FRAME - A Photography Magazine by PhotoCommune - issue 1

FRAME AUG, 2019 | 01

Interview

R

TARUN VISHWA

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PUS M Y OL OUGH T

6 G T

I THRIVE UNDER PRESSURE &

THAT IS WHO I AM. Photofeature / Cover NIHARIKA

ONE STOP SOLUTION TO ALL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY NEEDS.

O-9, Block O, Veer Savarkar Marg Lajpat Nagar 2, New Delhi 011 40451074, 8826268119/029 www.gppro.in And more.

FRAME CONTENT PHOTO FEATURE

Niharika Singh Dalal INTERVIEW

Tarun Vishwa REVIEW

Olympus Tough TG-6

FOREWARD

आते हैं ग़ैब से ये मज़ामीं ख़याल मे ं ‘ग़ािलब’ सरीर-ए-ख़ामा नवा-ए-सरोश है Two decades ago when it all started I was shuffling between the role of a photographer who was learning and a teacher would loved to share. My inspiration was always the sound of the heart and vision of my future where we could be more than just a ‘self’.

What started with five of us as core members is now a 100 member strong. ‘PhotoCommune’ owns its existence and success to our members who believe in following their hearts and a bigger supporting group who keep us inspired to explore, discover and share.

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new venture ‘FRAME’ a visual archive of our journey. We hope for your continuous love and support in the days to come.

Idris Ahmed

PHOTO FEATURE

I THRIVE UNDER PRESSURE &

THAT IS WHO I AM. Featuring NIHARIKA SINGH DALAL | By Monica Jha

Just like life sometimes there are no roads to walk, even when you are aware that sky isn’t your limit.

The earth could be an unsafe haven but silently awaits loving depths of the seas. We might believe that we are made of absolutes but there is absolutely more to life than what it might seem. More fulfilment in becoming who we want to be, irrespective of how surreal it might seem or how flimsy the start once is.

“I venture into anything that I get intrigued by, sometimes it works other times it doesn’t. I am extremely comfortable with talking about failure, even my own. When you fall off a 330-kilo bike on a deserted road, a hundred things can go wrong yet one has to be calm and patient. You have to rise even if it means pain and hurt, or when you ascend into the deep seas you have to be physically and mentally present. Any pressure can have a totally perfect endeavor wasted.

PHOTO FEATURE

“People pointing out that I am a female

We definitely had situations where he was a

rider is the only real problem I have faced.

‘strict’ father. As time went by we got closer

My mind doesn’t register my gender as a

and taught each other, just like friends. In

criterion when I try things I put my mind to.

fact, when I was studying law it was him who

The roads don’t know nor do the bikes, it is

pushed me to pursue what he had seen me

the zeal and strength of an individual that

grow doing. He gave me the confidence to

makes a journey happen.

choose to build on who I really was. I left law and chose design soon after.”

Where you come from or where to want to go are secondary. Thrill is a choice and

When we surrender into the unknown, we

adventure is what life means to me. Be it

uncover a side of us that we might have never

challenges that a tough road summons or

believed to exist. We learn how to celebrate

the darkness that unknown depths of the

ourselves and to respect each other.

sea brings, I thrive under pressure and that is who I am.”

“It is in our nature as human beings to maneuver and explore the world inside

Contrary to popular belief that describes

and around. Some abide by roles and some

men in real unattractive light, helpless

make their own, leaving behind a story

and incompetent as a nurturer, my father

which is unique and profound in its own

has played the role of both parents. Most

right. There is a power in the process of

importantly the pillar of our family and my

becoming a better and a braver person each

hero. He did a great job in taking care of my

time you want to give up.

brother, our two dogs and me even when he

I design for work and I am also a licensed-

was probably facing his biggest loss.

deep diver. I love the sarees my mom left behind and I am a biker. I am a daughter,

PHOTO FEATURE

a nurturer to my 8 and half year-old dog. I live so many lives but I am my own being. “Some days are good and some are overwhelming, especially when there is such immense pressure on women of today to be perfect and all-rounders.

A sound life has become a luxury, we have to look at the gray areas and be gentle on ourselves.

I am definitely on a quest to know who I really am and become all that I can be while I voyage though this beautiful thing called life.

Images by Idris Ahmed

INTERVIEW

In Conversation with Fashion Photographer Tarun Vishwa |

By Monica Jha

In a world where time is seen as an absolute reality and money as it’s synonym, the life of an artist is seen as paranormal. The life of an artist is not measured by the number of years or the times art is practiced but the timelessness of the art that is created.

It is the smaller moments of gratitude and bigger moments of sorrow that an artist experiences during the process of uncovering one’s heart where the reality actually lives.

What separates a good photo from a

Tarun Vishwa, a name that has

photograph that has the potential to

contributed not just inf inite beautiful

become a piece of art ?

photographs but a visual perspective to the inf inite possibilities that your passion

When most of us today have the tools to

can have. Also, known as someone who

make as many photos as we want without

chooses to stay away f rom the hustle

having to anticipate like in the analog days

bustle of the many mediums of social

what does it take for a photographer who

media that today’s Instagram generation

has shot hundreds of fashion magazines,

swears by.

thousands of globally celebrated faces to subliminally incorporate his aesthetic while

He stands by his belief that “Following

creating something that is relatable.

your heart” without missing out on the importance of a process” can also enable

Ignited by the glory of creating something

us to find our real selves. It guides us

noble with preset buttons on his brother’s

through processes, its inevitability and

camera to becoming one of India’s most

the way rules work. The latent part of it

celebrated photographer. With one of the

is that it teaches how to break the very

most credible folio of modern Indian Fashion

rules which make for the foundation of

Industry, we explore a little more about one

photography when they don’t serve your

teenage boy who took great pride in the first

vision in the right way.

photo he had ‘clicked’ 20 years ago.

INTERVIEW

How did the process start for you?

What is the life of a professional photographer like?

Photography is as much a technical process as it is a creative one for me, I have

There are two kinds of clients. One that cares

always been mesmerized by the beauty

mostly about the existing appeal of a brand

and potential of a single photograph. After

and the other that wants to see mark of my

more than 5 years of working in a colour lab

vision in the assignment. The later definitely

with no real plans to pursue photography, I

is what I still get excited about since it is

signed up with a short-term photography

always an opportunity for me to paint my

course that eventually changed my life with

collective inspiration and express myself as

more than I could have ever asked for.

an artist.

I gradually understood that an image in

Nevertheless, it always is an intense process

your head which is a vision in its own right

where it is just not me but a massive

is actually played as a game of shadows and

team that works endlessly in bringing the

light. One needs to know the many ways

vision to life. Unlike the olden days when

to do it but most definitely the right way

photographers sat at apex of the decision-

to do it as it sometime can mean shooting

making process, today it is all about team

under unexpected circumstances with no

work.

help and other times could mean a massive production with a humongous team.

What is that one thing that a photographer

It is a unique opportunity to see things

must know?

through someone else’s eyes and to be able to understand the process they choose. It’s

Photography definitely is one field which

the combination of practice, perspective,

is as much an art as it is a technique. To

and persistence that a ‘Guru- Sishya’ bond

succeed in this field, one ideally should get

can bring which is so special.

educated about the entire process.

After haggling with reels and prints

The one job where you felt like things were

for more than six years and shooting

starting to move in the right direction?

‘unprofessionally’ a brief stint with a school in Mandi-house opened my eyes to ‘The

Every shoot is special in its own right but the

process of Photography’. I could now click

one that really touched me was one this one

photos not just out of a whim or the sheer

in an old theatre near Rajiv chowk. Like love

love for it but also on a ‘brief’. Education

you can’t explain the reasons but it is that

helped me actually become a ‘Professional

feeling that cannot be explained that makes

photographer’ where I could now use it as a

it that special. I don’t think that it was that

way of expressing myself and living my life off

one day or a particular shoot that showed

it. Another thing that always helps is to learn

me strength but a series of professional

from a professional who can guide you at the

assignments and years of undocumented

right moment and correct what is wrong.

hours purely for the love of the art.

INTERVIEW

This is an occupation where you are your own

cameras with the best teams.

boss and have to set your own standards.

The standards are very high and a lot

Being able to achieve the balance can bring

is at stake sometimes behind just one

you progress but there definitely is no limit to

photograph. Most advanced editing tools

learning.

that have probably been invented by nonphotographers have transformed the way

Personally, even today it’s hard to find

many ways to interpret ‘perfect’.

perfection in a picture and I am never really satisfied.

So, the process is evolving, it’s rapid, it’s contextual, it’s evolving and timeless. It can be completely different for each individual

So, what really is the “Process of

but one thing is static, the way your tools

photography?

work, the way these modern-day inventions have taken years to come to this place of

I shot my first photographs on analog

social connectivity needs to be explored with

camera. Comparatively, it was a little arduous

great patience and enthusiasm.

and a little different with limitations in its structure and function but not many people

To understand the process is to not take any

know that there was a way to work around

aspect of it for granted, how hard your team

with them during pre-production. One

works, the way you deal with your clients

could select from a collection of rolls with

but most importantly how the process has

a certain technical specific to serve varying

helped you see things in darkness and to be

light situations. Today I shoot on the fastest

your own light.

INTERVIEW

What are some challenges that you faced

replacing professional cameras the toughest

in the past and what do you think the

thing to do is to find the balance being

future is like?

relevant and authentic.

Today we have cameras that do not fail to

It is beautiful to come across work of

impress, apps that have brought the world

artists who really just take you on a journey

of photography to every other person. Set

of the world that they live in, literally

up on a solid foundation of what the future

and figuratively. The present is time for

of photography can be. With billions of

exploration and experimentation and I have

photos shared every single day and phones

a lot of hope for the future of photography.

REVIEW

By Idris Ahmed

Olympus Tough Tg-6 is a pocket-sized powerhouse camera with rugged built and decent image quality.

It has amazing performance particularly

and dual locks on each of the camera’s two

while shooting underwater & macro.

hatches. The double latches make changing

Olympus Tough TG-6 features a 12MP

the battery or connecting a cable a little

backlit 6.2mm x 4.6mm sensor size,

awkward, but these stir more confidence

4.5-18mm lens (25-100mm full-frame

that the hatch won’t pop open when

equivalent), a maximum aperture of f/2 with

camera falls.

ISO range from 100-12800 and the ability to shoot in RAW which means that you can

In addition to focus stacking and focus

recover details and make decent size prints

bracketing, microscope functions are

after post processing.

among the absolute highlights of the TG-6, this camera has an absolutely insane close-

TG-6 is waterproof to 50ft and freeze-proof

focusing distance of up to 1cm from the

to -10°C, to achieve this level of sealed-off

lens, I was able to take shots in focus with

attribute, Olympus uses an all-metal body

the subject literally hitting the lens.

REVIEW

Since underwater shooting is one of the

360p, the prospect of ‘super slow-mo’ 480fps

specialties of TG-6 it was important to

should be enough to excite any videographer!

consider some improvements in this respect. Now we have a choice of three

Though Olympus Tough TG-6 seems quite

different underwater white balance modes:

similar to its predecessor TG-5 but with a

Shallow, mid-range or deep. Each of these

screen that’s double the resolution, high-

is tuned to account for variations in how the

speed video options and a new underwater

light filters down through the water.

mode, the TG-6 packs some worthwhile new features.

I was immensely impressed by high-speed recording modes for video. In addition to

Thanks to anti-reflective coatings on the

being able to shoot 4K video at 30fps, it can

sensor cover glass on both sides. I guess this

also record 1080p up to 120fps, 720p at 240fps

change should lead to reduced flare and

and 360p at 480fps. And while most people

ghosting, which will mainly be noticeable on

are probably reluctant to drop all the way to

high-contrast edges.

VERDICT

The Olympus Tough TG-6 is designed with adventure in mind! It is waterproof, dustproof, shockproof and crushproof (up to 100kg). What impresses me most is the combination of size & durability; since it fits in your pocket it is a perfect companion when you are traveling light!

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