call it, coined a new term) is one of the most challenging jobs ever. Getting everything right is a tough job sometimes. 

1. Shoot them natural...:

The major successful trick capturing the expressions is capturing 'Many' pictures. The digital age has given us the liberty to click as many pictures as much your memory stick can hold...!! I usually keep my camera glued to my face, rather i see the ongoing drama through my viewfinder. This helps in clicking some precious moments. Once you adjust the setting to the surrounding lighting, the only job left to you is framing the kid right and the shooting away.

2. Shoot in Burst Mode:

This tends to help in freezing some rare expressions. The innocent smile, blush, eye-moments... there can be infinite emotions expressed in a fraction of second which a successful photographer has to capture. This is true for the portrait photography too. the humane aspect of the subject is unpredictable, you can't tel which moment can give you the most appealing photo. The ability of a artistic photographer which sets him apart from the regular photographer is that of capturing these minute facets of the subjects which the subject would like to cherish them for ages. This requires a photographer to shoot on a burst mode. A high speed memory stick comes handy for burst mode. Or else the stack memory of the camera gets filled rapidly and limits your photography speed. We all might be familiar that how hard it is to deal with a baby who doesn't smile, do whatever you can, still the baby keeps frowning back at you. and imagine that in such situation that baby smiles for a moment and you missed the shot, we have to repent for the whole shoot. To avoid such situations, shooting in burst mode helps to give us such candid moments, and the similar images can be always deleted later.

 

3. Lighting:

This forms the most important part of the whole process. The most ideal shots can be taken in natural light, at the time of evening or morn. The ample light can give you the freedom to shoot at high shutter speeds, making it easier to capture the details and the expressions correctly. If you are shooting indoors, and you have no flashguns with you (I don't call the camera pop-up flash, a Flash, unless it is couple by some other flashguns and other light sources... :P) then i suggest that make the subject stand besides the window, where you might get the required light on the child's face.

The photo of the baby above has been shot in the train journey. Due to the paucity of the light, i took the baby besides window and captured it. 

4. Background Creation:

Many people usually tend to neglect this most integral part of the photo- The Background...!! It is the background which makes your subject stand out, reflect its exquisiteness. It really plays an important role in shaping up the photograph as a whole. The background selection requires ample amount of homework before the actual shoot. For the baby photoshoot rather for any genre, the smooth, undisturbing and supple background makes the viewer see the subject with more attention. The viewers eyes keep fixed to the subject's expressions rather than wandering over the whole frame unnecessarily.You can use a plain curtain of white or black colour to enhance the sharp borders of the subject.

Next part of details will be shared in my next post..... keep clicking, keep sharing... 

Share with me the photos that you guys have taken..

Happy Clicking...!!

Almighty you are the Savior...!

Another image capturing the wrinkles. The state of penury and senility is a disastrous combination. This old lady eyeing the Almighty to come to her rescue. Hope is the only thing which keeps her alive, pushing day after day.

Determination...

             Photographing the Wrinkles has always been my personal longing. I always feel that every wrinkle has a great story behind its presence.

             Shot this image during the Vitthal vari, in Pune. I just love the determination in his Eyes. He is a part of a procession which requires a person to walk for hundreds of kilometers for approx 15 days. Thousands of people are part of this procession of Lord Vitthal. They have to face the scorching sun accompanied by ephemeral rains which altogether makes it difficult for the people. But still, these people carrying unwavering strength and faith, cover this distance singing and dancing on the panegyrics of Almighty.

Originally shot in Black-n-White.

Propelling Hopes

What photography is to me? This intriguing question keeps haunting me repeatedly. Not being the main streamlined photographer, puts an artistic pressure to match the levels that the photo geniuses have already achieved and keep achieving. Trying to utilize meager time won’t make me a great photographer is the self-evident fact. But bowed down by this fact and not choosing to take the camera in hand only because I won’t be able to be a great photographer is being foolish. Reviewing my past work and comparing it to the present, gives me inner satisfaction and an a sense of elation. Gives me the much needed strength to keep performing persistently. And the solitaire hope that one day my work will be acknowledged word wide...!