Sampa Guha Majumdar Jamnagar, India
First Light NIKON D810 17mm F/11 1/125 ISO400
The Forgotten Land
Budha Pushkar
While most of the tourists and visitors flock to the mainland of Pushkar, the deserted ghats of Budha Pushkar, that is situated in the Pushkar gap of the Aravallis, remain in want of visitors and pilgrims. Although recently renovated, the ghats of Budha Pushkar and the dried up lake hardly attract any visitors. The red marble archways and the steps that lead to the lake might not hold any appeal for the travelers, but for us, we found the metaphorical gold here. The forgotten ghats of the Budha Pushkar came alive as Chiiz, in collaboration with Zeiss, held a photography workshop right there. The reds and yellows of the stairway that leads to the lake, the blues of the sky that reflected perfectly in the water and the gorgeous arches that lined the ghats, together made for a perfect location. Under the guidance of skilled mentors and with such a beautiful backdrop, the shutters wouldn’t stop until the sun had set, leaving the photographers with some mesmerizing shots. This photography workshop was not only a success but also attempted to revive the glory of a forgotten land.
14 FEATURES
Samiksha Singh Indore, India
Indian Beauty Canon 80D 85mm F/1.8 1/320 ISO200
Shlok Somani Mumbai, India
Vipul Trivedi Indore, India
Sarthak Jain Kota, India
Walking Towards Dusk Canon 700D 55mm F/8 1/400 ISO100
Turn Around Canon 6D Mark II 200mm F/3.5 1/400 ISO400
The Eye Canon EOS 1500D 33mm F/5.6 1/50 ISO 250
David Voraganti Hyderabad, India
Rupa Banerjee Kolkata, India
Traditional Girl Nikon D7200 300mm F/5.6 1/250 ISO250
Wonder Nikon D5200 85mm F/14 1/200 ISO 100
Vipul Trivedi Indore, India
Jishan Parmar Indore, India
Kaushal Sakaria Delhi, India
Lowered Lids Canon 6D Mark II 200mm F/3.5 1/500 ISO320
Decked Up Canon 6D Mark II 105mm F/4 1/100 ISO200
Vriti Bhatia Mumbai, India
Pratik Chandiramani Mumbai, India
I Will be There Soon Nikon D850 85mm F/13 1/100 ISO100
Beauty of Pushkar Canon R 105mm F/10 1/320 ISO400
Reaching Out Canon 80D 10mm F/4.5 1/250 ISO100
Bengal tiger, Kanha National Park Nikon D850 50mm F/5.6 1/500 ISO800
of depth rather than just scratching the surface. For my work in North Korea, which I recently showed at the Indian Photography Festival in Hyderabad and then my work in North Korea, Iran and Iraq at the Pause International Photo Exhibition during the Watertown Fest in Kochi are good examples. I’m attempting to go beyond the headlines and explore why these countries are at odds with so many of the other countries that share the planet. I focus on daily live and hopefully am doing so without passing judgment. I’m researching the question, “How did we get into this situation?” The answers are seldom as simple as good and evil; simplistic labels often result in human conflict. What advice would you give to the aspiring photographers who want to follow in your footsteps? Never think that you can just put together a great portfolio and wait for the phone to ring with an assignment. Go out and find interesting stories and pursue them to as deep a level as you can and them pitch them around to publications and galleries as well as entering contests. Also, know your photography tools as well as you would expect a surgeon to know his or hers. If you want to be a professional, then be professional.
Prateek Kashyap Polar Bear, Kaktovik Nikon D810 300mm F/4.5 1/1000 ISO100
prateek@chiiz.com An adventure seeker by heart, his passion for photography was ignited in the Great Himalayas. Clicking clear frames and solving the mysteriesof life, he just wants to spend his time as a confused photographer.
Snow monkey, Jigokudani Nikon 810 300mm F/4 1/1600 ISO200
Leopard, MalaMala Game Reserve Nikon D800E 300mm F/4 1/500 ISO200
Japanese crane, Hokkaido’s Kushiro Shitsugen National Park Nikon D800E 300mm F/4.5 1/3200 ISO100
Anil Bhati Bhopal, India
Balloons in a Blue Hour Nikon D610 28mm F/7.1 1/25 ISO800
Mohit Parmar Indore, India
Little Happiness Canon EOS 6D Mark II 105mm F/22 1/250 ISO250
Anil Bhati Bhopal, India
Snake-Charmer’s Show Nikon D610 31mm F/10 1/500 ISO720
Kaustubh Kale Mumbai, India
Anil Bhati Bhopal, India
Control for Milking Nikon D610 86mm F/10 1/800 ISO360
Tanvi Sethi Delhi, India
Pranav Kukreti Uttrakhand, India
Pratik Chandiramani Mumbai, India
Camel with a Nose Pin Canon 5D Mark III 60mm F/4 1/160 ISO320
Camel Love Nikon D5500 75mm F/6.3 1/100 ISO100
Change Canon 7D Mark II 55 mm F/4 1/180 ISO400
A Galloping Horse Canon R 77mm F/20 1/30 ISO400
Pratik Chandiramani Mumbai, India
Popeye Canon R 91mm F/4 1/1000 ISO125
CHIIZ GALLERY
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Javed Khan Chhattisgarh, India
74 CHIIZ GALLERY
Rampant Nikon D750 62mm F/4 1/1600 IS0100
Saurabh Sirohiyala Kolkata, India
Motherly Love Nikon D7200 50mm F/2.8 1/500 ISO160
Ankita Dahake Mumbai, India
That’s how they roll in Pushkar Canon 60D 100mm F/5 1/500 ISO100
Irfanali Borgav Ichalkaranji, India
Amod Kumar Thane, India
Sunset Rhymes Sony 7R Mark II 16mm F/22 1/4 ISO200
Music Nikon D7200 22mm F/8 1/250 ISO320
Atharva Sudhanshu Deo Kolhapur, India
Kumar Mangwani Pune, India
Nikhil Mace Ghaziabad, India
Paused Nikon D5300 23mm F/3.8 1/1000 ISO100
Pushkar Morning Canon 60D 155mm F/5 1/1600 ISO200
Camel Family Canon 5D Mark III 80mm F/4 1/125 ISO1000
Prasun Mitra is driven by the passion of traveling in the Himalayas, exploring indigenous tribes, endangered cultures, human stories and a secret interest in capturing the nomadic life. His interest in photography initially started with documenting his travels and later, he fell in love with the form of art as he started looking more seriously at the works of some of the amazing photographers he knows. Photography is an immersive experience and a wonderful opportunity for him to see the world from a different perspective through the lens which he would have otherwise missed. It also allows him to be closer to the nuanced stories which he wants to tell to the world by freezing those moments. A corporate professional living in Gurgaon, spending time on the desk between 9-5, he describes himself as photographing between work and sleep.
Open Air Barber Shop Canon 550D 11mm F/8 1/60 ISO100
Kangri, Portable Heater Canon 550D 11mm F/3.5 1/40 ISO200
Winter Commuting Canon 550D 11mm F/8 1/250 ISO100
82 TRIGGERS
Window of Hope! Canon 550D 11mm F/8 1/60 ISO100
Winter Evening from Srinagar Nikon D750 24mm F/2.8 1/50 ISO3200
subsequent moment will resolve itself into a miraculous moment. I shoot only one photo at a time, often asking the dancer to repeat the same movement many times. That way the dancer can also experiment with variations, as well as allowing me to capture different split seconds each time. The camera’s ability to “stop” the flow allows the viewer to extract otherwise imperceptible moments created by the dancer. The laws of logic are replaced by the paradox of inversion - the moving elements solidify, and what appears immobile is in flux. A split second becomes an eternity, and an ephemeral moment is solid as sculpture. We see glimpses of Michelangelo, Bernini and Renaissance-like artistic expression in your work. How does the work of contemporary artists inspire you, if at all? The two photographers that influenced me the most are Duane Michals and Max Waldman. Duane was an iconoclast, always wanting to push the envelope. I was inspired by his determination not just to take photographs, but to create images that would not have existed had he not set them up. I followed his lead. And yes there is definitely the influence of the Michelangelo and the Bernini, among others. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but the semester I spent in Florence my junior year of college unconsciously influenced my photography, either by alluding to biblical scenes or Greek mythology. All these themes can be found in my two early monographs, “Breaking Bounds” and “Airborne”, as well as in my latest collection “Lois Greenfield: Moving Still” published by Thames & Hudson LTD, UK. You are known for pioneering the use of live photography. Please share your experience with this concept. From 2003 to 2007, I collaborated on the creation and performances of the Australian Dance Theatre’s “HELD”, a dance based on my photographs. I created photographic moments for the dancers to perform on the stage as part of the choreography. The premise was the live capture and instantaneous transmission of the images I shot on the stage. As the dancers performed, I shot hundreds of images, and each photo went up, unedited, instantly on two large screens on the stage. The audience could see the live event and my photos simultaneously. The dance debuted at the Sydney Opera House, and toured in Europe, the USA, and Japan. I was intrigued by the fact that I would pluck these photos out of a continuum, they would appear on the screen for 5 seconds, and disappear. It was quite an experience - I
Jordan Isadore Hasselblad 500 CM 100mm F/8 1/250 ISO50
PeiJuChien-Pott Hasselblad 500 CM 100mm F/8 1/250 ISO50
felt like I was catching a fish, and then throwing it back in the water! What advice would you give to the aspiring photographers regarding the nuances of ‘MOVING STILL’? I never go into a photo shoot with a pre -conceived idea. But if photographers feel more secure with a game plan they should follow it. I would still suggest that the photographers try different lighting, lenses, and camera angles, and not just rely on what they are used to. If the photographer is too controlling, the result might look stiff, as opposed to spontaneous. It’s good to allow plenty of time for the shoot, so that the dancer can get used to being photographed. Invite them over to the computer so they can see the photos and make the corrections they need to make. If you treat them as a collaborator instead of just a model, you will get the benefit of their creativity, rather than stifling it.
Priyashi Negi Natalie Deryn Johnson Hasselblad 500 CM 100mm F/8 1/250 ISO50
priyashi@chiiz.com Trekking in the top of the hills through tiny little paths and between pines is nothing short of paradise for Priyashi. Books and poetry are her refuge. She is a foodie at heart and seems to be blessed with a sweet tooth (sweet-teeth rather) and a love for all things cheese (pun-intended).
Tatiana Martinez Hasselblad 500 CM 100mm F/8 1/250 ISO50
Ha-Chi Yu Hasselblad 500 CM 100mm F/8 1/250 ISO50