The post mortem of a photograph and hence the photographer

For those who do not know, photography is an art that is not everybody’s cup of tea. If you are one, you should be proud. Do not be disheartened by those stupid people who ask questions like “If you own a DSLR, does it make you a photographer. I have a pen; does it make me an author?” Such people are the ones that have low self esteem and a big ego. You can reply very courageously saying that owning a DSLR does make everybody a photographer, but it does not make them a good photographer.  Let’s now see what it takes to become a good photographer. There will always be thousands who are better than you, and thousands more who are not as good as you. What matters is if you are happy being better than the rest or aim to get better than the ones better than you.

There are rules to photography that have become relevant over time and there have been rules that have been broken but appreciated. In my humble opinion, there are no rules to photography. There is only a grade to every photograph that goes from an A to an F. What you should bear in mind while taking a photograph is how well you know your camera (which is very important), how well you are able to perceive a given situation to make it look nice and last but not the last, how well you are able to present it. I have thought of a few generic rules that will apply to every photographer- whatever stage of photography they are in- from amateur to professional.

1. Every photographer was an amateur at some point of time. He or she would have spent huge amounts of time for the art to get better and reach the stage they are in. Good photography is not an overnight phenomenon. You cannot sit under a Bodhi tree and expect a brain wave. You must work towards it.
2. Spend time with your camera and read about it. The user’s manual is for you. If you want to be good, know your gear in an out. I agree it is a slow process of reading and understanding, but remember that Rome was not built in a day.
3. Spend time clicking and experiment with different things connected to a good photograph – Light, exposure settings, aperture settings, shutter speeds. Experiment with different genres and different types of photography. Check the results on a laptop / PC. Do not go by what you see on your smart phones nowadays. They are very misleading.
4. Today we have forums on photography that help you learn and showcase your art. Post.

The actual confusion begins now. How would you react to the comments made on your photographs are the various forums you post them in. Remember, it is good to have an Ego- it instils self confidence. Also remember that your Ego should not be big enough to stop you from reflecting on your own work and taking feedback positively and working towards it. It is obvious that you will have feedback ranging from good to bad. While going through that, you should for a moment forget that it is your photograph being post mortemed.  Look at it as somebody else, and think about how it could have been better. Consider all the comments and most importantly look at those comments and feedback that help you click better. DO NOT feel disheartened at any point of time. If comments are negative, it means you need to work on it. If comments are positive, it does not mean you are the best.

What everybody needs to remember is that even the best photographer in the world will not give 100 best shots out of 100 clicked. The percentages are very small – usually around 5. Your percentage may be 1 at this point of time, but you will get to 2 and to 3 and eventually to 5. All depends on how you work towards it, spending quality time with the muse and of course, and reading. I have learnt it the hard way. A few months after I picked up the DSLR and downloaded a pirated version of Photoshop, I thought I was very good. It hit me hard when people said a few things about missing parameters in my photographs. An appeal to all the amateur photographers out there – DO NOT go through what I went through. If your will is not strong enough, you may divorce your camera for good. If you have got one good photograph out of 10000 you have clicked, it means you are good and you have it in you. You only need to hone your skills and you will get better with time. Yes – time is the key.

The post postmortems will continue. Different people have different ideologies and come from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is obvious they see things differently. What appeals to one may not appeal to another. It is good to soak in everything and cater to your creative bent of mind. There will always be positive and negative. Soak yourself in the sunshine of positivity, but do not forget to work your grey cells on the negatives.

Happy clicking! DO NOT stop. Photography is an art, a stress buster, a passion, an addiction and can also be a good source of revenue. The revenue bit was kept in the last on purpose

What it takes to be an Atheist in India – Balls

Disclaimer

Whatever I have written below is my personal opinion. My intention is not to push my opinions on to the people reading this. If I do happen to influence people, it is purely unintentional and their personal choice.

Yes, I am proud to call myself an Atheist. I have been one for the last 15 years, though about 5 years were spent as a secret Atheist. In my humble opinion, I think Atheists in India can be classified into two broad categories – The Secrets and The Opens. The Secrets are the ones who do not actually believe in God, but succumb to societal pressures and act like they are believers and The Opens are the ones like my who openly proclaim their Atheism. I also believe at some point of time, especially in a country like India, which has very strong religious sentiments and a vast majority are believers of different levels, an Atheist is almost always first A Secret and then turns An Open later on.

You may ask why I do not believe in God. My reply – Just because a big majority believes in something, it may not always be true. You may reply – Just because you believe or do not believe in something does not make it true or false either. My reply – India is a democratic country- please feel free to express your opinion. However, I request you to keep it as an opinion like I do and not thrust it upon others and try to convince them that your opinion is the right one.

India is a deeply religious country believing in the Almighty – albeit many of them. The sentiments range from quiet and peaceful people to fanatics who believe in violence who can go to any extent to protect their “Faith “and religion. It is a known fact that human beings relish power and the high that it gives them. My question to you – It is understood that there were wars and there will be wars purely for the power aspect of human nature and much bloodshed and heartaches will be caused. However, if you were to imagine an earth without religions, is there a faint possibility that all the violence and bloodshed and heartaches caused due to communal riots and other religion based violent activities, would lessen the amount of terror we see?

What I write henceforth is from personal experience and I blame nobody for doing what they did.

I was about 14 when my Upanayanam was performed. It was done with the usual pooja, and “ anna daana” to a few select Brahmin boys. Guests were invited, fed and I got blessed. My head was shaved with a little tuft of hair left as it is – as this was to be the trademark of a Brahmin. As on today – there is no tuft and frankly very little hair left.  After this I was sent to an elderly Brahmin to learn the process of “ Sandhyavandana” which is typically the worship done at dawn and dusk by every Brahmin. I was made to learn by heart Sanskrit Shlokas and the actions associated. However, what I was not told is why I was to do all this. In my opinion, even today – most of the Brahmins do not know the meaning of what most of what they recite every day, but still they continue to do it. I agree to a large extent that reciting these shlokas and mantras brings a deep sense of peace inside you. You feel much lighter – I did too when I used to say them. Today, I use a slightly different method to feel lighter and peaceful. I listen to music with my eyes shut and headphones- that have some amazing bass. I find peace in Hindi film music, in English music, even in trance. I find peace when I am reading with full concentration. I find peace when I edit my photographs. I find peace when I think of the smile on my daughter’s face. I beg to ask – would it make a difference as to what you say when you say it over and over a 1000 times? Please try it yourself, try repeating “ fuck you” a 1000 times with your eyes closed. It is indeed transcendental meditation like Osho pointed out. It is science talking when you realize the fact that while repeating something over and over again, your energies are focused in such a way that the rest of the body goes into a sort of hibernation while only your brain, ears and throat works. You don’t hear anything else or feel anything else. This is what gives you peace of mind. However, only if you do it with utmost concentration do you make this happen.

In my opinion – God is a good support system as well as a super blame system. You achieve something good- credit goes to God. Something does not happen you blame it on luck or fate which is in turn an act of God. So what is your role in this? If we all are puppets, why do we even exist? When the first train appeared, people were scared of the noise it made and the smoke it gave out. A lot of rumors spread and it is written in recorded history that railways was almost a goner, but for a few brave souls who made it work. Today we know what it means to us and Indian Railways is the biggest railway network of the world. Just a thought – in today’s date, if humans were to appear in front of tribes that have never been exposed to anything modern, in a helicopter and dressed as we normally do, how would they be perceived ?

I was 15 when I first read “chariots of the gods” by Eric Von Daniken. I must thank Girish who introduced me to this book. There has been no turning back since the day I finished reading that book. What began then was a cross examination of everything that culture made me do. I agree that there are a lot of scientific facts behind most of the rituals we perform today. Right from the Rangoli we put in front of our house (the chemicals of the powder keep ants and other insects away from the house) to the Mehendi ( it is a natural coolant that brings down the body temperature and helps you remain cool), these rituals are heavily based on science – physics and chemistry mostly. There are however certain facts that are really intriguing. I will not touch upon a lot of them, but throw a few of them at you so that you can think and come up with answers depending on your own sensibilities and understanding.

If you have read any of the books by Erik Von Daniken or Zecharia Sitchin or Graham Hancock and watched the series called Ancient Aliens on History Channel, you may relate to a few things that I am going to list below. By the way, I am a very strong believer in the Ancient Alien Theory, but I do not impose on you to believe it.

1. The Nazca lines of Peru that have huge figures of animals, birds and humans across huge landscapes that are comprehensible only from the sky. Which human being flew before the 19’th Century ? These lines are thousands of years old.
2. A lot of Indian stories and manuscripts speak of flying Vimanas and devastating weapons that shone like a 1000 suns when used. If the gods could fly around in chariots, was it magic they used or some kind of technology? If the weapons they used caused damage to many square miles of the landscape, does it remind you of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Do read these references in the Mahabharata too where it is written that once this weapon was used, it destroyed everything for  miles and it took  many hundred years for anything to grow back there again.  These are symptoms of a nuclear weapon right? The radiation caused does not land grow anything there for a really long time. The land becomes barren.
3. A big list of ancient structures that are aligned perfectly with different constellations – mainly Orion. These structures include the Mayan city and the famous pyramids of Egypt.
4. Temple structures in many parts of the world that allow light through a narrow opening only on specific days – summer and winter solstices. Ingeniously built by humans who were not modern by any means.
5. The statement that “ God made man in his image” – Cloning?
6.  Almost every instance of an appearance of any God according to any religious text anywhere in the world is associated with deep rumbling noises, lot of light and heat and the earth shaking.  Your thoughts please?

The list will go on endlessly, so I have no choice but to cut it right here. If you are seriously interested in knowing more about the Theory, do look up the authors I mention. However, please do keep in mind that even those authors call it a “Theory” and not a fact. These are deductions made by them and a lot of experts in the field. It is an open question and not a gospel of any sort. Those who want to believe in it, may do so.