Rajasthan Trip and a Tube Well Dip!

Hi,

Rajasthan, a brand name itself. People across the world relate India with so many things and places but I am sure Rajasthan has topped the list, and is certainly a name which has become synonym to India. Though I have never been to the heart of Rajasthan; where sand dunes have spread over miles and gypsies gathering in the evening, dancing on folk tunes and camels sitting beside them. But who would miss a chance to visit a Rural Rajasthani Village and that too for a photo shoot. So when I heard that one of my friends had organized this photo shoot session for me, I was dancing with a joy. I was really fortunate enough to get this wonderful experience of life. Thanks to Ravi! It was him who got us there. His family still lives here, but he has come out from his village in search of better prospects in life. 

So we packed our bags and headed towards Jaipur from New Delhi, which became our center point for the next couple of days. We stayed in the Welcome Lodge situated in heart of the city, MG Road. I was accompanied by my younger brother Udit and his friends Pompy and Dumpu. We drove in my brother’s car and that journey itself was fun and while listening to the music, catching up on things we reached Jaipur. In Jaipur we were greeted by one of our friend, Sardar Singh. He was working as a Manager in a restaurant called Moti Mahal, it’s one of the famous chain of restaurants in India and believe me the kind of food you get there is outstanding and incomparable. He showed us his restaurant’s kitchen and introduced us to his warm and friendly staff. So I asked them if they are fine doing a photo shoot with me and they agreed happily. Next day we came with our equipments and took few shots. That was a random photo shoot which got accomplished amazingly. Thanks to Sardar Singh! Here are few shots from that session:

So this photo shoot came to me as a bonus :) and we headed to our main destination the very next day, the date was 15th March 2010. It was a hot and a sunny day but we were quite comfortable inside our car. We picked up Ravi from his Coaching Institute and proceeded towards his village called Jujharpura in Tonk District, Rajasthan. It took us around 1.5 hours to reach his village from Jaipur. The road was quite narrow and we could hardly see any vehicles moving around.

We reached there at 3:30 PM so we had only around 2-3 hours to shoot in daylight. The sky was clear and the light was perfect for the shoot. We assembled our equipments and got ready for the shoot. We were talking to people and shooting their natural portraits. Ravi introduced us to them and they all were very happy to get their photographs clicked. In the midst of answering their queries we continued our photo shoot. After clicking quite a few photos we took a break for a few minutes, while taking a break we saw this little boy trying to climb up on the Buffalo to get his photo clicked that way…and we thank him for that.

By now we had taken shots of families, individual, oldies, grannies, children and almost entire village was out of their houses to witness this photo shoot and we felt as if we were some movie directors or something :). The whole experience and feeling was awesome.

This is Ravi’s Grandfather and Grandmother:

Few of My Favorites:

Behind the Scenes Video:

Here’s a link to the entire light box of this shoot:

 

We had achieved what we wanted. Now it was time to go back to New Delhi. We started off at around 1:00 PM from Jaipur and when we were about 110 kms away from Delhi, everyone decided to take a plunge into a Tube Well which was catching our eyes while traveling and we crossed many of them earlier - until we stopped over at one. Now that’s where the fun begins…it was a hot and a sunny afternoon and the temperature outside must be around 40 Degree Centigrade. Every one took off their clothes and jumped straight into the Tube Well after taking permission from his owner and a Caretaker. That Tube Well which was meant for the irrigation purposes - was surrounded by the Barley Fields all around and the scenic beauty and was mesmerizing. We had a good time. After spending about half an hour playing inside the Tube Well the Photographer inside me came up with an idea to shoot in the Barley fields as I had never done it before and I was very excited to see the final results. I asked them to come out from the Tube Well and give a few poses for me in the fields. They all were so co-operative and excited during the entire shoot. I made them jump till the time I would get my desired shot. And the results were brilliant!

Here are few Videos and “Rang De Basanti” Shots from that fun filled photo session:

Now I am wondering when will I ever have this kind of journey and photo shoot again. Will share that too… :) Drop me a line if you need any further info on this setup and shoot @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography

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Vikram Raghuvanshi

Havi Playing Synthesizer Tune: "If you're happy and you know it, clap yo...

Anna’s Aandhi Catches Fire!!!

Hi,

I was actually trying to focus on my work which was getting neglected due to my over involvement in various social activities. When I picked up the phone after giving it a chance to see if gets silenced after few rings, but as determined as the cause, that call was equally determined and reached me. I was at the society gate talking to the Chairman of a society called Accolade that very moment.... The call came from Our Chairman Mr. Deo Kumar :)

“We as a co-operative society have done it twice, but what’s the overcome? In the second drive we were almost half, in comparison to our first initiative, I don’t think people will gather again” that was my first reaction, when he asked me to join this cause. But as I believe, if you have a wish, you have a fish…

We called people of our Society for the third time to give their support to Anna Hazare’s Anti Corruption Drive, but as expected only 20-25 came up at the assembly point the next day, in a society where there are around 700 Apartments and more than two thousand residents.  We drove inside the society premises twice, shouting slogans and asking people to come out from their houses and support the cause. People came out but were restricted to their balconies and that too just to see what’s happening. Never Mind! We thought…and proceed to the main assembly point decided a day before where all the other Society members would join us. And as one saying or a sher goes “Main akela hi chala tha janib e manzil ko magar - log sath aate gaye karwan banta gaya …” and you won’t believe this actually happened, people started gathering and we successfully accomplished our peaceful march to extend our support for the Anti Corruption Drive.

Have a look at the Images and Videos to witness this successful and a peaceful procession:

 Support for the Anti Corruption Drive

 Support for the Anti Corruption Drive

 Support for the Anti Corruption Drive

 Support for the Anti Corruption Drive

I wish the efforts of thousands of fellow Indians won’t go waste this time around. God Bless!

Keep Sharing,
Vikram Raghuvanshi

Anna finally arrives in our Society today!

Hi,

The nationwide Anna Hazare wave finally arrived in our Society on August 17, 2011 and I could see the contentment on the faces of our people after the Peaceful Candle March. Everyone is watching and following the news about Anna’s Anti Corruption Drive spreading across in India. Thousands of people gathered in support for the cause but many like us would just watch the news on the TV channels, make a comment and go to sleep. But this time we wanted to do a bit more and organized the Peaceful Candle March within our Society premises with due permission from the local Police Authorities. Initially we were anticipating that around 25-30 people would join the march but to our surprise there were more than 150 people who joined us while the march was in process., raising slogans like: “Vande Mataram”, “Bharat Mata ki…Jai”, “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Anna tum Sangharsh Karo, Hum Tumhare Saath Hain”, there was a feeling of Patriotism everywhere, which no words could explain. Adding to the slogan list, our writer and poet Mr. Bharat came up with..”Desh Bachao, Desh Bachao…Jo Gharoan mein Hain, Bahar Aao”.

We gathered in our Skating Ring Area and gave support by lighting candles in front of the banners designed for this cause. We even sung few patriotic songs like “Hum honge kamyaab…”, “Saare jahan se accha…” and finally stood up for our National Anthem. The feeling was amazing and everyone was looking as if they have accomplished something good and did their part for the betterment of the Nation.

Have a look at the Videos and Images from this Peaceful Candle March:

  

Peaceful candle march @Ganga Constella Society, Pune

Peaceful candle march @Ganga Constella Society, Pune

Peaceful candle march @Ganga Constella Society, Pune

Peaceful candle march @Ganga Constella Society, Pune

And here’s one more Video which I captured on the streets of Pune, bikers club supporting Anna Hazare.

I was out in the afternoon with one of my friend Sid to buy some hardware stuff and suddenly I saw this huge wave of bikers coming from behind through my car’s rear view mirror. I quickly pull over the car, came out and shot this Video. The josh of people was amazing! That’s how our India is Always UNITED IN CRISIS…Be it Kargil, Jessica Lal and many other…

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Vickramh

Photos and Journey to Ganpatipule Beach Resort, Maharashtra - India

Hi,

It was the month of October, 2010 when my Mom and Brother came over to visit us in Pune. After looking at few destinations; we decided to visit Ganpatipule Beach situated at the Konkan Coastline in Maharashtra - as few of my friends praised it a lot.

We started off early in the morning from Pune; though we missed the timeline of 5:00 AM and were late by an hour due to IST – Indian Standard Time Syndrome :). The distance from Pune to Ganpatipule is around 300 Kms and people say it takes around 4.5 hours to reach there but we took around 6.5 hours as we were stopping by en route to take some shots or just to watch the scenic beauty of the Western Ghats.

We reached there at around 1:00 PM, checked in and were really excited to see our sea facing cottages (Video #2 and 3), the resort was beautiful and very well maintained. The staff was very friendly and knew we are going to have a good time here. We dropped in our baggage and went straight to the Beach which was hardly few steps away from our cottages; in fact you could see and hear the sound of waves from the window of  the cottage.

We hadn't seen a beach of such a kind before, it was beautiful, neat, peaceful and we were feeling as if it was our own personal beach, if you watch Video #4 and 5 you will come to know what I am talking about. There was no single person seen, no crowd no commercialization. There were only us and we actually enjoyed a lot!!!

   

After the tiring dip in the sea; we headed towards our evening plan to have a bar-be-que on the beach, but as we forgot to carry our own grill we had to compromise on the ready made Tandoori (Grilled) Chicken, which was not too bad either. Few drinks and dinner, it was indeed the most awesome and memorable trip of ours and will always be.

Next morning we were in the sea again, but this time the tides very high and the water was pulling you inside the sea, after the alert and after taking few shots we headed back to our cottages, got ready had breakfast at the resort and headed back to Pune. Phew! We still remember this trip…

Sharing few shots of this trip:

I hope anyone who is planning a trip to Ganpatipule will find this information useful. Drop me a line @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography, to know more about booking and stuff. We paid Rs.3000 for 2 Konkani House AC Room (Double Bed). It was a good deal and a memorable trip.

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Vickramh

Black Portraits – Home Made Setup Explained…

Hi, I have talked about on how to create a Home Made Setup to shoot on a White Background. Today I’ll share my experiences with you on how I shoot on a Black Background.

Shooting on a Black Background is comparatively easy vs. shooting on a White Background, and I find results better on a Black Background simply because of the mystery and warmth attached to these images.

I’ll pick up this example and will explain you the setup I used to shot this image:

That’s my friend Sunil, we did this photo shoot late in the evening to avoid any sunlight coming from the window as we were living on the sixth floor during that period. I used my living room as usual for this setup and photo shoot.


Equipment used:

Camera: Canon 400D DSLR

Lens: Canon 50mm F1.8

Strobe Light 250 Watts (1 Nos.)

Remote Flash Trigger

Black Satin Backdrop

Curtain Rod (which was already there)

Dining Table (whose height was around 3Ft.)

Black Portraits – Home Made Setup

First, install your Backdrop, I have used my window curtain rod but you can use the backdrop stand if you have. Backdrop texture is of a satin material which if placed on light background becomes a bit transparent and will give you problems in post processing, so I would suggest you use a thick black material cloth or at least place your satin backdrop on a dark background. It becomes somewhat “see through” when you try to increase the brightness while doing the processing. Plain Black colored wall would be a best option.

Ok. Now place your Strobe light on the table and make it face towards the wall in 45 Degree angle so that the light bounce back and fall on your Model, not direct. The distance between the Strobe Light and the wall should be around 2 Ft. Get ready with your camera and place it on your tripod. Keep a distance of around 3.5 Ft. from the model. Distance might change depending upon the lens configuration and the kind of framing you want to choose, close up or till waist length.

Switch on the Light, Camera & Action!

Here are few shots clicked on this setup with a bit of twist in the placement of Strobe light:

I hope you find this piece of information useful. Drop me a line if you need any further info on this setup and shoot @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography

Keep Sharing,

Vickramh

Electromagnetic Motor – Home Made Working Model

You can’t actually escape when it’s coming from your Kid’s School and since I am no exception, I had to create a working model of the “Electromagnetic Motor” to show how it works. After couple of Google Searches I got an idea about how to do it in my own way. (Wish I concentrated on my studies in my school days)…So, here it goes…

Things we need: (Refer Imagebelow with markings)

1 - A piece of wood, rectangle or square whatever, to give it a base.

2 – Big size battery, which we usually use to put in our torches. You can make by looking the image below.

3 – Metal clamps with holes (2 Nos.). You can get it from any Local Hardware Shop.

4 – Copper Wire (around 1 Mtr.) You can get it in any of the Motor Winding Repair Shops.

5 – Magnets (2 Nos.) Magnets which I used in this project are the one which are placed Inside the door stoppers, I bought these stoppers, broke their outer shell and got the magnets. They are quite powerful.

6 – Nylon Cable Tie (1 Nos.)

7 – Screws

Electromagnetic Motor

How I did it. It’s quite simple!

First you have to install the Metal Clamps (3) on the piece of Wood (1) but make sure you leave a space between the two to fit the Big Battery (2) in such way that both end of the battery should be touching the Metal Clamps you have installed, such that the flow of current should pass through them. Now before placing the battery between these Metal Clamps make sure you install the Magnets (5) on the Big Battery(2) tying it with the Nylon Cable Tie (6). Now place the Battery between the Metal Clamps (3) and keep the Magnets facing upwards. You are more than half way through…

Now take your Copper Cable (4) and make a Circle with a diameter of around 1 inch and keep wrapping the wire unless you make 7-8 rounds of it. You have to make sure that you leave some wire at the start and at the end after completing the Ring formation so that you can straighten it up and insert in the holes of the Metal Clamps (3) installed earlier. Before inserting the wires in the Holes make sure to peel the Copper Wire (4) especially from the region where it’s going to be touching the Hole, with the help of knife. Once you are done with the Copper Wire. Insert your ring and it will start rotating automatically. You can adjust the distance between the Ring and the Magnets to see where it works the best.

I hope many of you will find it useful and you never know when a School Science Project of your Kid/s hits you … Happy Experimenting.

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Vickramh

Experience the Emotions : My Second attempt @short film making

Thanks to Vinit for getting this idea across and to get the shooting done from a lazy bum.

“Expressions” as the title suggests is a sequence of different emotions conveyed through various faces of different age groups…The sequence ends with an emotion of being “Content” - which makes a complete cycle after experiencing all the emotions in life, one should feel contended at the end of the day…that’s how it goes…Correct me Vinit if I am wrong…Watch it to “Experience the Emotions” by yourself…

A Film by: Vinit Vickramh

Artist line up: 

Mr. Arora, Mr & Mrs. Ranka, Kishore, Mr Vij, Shrihan Pandey (Sheenu), Ms Komal, Shubham, Sushant & Vinit and Various other Artists.

Production Team:

Vinit Sehgal

Vickramh Raghuvanssi

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Vickramh

Photo Shoot on a White Background: Home Made Setup

Hi,

Here’s the home made setup, to shoot on a White Background. Many of us including me find it difficult to shoot seamlessly on a white background. Being associated with the stock images, I find it very useful to have a collection of people portraits on a white background. Simply because the usability of the images multiplies when you shoot on a plain background - as most of the time designers want to place cut outs of the people on their customized designs; which makes it easier for them too.

So, I’ll try to share and explain the setup I made to get seamless images on white background.

Let’s list out the things we need for this kind of Setup: (Please refer image below)

1 - Foam boards - 8x4 ft (2 nos) Costs me around Rs 900 per sheet. Stick on the wall with a Adhesive
tape.

2A-2B - L shaped Wooden Panel – 7ft High and Two feet Wide so if you fold it the one leg of ‘L’ would be 1 ft Wide. I got it done from one of local Hardware Shop and it costs around Rs 1200 in total.

3A-3B – Strobe Lights (2 nos) which will be focused on the Background ONLY.

4 - Foam boards - 8x4 ft (2 nos) Costs me around Rs 900 per sheet. Placed on the floor and properly
connected with the foam boards (1) coming down from the wall.

5 - Place where our model will be standing/sitting

6 - Main Light

White Background: Home Made Setup

Let’s talk about the distances between the props. After putting the Foam Boards (1,4) in place, install your Strobe Lights (3A,3B) in a straight line from the edges of the Foam Boards with a distance of 3-3.5 ft and turn the focus of the light towards the Background (1); say around 20 degrees. Now place your Wooden Panels (2A-2B) covering the Strobe Lights such that the reflection of the flash should not fall on the Model; this is quite useful technique to avoid extra light falling on Model’s Head and Shoulders from behind or on the entire Body edge - in case of a full length shot.

Now, ask your Model to stand in the middle (5) of your Foam Boards (1,4) and make sure that the distance between the wooden panels and your Model should be at least 5ft, ideally it should be more say around 7-8 ft but being a Home Setup we need to manage it within the area we have.

You can now place your Main Light (6) in whichever side you want and start shooting. I have used 50mm fixed focal lens from Canon for this series. The other main aspect to look at is your F Stops. If you are getting F 22 on your background lights then the Main Light should read F11 you try increasing it to say F13 or F14, in this way your main model will look little dark and under exposed but when you do a post processing and when you increase the exposure or brightness you will get Pure White Background and with your Model/Subject exposed appropriately. I have to do bit of post processing because of the lights falling back on the subject too harsh. The reason is nothing but the constraint of the space. Hope I’ll have a proper studio setup soon, where I don’t have to move our Sofa/Couches and Tables to make space in our living room for this setup.

Here are few shots I clicked on this setup:

I hope you find this piece of information useful, may be a bit of it, if not all… Drop me a line if you need any further info on this setup and shoot @ Vickramh Raghuvanssi Photography

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Vickramh

Tryst with the Gadget called Camera...

It’s always been a pleasure to have a camera in my hands. I still remember the day when as a kid I got the first camera and it was a Hot Shot, in 1985.

Hot Shot

My Mom got it from the Army CSD Canteen. It was so much fun to shoot with that camera. Then came…couple of Yashica’s (with Flash) which became a part and parcel of our daily lives. Things moved on…and I got busy with other stuff in life, trying out various career options - finally settled as a Graphic Designer in 1994. The Camera still continued to fascinate me; but remained restricted to Birthday Parties and other Family Outings. Finally comes the first digital camera in my life - Olympus C170.

Olympus C170

It was a different experience all together, you shoot, you like, you keep and copy it on your computer, you don’t like the shot - you delete it! It was fun but I got a bit restricted trying out manual features like exposures and shutter speeds. This cute little gadget stayed there with me for a year and now my 12 year old daughter uses it for her school projects and to shoot here and there.

I knew inside - I had to try out something more advanced and I got my first hand on the SLR on a trip to UK - with my then Boss Sid, known as a gadget freak. It was obvious to find the SLR with him - The Canon Rebel XT, with a Sigma Zoom lens mounted on it.

Canon Rebel XT

I spent some very good time there in London shooting that beautiful city and its famous monuments, exploring even more to handle Exposure and Shutter Speed settings. During the same time we (the company) opened an account with iStockphoto; as being in the Web Design business we often needed images which were Royalty Free and within our budget, that’s how I got addicted with the site in 2004. In 2007, I joined iStockphoto as a contributor and bought Canon 400D. Then what? As predicted, I was with my Camera everywhere we used to go and ask my family members to pose for me. Initially they like it but sometimes they would feel irritated. But they all have been so co-operative till date.

As I started getting good responses from iStockphoto, I got a pair of Studio Lights. After all the experiments and late night shoots with my friends (who were indeed very co-operative too), some good results were expected. The next level was to upgrade my camera, and I opted for Canon 5D Mark II after an extensive research.

Canon 5D Mark II 

The story continues…watch out for the next addition…till then Cheers! And have a good day!

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Vickramh