In this Issue

Understanding ISO

Anyone who has been reading my column for the past two months might already have found themselves thinking about how shutter speed and aperture impact the look of their images. The column also must’ve given you an idea of how the two photographic elements interact in achieving proper exposure. Through your experimentation with aperture and shutter priority mode you would have already explored the third part of the exposure equation – ISO, an acronym for International Standards Organisation.

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW- Canon 5D Mark III

Canon’s much anticipated release, the EOS 5D Mark III is finally here. Three and a half years after the launch of the EOS 5D Mark II, the Mark III is out to impress; loaded with additional and advanced features. A successor to the Mark II, the Mark III has adopted features from Canon’s flagship EOS-1D X and EOS 7D. With a high ISO - low noise shooting, a 61-point AF system, 100% coverage viewfinder, twin memory card slots, longer HD video recording and much more, the EOS 5D Mark III seems more promising than any of its predecessors.

SHOOT MY CITY- Placid Malvan

All of us love summer vacations, more so if you’re working and haven’t had one since you left school or college. This month, deciding on a location for shoot my city wasn’t easy, considering how the month of April can be particularly harsh on travellers in India, the heat just oppressive. A hill station would have been the perfect destination to beat the heat, but we somehow decided otherwise and chose Malvan, a quaint fi shing village in the southernmost district of Maharashtra. We had our doubts about Malvan since neither of us had been to or knew much about the place. After all there is only so much that Google can help with. Malvan is a tiny coastal town on the Konkan belt. Kudal is the closest access point both by rail and by road. Arranging for railway tickets especially during the summer holidays is quite a task. Left with no other option but to take the bus, we consoled ourselves hoping it wouldn’t be all that bad. A long bus ride was to follow.

TIPS AND TECHS- On-Camera Flash Decoded

Flash units were designed for the convenience of getting a snapshot in the absence of any other source of light. Whether built into the camera or mounted on the camera’s hot shoe, they were designed keeping in mind compactness and ease of use as priorities. Quality and variety of lighting takes second place.

These flashes are best used on location where lugging around big flash units is not really an option. The sophisticated metering and exposure control now possible with digital cameras makes it possible to mix flash with existing light for some dynamic effects.

Size ‘em Up

The art of visual conceptualization brings out creative illusions from different corners of the mind. And photography is an art that requires you to continually innovate and create. But if you thought that your task ends at creative thinking and conceptualisation, you are in for a surprise. More often, the tricky part is the execution of the concept. This is where your photography techniques come in. This month we would like to give you a different perspective of what one can do with a ‘subject’ and an ‘object’. For this article, we selected various subjects and objects to add elements of humour and drama in our images in order to make them appear larger than life. I bet it already sounds fun! And it is. So let’s get started.

Get to Know your Own Studio Equipment

As photographers it is likely that many of us have seen and used a studio setup at some point in our professional lives. Usually the initial reaction at entering a studio for the first time is amazement, shortly followed by confusion because of all the electronics, wires and gadgets scattered around. A studio environment is the safest bet for a photographer to shoot in, since it is a space where he/ she has absolute control over lighting. It is also the one place you may have to frequent for your assignments and shoots. So it is vital to know the equipment kept and used in a studio so you don’t feel lost the next time you enter one and more importantly, for a smooth and efficient workflow.

CAMERA REVIEW- Fujifilm X10

Pegged as an ‘enthusiast camera’, the Fujifilm X10 comes alive when you unlock the lens barrel by turning it anti-clockwise from off to any of the focal lengths within its 28-112 range (35mm equivalent). Differing from their previous offering, the X100, the X10 has a smaller sensor, quite like most of the digital point and shoot cameras in the market.