Rodrick Writes

Monday, 9 January 2012

Perspective in Photography (Importance of Angles in Photography)

PWe are so used to photographs that have been taken with the normal and straight angles. You would have the predictable landscape portrait mode and and the usual straight lines. As they say, normal can some times be boring. Photographing even the most common objects can become an exciting challenge when you try to take snaps from unique and uncommon angles. Taking photographs from bottom up might lend a rather distinct quality to the snap, making it even more so, special! Take for example these photographs of a high power electricity cable pylon! Focussing the camera at mid-point, or the top could give the photograph a rather surreal quality! Look at these photographs and notice how surreal the Electricity Pylon looks:

The angles in this photograph are rather unique and they have been exaggerated by the orientation of the photographer!

A slight twist in perspective lends a distinctive “feel” to the photograph, as exemplified in the photograph pasted below. The same pylon photographed above now looks different, because by changing the perspective and angle, you have essentially highlighted another aspect of the object, namely its angularity!

The lines in the above two photographs converge towards a point at the top vertically! the lines lead the eye to the top, exaggerating the height of the pylon:

It is not just pylons and high rise buildings that offer interesting subjects to photograph, but in fact, tall trees also can offer ideal objects to photograph. The best position would be at the base of the tall object. Once you are positioned at the base, you should then aim for the best perspective, a point at the apex of the converging lines:

In this case it might be said that the effect is absent! This however is because the tree is top heavy!
However, it is not just vertical angles that lend a rather surreal effect, a horizontal orientation can also lead the eye to a particular point point in the picture:

In the above photograph, which has a horizontal orientation, the eye is lead towards a point towards the centre, lending a sense of, “depth”!

Photographing Clouds can also lend a sense of height and space as in the photographs pasted below:

To conclude, I believe photography is all about leading the eye of the viewer towards a particular point, lending the viewer your perspective, lending him your eyes, letting him see things from your perspective!

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Sunday, 8 January 2012

Dakh-Pathar

The seventh of January was part of a busy weekend for me as My Brother - In – Law from Ghaziabad, my Brother from Gurgaon, my Parents and family had arrived. After a short discussion we all decided to go on a brief outing. On enquiring from from some people in Yamuna Nagar, we were told that Dakh-Pathar in District Dehradun would be an ideal place for an outing (Dakh-Pathar is about 75 Kilometres from Yamuna Nagar). Moreover, we were told that we would be passing through the Kaleshar Reserve Forest, and we would be able to see some migratory birds in the Wetlands of Assan.

While passing through the Kaleshar forest, we came across a lot of monkeys sitting on both sides of the road. This particular monkey seemed to be rather interested in the attention he was getting from me!

The trees, gentle curves , the steady climb, and the road lined with trees on both sides, meeting in the middle like a canopy were a welcome sight!

We proceeded towards the town of Paonta, where the well known Gurudwara Paonta-Saheb is situated.We were surprised to see a store under a well known retail chain found in the urban cities in the town of Paonta Saheb, and guess what? Everyone decided to barge into the store to buy, of all things, Deodorants and and Tee-Shirts!

While everyone was busy shopping for stuff in the departmental store, I was busy snapping photographs of some kites sailing on the thermals!

After leaving the town of Paonta Saheb, we proceeded to a spot called Duck View, a favourite resting spot for people travelling to Dehradun. If you are lucky, you might be able to see Siberian Cranes and Ducks while you sip on your tea and bite into the patties at the restaurant. The place is generally called as the Assan Wetlands. It is home to a wide variety of birds both rare, and extinct and also a resting place for the so called migratory birds.

On the way to Dakh-Pathar we came across some wonderful mountain Scenery reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands!

After reaching the Dak-Pathar barrage, we were directed to a scenic picnic spot where we spent a couple of hours. Mussoorie, I was told is barely fifty-five kilometres from Dakh Pathar. The name Dakh-Pathar, was given to the place because of the rocks that used to drop down a waterfall. We bought our entry tickets to the Park and entered the park where we were greeted by statues, flower-beds, exotic flower, set against a back-drop of amazing, eye-catching Mountain ranges!

In the park we were greeted by some geese and this little bird which seemed to have such a wonderful and a rather modern hair style!

Besides the birds, there were some rather exotic looking plants including some rather unique cactuses:

On the whole it had been quite a wonderful outing for all of us, especially since it was at a short notice, and it was not very far from my home in Yamuna Nagar. The scenic Beauty of the mountains, flora and fauna was a visual treat for all of us! Everyone felt so happy, especially since it had been a welcome change from the mad rush and confusion and chaos of Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Gurgaon!

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Monday, 2 January 2012

Christ Church Jagadhri, Haryana Annual Sports Day

The Annual Sports Day of The Christ Church, Jagadhri took place on the First of January, 2012. There were a lot of games for everyone, tiny tots, and Grandpas included. My brother, Sanjay took a few photographs on the occasion which I have pasted below. The spirit of togetherness was exemplified by the fervour and zest with which members of the congregation of the Church turned up in spite of the overcast weather. The Sun decided to peep through the clouds finally!