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Pixetra Club and iReboot came together for an Underwater Photography Workshop on December 17 & 18, 2011. The pilot workshop was received with a lot of enthusiasm and interest. The group that went on to Goa for 2 days of scuba diving and underwater photography came back with huge smiles of satisfaction and excitement at having achieved something which till then they could only dream about. The participants were amazed by the dozens of colors, the awe-inspiring life-forms, and the myriad factors that come to play underwater, each of which they all got to see, experience and photograph. A whole different world altogether!
In the words of Chinmay Shingne, a participant:
The Sharavati Valley workshop was one of the most interesting and well organized photo- workshops known to me. In many ways it was quite special. From Bangalore we left for Jog at night and reached the base camp on the next day much before sun rise. The place was really calm very much away from the hustle-bustle of the city. The atmosphere there was absolutely mesmerizing. It was a bit cooler as expected. We were welcomed by the bird songs of variety of birds. From the nearby woods, we could hear a very beautiful sound of a ‘school boy whistle’ from a Malabar whistling thrush. Such two to three Whistling Thrushes were continuously singing in tandem and in between an occasional sound of Peacocks, twittering of Kingfisher and Red-wattled lapwing. That was a magical hour for me. The ice-breaking session was already done when Amogh found a Caterpillar completely tucked up with a blanket of dew on it and asked us to capture it. So, right from the moment ‘go’ we were motivated and guided by Amogh very well. After a short session of capturing the golden sunlight falling through the fog on a nearby river and also in Christian Symmetry, we had a breakfast and headed towards Jog Falls which is a 7- to 10 min. walk from the camp.
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At Jog we took some snaps and got some tips from Amogh on how to shoot the mighty falls and how to exhibit its huge height in the photograph. Then after returning to the camp, before Lunch, Amogh gave us a short presentation about the aspects of Landscape photography. Again, very well motivated by the photos in his presentation and his tips, we went to another side of Jog Falls. Thus, we started implementing the technical things such as composition, light and many more on the field, right after we learnt in the presentation. This side of Jog Falls was good and the light falling was better, so we could take some good snaps of the falls. There were many monkeys around, so managed to take some interesting snaps of them too. After that we headed towards the Sharavati Valley Viewpoints. On the way, Amogh took us in to the forest for a short time and there I got good feel of the real rain-forest. Near one stream we luckily saw a rare Torrent Frog. We also saw the ‘Knee-roots’ of some trees which is one of the typical sight in Rain forests, I guess. There, we also came across an unusual experience of leeches. Then we went to the last field photography halt of the day i.e. Sharavati Valley view points. From both the viewpoints one can get a very beautiful panoramic view of the Sharavati River flowing below in the Valley. It was a fantastic view of endless pristine rainforest of the Western Ghats. That would be one of the most beautiful parts of Sahyadri. We managed to take some panoramas and then Amogh gave some more tips about how to capture the silhouettes at the time of sunset in even more beautiful way. So after finishing that exercise we went back to camp and got refreshed. We had dinner followed by the Night photography session. Some more things that I learnt in this session were the creative use of flash in a long exposure photograph, …so ended the first day.
The next morning had come for me even with more fun-filled day ahead. Again at the time of Sun-rise I did not forget to get out of the tent and experience same magical bird songs when the Ghats were soaked in a fog. The first destination of the day was prehistoric rock formations at Yana. The drive to Yana is very beautiful as it goes through the forest. Very huge rock formations of Yana are situated in the rain forest. Just before reaching to Yana we had an interesting session on low angle photography. At Yana, the walk through the forest towards rock formations could be a good place for some macro photography. One can get some beautiful snaps of butterflies too viz. Blue tiger and many more. After spending almost two valuable hours at Yana I got some snaps of the forest and macos of some insects apart from rock formations. On the way back we had lunch and then headed towards Linganmakki Backwaters. This was the last destination of this photo-workshop and thus came along another opportunity and place to use a wide angle lens. The walk alongside the back waters is awesome. We spotted some birds on the way viz. Oriental white ibis, Red-wattled lapwing and Egrets. We got some stunning snaps of setting Sun. Huge water body of the backwaters reflects the heavenly shades of the sky at the time of sunset, but after sunset makes it even more wonderful place to be and to photograph. I would really thank Amogh for taking us to right places at right time so that we could utilize maximum of our limited time. I tried to work out tips of wide angle photography given by Amogh on the field. As I used to review my photos on the spot I could utilize the time and tips given by Amogh in a better way. Everybody amongst us was very sincere and I guess all of them utilized the small span of these two days to its fullest. Then finally, after the sunset and after group photos we started our journey back to Bangalore taking along with us magical memories, new friends and many important tips on a Landscape Photography. [Sharavati Valley Workshop (13th and 14th Nov.’11)] More photos by Chinmay Shinge from the Sharavati Workshop can be seen at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abhikhya/sets/72157628097735145/detail/
Last year, Pixetra Club had discussed with Rathika Ramasamy re conducting Wildlife Photography Workshops in all three cities where Pixetra has a footprint in namely Kochi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. However due to prior commitments, Rathika could only give dates for one weekend workshop in Hyderabad that was well attended by Club members in that area. This year we renewed our request and were able to find dates. On 6th August 2011, Bangalore Pixetra Club members and friends attended a serious classroom session with Rathika teaching them rudiments of general photography and intricacies of wildlife photography. The next day we were all supposed to go to Jaipurdoddi for hands-on practice but a family of tusker elephants were spotted in the neighborhood so the area was cordoned off and no visitors allowed. So we decided to go to Ragihalli instead. From macro to landscape, from white-balance to exposure metering, from manual focus to dynamic auto focus, Rathika exhausted the participants with knowledge and learning.
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This year's first expedition to Agumbe under the guidance of Amoghavarsha was booked out quickley. So a second was announced for July 30 and 31, 2011. The rains did not let up, nor did the participants' enthusiasm. As one participant noted on his Facebook wall, "More than 100 hours of shooting, endemic animals, torrential rains, a few leech bites and a stinging nettle rash summarizes my last few hours." This time around the participants got to see and photograph the rescue of a King Cobra. As in most Agumbe Rainforest Research Station expeditions, the more pictorial landscape photos came from the famous Kundadri viewpoint. From here the group trekked to a couple of waterfalls and streams deep inside the rainforest. More experiences, more photos.
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On 23rd and 24th July, 2011, Pixetra Club and Amoghavarsha came together and announced to Club members and friends a photo expedition to Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. The expedition was booked to capacity within a few days of the announcement. The event itself turned out to be an awesome learning and photo opportunity to all participants. From the get go participants shot copious photos of amazing macro subjects: a few endemic snakes, splendid varieties of frogs, spiders, damselflies and fungi, to name a few. Daring the Agumbe rains which pelted down without a halt, participants kept their camera triggers going non-stop, as it were, each summing up hundreds of photographs a day.
Photos courtesy Anuroop Krishnan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13191978@N00/sets/72157627205769103/) and Sharath (http://isharath.com/journal/2011/08/the-rainforest-of-agumbe/)
On 12th July, 2011, Pixetra Club was honored to be be invited by members of Foto Circle Society (FCS), a small group of passionate hobby photographers in the city of Thane outside Mumbai, to take part in a photo exhibiton. The unique exhibition was of photos shot by FCS members led by Shirish Sane on a photo expedition to Pandharpur to record the mammoth annual convergence of devotees (some 20 lakh pilgrims) at the Vitobha temple there.
After viewing the photos, we got to sit down for tea and vada pau and discuss photography in a very informal and share inspirations and experiences. One of FCS's initiatives is volunteering to teach photography to children at the Kamalini Deaf and Dunb School. We wish this radical group full strength in their photography and endevors.
When the forests go dry in summers, Kabini backwaters provide lush green grass and plenty of water. Around 500 Elephants congregate in summers every year. Herds as big 60 Elephants can be seen sometimes. Kabini is also known for its Leopards and Tigers and summer is the best time to catch them. Every year in Summer, the backwaters of Kabini in Karnataka, witnesses the biggest congregation of Asiatic Elephants in the world. This event was the center piece of a Wildlife Photography Workshop organised by Pixetra Club and photographer and filmmaker, Amoghavarsha in May 13,14,15, 2011.
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Open Show organizes innovative events worldwide where the public can see compelling work and interact directly with photographers, filmmakers and multimedia producers in high-profile spaces. From students to award-winning professionals, Open Show serves as both a project incubator through local social screenings and distribution platform through our international network of media and gallery partners. More about Open Show is at www.openshow.org Open Show is relatively new to India; it's been initiated and partly curated by Madhu Reddy, a photojournalist and writer who introduced Open Show first in her home town in Hyderabad and shortly after in Bangalore and New Delhi. Pixetra Club's PhotoTherapy project was featured on April 13th 2011 at the Hyderabad Open Show event where Madhu herself presented the photo slide show and spoke about her experience talking to the teenagers who attended the event which was conducted by Pixetra Club earlier this year.
In these times of digital photography and jpegs there is a small group of dedicated photographers who have committed their time and resources to keep alive traditional photography (the process with film, chemicals, bromides and so on). Meet , Chaitanya Guttikar, Edson Dias and P. Madhavan, together the people behind Goa Cap, a photographic organisation dedicated to making aware and keeping alive the original historic process and material technologies with which photographs were made in pre-digital photography times. They do this through exhibitions, education programs, publications, programs for artists, as well as independent events and engagements. More details at www.goa-cap.com
Goa Cap had their first ever ALTlab photography residency in February 2011 and Pixetra Club was invited to visit and experience alternate photography alongside the four bright artists-in-residence. Inspired by this, Pixetra Club used its network and found a benefactor who made a generous donation of enlargers, trays, timers, tanks and chemicals to help their cause.
On 30th January 2011, Pixetra Club conducted a twin photography event at the Vellore Institute of technology in Vellore, near Chennai. The workshops were part of the 4-day Rivera '11 inter-collegiate festival that the college had organised on a gigantic scale.
The morning session "Basics of Photography Workshop" was attended by over a hundred Rivera invitees from various college. The interactive classroom presentation with powerpoint slides and discussions was a huge learning experience for the many tech students. Pixetra gave away many door prizes to the participants who came up with interesting questions during the Q&A part of this workshop.
The afternoon workshop was on "Street Photography." The many tips and techniques learnt during the morning class were put to use to capture digital photographs of the Rivera event. This was followed by a detailed review session. Students got to enter their best photographs in a contest to win Pixetra Gift Coupons as prizes.
The convergence of video and still photography is becoming conspicuous with the advent of DSLRs which are capable of high quality HD Movie capture. Pixetra Club members from Hyderabad had an opportunity to test the new Nikon D7000 and its D Movie feature when Club member Ramya Ravi volunteered to shoot a documentary film for the RDF India School at Kalleda in Warangal Dist; Andhra Pradesh during the third week of January, 2011.
Filmed entirely with the D7000, this 15 minute documentary contains footage of classrooms, sports field, science lab, theatre stage, village, interviews with live sound, music, and many many more facets of the school. With the internet and mobile phone handsets incorporating stills and movie clips seamlessly, delivery of both media using one capture device makes sense - its only a matter of time before all good photographers are good cinematographers too. The documentary may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYSK5Ti-Wuc
Pixetra Club has been putting together private classes for photographers (both professional and amateur) who have a task at hand and need guidance. In the third week of Jan 2011, a fashion designer from Kochi wanted tips on taking fashion photos of models and so an impromptu class was born. Two models, a great stylist (Rupal of Sanskruti on Providence Road near PNVM Hospital, Ernakulam), lights, tripod, cameras and voilà! About half a dozen Pixetra Club members joined in as participants. Besides great photos and fun, a lot of pro level tips about artificial lighting, exposure metering and posing were exchanged.
Pixetra Club and Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (VIMHANS) came together for a unique event to conduct PhotoTherapy: an unusual application of photography to help rehabilitate destitute teenagers at Ashalayam, a Don Bosco rehab home for run-away kids in Dwaraka, Delhi.
Suchithra Varadarajan, a psychotherapy intern in Ashalayam, teamed up Pixetra Club's photo-educator, Sethuraman, to employ PhotoTherapy as a two-pronged, ten day event in Dec/ Jan. First, to teach the kids basic photography. kids were given point and shoot cameras by Avit Digital (P) Ltd; New Delhi’s Sony Partners. All participants got to handle a digital camera for the first time in their lives and took to it with enthusiasm and their creativity was let loose. They were taught basic skills to handle the camera, familiarize them with some photography terms and technique, and look at photography as an art form, a medium to express their creativity and emotions. Side by side they were encouraged to think of visual art and media as a career option for them.
The second agenda was to use Photography to build a general therapeutic rapport, alliance and trust and to create an atmosphere where the boys would open up and talk about themselves. This, the therapist handled using assignments like a self-portrait assignment, creative expression assignment and a portrait assignment. Each assignment was designed with certain PhotoTherapy principles in mind. They were asked to explore how they saw themselves without the influences of others. What came out of the photographs were issues connected to self-esteem, confidence and lack of it.
Read more about it in the Businessline article - click here Pixetra Club is indeed proud to have initiated a program that was one of the few times Photography was clearly used as a tool for therapy in India. As ever, we at Pixetra do believe in ways to do more with photography.
Landscape photography is considered difficult even by the most experienced of photographers. Ansel Adams, often considered the foremost of this kind of photographers, once said, "Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment." His many writings and teachings on landscape photography are considered the last word by photographers for generations. He sums it all up: "A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
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A new-comer to landscape photography needs to learn three things: technique, geography and a love for nature. With this approach in mind, Amoghavarsha put together a Two Day Workshop on Landscape Photography on December 18th and19th, 2010.
Pixetra Club members and friends headed for the Western Ghats, to Sharavati Valley in particuler. Besides lessons on composition, lighting, depth and beauty, under their able mentor participants were able to learn to love the natural environment, as well as the desire to see it preserved - not just as photographs.
In the beginning of October 2010, a handful of Pixetra Club members got together with friends from JuglEscapes of Bangalore for a trip to Chik Yelchetti Nature Camp, a small property outside the Bandipur National Park grounds. JunglEscapes is a wonderful non-profit organisation dedicated to preventing small farmers from selling their land to resort developers. They fund and foster farmers, encourage them retain their property, and convert a small area of it to be rented out as homestay to nature lovers who experience the wilderness and rustic village life without burdening the ecology. Chik Yelchetty is one such "rescued" property. The owner, Shivanna, almost sold his land to a developer but luckily JungEscapes intervened and educated him. While Shivanna continues to farm and use most of the property with his family, a part of it is now available for experiencing rustic Karnataka living complete with home cooked food.
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The best part is the abundance of bird sightings in the area. With guidance from JunglEscapes' Girish Mayachari, a passionate birder and photographer himself, the group went on several treks and spotted and photographed no less than 40 varieties of winged splendors. Photos from this outing can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethuprofoto/sets/72157625316508576
In the early 1970s, herpetologist, Romulus Whitaker spotted his first King Cobra in the rain forests of Agumbe which led to his establishing the world’s first King Cobra Sanctuary in this area. Today, Agumbe is home of the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS), the only permanent rainforest research station in India.
On Sept 26th and 27th, 2010, under the mentorship of Amoghavarsha, Pixetra Club members and friends got together for the second expedition to ARRS in this year. One participant recorded in his online journal, "Its been a lucky expedition. I’ve been fortunate in seeing and photographing young ones of a few key species found in India. The joy of seeing a new generation of these animals in times which are hard for their survival has been an overwhelmingly emotional experience. After a really long wait, I finally managed to be there at the right place at the right time to photograph the Baby King Cobras which had just hatched in a nest close to Agumbe."
In February 2010, a handful of Pixetra Club members from Kochi decided to hop on a taxi and head off to Thanjavur to try shoot some HDRI Photographs of the Big Temple. Early morning and late evening sessions helped glean stunning images of the Chola architecture, one of a few World Heritage Monuments in southern India. Talking about the experience, Pixetra Club member Roel Vlemmings said, "We were worried about permission for photography but luckily the Archaeological Society of India heard our requests and when they found we were from a camera club in Cochin, were kind enough to allow us enter the compound early morning - before the public. However they allowed only one tripod. HDRI can be shot only if several exposures of the same composition are taken from exactly the same camera-position; so we had to share the one tripod. It was a bit of a scramble but we all got lovely shots."
Pixetra Club and Bangalore's Amogavarsha took a dozen or so participants to Sharavathi Valley, Yana and the Jog Falls in the last weekend of September. The trip began as an adventure even before we left Bangalore; torrential rains poured down and clogged roads! It looked like several were going to miss the bus but however, all participants made it! The weather in sharavati valley was the best to say the least. Sunny when we were photographing the jog falls and yana, misty and cloudy when photographing the mist covered valley.
Participants got to enjoy three unplanned bonuses: an impromptu photo shoot session in the middle of western ghats when our vehicle broke down! A nocturnal trek into the rain forest at night with Dr. Gururaja and Austrian professor Dr. Walter to search for frogs and snakes! And last but not least, breakfast in front of the mighty Jog Falls in the British Bungalow!
The Pixetra Club Wildlife Photography Workshop in Hyderabad on Aug 2 led by ace wildlife photographer Rathika Ramaswamy was a big hit. Here's just a sample of the great feedback that we've been receiving:
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I came to the workshop just because it was "Rathika's workshop" :)
I would give full marks to the Exposure theory, on Day1, because I was not fully competent in getting perfect exposures every time. I always had a hit or miss approach! We were fed with so much knowledge that we were super excited about the field trip on Day 2.
On Day2 the field trip gave us a chance to put into practice all that we learned on Day1. The attention you gave to everyone that was there and helped them understand how to use the various settings on their cameras was commendable. The review session towards the later part of the day was the best part of this workshop as it helped me understand what my areas of improvement are. Your session on "Composition" helped me a lot in understanding the significance of "in-camera cropping." Overall the session was very useful for me personally and it would definitely help me in taking better pictures! Thank you very much for being kind enough to review all my amateur pictures on Flickr and giving me valuable suggestions on improvement.
Best Regards
David
davidaseer@gmail.com
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Dear Rathika Madam,
Thank you very much for your guidance and tips during the workshop. We learnt some points and they will be implimented for the betterment of good pictures.
Thank you once again .
Rajamannar
prajamannar@yahoo.com
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Rathika,
This is my 3rd workshop on photography organized by Pixetra. It was indeed a great opportunity to understand and learn new techniques in wildlife photography. Especially, setting correct exposure and setting minus/ plus compensation for dark/light subjects.
I was blown away by the amount of effort you put into the workshop. Appreciate Mr. Sethuraman's inputs for the arrangements. The venue was really calm and convenient.
The group was fantastic and it was indeed a couple of days well spent.
Cheers.
Umer Nizar
nizar@arabcal.com
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Hi Rathika,
The 2-day workshop on Wildlife Photography was an unparalleled learning experience. The congenial way you came forward sharing your experiences was both educative and enjoyable for aspiring wildlife photographers like us. Your objective way of analyzing our photographs and the feedback did give us a number of meticulous new insights. I look forward to the next opportunity to engage in a photography session with you.
Vidhya Narayanan
reachvidhya11@gmail.com
Pixetra has a new Club Coordinator; Sam Thomas, is a passionate teacher and events/ operations expert and his addition to our force portends a season of high-energy activities to come. The very first event organised by Sam was fully booked and turned out a winner on many counts: it was unique - (a Foto-Guru class in a boat - what a concept!) and generated much interest because the main topic was nature photography. The day included classroom sessions, stop for tea at a waterfront resort, endless photo-opportunities with excellent weather and the floating classroom boating into the scenic backwaters outside Ernakulam.
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Summer Kids’ camp organized by Rotary Club of Cochin saw Pixetra Club photography instructor Sam at their events in the last week of April. Tots from age 5 to 15 went thru four sessions with him learning fundamentals of digital photo shooting. Photography is a hobby that’s relaxing, rewarding and remunerative if learnt well – theses lucky kids are well on their way to become ace shooters if they decide to keep up their passion.
Pixetra Club was invited to plug into Rajagiri School’s Summer Sabbaticals 2010 – a large cornucopia of sports and art activities for kids at the school’s Kalamassery campus in Cochin. For three full weeks in April, participants were in attention at classroom and practice sessions under instructors Sethuraman and Sam of Pixetra Club. A selection of student work can be viwed at the special gallery here.
Our New Year 2010 started off with the first PIXETRA CLUB PHOTOWALK in Kochi on January 9. Members and guests assembled at the High Court junction and headed off to Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary, Kochi which is a nesting ground for various migratory birds and also supports varieties of mangroves. After the participants had enough of the birds, they headed to Fort Kochi by the local ferry. Walking along the Chinese fishing nets and the narrow by lanes, members had more than enough subjects to capture till late evening thus ending a beautiful day.
Hyderabad beckoned again and Pixetra Club showed up on Oct 31 / Nov 1 for a fully packed workshop on Candid/Street Photography. The venue this time was Mr Mir Ali's home where wide screen monitor, comfort and hospitality made easy work of the complicated lessons Pixetra's instructor Sethuraman had in store. Rather than practise simple point and shoot techniques, the street practical photography sessions at Chowmahalla Palace, Charminar, and in the bazaar in its neighborhood, emphasis was on a variety if skills like multi-flash, panorama stitching, exposure bracketing and more.
The high quality of photos turned out by the participants is proof that a lot was learnt and much fun was had :)
In the 3rd week of October, Pixetra Club teamed up with YI for CLYICK, a Lecture/Discussion on the Basics of Photography. CLYICK was conducted in six schools and colleges in the Ernakulam area and over 200 students from various age groups attended. Once again let the sample of feedback below speak for all the fun and education that CLYICK turned out to be:
The whole session was exciting. Sethu sir was really great, so simple and so easy. My experience was good. And as I felt, the whole bunch was satisfied. And we are hoping for more sessions in the future.
– Kumar Raghavendra, Student of CUSAT
The session was awesome and I had lots of fun. Thanks a lot for coming and we do look forward to seeing you again.
– Joseph Mathew, student of Global School
Kuzhuppilly, a tiny village, blessed with golden sandy beach, prawn farms and the backwaters tucked amidst palm trees away from the regular traffic and tourist spots in Kochi is an ideal getaway place. Pixetra club found their way to this tiny hamlet on 19th September for a photo session outdoors led by Sethu.
Shots of local village folks, serene backwaters, sea-shell gatherers and ofcourse a breathtaking sunset besides the delicious local snacks and tea served by our local host Mr. Kuruvilla really added to a fun and photo filled day.
Pixetra Club was part of the Bangalore Photography Club's "Frames of Mind 09" photo exhibition this August. As exclusive print partners, Pixetra e-Print made enlargements for all participants. The high quality of the prints on display was experienced and praised by contest entrants and viewers, one and all.
Also, Pixetra was given the honor of awarding the winner of the Poster Competition held at the event - Ashok Saravanan of Bangalore won Rs.750 shopping coupon for use on www.pixetra.com. His winning poster is seen below.
Pixetra Club’s first workshop on Interior photography in Kochi on August 1st at Anzera Villas, brought out the architect latent in each of the participants. The enthusiasm and energy showed convinced even the architect of the villas to take a serious look at our photographers! Participants shot tons of photos and got to play with available and artificial lights. Besides lighting, they learnt useful tricks like controlling brightness ratios of the interior scenes, placement of furniture for optimum perspective and simple post-processing tips to enhance the final images. They all went back excited and charged with the idea of trying out the newly learned tricks in their homes. This event has surely set a pattern for more of similar workshops to come.
Foto-Guru was born in the eastern shores of our country but last week the waves had reached the Bay of Bengal. Yes, Basics of Photography classes in Chennai! The popularity of our training reached Tamilnadu and a couple of requests were logged on to our website. So we announced a class and immediately got booked full.
Twelve participants pushed the envelope and worked a total of 22 hours on the weekend, sponging up the extensive lessons and presentations. Sunday morning's outing was to Mahabalipuram - in time for sunrise! Great monument, great company, great photographs. Hooray!
2009 started on a winning note for TVPL and Pixetra! Our camera retail chain was honored recipient of the Canon Trophy for Best Performing Local Retail Chain in Kerala for the previous year. The Award was given on 23rd April in Chennai by Canon Sr.Vice President Mr.Alok Bhardwaj and received by Pixetra Managing Director Mr Srikantan Suryanarayanan at a gala function in Chennai.
By a fortuitous coincidence, Hyderabad Photography Club (http://www.flickr.com/groups/hpc/) got together with Pixetra Club's Sethuraman and got to watch a very informative video by Nikon on Creative Lighting Techniques as taught by Bob Krist and Joe McNally. Since the group were fairly advanced users of DSLRs and artificial lighting, they benefited much from the wonderful presentation. Mir Mohammed Ali, a member of both Pixetra Club and HPC, played host by letting participants use his home as the venue for this impromptu, informal get-together. Many thanks to Mir and to HPC on behalf of Pixetra Club.
On the weekend of April 18 and 19, a bunch of pixetra club shutterbugs took to the streets of Kochi for a workshop on Street Photography. Starting at Hill Palace, Thripunithra, the group roamed thru the palace gardens followed by an indoor classroom session into the afternoon. At dusk, they were all seen at Marine Drive photographing the boats and bridges at sunset. Sunday early morning was saved for Kochi’s favourite destination – Fort Kochi and Vypeen; the participants had a penchant to learn more so another classroom session on Sunday was arranged for review and learning basics of digital image processing. All photos shot at the workshop show a keen eye - for details, moods and expressions. Amazing how these shutterbugs turned into astute shooters in just one weekend!
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PIXETRA CLUB together with The Astronomy Dept of Osmania University, Hyderabad, organized a workshop for school children on March 16 and 17, 2009 at the IETE Auditorium, near the University. About 100 enthusiastic participants showed up, including teachers and students from neighboring schools. The eagerness shown by the students who kept returning to see through the telescopes placed by Pixetra was evidence of the event's success and the need to have more such activities in the immediate future! Needless to say, Pixetra has been receiving a lot of inquiries for the world class telescopes and accessories.
Partnering with The Blue Yonder, (www.theblueyonder.com) Pixetra Club arranged for a members’ outing to the Tashi Lhumpo monastery in Bylakuppe in Coorg District of Karnataka on Feb 22, 23.
The "cham" dances by the monks on 23rd provided a unique and colorful photo-op. Club members got to photograph special-access areas like the dress rehearsal on 22nd, an early-morning invitation to the pre-dances ceremony in the temple, a preview of the monks getting into costume and masks for the actual dances, and a chef’s tour of the monastery kitchen where a feast was put together for the visitors. The cozy home-stay at Kushalnagar, complete with home-style food and hospitality, was well received by all.
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Travel photographer and co-author of Footprint Guidebooks of Rajasthan and Northeast, David Stott(www.davidstott.com), visited Pixetra Club on the evening of Feb 15th. Club members and their guests were treated to his eloquent presentation style and fantastic photographs. David showed several tricks in his bag: how to capture moods, looking out for colors, the angels in the small details, and several others. His repertoire covered subjects raging from photographing nature, architecture, people and more. The sheer variety of hardships he's had to go thru to get the right viewpoint - be it crawling, lying on the floor, standing on the edge of a wall, etc; - awed the participants!
If the overwhelming level of interest shown by Hyderabad Pixetra Club members for the weekend workshop on street photography held on 7th and 8th Feb is an indication of their passion for photography, then we had better get ready to see some great photos taken by this group in years to come.
Besides having a good time on Saturday roaming the streets of the city from early morning at Charminar and Mecca Masjid, thru to Seven Tombs, Shilpa Ramam and Hussain Sagar at twilight, the group also benefited from indoor classroom on Sunday at Lounge Habits in Jubilee Hills. The range of styles of photographs taken by the group and the high quality of their vision make us hope that they will shape into sharp shooters in the years to come. Go guys and girls of Hyderabad Pixetra Club!
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Pixetra Club joined hands again with Amoghavarsha (www.amoghavarsha.com) on a "Photography Expedition" to Agumbe on Jan 24 and 25. We'll let Amogha speak of the trip he led:
"We left from a bustling bus-stand in Bangalore on Friday night and arrived the following morning in one of the most pristine rainforests in India – in Agumbe. During the short 2km trek to the research station, spotting some rare birds including hornbills got everyone refreshed! The morning trip to the base camp also proved a lot exciting as we got to see many different birds, insects and a rat snake!
"After lunch, a short trek through the rain forests with its tall canopy brought us to the Jogigundi Falls. We went down the stream and got to photograph rare birds, insects and frogs. Some of us experimented with shooting waterfalls. After this we headed to the famous Kundadri Hills to capture the beautiful sunset on the beautiful landscape of the Western Ghats. And then, back to the camp for a Q&A session on photography. The night was spent in tents inside the forest surrounded by beautiful forest sounds.
"Next day morning we were on a bird trail where we spotted quite a few exotic species. Post breakfast, we trekked some more until lunch and then went to the sunset point again before starting our return to Bangalore in the evening.
"It was truly a memorable trip; each one of us had a splendid time. This trip was worth every effort."
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The Foto-Guru (Basics of Photography) class in Kochi on Jan 10th and 11th took our New Year off to a gr8 start. This time, we'll let the participant–feedback do the talking:
"It was a fun filled weekend. The class was wonderful! For me, mission accomplished."
- Vidyadutt Pillai from Coimbatore
"It was a fun experience the last 2 days…"
- Heena Mehta from Kochi
"All the tips and tricks and nuances that Sethu shared with us will always stand in good stead."
- Anupe Vincent from Kochi
"While I reached there, I was not at all sure how things would turn out to be. But you all removed my uncertainties with the warmth of friendship and light heartedness. I really enjoyed the two days; I wanna have more."
- Nandakumar U K from Calicut
"Great class & hospitality. Thanks for treating me as an equal even though I was less informed on the subject."
- Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim from Kochi
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2009 started on a really high note for all astronomy lovers in Pixetra Club - this year has been declared by UN as the International Year of Astronomy! Pixetra Club members, along with other astronomy enthusiasts, gathered at Rajendra Maidan, Kochi on Jan 1st to commemorate the 400th year of the use of a telescope by Galileo. Dr. T K Alex, Director of the ISRO satellite centre gave a talk about India's Chandrayaan lunar mission, which not only enthralled the audience but also created national pride and a sense of belonging.
Dr. Shaji, an esteemed lecturer in the Dept of Physics and his team from Maharaja's College in Kochi demonstrated how to view the wonders of the skies through the telescopes. Pixetra Club pitched in by putting up a couple of their telescopes too.
The sky was clear and all enjoyed gr8 views of the moon and several stars. Close to two dozen eager star-gazers were queuing up for each telescope - several enthusiasts, especially young students, took repeat turns because they were simply awe-struck by what they saw.
Pixetra Club hopes this event augurs many more such occasions for astronomy lovers and photo enthusiasts through the New Year!
The popular internet based amateur photography group, keralaclicks.net conducted their first exhibition featuring 75 hobby photographers' work at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery of Lalithakala Academy, Kochi between 26 and 29 Dec 2008. Pixetra Club was proud to be called in as a co-sponsor of Drisyam 2008.
Keralaclicks dedicated 'Drisyam 2008' to a worthy cause – Chronic Myeloid Leukemia awareness and, in particular, aid for patient, Arya, a 5 year old girl from Manjakkulam, Meppayoor, near Thalasserry.
Pixetra Club’s contribution was also in the form of FREE Foto-Guru Intro Classes conducted by PIXETRA Club’s ace instructor Sethuraman (www.sethu.net). On Saturday, he took the participants thru “Take Better Pictures – A quick run through important techniques for improving your digital photographs” lecture and on Sunday gave an introduction to Lighting - A theory & hands-on session about using artificial lights to take portrait photographs.
A fitting finale for the year’s activities and with an altruistic benefit too!
Pixetra Club was invited to be part of The Volvo Ocean Race Cochin Stopover between 30th Nov and 13th Dec, an opportunity that Club members jumped at and took advantage as soon as we announced it. As exclusive photography resource partners members enjoyed two whole weeks of unlimited access to media privileges including media boat and RIB rides to vantage points during welcoming of the boats and at send off. Besides this, they had ringside access to photograph prize giving ceremonies and cultural events too. Day on day snippets from the event were chronicled at our blog page (see www.pixetra.com/blog).
On 14th Dec, the day after the flag off, was truly the crown jewel of VOR events for Pixetra, at the Taj Malabar:
Rick Tomlinson, chief photographer of the Volvo Event Team treated us to a slide show of his best images: from photos when he started, captured from the decks of various yachts in the Whitbread Round the World Race to all the wonderful assignments from magazines and other prestigious clients the world over, spanning a wonderful career. We were treated to insights and tips in a variety of situations - yacht photography and much more. A truly passionate pursuit of a wonderful calling!
David Mooken, an active member of The Malabar Sailing Club in the past and a passionate recreational sailor from the local scene, took time to reminiscence about his good ol days of yachting off the backwaters of Cochin. Cochin has always been a very active yachting and boating landscape - little wonder that history seems to be coming around and this port was chosen as India’s stopover for the VOR.
The third treat of the morning for Pixetra Club members, was a taste of the creativity and inspiration behind stunning images from Balan Madhavan’s perspective. This Trivandrum based, award-winning photographer shared a handful of his images done for an impressive clientele from the travel/ tourism and related industries. The short and sweet treat was inspirational and highly appreciated by one and all.
Participants who signed up for the first ever (Nov 29th & 30th) "Foto-Guru: Basics of Lighting" class in Kochi were in for a surprise bonus! Pixetra Club had signed up with Cochin Port Trust to be the Official Photography Resources Partner for the Volvo Ocean Race/ Cochin Stopover and Foto-Guru participants were given a pass to be guest media photographers for one day!
The events at the port trust upset the class schedule by a bit but this did not daunt the participants. The class did get back on track for the practical shootout session on Sunday 21st Dec and between a professional model, food, jewelry etc. the class picked up a whole lot of new tricks involving artificial lights and their use.
Pixetra Club Foto-Guru Basics and Advanced Classes are creating larger demands off our club members! Purely on popular demand we had to put together an "intro to lighting" class on November 1st and 2nd in Hyderabad. Harisingh and Sons, an Amritsar based company that makes high quality studio-type strobe and fluorescent lighting gear loaned us some cool equipment and our Hyderabad office arranged for a professional model. The class re-capped the basics of photography and covered fundamental theory. On day one itself participants were ready to try out so the staff and friends at the venue (Lounge Habitats) modelled away for us and the resulting photos were astounding! From mixing lights to using flash and fluorescent and more, this was one fun foto-guru experience!!
Pixetra Club members in Kochi had the privilege of attending the first ever Foto Guru Photoshop Basics class in October. A range of topics were covered including selection and modification tools and the more important aspects of image enhancement and manipulation. To allow for participants to try their hands on the many tips and techniques, the class was spread over two Saturdays (Oct 4th & 11th) and each participant had a computer terminal of his/ her own and could follow the exercises along with the instructor.
As a special promotion, the local agents for Adobe Photoshop, Intercad systems Pvt ltd, Kochi, have offered latest versions of the software at discounted prices for participants. Club members are well on their way to become master Photoshoppers!
Due to overwhelming response received from the first workshop on Basics of Outdoor Nature Photography, Amoghavarsha (www.amoghavarsha.com) and Pixetra Club joined forces once more for a repeat of this workshop on Sept 6 & 7. Once again at the favored Camp Gee Dee Bannerghatta, Bangalore location, photo enthusiasts enjoyed the abundant opportunities for macro and bird photography, the trekking and natural life photo-ops in the preserve and the all good-fun times (with learning from a master thrown in)!
Pixetra Club was invited by Bangalore Photography Club to be a part of Frames of Mind, the annual BPC members' contest and exhibition. On Saturday, 30th August 2008, the exhibition hall at Bangalore's Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan was full to capacity with eager members and other visitors who thronged to listen to Pixetra Club Foto-Guru, G. Sethuraman lecture on topics covering "Essential Photography Tips & Techniques."
Sethu's presentation covered basics thru to advanced notes and even touched upon tips to identify one's personal style and passion. The mere fact that more than half the attendees had to stand thru the entire presentation was testimony to the fact that everybody garnered something useful out of the lecture! Further, there were about a dozen who stayed after the end to ask more tough questions.
The exhibition itself was par excellence. The selected photos were all awesome and the prints too were top notch quality. All in all a truly great event!
On Aug 23 and 24, Sudhir Shivaram, Bangalore's ace wildlife photographer, flew in all the way to meet with Pixetra Club members and their friends in Hyderabad to conduct a comprehensive two day workshop on Nature Photography. The result? 18 satisfied participants who tuned in 100% into Sudhir and learnt so much by looking at his photos and listening to his approach and asking questions. Practical sessions were at KBR Park, Jubilee Hills where newly learnt techniques were put to use. All participants went home with their appetite for nature whetted and a burning desire to get deeper into nature photography and conservation. Participant Ismail Shariff's photos from the workshop and comments may be seen at http://flickr.com/photos/ismail_shariff/sets/72157607567513441/
Amoghavarsha (www.amoghavarsha.com) joined forces again with Pixetra Club for an outdoor photography workshop session - again a big success going by response received. Weekend of August 9, 10 saw a handful of Pixetra Club members sign up and participate in the workshop on basics of nature and outdoor photography. Camping in tents at Camp Gee Dee, Bannerghatta, Bangalore, with all the elements set up by Nature was an experience our members really cherished. Camp Gee Dee offers abundant opportunities for macro and bird photography and is right next to the Bannerghatta natural forest preserve with easy access to trekking and photographing wildlife in the preserve. The camp is also a perfect classroom where Amogha got the theory sessions quickly out of the way and spent most of the time trekking the trails; as always a half of Day 2 was spent on reviews and post processing the images.
Pixetra Club members in Kochi met on July 26 and 27 this year to learn more on Advanced Photography, being organized for the first time. At the break of dawn the following day, this enthusiastic group drove all the way to a fascinating resort, Rainforest, facing the Athirampally Waterfalls in Thrissur. The drive of about 2 hours took them thru winding roads, lush green forests where they stopped not only to take shots of wild berries, mushrooms and vanishing points but also to sip piping hot tea at the thattukadas(street hawkers). Before they reached the resort, a walk to the waterfall and surrounding areas really gave the group a glimpse of the flora/fauna specific to the area followed by a fantastic Kerala breakfast at the local Appam center.
Our host at Rainforest was kind enough to give permission for the group to go around the property taking shots of the waterfalls from various angles and also some indoor shots of the rooms. The class learnt indoor-photography skills including mixing lighting and selecting optimum perspectives. Plus, they got to try out portraiture, macro close-ups of insects and table-setting shots - just to name a few opportunities to try out various skills.
A sumptuous lunch buffet awaited the group at the resort and needless to say, all had a splendid time - none dampened in spirit by the non-stop rains. As in a few occasions before, the group came back to our showroom in Kochi late afternoon and didn't want to go home; instead they sat for a review of their photo shots with Pixetra's instructor Sethu.
Trekking up to the Jenukal peak, Saklespur on June 21 and 22 was something to look forward to. www.getoffurass.com made sure there would be ample opportunities for photography and not just trekking. The walks were through coffee estates, through forest reserve areas and through grasslands each affording fantastic vistas. There were photo ops in all directions. The adventurous group is still raving about the scenery and the unique photos they captured. The less outdoorsy types who decided to stay back in the bungalow had a relaxing weekend - they did not complain either ;)
During the last weekend of May, Pixetra Club joined with www.getoffurass.com, an outdoor adventure store in Bangalore, to conduct a photo workshop with travel photographer Alok Johri. Under Alok's able guidance participants were put on a photography assignment at the the backwaters of Gorur, near the Hassan district of Karnataka. They learnt how to compose efficient shots, how to build better stories and more. Another interesting aspect of the workshop was the fresh and simple food prepared by the area's own cooks. At the end of the trip, participants compiled their images and put together a complete photo-essay - each participant headed home with their own unique photo-essay.
Pixetra Club's fourth Fotoguru in Bangalore on May 24, 25 was a fun event. The frequency of the class conducted in Bangalore just goest to show how many of the members really look forward to attending one of these classes. On the second day, the participants met at City Market, all geared with their cameras ready to implement whatever they learned on the first day. Newly learnt tricks using with slow shutter speed and a tripod brought surprisingly interesting great results!
Pixetra Club in Hyderabad was barely 30 days old and already we received requests to conduct the Basics of Photography classes and guess what, the first weekend in May saw the first club event in the Deccan, our first Foto-Guru in Hyderabad! The classes were conducted at Lounge Habits in Secunderabad's Sindhi Colony area - very trendy and really cool facility that fit our needs like custom made! The class unanimously opted to go to Golconda Fort for a practical outdoor shoot session and for good measure we covered the Qutub Shahi Tombs area and the tank bund on the Osman Sagar Lake.
Foto-Guru is becoming ever so popular in all cities. We usually meet for classes in our showroom but with growing number of attendees, the backrooms in our stores are becoming crowded! In the last week of April we had to rent a hall in Abad Hotel in Kochi to accommodate the class strength!
We tried to break away from the customary outing destination to Mattancherry and this time went to Vypeen - after a grilling early morning outdoor photography session however, the class jumped into a ferry and crossed over to Fort Kochi to cover our traditional grounds at Fort Kochi, nevertheless.
On April 19th, PIXETRA'S recently opened store in Hyderabad had a surprise VVIP visitor!
Mr. Kensaku Konishi, President & CEO of CANON INDIA accompanied by Mr. Alok Bharadwaj, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, and other management level staff were in Hyderabad and decided to check us out! Pixetra's Store Manager Wilson P.V. spent a long time showing off the many unique features of the newly opened showroom to the VIPs. Mr. Konishi's was very impressed and was very kind to pass on several tips to our customer service staff.
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Pixetra's 6th store inaugurated in Hyderabad on 7th April 2008!
Tradelinks Ventures Pvt. Ltd. Group Chairman, Mr. K.N. Suryanarayanan, cut the ribbon and afterwards, he and our Managing Director, Srikanth, lit lamps to mark the inauguration of the newest pixetra store in Hyderabad. Located in The Ashoka Metropolitan Mall in Banjara Hills, an upscale area of Hyderabad, the showroom marks the group's entry into Hyderabad. Besides the full range of cameras, camcorders, binoculars, telescopes and accessories, the store is also preparing to install a cutting edge digital printing facility with an HP Microlab, customer-friendly ordering kiosks and high-quality large format printers. More good news and full details in a few days!
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Pixetra Club: Workshop in the Outdoors
Kochi Pixetra Club members went off on the 1st weekend in April to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary and ended up having loads of fun. Despite hot weather and harsh overhead light conditions, the gang managed an interesting collection of images. Highpoints on the trip were the trek into the bird sanctuary with a guide(on record as sighted: cormorant/ snake bird/ egret/ waterfowl, cuckoo, water duck), boating on the backwaters with home-style lunch, and stopping at an island to take in the sandy beaches - it's a wonder that participants had energy leftover to return to the Pixetra Kadavanthara store to sit thru a grilling review session with Pixetra's own photography teacher, Sethuraman! Here are LINKS TO some of the photos from the outing online:
Sethu's: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12651768@N04/sets/72157604448585864/ Vipin's: http://picasaweb.google.com/vipuvipin/KumarakamPixetraTrip (photos here courtesy of Pixetra Club member, Mr Gopakumar)
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