I am Engineer by profession and explorer at heart. I am part time techie, part time writer and part time photographer. I love to explore the world and equally love to share my experiences with world. My mind is always clicking the pictures that I pen in my articles. My camera is always at work taking beautiful pictures that are core to my articles. Together those make 'Speaking Lens’ - A tale of my unaccustomed photo journeys.
ViewBug community member Vishpala never thought of becoming a photographer, read below to learn more!
When did you first think about becoming a photographer?
Actually never thought of becoming a photographer, it just happened. I started taking interest in photography when I was in high school. But photography was a expensive hobby that time. It was the film era. So there was very little scope for trial and error. I didn’t have access to any dark room to do post processing. So it kinda halted there. But it was always at the back of my mind. And I picked up photography again after my graduation in digital era. Never looked back since then.
Where do you get your photographic inspiration from?
Inspiration that comes from within is the best inspiration and that is my main source of inspiration. But I do get inspired by looking at great photographs in print and digital media. I think all the photographers these days are blessed to have social media. Social media opens up a huge opportunity to look at great work done by many fellow photographers and get inspiration from them, learn from them. I think platforms dedicated to photography, like ViewBug, also present great opportunity to photographers to get inspiration from other’s work.
Do you have any influencers?
Yes, I think influencers play important role in developing photographer in you. To begin with I am greatly influenced by Ansel Adams. He is the biggest influencer to me as a landscape photographer. His work has a very special place in my heart. Besides that I am influenced by most of the National Geographic photographers, Marc Adamus, Michael Yamashita, Joel Sartore, Cory Richards, Jimmy Chin to name the few. I am also influenced by Tray Ratcliff’s unique style.
What is your favorite subject to shoot?
Landscapes! Landscapes talk to me. That little talk, which no one else can hear, helps me envision my photo before I shoot. So take it as landscapes with people, landscapes with wildlife, landscape with a small village in it and so on. And other are of interest is ‘Portraits’, mostly portraits minus people. I had hardly tried shooting portraits of people but I love to shoot portraits of flowers, animals and natural objects. Like portrait of iconic Half Dome in Yosemite National Park is one my favorite subjects to shoot.
What is your favorite gear to shoot with?
I am a Nikon and iPhone person. I have Nikon D810, a full frame and Nikon D7000, a cropped sensor. I am also a prime lens person. So I rarely go with zoom lenses. For landscapes I love my 14-24 mm Nikon wide angle lens for full frame (10-24mm for cropped one). I also shoot landscapes with 35mm and 50mm Nikon lenses. Next I have is 105mm specialty macro lens. It a fantastic lens to shoot closeups, wildflowers and for natural portraits too. I have Tamron 150-600mm telephoto for wildlife and or tight shots in landscapes. I also have Nikon 600mm super telephoto lens but I take that along only on exclusive wildlife shoots. On speciality side, I have Nikon 14mm fisheye lens to get ultra wide angle landscape and sometimes to add fun element of fisheye effect. I use natural density filters most of the times and UV filter almost all the times. I love my Manfrotto carbon tripod with ball head.I equally love shooting with my iPhone. It’s quick and easy to shoot and post process a bit while on the move.
When you go in one of your travels, what do you take with you? Why?
I usually take all my gear with me when I travel. I believe in not leaving any lens behind! But when I have to hike or climb to shoot then i pick and choose the gear. I often times take only one camera body, wide angle lens, may be a 35mm or 50mm and all the filters. And tripod, of course. I don’t shoot handheld unless there is a pressing need to do so. I go by the rule of changing memory cards every day. So I pack lot of those along with at least 2 additional batteries. I also pack non-shooting accessories that complement my shooting stuff like flashlight, microfiber and remote shutter release.
How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
I keep my eyes and brain open to see new things and to learn from those. I do not leave any chance of learning, whether I am at home or in the field. I regularly look at photos of all the great photographers I know of and that helps me educate myself. When it comes to the learning a specific technique or a tool, I usually read photography blogs or watch videos online. I also learn from National Geographic online courses. It is a great way to learn from the photographers who have captured many successful photos for years together.
What it is you want to say with your photographs?
I want my photos to tell the story. I want my photographs to resonate to my viewers that they feel they are right there, in the photo, experiencing the moment. I want my photos to inspire people in different way.
How do you actually get your photographs to do that?
Creativity is the key in photography. Photographer’s vision can make or break the photo. If I am sooting the subject from usual perspective, using ordinary angles and composition then I always need a surreal subject to grab my viewers attention. But if I get creative, think before I shoot, compose a photo with a story then a very ordinary subject can make an outstanding photo. That’s what I do when I photograph. I always envision my photo before I shoot. And unless my photo matches with my vision, I keep going back and shooting.
B&W or color, what do you prefer and why?
Both. It really depends on what, when and how I am shooting. I started with color, like most of us do in the digital world. I got into black and white much later. Then I started reading Ansel Adams and got deeply interested in black and white. There wasn’t looking back later on. Now I days I post process almost all of my photos in color as well as black and white. On the other hand, I love shooting colors. I love shooting turquoise water, fiery red sky, subtle orange tinge at dawn, colorful trees of fall and fresh greenery of spring.
Follow Vishpala's profile and check out her Instagram and Facebook.
