CinemaScope

Where does a photograph belong? Apart from what you can see in a photograph, I believe, there are numerous other factors - both seen and unseen which give you an impression as to where the photo belongs and what it is trying to convey. Of course, there is what you can actually see in the background or part of the environment where the picture was taken and then there is colour and tone which conveys the mood. Lately, I have been trying to create photos which seem that they have been grabbed from films.

I realised that apart from using focal lengths which are primarily used in film making and toning the photograph (the equivalent of DI or Digital Intermediate in films) there is one very important factor that has an effect on how we perceive a photograph and that is aspect ratio. Most of the films that we see are shot on an aspect ratio of 1:1.85 or 1:2.35 or 1:2.40  and over the  years we come to associate these aspect ratios with being "cinematic".

Each of these photographs have been inspired from a film, at least in my head - whether or not it comes across, I leave it you to tell me. Do these remind you of any particular film that you have seen or do you think that they could have easily belonged to a particular film? Please let me know.

More on aspect ratios when we meet next. Until then, take care.

--- By Gorky M

Cricket

I don't watch cricket at all. I have worked as crew while covering cricket matches but never enjoyed watching it. Cricket terminology means nothing to me and usually it evokes strange imagery in my head. "Leg bye" conjures up the visual of a man trying to wave goodbye using his legs and trust me, you don't  want to know what "mid on" reminds me of!

While working on the ICC Champions Trophy  2002 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the producer took pity on my miserable existence and I was promoted from being Talent Co-ordinator to being allowed to do pitch reports - the condition being that I had to do both! I was more than happy as that meant an all-access pass!

As usual, I always had a camera with me. In all my bloody ignorance, I think I was going for the crazy colour of the sky rather than the legend standing before me.

Of course, the lesser said about my framing and timing skills at that point of time, the better it is -as the photograph below demonstrates. Hopefully, I have improved somewhat since then in both departments. Whenever I look at this picture I kick myself for spoiling what could have been an otherwise good photograph. And to think I was allowed anywhere near these guys with a camera is a bloody miracle in itself.

These photographs remind me of the two most important things that I love about photography. One - that a fleeting moment might seem very ordinary when you are in it but once you have captured it in your camera it's value might become something that you never imagined. Two, there is no greater reminder of a mistake than a badly clicked photograph. It stares at you, reminding you never to make that mistake again and somewhere, hopefully that attitude trickles down to your personality.

Colour

I hate rains.  There... I said it! Sue me! Everybody I know and their cousins love the rains and this makes me feel like the odd man out. Even if I don't take into account the facts that traffic slows down to a crawl and everyone thinks it is completely alright to act like an idiot (zig-zagging their bikes while driving and roaming shirtless on Marine Drive) I still don't like the rains for two primary reasons. I am afraid of screwing up my equipment even if it is safely tucked in my cabinet due to the appearance of mould and fungus and more importantly - rains just suck the colour out of everything.

Exhibit A - the photograph below was taken at 2PM in the afternoon. Do you see how dull and drab it is?

I am fascinated by colour and I keep shooting random images of colour as it appears in our everyday lives. Enter Exhibits B,C,D,E,Fand G.

While shooting for TV I think we tend to get a bit scared while using colour. We get so taken up by the technical definition of white light and tungsten light that we forget the abundance of colour around us and that is exactly why I shoot these images -  to remind myself that bright and random colours do exist around us in all shapes, forms and objects. Colour also affects our mood and while I have been trying to implement this in my photography (with varied success) for a while, I have just recently become bolder with respect to using colour while directing stuff. I now control more of the lighting aspect of the scenes that I shoot or even better - some scenes that I don't shoot myself.  Enter Exhibit H.

People who follow my TV series Arjun will get to see more of this bold colour approach over the coming weeks. So while the rains might suck out colour from things around me - on the set, it is a different matter entirely.

Surbhi Jyoti

Shot this a long time back. As usually is the case with me - contemplated, contemplated and then contemplated some more. Today seemed to be a good day to post it!

Stolen camera

I had my camera bag stolen from my car about two weeks back. It had quite a bit of equipment in it. Please don't ask me the details - I will probably punch you in the face.  As a result,I have started carrying very little equipment on a daily basis because I am scared. I feel that I might have my equipment stolen again. Now there are two schools of thought as far as that is concerned. One, which consists mostly of my friends, says - lightning never strikes the same place twice. The other school(or rather an institution), which is my head has the  following theory: "The thief has my car marked and has my number noted down... he followed me that day and has been keeping an eye on me ever since.He is waiting for a chance to strike again!!!" Result? The second school of thought is winning hands down.

The bottom line is - I have kind of slowed down. What has happened is that it has made me turn minimalist(I like the sound of that word!) and re-examine the kind of equipment I use and how I use it. The mantra - "don't take a picture... make a picture!" has been resonating in my head. The following pictures are a result of trying to follow that mantra. The first two are that of my wife, Gul and the third photograph features Behzaad Khan, who plays an extremely important part in my show Arjun. And yeah, the awesome selfie that I posted a few days back on my Facebook page is also a result of the same.

There is also an emerging third school of thought which says whatever happens, happens for the best. So the thief who took my camera has actually done me a favour and forced me to come close to what I have been trying to achieve and I should actually be happy that I had my camera stolen. All the people who belonged to the third school are no longer on my friend list. One of them also woke up to discover that the windscreen of his car had mysteriously cracked during the night.

Needless to say that at the moment, I am not a heavy believer in karma and it gives me immense joy to think about the person who stole my camera in a head to head with a heavy-ish kind of vehicle.