Enlightening
The train door, one of my favourite places in the world.
You will be hard pressed to find a more accessible, impartial and thorough guide to tour the length and breadth of this incredible country. Oh the distant hills, the dense jungles, the deep ghats; the wide rivers, the glorious sunsets, the shanty villages, the crown jewels; the green fields, the high-speed curves, the rolling countryside; the people, the stories… I could go on, but I have a train to catch.
I recently had an amusing conversation with @pricelessjunk about Instagram, digital photo “pimping” and the iPhone camera. Now I’ve made no secret of my love for Instagram, but I do understand Priya’s dissaproval of “blatantly converting digital images to lomo- type of images”.
Anyway, both photos in this post are SOOMiC (straight out of my iPhone camera), as promised. Well, almost. I straightened (and thus cropped) the frame, but they’re free from any other digital manipulation.
Also, if you’re anything like the typical smart, tasteful, art loving visitors of this blog, you owe it to yourself to check out START Magazine, Priya’s fantastic publication documenting up and coming Indian artists. The sixth and latest issue just came out a few days back.
Location
Camera Settings
- Apple iPhone 3GS
- 3.85mm
- 1/2508s
- f/2.8
- ISO 64
Comments
Abhishek
Holy crap! After this, I don’t think I can say I have the same phone as you.
SOOMiC, terrific!
7:54pm, 4th Jun'11
Rakesh
All I care about in a photograph is the story it’s telling. Everything else is secondary: the camera, its lens, megapixels, filters, etc. The best stories are the ones we can relate to, with a personal, emotional element to it. Your photos always do that: this one tells me about your love for train journeys and it’s a story I can relate to. SOOMiC or not, I’ll come back so long as your photos have something good to say.
11:36am, 5th Jun'11
Prateek
Hear hear! Technology is just a means, and the tools should never overpower or dictate the craft.
12:44pm, 5th Jun'11
Priya
Liked the shine of the tracks in the first image! Also liked how both seem very natural (which it wouldn’t have in case you’d pimped it with Instagram :-P).
Well, what I really meant was not every photograph turns out better in Instagram. I made a point on twitter after seeing a really nice picture which was spoilt due to the lomo-effect (with the borders and scratches and everything!). The image would have looked perfect and natural without it.
General editing of images is completely different though. There, one alters the brightness, contrasts, tilt, etc - keeping the effect similar. Also, sometimes I feel some mistakes in an image (blur, out-of-focus, etc) are covered up by using filters and other effects.
Ultimately, it’s upto the photographer to decide if Instagram works well on a photograph or not.
:-)
6:36pm, 5th Jun'11
Prateek
Exactly. If someone chooses to process a photo that might be better off without, well that’s their choice and not the tool’s fault.
Still think you need to get on Instagram yourself though. Equating Instagram by its filters is like assessing a person by their looks. ;-)
1:20am, 7th Jun'11
Rashmi
Agreeing with all the above comments. The way I see it, putting out regular images and sharing those stories with a community through your everyday sights makes it more real, even if it’s hidden behind a filter. It doesn’t have to be perfect shots. That’s why I love Instagram. It’s like how content can override design, in a way.
Btw, totally love these [SOOMiC, is that what you kids are calling it these days :P] images. I find it to have such moving qualities. Okay, it’s also the subject. :) Makes me wish I could just let go of daily bindings and just hop onto a train as easily said.
9:15pm, 8th Jun'11
Varenya
Loved both of them.
5:52pm, 12th Jun'11
Nidhi
SOOMiC is really good!? Who’d have thought, what with everyone using Instagram these days! I love the flare in the first photo. And the reflection on the tracks!!
2:28pm, 18th Jun'11
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