When ViewBug community member nayanbehera shoots he experiences something that many of us can relate to; a piece of mind and tranquility that is hard to emulate. Enjoy our conversation with UC San Diego student Nayan.
Can you tell us about yourself and your background?
I am a third year student at UC San Diego studying Mathematics/Computer Science with a Business minor. Asides from having to study all day I like to enjoy my breaks surfing in San Diego and then grabbing my camera to go out to shoot sunset!
When did you first think about becoming a photographer?
I never really called myself a photographer until I started booking jobs doing portraits right around graduation time here at UCSD. By then I had been shooting for about a year mainly starting with landscapes. For me photography is a great hobby because when I look through a lens all other thoughts in my mind cease to exist and there’s no room for any stress while you’re in that creative mindset. So what initially began as a hobby to take a break from work, turned into a passion I couldn’t get enough of.
Where do you get your photographic inspiration from?
My greatest inspirations honestly come from film. I took a Film Studies class in high school where we analyzed color palettes, angles, and different kinds of cinematography. That class turned me on to the world of art and to this day I’m more inclined towards film and cinematography. So with those aspects of knowledge I try to take photography, which is two dimensional, and add another dimension to make a picture seem like film. Whether that means showing movement with long exposures, adding depth, or capturing an emotion, I try to add an extra element to take it out of its two dimensional constraint.
Do you have any influencers?
My biggest inspirations in photography are those I came across on Instagram. If I had to name a few, my biggest inspirations are Andy To, Morgan Maassen, and Eric Rubens.
What is your favorite subject to shoot?
I love shooting landscapes during sunset when the sky lights up. I’ve always been in awe of the Northern Lights, but I must say Cali sunsets are nearly as beautiful. I’ve found that shooting portraits bring out emotions in the shot so I have been working on portraits more than landscapes recently.
What is your favorite gear to shoot with?
I usually take my Canon 6D with my 24-105 lens and my 50mm lens in the bag incase I want a nice a depth of field with low aperture. I have a JOBY tripod since I like wrapping it around gates and what not to get certain angles but for the most part I don’t own a tradition tripod because I like using the environment at the location to be my tripod whether that be a rock or a ledge, whatever works.
When you go in one of your travels, what do you take with you? Why?
When I travel my camera is a must because you never know when you’ll see a great shot to capture. I recently bought a GoPro to film surfing and do water photography so I’m excited to start taking that on trips to vlog my adventures.
How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
At the end of the day I’m never really happy with any of my photos. I’m psyched when I drop them on Instagram and what not, but I always find a way to plan to shoot better the next time I go out. I also study other photographer’s work to gain perspective and feed creative ideas.
What it is you want to say with your photographs?
I like to make my photos look as cinematic as possible, I’m not sure if that made any sense, but what I mean by that is taking a photo which is two dimensional and adding an element to break it out of that mold and make it three dimensional.
How do you actually get your photographs to do that?
I play around with the shutter, ISO, and aperture to get the shot I visualize in my mind. For sunsets for instance I set my aperture to 22 for clarity, then that allows me to use a lower shutter to absorb more color from the shot, and vice versa depending on what I’m trying to capture.
B&W or color, what do you prefer and why?
I shoot color for the most part but I highly respect B&W shots just because without color the actual framing, depth of field, and focus points are more important since the element of color is missing. Many of the most creative shots I have seen are B&W.
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