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Editorial
Suvendu Chatterjee
Pakhar Garg
Priyashi Negi
Ankit Tyagi
EDITORIAL
Chief Visualizer
Sheetal Mann

Design
Yasmeen Sheikh
When it comes to black and white, we immediately tend to
Analysis shift our mindset backwards, towards the older times, and
Prateek Kashyap I think, that’s where we commit our first mistake. Yes, it
is rightfully said, what is life without colors, but I think, to
Writer see the silver lining to life, all we need is a black and white
Aditi Puranik perspective. I am not an old school guy or have a black and
white fetish, but the intricate details of an event or a moment
Dipanwita Nath
captured by a frame is much more noticeable and not just
Karishma Rana
noticeable but distinguishable, if it is seen without colors.
Sana Singh
It is in search of that silver lining that we have come up with our black and white
Technology edition and I think we may have found it, successfully concluding our search with
Sachin Arora the compilation that currently lies in your hands.
Rishabh Jain
Bharat Bhushan Marc Henauer gives us a glimpse of the world under the deep dark sea and shows
Aditya Baghel us that sometimes even ruined and wrecked things can be beautiful. Ravi Dhingra
explains to us the beauty of monochrome in “Frozen in a Pause”. Urshita Saini
Business Development and Donatella Nicolini delves us into a relatively new genre of photography that
Rajesh Basu is maternity and birth photography. The retention of the culture of Iran in the face
of modernization is depicted amazingly by Duncan Chard. Mehdi Nazeri’s work on
Amit Ghosh
the pigeon fanciers in ‘The Birds of Hope’ is truly commendable and Debrani Das
Dimas Fajar creates magic with her series on ‘Levitating Lovers, Unspoken Love’. Ashok Ghosh’s
work is a sight for sore eyes and is bound to leave you in awe and admiration for
Sales
the ingenious photographer.
Krishna Srinivas
Amit Gupta Photographer Wayne Fischer gives us something to marvel at with his patterns
and abstract photography while Saptarshi Choudhary gives a soothing treat to the
Marketing eyes with his photographs on ‘Tranquility’. Aman Chotani’s work on lights, lines and
Kanika Maurya textures is replete with interesting elements that will leave you wanting for more.
Anurag Khaneja Vikramjit Roop Rai covers the heritage of India and Shares ‘Why and How to Shoot
Monuments’. Irina Bunyatyan’s fashion portraits are all stunners and Marc Boily’s
work on fashion and boudoir is truly exceptional.
Public Relations
Black and white images appear to be more timeless than color images. Many
Barkha Chandra photographers prefer black and white images for their tendency to distance the
subject matter from reality. Humans see the world in color, and a rendition of the
Staff Photographer world in monochrome makes us pause and look closely. Removing color from a
Surbhi Sharma picture helps the viewer to focus on a subject’s emotional state. Black and white
Susana Gomez portraiture lets the audience see the subject’s face and read his or her eyes without
Tarundeep Singh distraction.
Urshita Saini
It’s true that there cannot be a comparison between color and black and white, but
being totally different, both are different languages.
Finance
Neelu Singh In the world of digital era, where more than a billion photographs are taken on each
and every day in various formats including the smartphones, it’s difficult to identify
Consultant the very thin margin where they join hands. In that thin margin, lies the beauty of it.
Apratim Saha In lieu of conclusion let me state that I still use analog Black and White and I enjoy it.
Mansa Inc.

CEO
Mukesh Kumar

Cover Photo Regards,

Sarathi Thamodaran Suvendu Chatterjee
 CONTENTS
Diving Deep 8
Marc Henauer

Old is Gold 14
Edward H. Weston

Bandna 20
Debasish Chakraborty

Why and How to Shoot a Monument 28

Vikramjit Roop Rai

Frozen in a Pause 33
Ravi Dhingra

Movie Review 36
Closer

Birth of a New Genre 38

Birth Photography

The Birds of Hope 42

Mehdi Nazeri

Levitating Lover, Unspoken Love 52

Debrani Das

Tips and Tricks 56

Sascha van der Werf

App of the Month 64

Lenka

Playing with Light, Lines and Textures 68

Aman Chotani

Chiiz Gallery 72
Model of the Month
Paige Munroe 84
Underwater photography is both unique
and exquisite, what aroused your interest
in it?
I was already a photography enthusiast when
I discovered underwater photography. It was
a true revelation for me, like I had entered
a mirror and into a fantasy world. I was
compelled to take pictures of that, the sea is
after all an unlimited source of inspiration.
What seems beautiful is difficult to capture.
Likewise underwater photography is not an
easy task. What are the difficulties you often
come across?
Even though I appreciate the comfort of
taking pictures in scuba, I clearly prefer to
photograph while freediving. It gives me a
sensation which can’t be expressed in words.
When I do photography while freediving, I
feel connected with all the elements around
me. I feel like I am a part of the water, wildlife,
marine flora, my subject and my camera. All
my senses are alert, my sensitivity and my
creative spirits are at an all time high and time
seems to stand still. Freediving also presents
a huge opportunity for animal interaction.
I feel like I am evolving more quickly
while in water. It permits me to click very
dynamic and sensational images. Freediving
and photography are an addictive activity,
together they are a drug to surpass yourself.
The way to success is quite long, you have to
combine freediving training and very good
photography skills. Underwater is a low light
world where everything is always moving.
 Through the Window
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A freediver, an experienced scuba diver and an award-winning

photographer, Marc Henauer is an avid traveler practicing underwater
photography for several years now. He discovered scuba diving in the
Maldieves in 2008 and was immediately taken up by the beauty of the
blue world. He is most inspired by nature and does his best to capture
the emotion he feels in his images. Always looking for new challenges,
Henauer is very particular in preparing and planning expeditions to
discover unusual places with unique experiences. Aditi Puranik from
Chiiz talks to Marc about his work and about the wonders under the sea.

What is the one destination you want to
shoot in and why?
Each time I visit a new place, it becomes my
favorite. That’s why I plan a new destination
every time for my travel. The humpback
whales from Kingdom of Tonga however
stays my favorite with great memories and the
green lake of Austria is also a unique place to
shoot.
Capturing “Grüner See” would be a
wonderful experience, what was the best
thing about it?
No words can describe the “Grüner See”, it’s a
unique and magical place. This lake is a jewel
of nature. Now, the Austrian authorities have
declared it a protected area and to preserve it,
scuba diving is forbidden. I have been very
lucky to dive here and capture some amazing
photographs and great memories.
Message or tips you want to convey to the
young photographers who are inspired by
your work.
Work hard, dream big, learn the basics of
photography and break the rules. Let your
inspiration guide you.
Aditi Puranik
aditi@chiiz.com
A budding journalist, Aditi watches the
world with wonder in her eyes. Talented
but lazy, introvert but sarcastic, she is a
nature lover, continuously trying to work on
her photography and writing skills. She is a
wanderer at heart and dreams of travelling
the world.
 I Rule
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With the Flow

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I Belong With You

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Water Sprite
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A-live History Sea-Me

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Water Sprite Acquisition

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 In my Domain
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Treasure Trove
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Daniel was born in Surabaya, Indonesia and is a Sony Alpha
Professional Photographer. Daniel learnt photography at
Malaysia from Adam Seow, one of fine art master from Brooks
Institute of Photography, USA who is also associated with
Ansel Adams’ Black & White zone systems.
For Daniel, photography is about imagination, emotions and
trying to put a little of his soul into every picture he takes. It
really doesn’t matter what gear you have. He always imagines
what he wants to say in each of his pictures. Creating a real
picture becomes unreal in his camera and this is what he loves
about photography.
12 Vol 10
Viaduct
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Daniel believes that all of us experience life from our own
perspective and we are each, the combination of our emotional
experiences. “This means that no two people will emotionally
experience the world in the same way. It is always interesting
to see how your audience responds to your images, but you
should always stay true to your own imagination and soul. To
tell your own story!” he says.
Daniel is now a freelance photographer in Indonesia and takes
orders for commercial shoots. He is also a guest speaker in
many photography events in Indonesia and is currently doing a
Black & White Photography Workshop around Indonesia.
 Being-Myself
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The Voyage Tuned

SONY ILCE-7RM2 35mm F/8 30s ISO100 SONY ILCE-7RM2 27mm F/4 1/200s ISO100

One of the most innovative and influential American photographers of 20th century.
“The camera
should be used
for a recording
of life, for
rendering the very substance and quintessence
of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel
or palpitating flesh.” These words can only be
of a photographer who thought the world to
be his abstract art. Today, there are not much
photographers who do abstract photography
but history has seen a photographer who
had an abstract perception from the time he
looked at the world from his camera.
This famous photographer is Edward Henry
Weston, 20th-century’s most innovative and
influential American photographer who had
an abstract perception towards his subjects.
He was born on March 24, 1886 in Highland
Park, Illinois. He was five years old when his
mother died and was raised by his sister Mary,
who was fourteen at that time. His father
remarried when he was nine, but Weston and
his sister didn’t develop a bond with their new
stepmother and stepbrother. When his sister
Mary got married in 1897, Weston was left
alone on his own most of the time.
When Weston turned 19, Weston’s father
gave him his first camera, a Kodak Bull’s-
Eye number 2. He enjoyed using the camera
while on vacation. This was the time when
his interest in photography increased and
he bought another 5 x 7 camera. He was in
Chicago photographing in his aunt’s farm and
was developing his own film and prints. He
later recalls that his earliest work in 1903 was
based on technique and composition. During
14 Vol 10
1913-1920, he was being artistic and had
decided to pursue his career in photography.
He enrolled in the Illinois College of
Photography, for a nine-month course.
In 1910 Weston had opened up his own
business, a studio in Tropico and for the
next three years he was working alone. The
work he did helped him in gaining more
recognition and popularity. He won a lot of
prizes in national competitions, published
photographs and wrote articles for magazines.
Over the summer of 1920 Weston met two
people who were part of the Los Angeles
culture scene, Roubaix de l’Abrie Richey, also
known as ‘Robo’ and his wife Tina Modotti.
During the 1920’s he began photographing
nude models and the first dozens of figure
studies were his friends and lovers. At that
time New York City was the cultural centre
for photography as an art form in America,
and Alfred Stieglitz was the most influential
figure in photography. Weston wanted to
go New York and meet him, but didn’t have
enough money for the trip. His brother-
in-law gave him the money to continue his
trip to New York City where he met a lot of
influential photographers.
In 1923 Weston left with his family to Mexico
and as soon as he reached, he was all set to
arrange an exhibition of his work. He was
most proud of the review given by Marius de
Zayas that said “Photography is beginning
to be photography, for until now it has only
been art.” The different culture and scenery in
Mexico forced him to see things differently.
Old is Gold
Edward H. Weston
He turned his camera to everyday objects like
bathroom fixtures, toys and doorways and
also some intimate nudes and portraits of his
wife.
Weston returned from his Mexico trip to
his old studio in Glendale, previously called
Tropico. This was the time when both father
and his son Brett, who was 15 and had an
increased interest in photography. Weston
had arranged a dual exhibition at University
of California where Weston showed 100
prints and his son showed 20. During his final
years, Werston worked with Kodak for their
advertising campaign where he worked with
color photography.
He couldn’t carry on with his work and
was looking for an assistant because of the
Parkinson’s disease which had progressed in
1947. By late 1948 he was no longer physically
able to use his large view camera and that year
he took his last photographs, at Point Lobos.
His final negative image that he took was
called, ‘Rocks and Pebbles, 1948.’ Weston died
at his home in Wildcat Hill on New Year’s
Day, 1958 but still his photos reach out to the
hearts of millions.
Ankit Tyagi
ankit@chiiz.com
Ankit has intense love towards photography
and is now working as an Asst. Editor with us.
He has been writing for us for a long time now
and believes in the power of words. The dream
is to explore and find different perceptions in
life. He likes watching classic movies and is
inspired by Alfred Hitchcock as a director.
 Evolving
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Endowment
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 Façade
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Making Up-Bringing
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 Destruction
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British born photographer Duncan Chard has been

living and photographing in Dubai for the past 12
years. Drawing on his own identity as a permanent
visitor to the UAE, the candid yet poignant black
and white series of images in ‘Terraforming’ are
a poetic study of a young country with frenetic
ambitions.
Now in the last stages of shooting, ‘Terraforming’ will
be launched as a book in mid 2018. The project can be
followed on instagram at #duncanchard

Idiosyncratic
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 Faith-Fully
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Bandna is one of the most famous festivals celebrated during the black
moon of the month of Kartik (Kartik Aamavashya). This festival is mainly
for the animals. Tribal s are very close with animals and pets and in this
Bandna Debasish Chakraborty
festival, people wash, clean, paint, decorate, feed well and put ornaments
to their cows and bulls. Generally natural colors are used for decorating
animals and the artwork is of folk type. The songs dedicated for this festival
are called Ahira which is an acknowledgement for animal’s contribution in
their day-to-day lives. The belief behind this festival is that the animals are
an integral part of life and have souls as human beings do. Contrary to this A school teacher by profession, Debasish Chakraborty
belief, the most heart-rendering activity of the bandna week is practised started photography ten years ago and is the proud
in the last day. Closured bulls and buffaloes are chained to a strong pole recipient of many photographic awards and cash
prizes in India and abroad. He has recently won
and they are attacked with a dry animal hide. The angry animals hit the moment & emotion of ‘Artistique’ photo contest 2017
dry skin with their horns and the crowd enjoys. ” by Asian Photography magazine.

Artistic-Tradition Livelihood
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 Handprints
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House-Crafting
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 Work of Art
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Happy-Hands
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 Entwined
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Patterns
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From an early age, Wayne Fisher has been

passionate about photography and feels that
we have a responsibility in this world to record
and expose the beauty as it is. His journey
began in South Africa and through the lens he
saw a divided nation. After acquiring a National
Diploma in Photography from Pretoria, South
Africa, a brighter future was seen in the viewfinder
in Canada’s uninterrupted beauty where he continued to inspire and
create. He has been photographing for over 25 years and through time
his journey has led him to black and white architectural photography
and this genre of photography is where he feel most at home.

24 Vol 10
 Mosaic
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Zigzag
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Archetype The Tower

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 Fly High
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Ascend Striped
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Penumbra Curvation
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Why & How to Capture a Monument?
C
hiiz is a expedition from Mehrauli and my first step
magazine of
photography
and photographers.
For a change, an
article is appearing
here, which is about
a non-photographer.
A person, who never
learned photography and never claims to
have clicked a good photograph. But what
made his name to be recommended to these
prestigious pages?
Well, here’s the story. My story.
I started my career as a software engineer, a
couple of years after I passed high school. I
never went for formal graduation, instead
added few more programming languages to
my belt. While my fellow classmates were
enjoying college days, I was working in a
software company and by the time they
graduated with their necessary masters
degrees, I was heading a huge team of
programmers in one of the top companies. I
had reached a point in my career, where the
stress of work had to be relieved by some
hobby, so I took up travel. After exploring
few countries, I thought of spending a month
checking out the monuments in my own city,
Delhi.
On 24th of October 2009, I started my
28 Vol 10
at Satpula near Saket left me awestruck.
My amusement challenged my own
imagination when I entered the Mehrauli
Archaeological Park, where I was allowed to
enter the magnificent Jamali Kamali’s Tomb.
Unfortunately, this entire belt was victim to
neglect. When I asked locals, all I got was
that neither the government does nothing
about these monuments nor corporate
sector, under their CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility) scheme, does anything about
these monuments.
I could have stood there and cursed the
government and CSR model, like others. But
instead, I decided to change CSR to ISR – the
Individual Social Responsibility. So I started
a website called www.monumentsofdelhi.
com, where I documented the built heritage
of Delhi. I also started a club called ‘Delhi
Heritage Awareness Club’. But soon I realized,
that people of Delhi are not interested in
‘history’ or ‘dead-buildings’. This is when I
stumbled upon ‘photography.
I had access to camera since birth. My father
was an avid photographer and as I was born,
he purchased a video camera and installed it
permanently in our living room in Manama,
Bahrain. And now was my chance to put it to
some good use.
Wreckage
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Vikramjit Singh Rooprai
Back in 2010, Facebook was the latest ‘in’
thing. Its craze was on the rise. I told my
friends that I can take them to some rare
unseen locations and the pictures they click
there can earn them far more likes on FB. This
is how ‘Delhi Heritage Awareness Club’ was
re-packaged as ‘Delhi Heritage Photography
Club’. Under this club’s banner, we started
doing Heritage-photowalks and taking people
to lesser known monuments in Delhi. The
secret intent was that when these people will
post these photographs online, the monument
will get popular. People started posting pics
from Delhi and soon, from all over India.
We even had some international members
and photos were pouring in from Europe
and East Asia. So we changed the packaging
of club once again and started calling it “The
Heritage Photography Club”. Today, this club
organizes Heritage photowalks, exhibitions,
seminars and workshops to promote heritage
through Photography.
The idea of monument-photography sounds
exciting, but is different from other forms of
photography. A monument never moves from
its location, so you don’t have to worry about
subject running away. However, time does
fly, and any monument appears different on
different times of day. One special thing said
about Taj Mahal is that it appears in different
mood every hour of the day and these moods
are not same throughout the year. One needs
to study the structure for days before the actual shoot can begin.
Time of day is critical as with the size of structure, sunlight can
be more of a trouble than help for many. Another challenge that a
photographer has to face is to get the proportion right. Given the
huge size and many monuments have almost no room around
them, it becomes difficult to shoot them. But this is not the
biggest problem.

A bigger problem that almost every amateur faces is that all the
pictures of any monument look exactly the same. How many
times have you seen the picture of Delhi’s Humayun’s Tomb with
4 palm trees. Most of us don’t even know that Humayun’s Tomb
Complex is actually a combination of 4 independent complexes
and Humayun’s Tomb is just one of those. In the enclosure of
Humayun’s Tomb, you have 1 grey stone grave platform, few
rubble platforms, Tomb of Barber, several wells, the oldest water
harvesting pit, two pavilions and two huge gates and an enclosure,
which is now used by the horticulture department.

So how to click the most unique picture of a monument?

Just one thumb rule: Do not carry your camera during your first
visit to any monument (unless you are sure that you will not
come back soon). Then take a round along with the outer wall.
Most interesting scenes are hidden in the least expected corners.
Your camera can range from 12 megapixels to 40 megapixels,
but your eyes are several hundred times more powerful. Try to
capture the beauty with your eyes first. When you are deeply
drenched in the beauty of the structure, you are eligible to pick
the camera and I can bet, no matter how much or how less
experienced you are as a photographer, your picture after this
exercise will be a masterpiece.
History Lesson
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The Monuments
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 Ruins
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Remembrance
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 Saptarshi Choudhury got hooked to
photography from the day he got his hands
on his first camera. He loves to travel solo,
roam the streets, and watch the people
around. He is attracted by the lifestyle and
expressions of the people and strives to
capture moments with him forever. He aspires
to capture the moment, to portray the story, to paint the
colors, texture, the pattern in the photograph so that the
viewer can get an idea of the moment and the story behind it.
Dip-Down
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Interim Peeking
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Reparation
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 Young Battalion
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Canon EOS 600D 18mm F/5.6 1/200s ISO100

Engrossed Indigenous
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R avi Dhingra pursued
photography as a hobby
till he joined Triveni Kala
Sangam, New Delhi in 1998
to learn the finer nuances of
the craft.
With his photographs, he tries to bring out the
emotions attached with every subject- the state
of happiness, feelings of being sad, neglect and
plight. He wants the viewer to get involved with
the photographs and feel the emotions. A chance
assignment with a publication led to switching
over from the hobby into a full fledged job. Since
then he has been involved in Lifestyle photography
which includes Interior, Food, People and Product.
He has been associated with leading publications,
advertisement agencies and corporate clients
and his work has been widely published in various
books, magazines, brochures and on the web.
Surbhi sharma from CHIIZ gets in talks with him.
Here is the excerpt.
Every photographer has a different
perspective or a different way of looking
at things. What is it that catches your eye
when you step outside or even when you are
indoor?
This quote by Dorothea Lange forms the basis
of every photographer’s vision - “A camera
Frozen in a Pause
Canon EOS 600D 50mm F/1.8 1/30s ISO400
Frozen in a Pause
teaches you how to see without a camera.” A
passionate photographer is always visualising
the frames while observing various elements
in the surroundings and this holds true for
me too. It is not always about planning to
photograph a particular subject, some shots
happen by chance also. It is just the question
of identifying the scene in an instant and
recording the same. Considering the quantity
of the photographs we come across, it is a big
challenge to make a photograph which is not
only different yet good. Most of my subjects
are ordinary objects and my endeavour is to
make the mundane look extraordinary in
my photographs. Apart from choosing the
subject, point of view or viewpoint is the
most important aspect while composing, an
ordinary object will look extraordinary only if
the angle is interesting and unique. The angle
depends on many factors like the shape of the
object, the way light is falling on it and also
about the exclusion of unwanted elements.
With your book exhibiting monochrome
photographs, what is it exactly that
you wanted to portray through these
Waves in the Desert
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Free Spirit
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By Ravi Dhingra
photographs? How do you get your
photographs to actually convey what you
want?
The title of the book is ‘Frozen in a Pause’ and
‘Pause’ is not just related to moving objects,
the still objects are constantly going through
a transformation, things are evolving and
they will not be same after a while. Through
the photographs in this book I am trying to
freeze the action which sometimes is obvious
but at times not so obvious and visible. The
story of the photographs will be conveyed if
the viewer is able to see what happened before
the shot and anticipate what must happen
afterwards.
What was the most difficult thing about
working on “Frozen in a Pause”?
The book is a compilation of photographs
taken by me in the last decade or so, final
selection was the toughest part. Considering
the limit to pages one can incorporate in a
book, which photograph is to be included
and which one to be left out took a lot of
time. The book is a showcase of my thoughts
which I am trying to express through the
images, placement of photographs was also
Vol 10 33
challenging with respect to creating a flow.
It is like curating an exhibition where the
intention is to create a path which the viewer
takes to see the artworks and not lose interest
midway.
With your line of work, there ought to be
some light moments. Can you share such an
incident?
A client once called to help with handling
of camera which he bought for his teenage
daughter, she was not able to get sharp
photographs, all were out of focus. The father
and daughter duo bought the latest Leica
camera after searching for the ‘best camera in
the world’ on the internet and spent a fortune
on the purchase. The expression on the face of
my client was priceless when I told him that
the camera does not have auto focus option
and will work only with manual focusing.
I am not sure what they did with Leica but
daughter was given another camera, an
inexpensive point and shoot camera.
Which photographers have influenced
you and how did they affect your thought
process and your photography?
Raghu Rai & Rafique Sayed are two Indian
photographers whose work have always
inspired me. Among International names
Yousuf Karsh is one of my favourite besides
Sebastião Salgado. Each one of them have a
unique way of storytelling through images.
People photography whether on the streets
or in the studio is all about getting the
right expression and freezing the same in
the camera and these photographers have
mastered the art.
With the constant advancement of
Canon EOS M5 70mm F/40 1/5s ISO125
technology, in terms of updated new gears
coming into the market, how do you keep
yourself up-to-date and educate yourself to
take better pictures?
‘I have all the gear which I will ever need, said
no photographer ever’. On a serious note, it
is the eye behind the camera which makes all
the difference though the equipment is also
important. Choice of equipment depends
on the ultimate use of the photograph, for
my professional work where extremely
high resolution images are needed, latest
technology is helpful. But when it comes to
photography on move even cellphone is able
to click reasonably good quality photographs.
To stay up-to-date in terms of technology I
read a lot of magazines, blogs etc. Learning
to take better photographs is a continuous
process, one never stops learning. It is
important to be critical of one’s own creations
and this by any means is not an easy task.
You have been quoted as saying that
“Some chase light but I prefer to chase the
shadows”. Can you please elaborate?
There is difference between light and lighting
in photography, light is what is available and
lighting is about using the light on the subject
to create shadows. Shadows create volume,
shadows bring out the dimensions and
interplay of light and shadow makes a huge
difference in the way a scene is captured. It is
very important to understand shadows which
change because of the nature and direction of
the light source.
If you could take your art in any direction
without the fear of failure or rejection,
where would it lead? What new things
would you try?
As far as professional work is concerned,
Joy of Freedom
there is always butterflies in stomach when
dealing with a new client, the pressure
of giving the best possible output to the
satisfaction of clients will never go away. But
when it comes to my personal work which is
about expressing myself through my images,
there are no inhibitions. At this stage of
my career, the fear of failure or rejection is
minimal because of the subjective nature of
art photography, there are no set guidelines
or rules to follow. Photographs are not good
or bad, they are either interesting or boring
and the interesting ones will stand out in the
crowd. For my next art project I will not like
to repeat what I have already done in the past,
the approach and style which I have developed
over many years may remain the same but
technique and treatment will definitely see a
fresh perspective.
A word of advice for the upcoming
photographers?
As mentioned before the biggest challenge
which photographers are facing today is to
stand out in the huge pile of photographs.
One should try to make a photograph which
is unique and yet interesting to capture the
attention of the viewer. Technology is there to
help but not bind and restrict, best camera is
the one you have and use it to its maximum
potential, experiment a lot and click what
interests you the most. Photography as
profession may be competitive but as passion
does not have any limits or boundaries,
explore and enjoy.
Surbhi Sharma
surbhi@chiiz.com
An adventurous girl who has a great love
for street food, she is dedicated towards
her work and is a self-inspired lady. She
has a dream to travel the world alone.
Veiled History
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 Rhythm of Being
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Shadow on the Wall

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 Movie Review
Closer (2004)

CLOSER (2004)
Movie Review
Duration: 1hr 38mins
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
Released: 2004
Writer: Patrick Marber
Directed: Mike Nichols
Genre: Drama, Romance

stranger but at the same time he has to tackle his ongoing relationship
with Alice. Alice overhears the conversation between Dan and Anna and
she decides to leave Dan and carry on with her life. But, Anna meets
Larry accidentally and falls in love with him, marries him to live happily
but that lasts only for a short period of time. Anna starts meeting Dan
and the cycle of their love starts while at the same time, Alice leaves him
and starts to work at the strip club. There is a lot of confusion between
relationships which the four of them are into, which makes the movie
more intense and deep.

Chiiz Review: The movie, Closer, which is also referred to as a pseudo-

intellectual writing, is a story of four people and their complicated
relationships. Cinematographically, Closer is a beautifully scripted movie
with a lot of beautiful locations and dynamic performances. Bold and

B ased on an award-winning 1997 play with the same name Closer,

written by Patrick Marber is one of his best works till date. Closer is
a 2004 U.S. film directed by Mike Nichols which has won a lot of awards
mature performances by Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and
Clive Owen which one can relate to in real life. An R-rated movie with
a lot of sexuality and nudity scenes as well as language can make you
and nominations, including Oscar nominations and Golden Globe wins. believe that it is actually a romantic drama that you are watching.
The movie stars, in order of appearance are Jude Law, Natalie Portman,
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Full of twists and turns when it comes
to relationships, this movie is worth watching but on the other hand, it
is an R-rated movie with sequences of graphic sexual dialogue, nudity,
sexuality and language.

Closer is a movie where Law plays Dan, an obituary writer in a London

newspaper. He is finishing his novel which is based on his girlfriend’s life.
Portman is Alice, an American stripper who is in search of true love and
finds it in Dan, the first time they have an eye contact. Roberts is playing
the role of Anna, a photojournalist who very dedicated to her work but
has a unfortunate relationship when she marries Larry, a dermatologist,
played by Owen. This is a movie with a searing story of betrayal and is not
recommended for kids to watch. This is a romantic drama with different
love experiences which many viewers can relate to.

Alice and Dan are so much in love with each other but there are no
reservations in their relationship. Dan is so inspired by Alice’s life that
he writes a novel based on her life. As the novel gets completed, there
comes a moment where Dan has to hire Anna for a portrait photograph
for the jacket of his novel. Here comes the moment where Dan gets
attracted to the confidence and simplicity of Anna. The series of messed
up relationship starts at this moment, the one made between strangers.
The whole movie is based on love at first sight where the starting seems
so interesting and full of love but later reveals how things change and how Rishabh Jain
rishabh@chiiz.com
long this relationship goes on.
Youngest memeber and tech guy of the team. He loves finding bugs not in the
backyard but in the servers. An ardent soccer fan, Rishabh is also the sports
freak of chiiz. Having a flair for poetry, he is as good with words as he is with
Anna, a photojournalist, plays a vital role in the film when she first meets codes and numbers. A connoisseur of food and a travel enthusiast, Rishabh
Dan on a professional shoot for his novel. Dan falls in love with this is a perfect mix of crazy and calm.

36 Vol 10
Donatella Nicolini Motherhood
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Milano, Italy

Birth of a new Genre: Birth Photography
Birth is considered as the most beautiful
and rewarding moment for any woman. At
the same time, it is exhausting, gory, and
extremely graphic, yet women around the
world are now embracing the idea of getting
their baby’s journey captured by professional
photographers.
Though the world is slowly warming up to the
idea of birth photography, it is still a sensitive
topic for the majority of people. It is after all
capturing a woman when she is at her most
vulnerable state. It also involves her privacy
and medical implications of having another
person in the room when things tend to go in
any direction.
In many countries, there are still some
restrictions on any person entering the
labor room, including the father. Although
the couple can request the doctors and get
due permissions for the photographer to
be present during birth, but it is not always
guaranteed that the doctors will allow it.
India is one such country where birth
photography is still a relatively new concept.
While people have a lot of misconceptions
about the kind of photographs that would
be clicked inside the labor room, the team
behind InfLens is trying to get more people
aware about the beauty of birth photography
and bust the myths behind it.
Urshita Saini had written an article in Chiiz
volume 2 about birth photography and
got so inspired by the genre that she went
on to pursue it. Sahil Gupta and Urshita
founded InfLens, a team of medically trained
photographers who capture the journey of a
newborn.
Being a birth photographer is not like any
regular job. It requires the photographer to
be ready for a call at any time of the day or
even in the middle of the night. Labor can
go on for hours and the photographers have
to ensure that they are ready to wait for the
entire duration.
The photographer has to ensure that the
medical procedure is at no point interfered.
You need to be as silent as possible and stay in
the shadows so as not to disturb the mother
when she is working so hard on her body.
During birth, the woman is exposed way more
than what she would otherwise be, which can
make her uncomfortable. The photographer
First Step
Canon EOS 60D 50mm F/1.8 1/60s ISO400
has to respect the mother’s privacy and ensure
that she is comfortable at all time.
Due to the privacy of the mother and her
family, the photographers have to make sure
that the photographs taken during birth
are not posted anywhere without the prior
permission of the family.
The photographers are trained to work in
extremely different light situations and in
no way can create any disturbance or get in
the way of anybody just to take that perfect
shot. The post processing of the photographs
also has to be very specific with monochrome
filters as the photos are sometimes gory.
Although a lot of people are accepting this
idea of photographing their baby’s birth.
There is still a long way to go for the masses
to accept it and preserve these memories for
a lifetime.
Urshita Saini
urshita@chiiz.com
Photography is her passion and birth
photography is her forte. She is a
lawyer turned photographer turned
businesswoman. The transaction was
quick as it was what the camera ordered.
Vol 10 39
 Welcome
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Newest
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 NIKON D7100 29mm F/2.8 1/2500s ISO400

The Birds of Hope

Born in 1988 in Bandar Abbas, one of southern cities of
Iran, Mehdi Nazeri started self-trained and experimental
photography in 2012. He started photography in the two
categories of photomontage and social documentary
out of which social documentary gradually started gaining
prominence in his works. He has been involved actively in the
field of photography and has been holding solo exhibitions,
attending domestic and international group exhibitions,
winning several domestic and international prizes. He is an
author and is currently teaching photography.

F
rom falcons to pigeons, birds are getting
endangered but at the same time they are
being bred in many countries. Mostly in
Middle Eastern countries, birds have been
bred since a very long time now. Pigeons, a
bird which we can find almost everywhere
but are neglected as they are a common sight.
One must have heard of the passenger pigeons
which play a vital role during the First World
War. They were used as military messengers
but as they were productive to one, they were
an enemy for the other. Today, the messenger
piegeons can only be heard of in historical
movies and books.
Pigeons have been bred in many countries
which include India, Iran, China and
many more countries. They were used as
messengers once upon a time but today they
are being used as a medium of entertainment.
Well, getting entertained by pigeons seem
like a ridiculous idea but this is the reality
in countries where entertainment is at stake.
One such beautiful country where pigeons are
used as a game and as a part of entertainment
is Iran. There are a lot of pigeon breeders in
Iran who have successfully doing so and it
dates back to thousands of years ago.
One most commonly game played by the
pigeon breeders is pigeon flying, a sport
which has been played for many centuries.
Pigeon flying has been associated as part
of the traditional Iranian culture and it has
not being neglected as the country moves
towards modernization. As we see dedicated
market for food, sweets, clothes in Iran, the
old bazaar of Tehran, specifically, is one place
which is dedicated to selling birds. One can
find birds of various shapes and sizes along
with exclusive pigeons which are to be used
for games.
There has been a tradition of fancying
pigeons among the pigeon keepers such as
Ornamental pigeons in China and Fantails
of India. Dove, which is a family member
of the pigeons have been represented as the
symbol of peace. Pigeon fancier have been
experimenting with their birds and have been
using them for several games. They fly high
but know where to return, the pigeons are
just so beautiful and have sacred voice that in
some places breeding them is a crime.
There are a lot of people who have a perception
that pigeons are being harmed by such
practices. But when it comes to reality these
breeders are helping these birds from getting
endangered. One has to understand that birds
are getting endangered at a fast pace which is
ultimately making them extinct. Pigeons are
beautiful birds and when you are watching
the games these birds are a part of looks very
interesting and unique.
The hard work of these breeders is not
acknowledged and that is the reason that not
much people are aware of such games that
the pigeons play. The pigeons have been well
known for being messengers, dove is the
symbol of peace and purity. Kids of Iran,
mostly spend their time on their rooftops
playing with their pigeons, feeding them and
taking care of them. The pigeons, kept in
wooden cages which is mostly littered with
feathers and droppings just wait until their
master comes and frees them so that they can
play and fly. As soon as they are freed, they
take flight. But the most appreciated thing is

42 Vol 10
 NIKON D7100 27mm F/2.8 1/5000s ISO200

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their loyalty to their masters, they fly but they return back just as
their master calls.

The pigeons are known for their beautiful voice which they make
almost all the time. The cages they are living in are quite stinky but
not for the master who is dedicated to breeding and taking care of
them. In Iran there are a lot of pigeon breeders but the best ones
are those who treat their birds as their children, as their pet and
not like some zoo animal.

Sheetal Mann
sheetal@chiiz.com
A silent tigress working up her way against the societal norms. One
hell of an interior designer for your beautiful homes and thoughts, she
is quite an introvert and serenity drips from her face.

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NIKON D7100 17mm F/2.8 1/8000s ISO800

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 Ashoke Kumar Ghosh has been in love with photography from his
childhood when he started photography with a Click III camera . As his
passion for photography developed gradually, he took his hobby seriously
and sincerely, since 1990, after completing his Diploma in Photography.

Living in India means there are always new locations to photograph ,new
events and the ever-changing and fast paced situation make India a great
place for the aspiring photographers. This is why his main focus is on
human interest photography.

As a photographer, he has won so many National and International

photographic awards . In National level he has been awarded 2nd position
in All India Fine Arts and Craft Society , 2nd position in National Photo
awards organized by Photo Division of Govt. of India . He has also received
many International photography awards which includes awards from Big
Print Capture Your World Photo Contest, organized by Ritz Camera, USA,
World Photography Gala Awards Annual Contest , Excellence Award at
Epoch Times International Photo contest to name some . He has also
participated in so many Salons internationally and got numerous medals
including Gold medals from several countries .

Sadhu
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Our Future
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 Fishing Time
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Daily Work
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 Homeward Bound
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Hightide
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Masoud Mirzaei is an Iran based urban explorer.
While he’s only been a serious photographer Yazd - Iran / one of the oldest towns on earth , listed as
a world heritage site by UNESCO
for one year , he enjoys capturing the distinct
beauty of urban life .
 Less is more / Mashhad-Iran / May 2017
Heydar Aliyev Center / baku Azerbaijan /August 2017

Absurd / Yazd - Iran / June 2017


When Nature Invaded Inner Soul
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The Preserver
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Enlightened World
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Levitating Lover,
Unspoken Love
Her cradle is the Nature. She falls for. She levitates. She sways. She
twirls. She rejoices. She weeps, She clings to. - All for her lover, the
charismatic ‘Nature’. Sun being the vermillion , moon being the lustre
of her youth, dead overshoots being the décor of her house. This is what
I regard as Love.
I happened to come across the girl playing in a near by park; though
a very common scene, there was something about her that captivated
me. It was as if an invisible force had made me standstill and watch
in awe. I ended up spending an entire day with her, living bits and
pieces of her daily life. It then occurred to me, that the captivating
force was of a pure heart, a pure soul and a pure love. Through my
lens, I tried to capture a glimpse of that soul. The way she interacts
with mother nature, the way she spends time with her mates, the way
she sees things and spreads love is itself a celebration of life which is
something very rare and precious.
Debrani Das, an enthusiast photographer from Kolkata,
India, currently staying in WI, USA. Her visual storytelling
journey had begun when she got a Nikon DSLR from
her husband as a gift in 2014. Since then she is
exploring every new possibilities around her. Being
an artist by heart she always try to capture the mood
and soul of her subject. She is fascinated by street and
people photography. Photography not only opens up a
new world to her but also, helps to explore herself.
 Nature’s Imprint
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A Nature Hangout
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 A Moment of Despair
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The Barricade won’t Hold for Long Three States of Nature

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Flying High
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B&W
Tips and Tricks Murky Throughway
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Photography
By Sascha van der Werf

Born in a beautiful place south of Austria in Carinthia-Europe,

Sascha van der Werf is half-Dutch-half-Austrian who is also an
ex-marketing & sales strategist, turned sky diver who is afraid of
heights turned photographer. He claims that photography has "Black and white
changed him and the way he looks at things. It allows him to
express himself, share his perspective and tell a story with his
photography makes a statement
pictures. In his journey, he has learnt a lot about himself, what in a colorful world."
he values and how he sees the world around him and observe
the beauty in every moment. He believes that beauty can be
found in the most ordinary and unexpected places and moments.

When I followed my heart and started to
concentrate on photography later in the year
2017, I also decided to focus on black and
white photography. I love black and white
because of the simplicity, minimalism, and its
ability to get rid of distractions and clutter.
Black and white photos are aesthetic and
timeless. Furthermore, black and white gives
me a chance to focus on the essence of a scene
- color can sometimes be a distraction. There
is no right or wrong answer to this question,
it is definitely a personal preference. And
sometimes, the world looks better in black
and white. It just does.
Like Ted Grant said :“When you photograph
people in color, you photograph their clothes.
But when you photograph people in Black
and white, you photograph their souls!”
Clothing, color temperature, differences
in ambient light sources, cars and colorful
background distractions have stopped being
an issue. I still focus on my backgrounds, but
I care more about the relationship between
my subject and background, rather than a
distracting color. It’s freed up that part of my
brain.
Looking at someone’s face, or into their eyes,
without the distraction of color can provide
a stronger emotional connection to my

56 Vol 10
subjects. It’s not necessarily always the case,
but I often feel more connected to a person in
a black and white image over a color image,
this could be the reason why.
Black and white photography is clearer – by
this I mean that a good black and white image
can enhance a subject’s features and create a
clearer picture of what they look like. It seems
counter-intuitive but when you compare
color and black and white versions of the
same image, you’ll see that it’s true.
With black and white photography, you
will need to pay more attention to light,
composition, contrast, and the whole scene in
general. It takes some time to develop an eye
for black and white but a monochrom image
can stand out from the crowd - so it is worth
it.
Find out your style
Like in color photography, there are also a
lot of styles in black and white photography.
You can either you use a film look that adds
an air of mystery to the picture or you prefer
a sharp, clean look with high contrasts. It
depends on what kind you like to use to tell
your story with your images.
Always shoot RAW
Raw files contain all the information captured
by your camera’s sensor. A RAW file has to be
processed (using a software) and converted
to a JPEG or TIFF file in order to be usable,
and that is definitely necessary if you want to
convert your shot into a good black and white
image.
Sony Alpha 9 50mm F/5.6 1/1000s ISO2000
Keep it simple
Always seek to simplify in monochrome. Seek
to make the scene less complicated. Seek to
make simple compositions.
Lighting is the key
Contrasty lighting is what makes a black and
white image pop. If you look at the work of
famous photographers like Ansel Adams, his
images stand out because of the light contrast.
Make light your friend - because photography
means “painting with light.” Shooting outdoor
when the light is good - look out for spots
where u get intense light/contrast.
Experiment a lot
Try to experiment with different perspectives,
especially when you shoot outdoor. Take the
elevator to the top of a skyscraper, and shoot
down. Or shoot up. Also you get dramatic
shadows in your captures when the sun sets.
Silhouette photographs are often stronger in
black and white.
In photography, one amazing fact is that you
can always learn something new. I’m not a
portrait photographer but I keep coming
back to the studio to improve my skills in this
field of photography. Doing something else
rather than only concentrate on your genre
enhances your creativity and you can use the
learnings out of these experiments in all the
other situations in your photography life.
Get inspired by others
I study the work of others a lot to learn, how
they work with light, textures and contrasts.
There are a lot of inspiring photographers
Even Stevens
out there focusing on black and white
photography. It helped me and I even got very
useful feedback. But don’t imitate others or
try to be like them - that won’t work. It is a
process and takes some time - stick to your
personal style and make sure your pictures
tell a story - and others will notice it. Get
connected to get feedback. I appreciate every
single feedback I get to improve myself.
Most important tip: Just start shooting
Photography is a constant learning process.
It is essential knowing the technique but
developing yourself to unleash your creativity
only comes from trying, analyzing and
repeating. I started with street photography,
not only because I love to document life, but
also because I can’t control my environment.
I started to focus more on light, contrasts,
textures and more. The learnings out of this
helps me today in any photography situation
to make different and creative images, to
share my views and tell a story with them.
Force yourself to focus on black and white –
since most digital cameras have the capacity
to shoot black and white right in camera use it
to your advantage. It is a really great exercise
to occasionally force yourself to do so. Grab a
friend and go shoot 50 or 100 frames in black
and white. Then come back and study your
work, whether it look like you wanted ror not.
Find areas you want to improve in. Search
online for help and advices and go back to try
it again. I guarantee, that after a few attempts
,not only will you get more confident in what
you do - but you and the people who examine
your work will notice a progress.
Bowed
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 The game of shadows Be with Me
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Careened Yackety-Yak
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 A self-taught photographer and a Journalism
student, Sachin Chauhan believes that
photography is more about capturing the
soul of the subject in the frame rather
than expensive gears and tools. He loves
composing his photographs in monochrome
because in his opinion monochrome fills
peace in your frame, which he likes the most.
He lives by the rule “Learn from everyone but
follow no one”.

Leader Monsoon Reflection

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Ghost Rider
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 Mysterious Fly
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Training
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 7Edition-Mumbai
th

15 - 18 Feb, 2018
Nehru Centre
Dr A B Road, Worli
Mumbai, India

Art Gallery 10 | Mumbai Hunar Showcasing Art | New Delhi ArtDesh Gallery | Mumbai
Art India International | Mumbai I Quest Gallery | Mumbai Artequest Art Gallery (AAG) | Mumbai
Artezvous | Mumbai The Lexicon Art Gallery | New Delhi Canarys Fine Art Gallery | Indore
Arts Breeze Art Gallery (AAG5) | Hyderabad Mriya Arts | Mumbai eArt Gallery | Mumbai
Artzolo.com | Mumbai Painted Rhythm Art Gallery | Mumbai Eminent Art Gallery |New Delhi
Gallerie Ruki | New Delhi
Baroda Heritage Art Gallery | Baroda Peaks Art | Singapore
Gallery Sara Arakkal | Bengaluru
Charvi Art Gallery | Bangaluru Rhythm Art | Mumbai
Indian Art Place | Delhi
Dolna the Movement | Mumbai Studio3 Art Gallery | Mumbai
Innovative Spaces | Mumbai
Gallerie Splash | Gurgaon Studio Anita Dinesh | Noida
Myanmar Ink Art | Dubai
Gallerie Art Eterne | New Delhi Uchaan | Gurgaon Sheruta | Indore
Gallery Endless Thoughts | Delhi-NCR West 10 Art Gallery | Mumbai Studio7Seven | New Delhi
Gnani Arts | Singapore Emami Art | Kolkata Tao Art Gallery | Mumbai
Gallery Pioneer | New Delhi Agantuk Art Tune | Kolkata WBC Gallery | Mumbai

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 Guillaume Soulard goes
by the Instagram handle
@guimsweb and likes
to photograph the
landscapes, architecture
and scenes of life. He
chanced on photography
after winning a contest on
instagram and immediately
took to the game. He uses his phone which is his
constant companion in photography. He grabs
even the slightest opportunity as he focuses his
attention on an architectural element or a landscape
to immortalize through his lens. This passion for
photography has only enhanced his perspective. He
now looks to discover another world and his eyes
now stop on details that he had not seen before. He
plans to invest in a camera soon which he expects
will open up other visions of the world around us.

Petroglyph
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 7mm F/2.8 1/754s ISO20
 Swinging at Height Transparent
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 4mm F/1.8 1/818s ISO20 Apple iPhone 7 Plus 4mm F/1.8 1/17s ISO50

Mystic March Way-down

Apple iPhone 7 Plus 4mm F/1.8 1/5s ISO80 Apple iPhone 7 Plus 4mm F/1.8 1/17s ISO50

Category: Black & White Photography
Rating: 3.7/5
Platform: iOS 11
Cost: Free (offers in-app purchases)
Version: 1.4.5
M
onochrome photography is a vast
genre where each position on
an image can record and show
a different amount of light, without using
a different hue. The mention of black and
white photography through the very first
cameras dates back to the 4th century BCE
Chinese civilizations. With the equipments
modernised and coloured photographs
originating, black and white photography
never really lost its charm and aesthetics
be it Jacques Charles’ fleeting silhouette
photograms from the sixteenth century or
today’s digital photographs, apps and sites.
In the contemporary world monochrome
photography is practiced in parallel
with colored and hued images. There are
innumerable third party applications running
in the android as well as iOS that syncs
with the inbuilt camera device to create
beautiful images. Two years ago, such an
application was introduced for both amateur
and professional photographers in France,
developed by world renowned photographer
and visual artist Kevin Abosch. Lenka allows
its users to create beautiful black and white
photographs with a bare bones, yet powerful
set of features. The philosophy behind Lenka
is that one should spend most of the time
composing the image and developing a
“vision” rather than distracting oneself with
multiple camera settings. The app, much
like black-and-white photography itself, is
stripped down to the bare essentials. One
can use the rear-facing cameras that offers
the picture mode options including normal
64 Vol 10
App of the Month
and high-contrast, and one can choose to
turn the flash bulb on or off for a source of
continuous lighting in dark environments.
It operates in full auto exposure mode, but if
one wants more control, he/she can tap the
subject onscreen or the MF (manual focus)
button on the control panel. Its four slider-
based buttons for exposure, contrast, tint and
focus toggle on and off. You can also summon
extra illumination for fill lighting or extreme
low light by tapping the light bulb icon for a
continuous flood of light. What makes Lenka
interesting, is the fact that it doesn’t offer post
processing functionality and uses only the
main shooter on your device. Although these
might seem as limitations at first glance, they
fit perfectly within Lenka’s core concept. The
idea here is, you see, to shoot in black and
white from the get-go. Not to edit old photos,
or convert color shots into B&W, or take artsy
selfies, just shoot black and white. Dead-
simple, really! Still, Lenka offers you some
freedom in the form of slider-based controls
for controlling brightness, focus, contrast,
and even color tint.
Operating Lenka
“What you see is what you get” being the
main theme for the application focuses
on previewing your image in a black and
white mode before you click the shutter.
You can easily switch from rectangular “full
frame” format to square format by a pinch
on the screen. You can control the image
temperature by sliding on the control slider to
a cooler or a warmer tint. Manual focussing
Lenka- Black & White Cam
by a control slider is available on the iOS
version. Exposure and contrast can also be
manually controlled. Volume buttons ease to
take a photo without disturbing the frame.
If you want to edit and tweak your Lenka
creation further, you’ll have to export it into
another app. The lightbulb icon illuminates
your subjects with a constant light, not a flash.
While Lenka may not offer as much technical
control as other apps, it does an excellent
job of maximizing the black and white
tonal range of your iPhone. Most images, if
properly exposed, tend to have bright whites,
deep blacks, and a wide range of midtones, all
of which combine to make high-quality black
and white photos. Lenka’s simplicity is what
makes the app so alluring in the first place.
No unnecessary controls, no filters, no color
and no front-facing camera functionality.
Simplicity, however, comes at a price. The
self-described “simple yet powerful” app will
run you $3, more than many of Lenka’s more
feature-rich competitors like Hueless. It’s up
to the user’s comfort to decide whether or not
the results are worth the price. Lenka is fast,
easy and fun to use, and its auto setting works
well enough to give you some great shots
without much effort.
Dipanwita Nath
dipanwita@chiiz.com
A ray of hope in the darkness, Dipanwita,
is a literary genius. A modest temper that
always opens up her mind while listening
and her heart while speaking. An aspiring
scientist turned a humbled photographer,
Dipanwita is an avid reader and a
dynamic personality who follows her
heart and loves to live life at the edge.
 Trawling
Canon EOS 550D 18mm F/8 1/350s ISO200

Sagnik Dutta is a freelance photojournalist

from Kolkata. He is currently working on
stories which has human interest. . His
documentary works got published in
various prestigious platforms. He is
an active photo blogger He believes
in the power of the medium and uses
his photograph to give voice to some
contemporary issues.

Tranquility See-Shore
Canon EOS 550D 18mm F/8 1/60s ISO100 Canon EOS 550D 175mm F/8 1/125s ISO100
 Stable
Canon EOS 550D 60mm F/4.5 1/60s ISO200

Vacant Space
Canon EOS 550D 18mm F/8 1/45s ISO100

Work in Silent Bird Eye View

Canon EOS 550D 50mm F/9.5 1/180s ISO100 Canon EOS 550D 18mm F/8 1/60s ISO100
 Through the Window
NIKON D800 48mm F/20 1/60s ISO100

Playing with Light, Lines and Textures

Aman Chotani

Aman Chotani is a professional travel and lifestyle photographer
based in New Delhi, India who explores the world documenting
travel, culture and life. A self-proclaimed ‘wanderer’, Aman takes
photographs to define his experiences, to capture these moments
and share the earth’s most extraordinary places. He has found
acclaim across major exhibitions and brands and has also
received awards from many prestigious organizations including
The Siena International Photo Awards 2015 (Italy), IPA AWARD,
United States in the Portrait Category. Priyashi Negi from Chiiz
gets in a dialogue with Aman Chotani. Here are the excerpts.

What brought on this passion for
photography and what made you chose this
as a full time career?
Photography is all I know and something that
I always wanted to do. So the idea of getting
into any other career didn’t ever arise.
When I was doing my BA Cinema, I realised
that Photography is something I really want
to do in life. I went to Mumbai first to get
some experience in film making and worked
in an ad agency for about 6 months and then
slowly I realized that this was not what I was
yearning to become.
Still undecided about my career, I packed my
bags and joined an advanced diploma course
in Photography in Durban, South Africa. I did
not really enjoy going to college for theoretical
knowledge. I loved doing the practical work. I
enjoyed assisting photographers. This helped
me a lot to garner the real art of photography.
I also assisted Nat Geo photographer Louis
Klyenhans and worked with him as a second
photographer in many projects.
When young I came across a sentence that
changed my path forever. It goes this way
and I quote “The secret of success is to
know something nobody else knows.” And
that something for me was photography.
I live, breathe and dream about pictures,
compositions, lines, symmetry and colors.
They are the variables that run my life.
You mentioned assisting Nat Geo
photographer, Louis Klyenhans. Can you
tell us more about your tenure with him?
So, I stayed in Durban to complete my
masters’ degree and soon came in contact
with Mr. Louis Klyenhans. He used to take
expeditions for NatGeo, kind of like a photo-
tour. So I joined him as his assistant and we
did a lot of work from commercial to fashion
to weddings, kind of everything and I used to
assist him in every work. Later, I became a full
time assistant and I went for special wildlife
tours, travel tours where we used to go to

68 Vol 10
places and teach photography.
You like to capture untold stories and
unprecedented experiences. Can you share
something that left an indelible mark in
your mind?
In Nepal, I shot a portrait of a mother and
a daughter near the Annapurna Base Camp.
The mother, 109 and the daughter, 92 years
old were in one frame together. That was
before the Nepal Earthquake. They were more
close to my heart than the others and I still
think back to that time and would love to go
back and see if they are alive and well.
You have travelled a lot and I’m sure there
will be a social cause that couldn’t have
escaped your notice. Is there a cause that
you wish you could help out through your
photography?
Normally I do commercial projects when
I travel, but I do feel strongly about the
environment.I see people throwing stuff on
the streets offhandedly and destroying the
environment. I’ve been to 16 countries until
now and everywhere that I’ve travelled, I’ve
noticed that apart from India, other countries
are very particular about cleanliness and they
are very educated about basic environment
NIKON D800 24mm F/22 1/1000s ISO400
NIKON D800 48mm F/4.5 1/60s ISO640
education. I feel that we, in India aren’t really
falling in and especially if you are an animal
lover, you’d be extremely concerned about
the fact that they eat whatever stuff that is
thrown in the streets thoughtlessly and some
eventually die because of it. This is something
that I feel about and in Ladakh or Spiti,
whatever treks that I take, we try to educate
people and make sure that we don’t leave any
mess behind. In future, I would definitely
love to do something about it through
photography.
What are the ingredients of a good
photograph according to you?
I believe that a photograph should be able to
tell to tell a story. But what set it apart are the
elements that you use to make the story better.
I love taking landscape as well as portraits but
with amazing elements like light, shadow,
patterns, reflections etc. You will always find
an interesting element in my pictures. I try to
play a lot with light. That’s what I always say
“Controlling light is photography.”
My pictures are cinematic. I want the audience
to feel as they came out of the cinema hall by
having a glance at my picture. Want them
to enjoy the entire screenplay. Want them to
take away the whole cinematic film.
Skyscraper
Shells
If you ask personally then I would love to
capture the adventure which will thrill you
from top to bottom and make you stunned
like how did you even take this shot. Cross
the limits, break the rules shoot like a gorilla
and get the best shot, that’s what my style is.
What is the one faux pas that amateur
photographers should avoid?
I think the only mistake that they should avoid
is to stop thinking of becoming a Facebook or
Instagram celebrity. It will help you if you want
to become a blogger or an Instagrammer. But
if you really want to become a photographer,
you don’t need to worry about social media.
You just need to keep working properly or
learn lighting or a commercial or something
related to photography. There’s absolutely
nothing that you are going t o get from social
media.
Priyashi Negi
priyashi@chiiz.com
Trekking to the top of the hills through
tiny little paths and between pines is
nothing short of a paradise for Priyashi.
Books and poetry are her refuge. She is a
foodie at heart and seems to be blessed
with a sweet tooth and a love for all
things cheese (pun-intended).
Arcade
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 Absent on lookers
NIKON D800 58mm F/5 1/100s ISO100

Dome
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 Archway
NIKON D800 24mm F/7.1 6s ISO100

Repository
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Azim Khan
Bogra, Bangladesh
CHIIZ GALLERY
To get published, update your photos to chiiz.com

Work in Progress
Canon EOS 7D Mark II 18mm F/8 1/500s ISO200
Tejal Mewar Reverence Tejal Mewar Beauty in the Ordinary
Gujarat, India Canon EOS 1100D 163mm F/5.6 1/400s ISO200 Gujarat, India Canon EOS 1100D 250mm F/5.6 1/60s ISO800

Azim Khan Journey by Train

Bogra, Bangladesh Canon EOS 7D Mark II 11mm F/8 1/320s ISO125

Narendra Tiwari Flocking Udayan Samkar

Canon EOS 600D 55mm F/5.6 1/800s ISO100 Dawki
New Delhi, India West Bengal, India Canon EOS 7D Mark II 200mm F/11 1/500s ISO400
Debarshi Mukherjee Amit Datta
The Eyes The Ghat
Kolkata, India Kolkata, India
NIKON D7000 26mm F/5 1/250s ISO320 Canon EOS 5D Mark III 47mm F/10 1/320s ISO200

Sanjiban Ghosh
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
Qatar, Dubai NIKON D750 25mm F/6.3 1/4 ISO1000

Abhijeet Chaterjee Talking Expressions Abhishek Basak Reaching Out

Kolkata, India NIKON D7100 34mm F/5 1/40 ISO400 Kolkata, India NIKON D3300 34mm F/11 1/100 ISO200
Pranab Basak Hands for Freedom Amit Datta
Purdah
Kolkata, India NIKON D3100 18mm F/11 1/13 ISO800 Kolkata, India Canon EOS 5D Mark III 90mm F/10 1/320 ISO200

Gautam Bailey
Drowned Gods
Kolkata, India NIKON D810 48mm F/4 1/320 ISO640

Debarchan Chatterjee Not my Sister Arghya Bhakta Let Them Learn

Kolkata, India NIKON D3200 18mm F/3.5 1/50 ISO400 Kolkata, India Canon EOS 60D 18mm F/4 1/90 ISO800
Arjit Chowdhury Dipanwita Saha
Eyes are all Around The Faces of India
Chittagong, Bangladesh Canon 7D 50mm F/2.8 1/90 ISO400 Kolkata, India NIKON D5100 16mm F/8 1/200 ISO400

Anuj Medhavi, Pratibha Meena The Daughter, A Soulful Creature of God

New Delhi, India NIKON D3300 20mm F/4 1/40 ISO3200

Udayan Samkar Worlds Apart Faith

Bhaskar Kundu
West Bengal, India Canon EOS 5D Mark III 25mm F/8 1/10s ISO200 Canon EOS 50D Mark III 50mm F/4.5 1/1600s ISO200
Kolkata, India
Pranab Basak Circle of Freedom
Bhaskar Kundu
My Childhood
Kolkata, India NIKON D7000 18mm F/7.1 1/1000 ISO800 Kolkata, India Canon EOS 5D Mark II 67mm F/8 1/80 ISO2000

Pranav Krishnan
Tamil Nadu, India Canon EOS 1200D 123mm F/5 1/50 ISO800

Pritom Baroi Unite We Stand Divide We Fall Pinkesh Bhati

Kolkata, India Canon EOS 80D 70mm F/4 1/1000 ISO2500 Rajasthan, India Canon EOS 1200D 55mm F/11 1/200s ISO100
Mukesh Kumar Sitaram Kataruka Cages
Fish-eye
New Delhi, India NIKON D810 85mm F/3.2 1/500 ISO320 Kolkata, India SONY ILCE-3500 18mm F/5 1/100 ISO100

Gson Biswas
Tale of a Happy Man
Dhaka, Bangladesh Canon 7D 35mm F/4 1/100 ISO400

Saikat Samanta Happy

Sujit Saha Face to Face
Kolkata, India NIKON D3300 50mm F/2.8 1/100 ISO100 Kolkata, India NIKON D80 40mm F/4 1/60 ISO400
Sarathi Thamodaran Muhammad Shahjaman
Holy Kid
Tamil Nadu, India SONY ILCE-6000 50mm F/1.8 1/500 ISO200 Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sanhita Bhattacharjee Nature’s Bride Avismita Bhattacharya Biday

Agartala, India NIKON D7000 35mm F/2 1/2000 ISO640 Westbangal, India NIKON D7100 24mm F/2.8 1/50 ISO6400
 Tadpoles Sarathi Thamodaran
Old Lady
Canon EOS 7D 400mm F/10 1/100 ISO400 Tamil Nadu, India Canon EOS 7D 50mm F/2.8 1/50 ISO200

Mohammad Ibrahim Lightning Yashwanth Ram Talk to my Hand

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia NIKON D800E 14mm F/14 1/60 ISO50 Chennai, India Canon EOS 5D Mark III 105mm F/4 1/160 ISO320
Ashikul Islam
Ragpickers
Sylhet, Bangladesh Canon EOS 700D 49mm F/5.6 1/400 ISO100

Masked
Suvankar Sen Canon 6D 50mm F/4 1/80 ISO400 Suvankar Sen Intricate
Kolkata, India Kolkata, India Canon 6D 50mm F/4.5 1/80 ISO400
 Paige Munroe
Based in New York City, international fashion model,
Paige Munroe is from the little state of Rhode Island.
She moved to New York only a few short years ago
to pursue modeling after completing her degree in
Business/Marketing. She has walked in New York and
Milan Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week, modeled for
designer Roberto Cavalli, featured in Sports Illustrated,
cover of Maxim France and Playboy Venezuela. You
may have seen her in Stars TV show Ballers or a part
of a Will.i.am’s music video. This dynamic model says
she has just begun and is excited to build her empire
and continue to grow in the Fashion industry.

Paige Munroe
IG@paige_munroe
Facebook Fan Page “Paige Munroe”
Measurements:
Bust 34”
Waist 24”
Hip 34.5”
Height 5’9

The photographer: Sorvit L

IG@soravitl
Photos taken in Manhattan, New York
Turn of Events
Cat’s Cradle Off the Wall

Gaze
 Treasure Chest

Stroll à la Mode
Passé en Relevé
 Sanguine
Canon EOS 7D 35mm F/1.8 1/125s ISO100

Irina Orwald is an art photographer based in

Moscow, Russia. Through her photography,
she tries to convey the inmost, magical and
mysterious elements of her subjects and
tries to reveal their inner beauty. Her muses
always seem like they live in their own parallel
world. She believes that portrait is the mirror of
the soul and with her photographs she shares a
piece of her soul with the world.

Eidetic Image
Film Camera Canon 500 EOS 50mm 1/4s ISO200

Assertive Intense
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 Merged
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Scrutiny Sanctified
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 Confined
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Working for 12 years as a Senior Designer for a CBC Television, Marc Boily had spent a
lot of time manipulating images from photographers but never really owned his own
camera. After the mass layoff at the corporation in 2013, he decided to pursue
a few dreams he had in mind. In the early 90’s he spent 3 years in film school
learning composition basic and film making as well as learning about the digital
cameras trend but a game design career stirred him away from filmmaking or
photography until 2013 when he purchased his first DSLR. It wasn’t long after his
third camera purchase that he decided to call it a career. Not just a photography
career but a fine art journey with no end in sight. Through his photographs, Marc
only hopes that his audience enjoy the scenery throuh his eyes.
Unrestricted
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Pigmented Immaculate
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 Unsullied
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 Unveiled
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Virile
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Rajdeep Biswas
Alive Effigy
Kolkata, India NIKON D750 85mm F/9 1/160s ISO100

Rajdeep Biswas Ensconced Rajdeep Biswas Hold-On

Kolkata, India NIKON D750 70mm F/10 1/125s ISO100 Kolkata, India NIKON D810 70mm F/9 1/125s ISO100
Rajdeep Biswas Me, Myself and I
Kolkata, India NIKON D810 62mm F/10 1/16400s ISO100
Avigyan Roy Semblance
Kolkata, India NIKON D750 78mm F/8 1/400s ISO100
Rajdeep Biswas Eloquent Goddess
Kolkata, India NIKON D810 70mm F/13 1/160s ISO100