Dilip Ranade - PhotoEnthusiast
My footsteps through
history
I started my journey with photography way back in the 60s in
Delhi; a time when almost everything was shot in black and white. Information
about photographic techniques did not come easily in India those days. There
were no dedicated magazines, and international ones like Popular Photography
and Practical Photography were not easily available; the Internet came much
later.
Film rolls available in India those days were ORWO, Fomapan,
and Agfa; a 120 film roll that could provide
8, 12 or 16 exposure. Kodak and
Ilford were available in select stores. All film cartons proudly displayed the
word Panchromatic.
Unlike the orthochromatic
films of ‘older’ days, these were sensitive to red light as well. Commonly
available films were of 125 ASA (now known as ISO) and the first high ISO film
that I used was Kodak Tri-X; a 400 ASA film. While giving films for developing
I used to specify if development was to be done with a fine grain developer or
a normal one. Most of the photo-studios in Delhi used to refer developing or
processing a film as ‘Washing’.
In the 70s, I started developing and printing black &
white films for myself which was a three step process: “Developer” – “Stop bath”
– “Fixer”. Frequently used developers were D-76, DA 163, Microdol X (by Kodak)
and Promicrol (by May & Baker). The stop-bath was usually acetic acid and
the fixer used to be sodium thiosulfate (commonly referred to as hypo). Contact
printing involved placing the negative on a photographic paper and exposing it
to light for a calculated amount of time. Enlarging involved projecting the
negative placed in an enlarger on to a photographic paper. Developing colour
films and making colour prints involved some more steps.
These techniques & cameras (Sureshot, Gavabox,
Fulviewflex, Lubitel, Click 3) used by me have all faded into history. I also
used a Twin Lens Reflex called Ciroflex
and Canon Canonet QL
before I received my first SLR in the 70s; a gift from my father! It was one of
the most advanced SLRs of that time and even today, it is regarded as legend; the
Nikon F2AS, along with
a treasure of 3 excellent Nikon lenses, 50mm
f/1.4, 24mm f/2.8 and 80-200mm f/ 4.5. And there was no
looking back.
Fast-forward…
I switched over to digital photography in the late 90s when
a 3 to 5 megapixel cameras were considered to be more than adequate (believe
me, it still is). In 2008 I bought my first DSLR; a Nikon D300 which still compliments
my Nikon D800 during my
endeavours with wildlife, landscapes, macros, and portraits.
While I primarily own Nikon gears, the brand of the camera one owns is does not
hold much importance. With today’s technology, a Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony,
Olympus or any other brand are all top notch.
The cameras of today are mini computers and virtually
everyone owns one (including mobile phone cameras). One simply presses the
shutter and the technology does the rest! It evaluates the light, recognises
the scenes, identify faces, focus, instant viewing, sharing and much more.
Technology has become so overpowering that we often take for granted the
creative side of image making.
These technology breakthroughs have given rise to new skills
that replace the golden processing era with “Sorting” – “Enhancing” –
“Sharpening” – “Noise Reduction”, and
much more. The tools that help me achieve this post image processing to produce
imagery marvels include (but are not limited to) Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe
Lightroom 5, OnOne Perfect Suite 8, Anthropics Portrait Professional 12,
HDRsoft Photomatix Pro 5, and Google Nik Collection.
Today, photography and the universe around it is my full
time hobby. I seek opportunities, ventures, and networks to explore new places
- new horizons with my friends and like-minded colleagues. This blog simply
forms an extension of me.
Why this blog?
There are virtually thousands of sites exclusively devoted
to photography; many of these super specialized to cater to very advanced
photographers. But creative art always
has place for something new and knows no bounds. This blog is aimed to cater to
varied interest levels.
If you are visiting this site, it’s because you have more
than a cursory level of interest in photography and you will surely pick up
some useful information here. Amateur or Professional, you will find discussions
that interest you as we review new techniques and equipment. Moreover, you can
share your vast knowledge with others and think out of the box and evolve your unique
style. After all, photography does not involve only advanced equipment or
technique but it means expressing oneself in a distinct way.
Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome.