A New Project – 105 Portraits with the 105

As some may have noticed, portraits are not entirely our strong point at Fotogenesis when it comes to photography, and consequently, our portfolio is relatively lacking. However, we have also recently obtained a Nikon AF-Nikkor 105mm f/2D DC lens that is eminently suitable for portraiture. Therefore, I would like to invite you to drop in to the studio for a portrait session(give us an hour or so) where we can get you a real portrait – something that is more than just another picture of you. Something that evokes your inner self. If you do not feel that the studio is a convenient location – and we know without an AC in the summer it can get a bit uncomfortable – please feel free to suggest an alternative location which speaks to you and your spirit and we will try to make it happen. If you know someone who doesnt have many good portraits, this will be a good occasion to nudge them to get them to us.

All sitters will get the jpeg digital files, one 4×6 size photo print and the company of your friends at Fotogenesis for an hour.

Since we are not doing make-up, we would appreciate it if you had a good night’s rest the day before coming to visit us. Trust us, it does make a difference!

Please RSVP on Facebook and we will contact you for an appointment. Please note that This is limited to the first 105 people only.

Hello, Flickr!

Hello, Flickr!, originally uploaded by pangalactic gargleblaster.

As can be seen from the above photo, much fun was had in Bangalore, on a rainy night with lots of drinks and delicious food. Thanks go to the wonderful folks of Bangalore, (who have more hair on their head than the people of Hyderabad – Hyderabadis of course have more facial hair.)

in other news, there is a lot more to Bangalore in the back streets :)

Indian General Elections 09

Election09, originally uploaded by pangalactic gargleblaster.

I did my part, voted. Dad went late so i didnt get to take his photo. Mom was first, i went second. annotations available on the flickr page

2008 – Year In Photos – Part I

 

First of all, I wish all readers accidental and deliberate, a very Merry Christmas and associated food comas :)

Ok, so 2008 has on average been… an average year. there have been some highs and some lows. I haven’t developed a particular ‘vision’ yet, but it’s an ongoing process and I feel I am better, at least technically, compared to where I began. I decided to share, in one place, some photos that I consider my better work from this year. I have chosen about 10 for each month though there are some months where I have been more productive than others, and that’s reflected in the selections as well.

 

The first part is the Month of Jan – March 2008. It was a relatively good part of the year, with no signs of the impending doom facing my lamented iBook and half the output of my iPod ahead. Included some experiments with Lighting, quite a few trips to Charminar, and a couple of trips with the Hyderabad Photography Club. At left is a small collage that reflects the goings on of this period…

taking a break

it’s gonna be a pretty busy three weeks for me, as i work on my multi-portfolio(17 genresx10 photos – fun)  then help out with arrangements for grandma’s housewarming, and head out of town for some potential industrial photos (part of the 17 genres above)

so very limited blogging till (i’m guessing) nov. 20th. drop me a mail if you want to get in touch, though i will be active on teh flickr.  and happy halloween, thanksgiving, etc.

and if the world order should collapse in the meanwhile, try and have a swig of whatever it is you’re drinking for me too!

this right here is a time-lapse

this is the FAIL version. note to self: time gets faster as your shutter speeds get slower

goodbye and good luck

Barack ‘baby steps’ Obama can shove it

so the imperialist cat is out of the presidential race bag

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has supported the cross-border raids by US forces into Pakistan but described them as “baby steps” by the Bush administration in the right direction. “Senator Obama has been saying for well over a year, in fact, has been saying frankly since before the invasion of Iraq that the central front in the war on terror is Afghanistan and Pakistan.

And we need to invest there,” Susan Rice, the top foreign policy adviser to Senator Obama, said. “The Bush administration has come to that point of view.

That’s the kind of policy we have to pursue and continue, .

This is a baby step, but it’s a baby step in the right direction and something that John McCain hasn’t been willing to acknowledge,” she said.

so under the advice of Susan Rice, Barack Obama is willing to invade Pakistan. Glad to hear someone finally utter the truth so openly.

when you put it that way….

today’s lead editorial in The Hindu :

Barack Obama made sure his eyes looked unblinking into the television camera as he said: “I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that I am redeemed through him.” Barely an hour later, John McCain said from the very same platform (into the same television cameras) that being a follower of Christ “means I’m saved and forgiven. We’re talking about the world. Our faith encompasses not just the United States but the world.”

Both presidential candidates were confessing their faith to Pastor Rick Warren at the Saddleback Church. This was in mid-August and their first major public event on the same platform — though they did not appear together. They were interviewed one immediately after the other by the good pastor. They were reaching audiences of millions, but were basically aiming at a large religious constituency. Both knew what they had to say and how to say it. Neither had a problem with the idea that two potential Presidents of the U.S. could submit themselves to very public interviews (and seek absolution?) on a religious platform of one faith.

It is of course legitimate for candidates to harbour religious beliefs. It is also true that the U.S. was probably the first among modern nations to have a written Constitution making a strong and sharp separation of the church and the state. Among the founders of the USA were those who had seen religious persecution in Europe. Hence their wall between the church and the state. It is precisely that separation that begins to erode in such public displays of faith.

Let’s suppose this had happened in, say, Pakistan. Let’s say Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif or whoever, had had their opening debate moderated by mullahs at a mosque. You’d never have heard the end of it in the U.S. media. It would have been the ‘aha’ proof, if any were needed, of religious zealotry, bigotry, fundamentalism and the rest of it. In the U.S. though, the swamp of analysis in the mainstream media that followed the Saddleback event had no such conclusions to draw. Not even in mild, diluted terms.

which goes further to say that they are both two sides of the same coin and the coin itself is the proverbial Bad Penny.

The World in Photoshop

the NYT has some good stuff, when not dealing with matters of overty political import. One Example pops up today, about the extensive use of Photoshop to alter our personal histories and present a different version of reality to the world. Of course, the world has had the ability to manipulate images since we started making them. greek sculptors, renaissance painters, the pictorialist photographers etc.are famous for presenting the world with an altered reality closer to their ideals… which are now ours in part. The only difference is that any old guy or girl can get on the internet and lay their hands on some free software that can help you to do all this on any beat-up old computer. that means you!