Capturing light..

"What matters in photography is not how much your camera costs, but how skillfully it is used to create the image perceived in the imagination and in the mind."

- Chris Weston

Being able to capture correct amount of light is what makes a good photo and if one is able to get the composition right, it would result in a great picture.

I would like to share few points about the two basic parameters, which are useful in controlling the amount of light captured by the camera sensor. These two basic controls are aperture and shutter speed. It's very important to know the relation between these two parameters and the light captured. In the field of photography, light is measured with a unit called exposure value (EV). Let's know how to control EV by manipulating aperture and shutter speed.

Shutter speed: Shutter controls the duration of exposure i.e., the duration of time the sensor is exposed to light. It's measured in seconds and fractions of seconds whose range in a a typical camera is from 30 sec to 1/4000 sec. So reducing the shutter speed from 1/125 sec to 1/250 sec halves the exposure duration i.e, decreases the EV by one stop and vice versa.

Lens Aperture: Lens aperture controls the amount of light passing through to the sensor by increasing or decreasing the size of the pin hole created by the diaphragm in the lens. In this case, doubling the area of the pin hole doubles the quantity of light and hence increases the EV by 1 stop. This is referred to as f/stops or f/numbers (f->focal). To make it simple, f/4 indicates that the ratio of the lens focal length to the area of the pin hole is 4. i.e., aperture size is 1/4th of the focal length of the lens. So lower the f/number more is the aperture size and hence more light will pass through to the lens.

Reciprocity: If we double the quantity of the light passing through to the sensor (by increasing the lens aperture), then we must halve the duration of exposure (increase shutter speed) to maintain the same exposure value (EV).

Being said this, the most important thing is to plan for the perfect picture. Imagination and visualization are great assets to take some wonderful snaps. To be there at the right place and at the right moment takes something on your part but if you have patience and are able to get the composition right, you are surely on your way up the ladder..!


Image details: Gopal waiting for the perfect moment to capture the sunrise!!
Nikon D40 SLR, 18-55 mm lens @ 55 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO-200

Under the shower tree...

On this romantic summer morning,... when the shimmering moon and sparkling stars started disappearing... after the night long cold breezes are gone... when the Sun is about to shower his first rays of energy onto the world... when the world is getting ready for another blissful day... I am here, waiting for you... under the shower tree in its full blossom...

Photo details: SONY DSC-H50, @78mm, f/4.5, 1/100, ISO-80. location: near Baner-Pashan connecting road, Pune, on a warm Sunday morning.

Dancing in the breeze..!

"Besides the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze"

As we were waiting for the morning sun to rise and fill the world with light, these little things were dancing in the cool morning breeze coming over from the lake. A wonderful joy to behold them in the stillness and solitude of a fine summer morning. What joy must have been felt by the great poet William Wordsworth when he saw daffodils, which inspired him to make such a beautiful poem..

"In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon the inward eye,
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."

Picture details: Nikon-D40 SLR, 18-55 mm lens, @ 55 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec & ISO-200

Thinking of you...

"In this world of long-forgotten letters... In these days of key-boards and monitors... In these times of aimless thoughts... In these thoughts of those fond memories... I thought of remembering you... I thought of writing... I thought of writing your name... I thought of filling your name all over the page... I though of filling your name all over my heart..."

PS: This shot was captured while one of our friends was writing her loved one's name all over a paper, while there was a glow on her face, mixed with happiness, joy and warmth of love!

Light..!

The most important thing in this universe is LIGHT. In fact it's because of light that every being lives. Apart from that, the beauty of light is that it makes the world around us colorful. It's the colorful nature that fills every heart with joy and inspiration. A combination of photographer's creativity and imagination with correct amount of light produces a master piece. This indeed is our goal to try and capture nature's eternal beauty and the moments that we come across in our journey called life.

Photo details: Nikon D40, Shutter speed - 1/250 sec, Aperture - f/4.5, ISO-200 at 18 mm focal length. Location -Pune

the journey begins!

Hi... welcome to our photography blog! We are two budding photographers, trying to explore world in our proximity, through our inner and camera lenses. Hope you will have good time here. We will be sharing some of our good outcomes of our day-to-day clicks! This blog is an attempt to learn and share techniques and ideas of photography!