Ankit's Photography Blog

Forest Canopy

2016-10-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

The fall is here are these are the last few days this year we see green trees with big leaves.
I was out and about with the kids in a local trail walk, and the bright sunlight was making its way through the leaves above.

I kept walking forward until I saw a low branch with beautiful shades and patterns coming through, it was one for keeping.

ISO 100, f/8, 1/60s

Yellow Trail

2016-10-22T08:34:00.003-04:00

Stone Mountain, GA

Make Your Subject Pop

2016-10-17T17:12:00.000-04:00

I simply love shooting in bad weather, The drama, the darkness, the excitement is simply amazing. The shot above was taken right before a storm was called in on Sandy Hook Beach, NJ. The landscapes were fine but when I tried shooting a portrait, the image was dull.

The easiest way to rectify this is to simply use a flash. Simply meter the scene as you please, in this case ISO 100, f/8, 1/200s - Manual mode, put on the external flash on ETTL mode (or ITTL) and fire away. Instantly, the subject is lit up and pops in the scene.

Calm and Tranquility

2016-10-15T09:42:00.000-04:00

I am a big proponent of carrying my camera with me where ever I go. However, with improvements in mobile phone technology, I am getting lazier and lazier with taking my camera along. On one such occasion, my family and I went out on a hike at Sourland Mountain in NJ.

It was a beautiful cloudy day, and we started our hike early morning. As we emerged through the forest this beautiful pond was reflecting a scene of "Calm and Tranquility". Just the mere site of this scene was enough to take one into a meditative state. But low and behold, I didn't have my trusty companion with me (my camera). I did what I could with my cell phone and took this shot. Sadly the clarity of the leaves and the dynamic range in the clouds was lost was poorly captured.
This scene was too good to lose. I edited the shot as much as possible in Photoshop and then applied the Oil Painting filter to reveal the above.
Lesson learned, cell phones are for selfies - a real camera is what you need to capture the true essence of nature.

Cedar Path

2016-10-13T17:40:00.001-04:00

ISO 100, f/5.6 1/50s

The Last of Us...

2016-10-11T17:38:00.003-04:00

Sunflare

2016-10-09T17:58:00.000-04:00

Late afternoon, took this shot straight into the Sun. I was half tempted to clone out the sun flares but then thought the spots of colors brought more realism to the scene.

Morning Light

2015-12-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

Fall Hues at Sourland Mountain, NJ

2015-12-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

My kids are now beginning to see great images. As we were walking through Sourland Mountain park, I walked past this lone rock. And my kids ended up pointing it out to me to let me know what I missed.

Camera Setting: ISO400, f/11, 1/50s,

Once Beautiful

2015-11-28T07:46:00.001-05:00

What was once a beautiful flower feels the effects of the cold weather catching up to it. I came across this flower on an early frosty walk in the park.

Camera settings: ISO 200, f/2.0, 1/180s

Denim Shorts

2015-11-26T22:46:00.001-05:00

Fossil

2015-11-01T12:13:00.001-05:00

The End of Summer 2015

2015-10-12T19:04:00.000-04:00

Which Way Did They Go

2015-09-25T19:21:00.001-04:00

It had rained the night before, which lead to the muddy ground at the construction site I was touring the next morning. As the trucks came in and out of the site, each truck left unique tire tracks in the mud. I couldn't help take this shot.

Camera settings: ISO100, f/8, 1/60s

Train Tracks

2015-09-20T20:04:00.003-04:00

As my wife and I were walking the train tracks I noticed how much light was reflecting off the tracks. I setup the shot where the model was just outside the shadows of the nearby trees and facing away from the Sun. This allowed for shoulder light (rim light) from the Sun and reflected light from the ballasts.

Camera Setting: ISO100, f/2, 1/500s

Hazel

2015-08-09T19:11:00.002-04:00

Camera Settings: ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/60s

Early Morning Pool Scene

2015-08-08T08:43:00.001-04:00

ISO200, f/16, 1/80s

Highway to Heaven

2015-08-04T20:40:00.000-04:00

Camera settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/100s

Purple Skies

2015-07-12T17:19:00.001-04:00

I shot this sunset with an external flash attached to bring out some detail in the foreground rocks. The trick is to make sure the flash is a stop or more below the scene. Too much detail in the foreground detracts from the main subject.

Set the camera on matrix metering and on manual, adjust the aperture (in this case f/18), I zoomed into the scene (just water and the sky) - then set the shutter speed. Once the basic parameters were adjusted, I zoomed out to compose for the foreground rocks. I set the flash to TTL and reduced the it by 1 stop. That was it, everything is in balance.

Camera settings: ISO 400, f/18, 1/20s

Drama - With a Splash of Water

2015-07-07T20:06:00.000-04:00

Camera Settings: ISO100, f/18, 1/15s

Calm Morning - Cozumel, Mexico

2015-07-05T09:47:00.003-04:00

This shot was taken with my favorite lens the super cheap 10-18mm Canon lens. I have this lens on at least one of my camera bodies. The shot above was taken within minutes of getting to the beach. I simply took off the lens cap, focused about 3 feet away, set the aperture to f/18 (aperture priority mode) and that was it - no polarizers, no metering, no complex composition. The beauty of super-wide is the simplicity of it.

Camera settings: ISO100, f/18, 1/20s

Building Blocks

2015-04-20T20:08:00.001-04:00

I noticed this stone structure, not sure what its purpose was but it setup and interesting foreground for the Madrid towers.

Camera Settings ISO200, f/8, 1/80s

Hare Ram - Hare Krishna

2015-04-11T07:53:00.000-04:00

Hare Ram - Hare Krishna devotees chanting through the streets in downtown Madrid.

Camera Settings: ISO100, f/4.5, 1/80s

Plaza Mayor

2015-04-08T18:28:00.001-04:00

When you have only a few days to visit a place with an unknown schedule, the best thing you can do is capture what you see. Make sure you photograph the local food, the people, artwork, and street scenes.
During my fist day in Madrid, we decided to walk downtown and see a few places (totally unplanned). Street photography was the first thing that came to mind, every corner and street we walked I tried to capture the culture.
The scene above was shot before entering Plaza Mayor. I saw the columns, the archway and instantly I thought monochrome.

Camera settings: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/40s

Royal Palace - Madrid, Spain

2015-04-03T17:40:00.001-04:00

Sometimes you just have to embrace the hurdles that stand in your way. The picture above is a panorama capture of the beautiful Royal palace of Madrid. I tried to capture the palace without the light posts in the way, finally, I gave up and just shot the panorama. Sadly, I only carried my super wide angle lens with me so the distortions were inevitable.
After coming back home and finally stitching the panorama together, the image isn't that bad, the pole is distracting but I got what I was looking for.

Camera settings: ISO800, f/8, 1/120s