pixetra - pixetra club - the latest events

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.

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!

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.

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!

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."

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

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.

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!

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: