Back to Routine

I tend to miss or forget that I have a blog running in here that needs to be kept alive by adding something at least weekly if not daily. So my last post was about a month back. After the Agra trip back to the search for new photography assignments. There have been lots of queries but most times they maintain their status of query only fizzling out after a while, but thats a part of the life of a daily wager professional.

After shifting studio to a new location, have done a few shoots though I still need to add some facilities to the new working place. Major some convenience of a multi background roll hook and pulley system, some kind a working table and some shelves to clear the floor area and also to avoid the items from damage. Well it is quite funny if one thinks of it that a slightly larger area we tend to expand with our gear. The only draw back I find in my new place is that it does not have an extra room or an area where a partition could have helped me create some space for securing my equipment, a makeup area, some changing area for the models and a place of my own where I could interact with my clients in privacy. An area where on non working days, that are quite many by the way, where I could enjoy my cat naps with out being seen.

Second day of the month seems to be repeating itself for me as a photography day. It was Agra in Feb and now in March on the second I went out with a group of very young photographers to Chandni Chowk in Delhi. I had been on Orkut, Facebook and there are a few more networking websites, since I hardly used or use them I tend to forget. My personal website, by the grace of God, is doing well getting into the first ten in the Google Search and I get a lot of queries. See I mentioned earlier about the queries all generated through my website. I never looked beyond my website and its responses. Again after meeting Babul I started using Facebook and Flickr and populated them with content and created group as well.

People seem to be pretty active in these networking sites atleast the photography section I can talk about as I am not very much keen on the other groups. I may be wrong in my perception of things other than photography, but I find members of lots of other groups faking things like their identities. Atleast in photography people may be using different online IDs but they are real people when interacting. So a few comments left on some pictures, some comments received on some pictures started a new interaction. And one of the commentators invited me to join an outing to Chandni Chowk with a Facebook group DFC on Sunday, March 2nd. It was a healthy strength of about 30 odd young photographers both male and female. I stood out to be an odd guy out with heavy weight of silver decorating the top most of my body. It was a very good experience once again being amonst the very young crowd of creative minds. Fortunately having been sharing my experience of photography with the students of National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi since many years I did not feel myself being in the wrong age group. I do not know how the younger members of the group felt with my presence amongst them, but am sure having a person with photography knowledge was also wanted by some members otherwise with my picture showing up on profile they would not have invited. It was a great time and they have come out with very good meaningful images.

I feel the Digital Camera has helped a lot in making photography popular all over the world. I can co-relate it with the coming on the roads of Maruti car. Earlier we had Ambassador car that was big and bulky with a very heavy stearing and in the lighter versions of vehicles there was this Padmani Fiat and Gazal. The Ambassadors were generally driven by hired drivers while both the light cars were owner self driven. After Maruti one of lightest vehicle came on the roads, each person felt that they could drive. Maruti really helped choke the roads as the government could not catch up to widen the roads to accommodate this surge of cars on the roads. It is pretty similar here with photography. It was mind boggling for lots of people as they never received from the labs results of their shoot except lots of dissapointments. The quick view and delete feature that the digital offers has helped a lot in people taking up photography.

In my interactions with so many young photographers I can say they really shoot good frames, despite their not knowing anything about apertures or shutters or their creative aspects. The camera does for them except that they see well. I can only say there had been people who could see really well (photographically) but they did not have the inclination of learning the technology to give shape to what they saw as a good picture. The digital has helped them in fulfilling their aspirations. The internet is today full of so many good pictures by very young to very old people from all over the world. It is a really a good achievement. Those who keep moving into the deeper side of the knowledge is again not a very big crowd, I think the general public at large just wants to record memories that they missed when only film was there to be used.

At the end of the day we just enjoy good frames of visuals, isn't it true.

While I try add something sensible in here, (readers are the best judge if these additions are sensible enough or not), I feel I may have missed adding due to a query I received for a calendar and posters from an international organisation. The theme: refined, decent and creative female in nudes/semi/implied nudes. I am so very keen and want to take up this project as it is very challenging different from the routine work. So I got myself activated to search for models who could agree to be a part of this project, as I feel getting the models could clinch the deal for me. I know it is tough getting the right models or let me put it in right perpective - the models or the females who may not be modeling. I know for sure as I often get queries from females, husbands for their wives/fiances that they are interested in getting photographed, but like to keep their anonimity. Here the situation is different where use of face is a possibility. Different social mores is making the task tough. Living with a hope I can say that much at this point of time. Maybe some young ones, and not legal minors, reading this blog may help to bail me out and help me in clinching this deal.



Hope to be back soon with some more blogging........

Back from Agra

View of Taj Mahal from across the river

February 2, 2008 at 6:31 AM

Wow.... that was it at last.

Babul reached late night with one of the Jet flights landing around 10:30 pm. The taxi hired went directly to pick him up from the airport, came to my place where we left immediately after a quick change from his office clothing. The taxi driver Mr. Radhey Shyam was a non stop chatterer, and with his chatter all through the drive, we did not know how we covered the distance from Delhi to Agra. It was 4 AM when we checked in at Hotel Apollo, a walking distance from the Taj Mahal. We had already sounded the driver about our intentions of going well before sunrise to the river bank across the Taj monument.

The excitement was at its peak. There was no physical or mental tiredness after both of us having worked the whole day, Babul with an extra effort flying out to Delhi immediately after a whole day's office work.

We left for the river bank around 5 AM, reaching there in a quick time. One thing was good to have had Radhey Shyam as he knew Agra and its lane very well. And at that time of the night/morning there is hardly any soul to help one in getting to the right place in time. There was one cab with a foreigner couple whom we found to be driving around to get to the same place, and I think he followed us to reach the spot.

We could experience the high security set up for Taj Mahal. He drove us right to the bank, missing out the signage prohibiting entry of vehicles after a certain point. We apologized to the police post and he backed his vehicle after dropping us there. Radhey Shyam spent the time with the police personal around the bonfire while we stood in the cold waiting for the sunrise. They told him they were ready to shoot if he had not stopped the vehicle. He was wearing clothes matching commando uniform that too brought them to high alert. One or two police personals had already taken their position with the weapons ready to fire. In the darkness it is difficult to correctly identify. Not long ago another picket was attacked in the wee hours. So they were very much on the right side. They had been instructed to shoot in case of doubt with out fear. It was pretty shocking for him and all of us. Lucky we all parted in big smiles and bye byes.

February 2, 2008 7:00 AM

In the biting cold we set up the camera and started shooting in the very faint morning light. It was real great to have been there as slowly the intensity of light started increasing. We kept on moving towards the water and as the light was enough for us to shoot hand held, it was maddening trying to get to the various viewpoints. There was great fog all through, teasing us by wrapping the Taj in its cover. As the fog played we shot each and every move it made. It was quite a fruitful outing away from the 'Patel Shots', Babul said this term was used in the UK for postcard type photography. Well it was quite an amusing new term for me.

February 2, 2008 7:34 AM (0696)

We did not sleep till late evening. At least I had a nice nap late in the evening on our return from Fatehpur Sikri. Babul did not sleep and he worked on a few images and uploaded a few on his web gallery. I had not carried my laptop more to shed extra weight.

On 3rd Feb we got up slightly late, any way we could not enter the Taj Mahal complex even if we had got up early. It drizzled slightly, but for a very short spell. There after it was sunny all through with pretty strong winds. We spent many hours shooting pictures from various viewpoints and also enjoyed the happenings around. It is a lot fun looking at people trying to get their pictures shot by a battery of licensed photographers. They know their spots well and each of them make the people do things and in enthusiasms they do it but would laugh at themselves if they saw the pictures. Did a lot of people photography. We shot lots of amusing action taking place there. It was a great pass time. It was lots of fun. We spent our day there, if Babul did not have his flights booked for Mumbai leaving Delhi late night, perhaps we may have been the last people to walk out of the Taj Complex.

We left Taj Complex walking through a side busy road to take a quick lunch at Quality Restaurant. It was a second visit to this food outlet after we had our breakfast on our first in Agra. This time a young artisan danced to the tune of a local instrument played by his elder. Not much time to sit down to enjoy their music as we had to reach Delhi on time. We had a nice good meal of fish curry and tandoori roti, unfortunately tandoori chicken that we ordered was very dry and hard. By the way the food we had at Shere Punjab on way back from Fatehpur Sikri was real good.

Two intensive days of enjoyable photography seemed to be less even the traffic out of the city seemed to be in agreement. The roads were choked. Radhey Shyam being well versed with the city tried to take alternative routes and all these routes through side lanes were so choked that even the two wheelers could not pass through. The patience seemed to be tested of all the vehicle drivers. It was a nice feeling to be in the back seat in such a scenario.

Thats Babul Bhatt.

Anyway we reached Delhi in time for Babul to catch the flight on time. A few aches here and there with tired limbs will take a few days to get back to normal. Over all an enjoyable trip.

I will be posting some images in here but most images will be posted in my website http://www.indergopal.com/ in the stock section. The link is not being mentioned as new web pages will be dedicated for this Agra trip.

I do trust folks following my Blog would look up the images. Give me something to smile by adding a few comments here in my Blog and if possible in my guestbook.

Traveling to Agra

It has been a very long time to have gone on a planned visit for a personal photo shoot. Unfortunately a drab routine had set in my life, the keeness for personal shoots had been quite lost. Met up with Babul Bhatt an IT professional, who is a keen photographer as well.

In an hour or so we would be leaving forAgra. He is specially flying from Mumbai for this trip. It is a relook of the Taj, some viewpoints hitherto not explored on earlier occasions as past trips were more family trips. Hopefully we find some good weather and something interesting to showcase.

There had been quite an happening at Khan Market. The Heritage Motoring Club of India (hope I got the name right) held their Vintage Car Rally from here. The beauties of yesteryears were lined up in the market campus. I was more interested in the small details as the cars were very closely so it was no fun shooting the vehicles. I will be posting the images on return from this current trip to Agra.

Me

I am an advertising and fashion photographer based in New Delhi, India.

To be honest not much experience with blogging and when the new window opens with a frame for posting, at least I have been taken a back to immediately enter some sensible text. So to get myself together I can say that I will be adding more info about me, my work and my projects along with my wish list of personal photography projects.

I do hope I am able to add some thing that makes sense at the end.

Looking forward to your book marking me for future visits and would love your inputs by way of comments and suggestions - in short would love your participation in my blogs.
Cheers