Photography

I remember fancying myself as a photographer right from the time i was in the 5th standard
Used to click everything that moved or didn't move much to the horror of my parents who kept buying loads of film and developing it to see nothing much really

so continued down that track for some time
once i reached college, i got to see some really good work and thats what sort of got me off photography
i never thought i would click anything that good ever.

Then i met David (David De Souza)
He was my photography professor in my 2nd year
I remember after his 2nd lecture i went up to him and asked him if i could see his camera which he used to sling around his shoulder and bring to college when he came for a lecture

The size, the weight, the grip
all of it just seemed to reassure me
Now this really got me curiosity going, so i went home and did a search and found his camera
it was a Canon Eos 5d
fantastic camera
would never be able to afford it
but it was nice to have seen and it and touched it

as the classes progressed i learnt many interesting things about perspective, style, colour and so on
i was really interested
i was literally hanging onto every word he was saying
but in the process was learning to judge what i heard in my own way

2 projects later, i realised something
i might or might not have a talent for being a photographer
i dont have to judge myself
i just have to go out there everyday and give it my best

but what i did know for sure was that i could judge a photograph
i was clear about what i liked and did not like and why

that summer i bought my first serious camera
my Canon Eos 400D

i had researched it for 2 months, thought long and well about it and then went ahead with my decision
and i haven't regretted it one bit

i do my best to capture what i think is interesting to me and capture it in a way that it remains interesting

the other day someone asked me why i carry my camera slung around my shoulder instead of in a bag
it was a question i had asked in my mind about a particular gentleman at a point of time
maybe it was because i considered him to be my mentor
but no
this time i knew the answer

i wanted my camera to see the light of day
i wanted my moment to be found, not for it to be served on a platter
and when the moment came i did not want my camera to be languishing in its bag
i wanted it to be in my hand ready to capture that wonderful moment that i had been waiting for

there are many people who keep saying that there aren't enough interesting things to take photographs of in todays world
maybe its because their cameras r too busy waiting in their bags....waiting

you might lose your camera
damage it
break it...i dunno watever by not keeping it in a bag
but at the least you are using it for the purpose it was made for

today all of the above might happen to my camera
but i know that it has served me well
i encourage every photographer out there
take your camera out of the bag
take any picture
it might not make sense now
but it might later
or the least you might make your camera feel satisfaction

so until death do us part capture we shall

Speed Racer review

Saw two films back to back last night

The first one i saw was the new Wachowski Brothers movie "SPEED RACER"
Had gone to the PVR (Priya Village Roadshows) theatre at Juhu, Mumbai.

The first thing i saw as soon as i got there was the huge poster of the movie
The poster was brilliant and my expectations from the movie suddenly went throught the roof

So here i was expecting a semi-animated movie with some half baked stunts of Speed Racer's car jumping over others in the field and yadda yadda.

But i was surprised.
And impressed
And a little blown away

starting from the little boy (speed racer) who is obsessed with racing, to the young man who knows nothing but racing, there is so much that has been created and placed to make the movie really interesting

the visuals are fantastic
colorful, but use great silhouettes in some shots.
the graphics are mind boggling
and since this is a racing movie as expected the cars look fantastic
a small thing, while you are watching look the headlights of all the cars
they are marvellous
the attention to details on the props the sets is brilliant

but what really got me was the racing
it wasn't the crappy round and round without another sound racing
it was thrilling
there were drifts, high speed bends, up side down sections, obstacles, weapons, clever maneuvering.

The action and racing choreography in the movie was fantastic
Visually the movie is spectacular and keeps you on the edge of the seat.

But the story could have been a little more substantial
The idea is there
The visual effects are there
The appeal is there
So if the history (Speed racer is old animated cartoon series which was made in Japan)

But the current story could have used a little more work
And the movie is made too much like a kiddie movie
My dad who i happened to go for this movie with kept on commenting throughout the movie that i had conned him into watching a kiddie movie
Nonetheless he enjoyed it

This movie should ideally be targetted at a more teenage and adult population
The merchandise can sold completely to the kids

Honestly all in all i think Speed Racer deserves a score of:

7.5 / 10

Films - DUS KAHAANIYAAN

my rants on bollywood films begin here i guess

was watching this movie called DUS KAHANIYAAN
made by Sanjay Gupta
the idea was to incorporate 10 short stories in one film, 6 diff directors

started watching and the first movie turned out to be a rip off of Roald Dahl's short story named Colonel Bixby's Coat.
Lost Hope.

But there were some stoires which stood out
If you are planning to watch this movie, here is what i thought of them so that you get an idea:
1) Rice Plate
naseeruddin shah and shaban azmi
great story focusing on communalism and religious biases

2) Gubbare
nana patekar
about a man and the things he does to appease his wife

3) Rise and Fall
sanjay dutt and sunil shetty
the story of two gangsters, love the parallels between their rise to fame and fall from glory
amazing, but the action choreography if done a little better could have made that scene so much better

4) Puranmaashi
amrita singh and minnisha lamba
was pretty decent. Amrita Singh did a decent job and the way one incident can change a life has been well portrayed.

5) Zahir
dia mirza and manoj bajpai
leaves you with a feeling of, fucked!!!!!
but definitely worth a watch

6) High on the highway
Jimmy Shergill and Masumeh
give it a miss. uses jumps through time and space. but really spaced out story. maybe a little puff-puff for those into that kinda thing and then watch.
for the rest, it would seem like the guy who wrote it and made it was going puff-puff

7) Sex on the beach
Dino Morea
eeeeeks. why. cliched, boring, desperate attempt.

8) Matrimony
Arbaaz Khan and Mandira Bedi
This was the story copied from Roald Dahl's collection (Colonel Bixby's coat).
Alright.
People who don't know the story might enjoy it
some good shots in it in the first 30secs or so.

9) Lovedale
Aftab Shivdasani
Well he can't act. but the story is pointless. the most unlikely things seem to happen.
and to top it off even an actor like anupam kher looks like a prepped untalented fresher during the story.

10) Strangers in the night
Mahesh Manjrekar and Neha Dhupia
The acting is terrible. i mean terrible
but the story is interesting
the build up and the way it is shot is very interesting
love the flashbacks and the way they are structured
the twist is crazy
good story
diff actors could have made such a difference



all in all
commendable effort
but the problem is that even thought the idea is new to bollywood
it could have been executed so much better
the laziness is butt obvious

a new idea is not enough
the actors firstly could have been better
there needed to have been tighter control regarding the scripts
thirdly, the choreography in some parts could have been improved a bit for a temendously different end result

so would only seriosuly recommend people to watch 5 of the 10 short films.
1) Gubbare
2) Rice Plate
3) Rise and Fall
4) Strangers in the night
5) Zahir (just to say fucked him at the end of the movie)

cheers

will put up a review on darjeeling express (adrien brody, owen wilson, bill murray and so on) soon
watching the movie right now

cheers

Tantra Brand Wisdom

Two of my friends, Sachin and Aditya run a company with me called Tantra Brand Wisdom

Its been going on for a year and half now during which we got our first client lost the fourth partner, did some good work and most importantly graduated out of college and started working in the business full time.

TBW is a full service agency which specializes in advertising and design. It is a part of the Wannabe Group of Companies which consists of Wannabe Films Pvt Ltd and subsidiary companies Agenda Wannabe, Carrot Films and Carrot Promotions.

As the name suggests we provide our clients with advice on how to maximize their impact through the media and help build their 'BRANDS'. We pride ourselves on the slick and innovative designs that we make for our clients thanks to our talented design crew. We also have some great photographers who constantly provide good material to use in our designs and creatives.

Besides TBW also conceptualises and executes events and promotional activities for all purposes. We are partnered with a exciting and energetic events company named FLYPSIDE to constantly provide innovative and cutting edge events ideas.

A few months back we branched out into Talent Management (specifically in photography for the time being). We currently serve as business managers, agents and brand builders to a select bunch of photographers.

TBW looks to continue delivering creative solutions to its ever expanding list of clients and expand into areas complimentary to its existing interests.

Easing in

just going through the barrage of options

reminds me of my camera actually
so many things with no apparent purpose

anyways since will be talking about things related to technology

here is a list of stuff that i use on a daily basis:

1) HP dv8233cl Laptop - 17inch powerhouse, completely dependent on it

2) Canon Eos 400D (Also known as the Digital Rebel XTi - along with the laptop, best buys ever. Use a 2GB San Disk Extreme IV CF card with it and still using the kit lens.

3) Nokia 1110i - Small, cheap, light, basic and suprisingly sturdy

4) Nokia N-GAGE QD - As you might have noticed i like big screens (check), gaming ability (check), weight and portability issues (check)

5) Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse - Most important of them all, but currently on a sabatical

am sure my microwave, firdge, tv, ac and so on are feeling left out, but sorry, limited patience

am also a major NEED FOR SPEED fan
MOST WANTED being my favourite
Carbon was alright
Pro Street is better than Carbon but no match for MW

currently addicted to Adobe Photoshop
am trying to rid myself of my ignorance and learn to do the right things to my pictures

cheers

First time

after having spent the better part of a decade pooh-pahhing bloggers, i now join the ranks

this is the first blog that i am writing in ever
but i dont intend to write

would prefer to opine here

my interests lie in people, technology, photography, media and a few other things here and there and this is what i shall mostly vomit out here

so let the non-verbal diarrhea begin

cheers