Chiiz Volume 12 : Portrait Photography

Gross National
Happiness
Swati Rawat
The
Silhouette
Master
Erich Caparas
The Animals
Wolf Ademeit
On The
Streets
Leroy Skalstad
Chiiz Gallery
Best of chiiz.com
Gear Review
SIGMA 14mm 1.8 Art
Navneeth Unnikrishnan

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Editorial
Arturo Lopez Illana
Prakhar Garg
Priyashi Negi
Ankit Tyagi
Chief Visualiser
Sheetal Mann
Design
Bhavyaa Parashar
Analysis
Prateek Kashyap
Writers
Aditi Puranik
Navneeth Unnikrishnan
Shrey Malik
Swati Rawat
Shimran Epari
Nivedita Joshi
Technology
Sachin Arora
Rishabh Jain
Bharat Bhushan
Aditya Baghel
Business Development
Rajesh Basu
Amit Ghosh
Dimas Fajar
Sales
Krishna Srinivas
Amit Gupta
Marketing
Kanika Maurya
Anurag Khaneja
Public Relations
Barkha Chandra
Staff Photographers
Surbhi Sharma
Susana Gomez
Tarundeep Singh
Urshita Saini
Finance
Neelu Singh
Consultant
Apratim Saha
Mansa Inc.
CEO
Mukesh Kumar
Cover Photo
Erich Caparas
Editorial
From times immemorial, portraits have been used for more
than just keeping record. They have been used to show power,
importance, virtue, beauty, wealth, taste, learning or other
qualities of the subject. Since then, the art of capturing faces
have come a long way. It takes just a moment in time to capture a face on
the film. The lines on the faces trace back to the past experiences, the raw
emotions and so many narratives. Eyes that hold embers amidst the swell
of oceans, speaking the language of the soul. The freckles like the galaxy
of stars, waiting to be explored. The magic that lies between the contours
of jawlines and cheekbones and the secrets hidden in the strands of hair.
The sunshine smiles and the raindrops on golden hair all depict beauty in
its eminence.
Drawing from the most expressive muse, Chiiz introduces its next
instalment on Faces. We have incorporated the works of many proficient
photographers to bring to you this month’s issue. The wildlife portraits
by Wolf Ademeit gives wildlife photography a whole new dimension with
stupefying animal portraits. Erich Caparas’ exquisite fashion portraits are as
aesthetically pleasing as they are immaculate. The black and white homeless
faces captured by Leroy Skalstad reflect the stories that one looks for in an
artwork.
JP Stones’ and Marco Vendittelli’s tribal portraits are breaking new ground
with the innovative thought process that went behind creating such
portraiture. Rupa Sutton’s portraits on pets is beyond adorable and a sight
for sore eyes. Vedat Satilmis’ and Puneet Jain’s work on monochrome Faces
is awe-inspiring and epitomize the true theme of this issue. We have the
exquisite work of Leo who has contributed by sharing his tasteful work on
birds.
The portraits by Harshawardhan Nevkar depict the Indian street portraiture
in all its finesse. Alexandre Sattler’s portraits characterize travel and culture
and each frame is extraordinary beyond measure. One cannot help but
marvel at the Underwater portraiture by Alex Ribeiro and how his pictures
give an altogether different edge to underwater photography. Saumalya
Ghosh’s avant garde work on street is one that will leave the viewer
entranced. Suniel Marathe amazes with sensational boudoir photography
that is staggering in itself.
Overall this issue is replete with amazing portraiture that will leave you in
awe and admiration, looking for untold stories in the masks that people
wear. For the deep furrows on the face are a remembrance of events that
transpired during a lifetime. How tears sometimes flowed parallel to the
lines of happiness. Etched on the face and the forehead is a sanctuary of
bygone eras. The face tells it all.
Regards,
Arturo Lopez Illana

Contents
Classics
Old is Gold
Boulevard du Temple
Louis Jacques Daguerre
28 Movie Review 36
Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock
Triggers
Cover Story
14
16
20
24
30
38
Leo
Alex Ribeiro
Alexandre Sattler
Puneet Jain
Wojtek Stark
Rupa Sutton
The Silhouette
Master
Erich Caparas
Feature
The Animals
Wolf Ademeit
94
8
42
46
JP Stones
Marco Vendittelli
On the Streets
Leroy Skalstad
32
62
64
65
Arturo Lopez Illana
Harshavardhan Nevkar
Mayank Gandhi
Gross National
Happiness
Swati Rawat
50
68
72
Lt Col Vijay Singh
Saumalya Ghosh
Vedat Satilmis
(Collection)
58
82
Joan Carol
86
Lidia Vives Rodrigo
Hall of Fame
Model of
the Month
Tanvi Manjunath
88
Figure Study
Suniel Marathe
91
Tools
Gear Review
56 App of the Month 66
SIGMA 14mm 1.8 Art Series AfterFocus

The Animals
Wolf Ademeit talks about his popular style of
wildlife photography and how it is different than
other genres
Wolf Ademeit was born in Oberhausen, in the North
Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. He started with
photography during his lithographic education. In 2007,
he began photographing zoo animals for a series he
titled ANIMALS. His trademark style includes the artistic
representation of animals in black and white, and a black
background to create emphasis on the subject. This style
has inspired several photographers worldwide, who have
adopted it to create dramatic images.
Cheese
F/6.3 1/160s ISO3200
Q. Love towards wildlife and
getting no special privilege while
in zoo, what is your opinion on
this?
A. I am always asked if I have
special privileges in the zoos in
which I photograph. Well, I have no
special privileges. My pictures were
taken as a normal zoo visitor during
the normal visiting hours. This note
was intended for my workshops.
Some participants may otherwise
8
FEATURE
expect special access or privileged
treatment, such as a backstage pass
at concerts. It is also possible as a
normal zoo visitor to photograph
aesthetically demanding pictures.
Q. Using animals as models and
portraying their sharp expressions
can be challenging. How do you
plan your shoot?
A. Unfortunately, you cannot plan
otherwise expect special access
or privileged treatment, such as
a backstage pass at concerts. It
is also possible as a normal zoo
visitor to photograph aesthetically
demanding pictures.
Q. Using animals as models and
portraying their sharp expressions
can be challenging. How do you
plan your shoot?
A. Unfortunately, you cannot plan
good luck.

Q. Most of your work is in black
and white, is there any specific
reason for choosing black and
white for wildlife photography?
A. Before digital photography, I
photographed, almost exclusively,
black and white. For me, it has
always been important to control
the whole process. For color proofs,
I would have had to delegate a
part of the workflow to a lab. The
aim of the “Animals” project is to
portray zoo animals more artistically
than individuals or species. The
series should not be documentary.
Black and white is a good option.
The black background serves to
restrict attention to the animal. The
“Animals” series was initially black
and white only. Since I photograph
digitally in RAW format, there is of
course always a color version. For
some pictures, for example the
Mandrill, the color version is also
much more intense than the black
and white version. Personally, I like
the black and white pictures better.
Q. Which animal has been the
most difficult subject in your
photography experience? How
did you managed to capture it?
A. Animal photography is difficult
in principle, because you can not
plan. Mostly you can only wait for a
suitable opportunity. Unfortunately,
sometimes very long. My picture,
Vortex, for example, took a few
years to make it all fit like I imagined.
When I started to shoot for the
ANIMALS series, I saw a lying zebra
and the strong graphic effect of the
vertebra when the head is turned.
Unfortunately, neither my point of
view nor the light was suitable. But
every time I visited the zoo I looked
for this opportunity. After a few
years of waiting it finally worked
out.
Q. What post processing skills do
you use to give the final touch to
your photographs?
A. I prefer to work with Lightroom
because I always want to click
my pictures in RAW format. I use
Photoshop only when I need to
sharpen the final images or when
it is necessary to use functions that
do not exist in Lightroom.
Q. According to you, what are
the common mistakes amateur
wildlife photographers make
while photographing the wild?
A. Often the effort is completely
underestimated. Due to the daily
flood of images and sophisticated
animal documentaries on TV, many
people think that it is very easy to
photograph a great animal picture.
The fact that nature photographers
are often on the road for weeks,
or wait for a suitable opportunity
is overlooked. At my workshops,
I always see if the participants
have the necessary patience and
concentration. Sometimes, you
have to wait a long time until
something interesting happens.
FEATURE 9

Gaehnial
F/6.3 1/400 ISO800

Hi Human
F/6.3 1/360 ISO1600
His trademark style includes
the artistic representation of
animals in black and white,
and a black background to
create emphasis on the subject.
This style has inspired several
photographers worldwide,
who have adopted it to create
dramatic images.
Oommmm
F/6.3 1/320 ISO1600
Hello World
F/6.3 1/320 ISO200

The Baboon
F/7.1 1/500 ISO1600
His photographs have
been chosen by artists as
templates for drawings,
paintings and tattoos.
Gimme Some
F/6.3 1/320 ISO500
Not Human
F/8 1/500 ISO1600
Chimpanzees Don’t Share
F/6.3 1/320 ISO3200
In 2016, Wolf ’s images were exhibited
in Milan (Italy), as part of a
fundraising initiative by the Elephant
Action League, a nonprofit that fights
wildlife crime across the world. The
sale of his pictures raised a five-digit
sum for the organization.”
Saki
F/6.7 1/400 ISO1600
Prateek Kashyap
prateek@chiiz.com
An adventure seeker by heart, his
passion for photography was ignited
in the Great Himalayas. Clicking clear
frames and solving the mysteries of
life, he just wants to spend his time as
a confused photographer.

Taitung Firethorn
Nikon D4S 600mm F/5.6 1/640 ISO800
Scimitar Babbler
Nikon D500 600mm F/5 1/2000 ISO1400
Leo is an amateur bird photographer.
Currently living in Taiwan, an island
with beautiful scenery, small but
yet populated nearly 600 kinds of
birds. It is the colorful and vivid bird
ecosystem that keeps me motivated
and thrive to capture every moment
in the past 20 years.
Osprey
Nikon D500 600 mm F/5.6 1/1600 ISO200

Kingfisher
Nikon D4S 600mm F/5.6 1/3200 ISO2200
Honey Buzzard
Nikon D7100 600mm F/4 1/2000 ISO1000

One among many
Nikon D810 105 mm F/18 1/250 ISO100
Alex Ribeiro is a teacher,
entrepreneur, organic farmer and
a yachtsman, who left Portugal
in 2014 for a Southeast Asian
adventure as a dive instructor and
professional photographer. Coming
from an Art-History background,
he’s been documenting ways of
life and traditions, while exploring
the Indo-Pacific ocean and working
with the most exclusive resorts. His
images have been travelling the
world, literally, on airline magazines
and on more than 20 international
prestigious travel and luxury lifestyle
magazines.
16 TRIGGERS
Blue Ribbon Eel
Nikon D810 105 mm F/22 1/200 ISO100

Last year, he based himself in Amed,
Bali and dedicated almost exclusively
to underwater photography and
product reviewing in collaboration
with SeaLife Indonesia and Elab /
Nauticam Bali.
Two Happy Friends
Nikon D810 105 mm F/45 1/250 ISO100
Puffer School
Nikon D7200 60 mm F/16 1/200 ISO100

Find Alex Ribeiro’s work
Website: alexribeiro.co
Instagram: alexribeiro.photography
Facebook: AlexRibeiro.photography
Goby on a Tunicate
Nikon D810 105 mm F/18 1/250 ISO64
Skeleton Meal
Nikon D810 105 mm F/32 1/250 ISO80
Barracuda at the Dentist
Nikon D7200 105 mm F/14 1/250 ISO100

Na XI
Nikon D810 Nikon 24-120 mm F/4.2 1/250 105mm
The Lover
Nikon D810 Nikon 24-120 mm F/5 1/400 48mm
Red Zao
Nikon D810 Nikon 24-120 mm F/4.2 1/250 105mm
Mamy Coconuts
Nikon D500 Nikon 18-105 mm F/8.6 1/80 92mm
Pipe Burning
Nikon D810 Nikon 28-300 mm F/4 1/125 66mm
Dolma
Nikon D810 Nikon 28-300 mm F/11 1/100 29mm
Alexandre Sattler’s main subjects are travel and cultural immersion
through photography and radio documentary. Born in 1980,
Alexandre grew up in the mountains. His playgrounds were the forests
and neighbors’ farms. He developed his care for all living beings at
a young age. His love for nature led him to naturalist studies. His
adventurous soul brought him to Africa at the age of 20. He returned
to France to finish his naturalist and mountain guide diplomas and
hit the road again as soon as possible, with his camera. During
his several peregrinations, Alexandre always remained focused on
sharing his life experiences, largely through photography. In 2006,
he gave birth to the French NGO “Regard’Ailleurs”, sticking with
his will to share diversity that may either tear humans apart or unite
us. Today, he has published many articles and portfolios mostly
about environment, ecology, education and spirituality.

The Smoker
Nikon D810 Nikon 24-120 mm F/1.8 1/200 50mm

My Friend
Nikon D810 Nikon 24-120 mm F/4 1/125 66mm
My Bird
Nikon D810 Nikon 28-300 mm F/5.6 1/100 300mm

Age slows things
Nikon D750 85mmF/4 1/400 ISO320
Tired of waiting
Nikon D750 112mm F/4 1/80 ISO400
Puneet Jain is a Delhi based
professional photographer who
gets inspired from the energy of
his amazing city and its people.
Photography allows him to meet
so many interesting people and
he feels blessed that there is no
typical day in his life, no 9 to 5 shift
and no mundane stuff. His camera
keeps him on the move and the
day completes only when it gets
some great shots.
24 TRIGGERS
Invisible tarts are hard to wipe
Nikon D750 70mm F/2.8 1/250 ISO800

Waiting for long
Nikon D750 50mm F/2.8 1/200 ISO100

Afraid of losing life
Nikon D750 80mm F/2.5 1/60 ISO100
Photography is a way of feeling, of
touching, of loving. For me it adds
up as a way of living.
Thank you for smoking
Nikon D750 50mm F/1.8 1/2000 ISO320
Watching the world fall apart
iPhone 6 4.15mm F/2.2 1/100 ISO50
Calm but not from within
Nikon D750 85mm F/2.8 1/320 ISO320
Happy to die young
iPhone 6 40.15mm F/2.2 1/105 ISO32

Old is Gold
Louis Jacques Daguerre and his most
celebrated creation Boulevard du Temple
Louis Daguerre
Portraits have been the most
demanding photography genre ever
since the beginning. Everyone feels
the need of a well captured portrait
of themselves for personal as well
as official work. But have you ever
thought about the beginning of
portrait photography? Here comes the
answer to this question.
Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre
popularly known as Louis Daguerre
(18 November 1787- 10 July 1851),
was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis,
Val-d’Oise, France. Not only was he a
photographer, but also an apprentice in
Architecture, the first French panoramic
painter, and a celebrated designer for
the famous Diorama theatre. One of
the fathers of photography, he is best
recognized for the invention of the
daguerreotype photography.
An inland revenue officer turned a
scene painter for the opera, he also
pursued acting but could not achieve
much praise in it. There was some
big invention waiting for him which
later culminated as the Diorama,
an exhibition of pictorial views, with
various effects induced by changes in
the lighting in 1822. He also opened a
similar establishment in Regent’s park
but unfortunately it was destroyed by
Top: Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre
Below: Boulevard du Temple
28
CLASSICS

Left: by 1835, Daguerre
fire in 1839. In 1829 Daguerre met
Nicéphore Niépce, an inventor who
had produced world’s first Heliograph
in 1822, and the oldest surviving
camera photograph in 1826. He
had been attempting to obtain
permanent pictures by the action of
sunlight since 1814. While Niépce
was fascinated about Diorama,
Daguerre too had an idea about
capturing an image from the camera
obscura. The individual efforts of both
became much more worthy when the
two became partners in 1829, and
continued to work together until the
death of Niépce in 1833.
By 1835, Daguerre had discovered
that if a copper plate coated with
silver iodide was exposed to light in
a camera, then with fumes of mercury
vapor fixed by a solution of common
salt, a permanent image would be
formed. This process reduced the
exposure time from eight hours to
thirty minutes. The results were not
permanent because whenever the
developed picture was exposed to
light, the unexposed areas of silver
darkened, until the image was no
longer visible.
Daguerre put all his efforts in his
goal and finally he made it. He made
a crucial discovery when he found
that an invisible faint “latent” image
created by much longer exposure
could be chemically “developed”
into a visible image. Daguerre, on
seeing the image exclaimed, “I have
seized the light, I have arrested the
flight”.
In 1839, Daguerre used his invention
to capture what is thought to be
the first picture of a human. The
shoe-shiner on the street of Paris’
Boulevard du Temple, wasn’t actually
aware that he is going to make history
when Daguerre clicked an image of
the shoe-shiner and a customer on
the street. Perhaps the street might
be filled with a lot more people
moving around on the streets, but the
anonymous Frenchman and the shoeshiner
were only two to stand still for
a period of 10 minutes. It needed
Daguerre to expose the silver plated
sheet of copper for several minutes,
develop it and then finally fix the
image using chemicals.
The second version of Boulevard du
Temple was taken later in the same
day judging from the position of the
shadows. This was a big day indeed
because this was the first time when a
human being was pictured; until now
only ‘art’ had served the purpose.
By mid-19th century a large numbers
of pictures, especially portraits,
were created by the process. This
technique was supplemented by
the Wet Collodion Process. Thereby,
Daguerreotype became the first
successful form of photography.
Daguerre achieved great heights
after his discovery. Some of his
surviving works include the view of
the rear of Notre-Dame Cathedral
and the surrounding areas, Paris,
the photograph taken from Louis
Daguerre’s third floor apartment
of the houses on Saint Martin
Boulevard in Paris, still life collection
of sculptures presented to King
Ludwig I of Bavaria, Still life collection
of sculptures including one of
Jupiter Tonans. Presented to prince
Metternich of Austria, a still life of
sculptures. One of these photographs
was also presented to Nicholas I of
Russia, 1839.
Besides these, Louise’s work on
earliest portraits has also been
found. Few of them are the portraits
of an artist in 1843, two portraits of
undefined men (1840-1845), the
portrait of American inventor Samuel
Morse, 1854 and another portrait of
Madame Louise Georgina Daguerre,
wife of Louis Daguerre.
In this way, Daguerreotype made
huge success and it kept on increasing
Louise’s virtue day by day. Louise
breathed his on 10 July 1851, at Brysur-Marne,
France and is still revered
as one of the founding fathers of
photography.
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.
CLASSICS
29

Blue Eyes
NX1 F/2.8 1/80 ISO400
A Woman
NX1F/2.8 1/200 ISO250
Wojtek Stark is a trained sculptor and therapist for people
with autism from Germany. He is interested in portraits since his
childhood. His passion for street photography was born and is still
growing up since he started to travel in India, it was 5 years ago.
He never thought before, he would ever do photography, but India
taught him how to do it, in a way, he would never expect before.
India offers many gems for street photographers, especially the
huge ethnicity, opposites, colours and differences. He got into it
all very fast.

A Woman 2
ILCE-7RM2 F/2.8 1/1000 ISO200
A Wise Man
NX1 F/2.8 1/640 ISO320
N I C E
NX500 F/2.2 1/100 ISO320

Leroy Skalstad
grew up on a small
farm west of Holy
Hill Wisconsin.
Now known
affectionately as
“Cameraman” by
those experiencing
homelessness,
Leroy has worked
on the St. Ben’s
Community Meal
Program annual
calendar for the
past 21 years and
works each year
for Help-Portrait
Milwaukee,
which offers free
photo shoots for
underprivileged
families in
December. He
says that his life
as a photographer
has been an
incredible 61-yearold
journey.
Needful Face
Canon EOS 5D F/8 100mm 1/250 ISO800

The Thoughtful Mind
Canon EOS 5D 105mm F/5.6 1/30 ISO500
Poor Situation
Canon EOS 5D 135mm F/5 1/250 ISO400
On The Streets
Leroy Skalstad talks about his experience of
living on the streets and about his journey of
becoming a photographer
Q. We came to know that you
are a veteran and have served in
the Vietnam War and have also
experimented with photography.
Please share your experience
with us?
A. It was kind of a golden time
for me when it all happened. I did
photography in Vietnam but only
when I used to get free time. In
Vietnam, we have the monsoon
rains and there you can do some
great photography. I used to go
in the cities and the villages and
when you are an infantry soldier it
becomes difficult to carry a 35mm
camera with us. But we did have
the Kodak 126 Instamatic cameras
and it took a lot less space while
carrying. We used to keep it in our
backpacks and the 35mm mostly
stayed at our basecamps.
Q. How long have you been living
on the streets and photographing
the street life?
A. It has been over 30 years that
I have been living in the streets.
It all happened when I started
having problems in keeping jobs.
I couldn’t handle the stress of a
normal work-day; I shared it with
the doctors and they diagnosed
post-traumatic stress disorder but I
had to go through a lot of struggle
as I had to get an approval to get
the compensation. The approval
process takes a couple of years and
that’s when I spent time living in the
streets. When you love photography
and you don’t have a camera, you
would just look at people who are in
the streets. When you are homeless,
you don’t often talk to people and
just make eye contact. I always
used to think to myself that, God I
wish I could just capture this as a
portrait in my camera. So eventually
when I got a place to live, I went
and bought a 35mm Pentax k1000
camera for about $40 as the camera
was a bit old and then I went on
with photographing the streets.
Q. How has living on the
streets helped you to acuminate
photographic eyes?
A. There are young people on the
street and they actually don’t talk
to you as you are a stranger. But
you make eye contact with them
and you get to know them with
their expressions. I am aware of my
surroundings and there are children
and teens that are rejected by their
families due to their physical or
cognitive disorders and sometimes
because of their sexuality. When
you get to know their story and
share your own story with them you
can really relate to how they feel.
When it comes to photography you
have to first know your subject and
without using words you tell their
FEATURE 33

Helpless
Canon EOS 5D F/6.3 1/250 ISO400
Solitude
Canon 5D Mark III F/8 1/125 ISO400
Lonely Look
Canon EOS 5D F/5 1/250 ISO400
story. The real stories are mostly
present in the streets, the homeless
have experienced a lot and I always
try my subjects to comprehend
what photography actually is. That
is when they give permission to do
photography.
Q. What is your main focus when
you subject the homeless? How do
you differentiate your work from
the non-homeless photographers
when they make the homeless
their subjects?
A. A lot of times what happens is that
when I find something interesting,
I ask people if they would have a
cup of coffee and then we talk
about our stories and share our
experiences. That is when we really
get to connect with the homeless
and it becomes more interesting.
I bring up my story, where I come
from and my struggle in life from
being a veteran to a homeless
person. That is how I develop a
mutual trust with my subjects where
we can actually relate to each other.
There are complications related to
using the homeless as subjects as
the circumstances can be different
and I personally have had situations
where conversations transitioned
into portrait sections. I like to think
that sometimes when my subjects
ask me how do I want them to
pose. My answer always remains
the same, just look at my lens as
you are sharing your life story with
other people. My subjects don’t
always look directly in the camera
but when they do, they are really
sharing their life story with other
people. According to me that’s the
hallmark of my work and that’s what
I do.
Q. Who has been your inspiration
in life and in what ways do they
inspire you?
A. My mom has always been my
inspiration in life and she is the one
who taught me the value of freezing
time and the value of archiving
photos. I knew that my mother
created our modest life on a small
dairy farm which would be valued
as the years go by. My favourite
artist has been Gordan Parks and his
work is so inspiring that I have kept
his work in my apartment too. He
had a way of using his equipment
as per the subjects. His hallmark
was how he brought the story at
forefront, if you look his work it’s
so natural people are at ease while
working with him and that’s where
all my inspiration comes from. I just
cannot define his work in words.
34
FEATURE

The Homless
Canon EOS 5D 85mm F/4.5 1/125 ISO400
To be known as “Cameraman” Leroy says, is
both humbling and rewarding. His mother was
a photographer, as a 8-year-old, the concept of
“freezing time” was the most incredible thing.
Down-and-out
Canon EOS 5D F/4.5 1/250 ISO800
In His Thoughts
Canon EOS 5D F/5 1/250 ISO1600
Ankit Tyagi
ankit@chiiz.com
Ankit has intense love towards photography and is now working as
an Asst. Editor with Chiiz. 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.
FEATURE 35

Movie Review
Rear Window
Duration: 01hr 55min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
Released: 1954
Writer: John Michael Hayes
Directed: Alfred Hitchcock
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Plot
A photojournalist L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, famous for
his work in the magazine is trapped on a chair with
a broken leg. The movie starts with Jeff sleeping
with his broken leg on a chair in his tiny, sweltering
courtyard apartment. The role of Jeff is played by none
other than James Stewart, a well-known name in the
history of Hollywood. Jeff is a restless man of action
who is confined to his apartment and spends weeks
looking out of his window at his neighbours across the
courtyard. As being a photojournalist he is great with
the skills of a spy. Through his window Jeff carries out
the act of voyeurism.
He has two regular visitors, his nurse Stella (Thelma
Ritter) who is assigned by the insurance company and
his elegant model and designer girlfriend Lisa Fremont
(Grace Kelly). His girlfriend has been trying hard to
get him committed to marry her. But Jeff looks at his
surroundings and gets to know that life after marriage
is very hard to carry. He is lectured by Stella as she also
wants him to marry as she thinks that Jeff will change
and will stop peeping into others life.
As Jeff takes a look outside his rear window he gets
to observes a flamboyant dancer along with a middle
aged women, a pianist, married couples and it’s very
interesting that every character has a different life story
altogether. One window showcases a married couple
who is oversexed while on the other hand, there is a
bachelorette who goes dateless every night. There is
another married couple which Jeff sees through his
window, this is Mr. Lars Thorwald (Burr) and his nagging
wife.
One night there is a thunderstorm and Jeffries hears
the scream of a woman and later sees Thorwald with a
trunk and find out that Mrs. Thorwald is missing. Jeff is
convinced that Thorwald has killed his wife. There are
a lot of questions that come up in Jeff’s mind about
whether Mrs. Thorwald is really dead? And if she is
dead, how can it be proved? The plot revolves around
the mystery of Mrs. Thorwald missing and the lives of
Jeff’s neighbours. If you want to know what happens to
the mystery puzzle of the death of Mrs. Thorwald then
you have to watch this amazing mystery thriller movie
with an act of voyeurism.
The act of voyeurism is highlighted with artistic nature of
the movie and the cinematography is uniquely blended
by director Alfred Hitchcock. One will not get bored as
the movie begins with a lot of intensity. There is a lot
of suspense from the very beginning and doesn’t leave
the spectators till the end, so the interest of viewers will
not be lost. Voyeurism is the act of observing the lives
of others, but not always for sexual gratification. The
process through which people gain more satisfaction
from viewing than living. There is a little bit of a voyeur
in all of us but the way Alfred Hitchcock has presented
it in the movie is just marvellous.
Review
Rear Window is perfect combinations of thriller; mystery
and cinematography which will not make the viewer’s
lose their interest. The suspense which starts from the
beginning is carried till the end and the way camera
portraits Jeffries’ point of view is just great to see. The
title of the movie ‘Rear Window’ is justified as most of
the shots are either of the windows or from the window.
If you are classic movie enthusiast, then Rear Window
by Alfred Hitchcock is a must watch movie.
Nivedita Joshi
nivedita@chiiz.com
A content writer by profession. Nivedita is the girl next door who likes to
refer to herself as a potboiler and has an avid love for the Korean culture.
She enjoys her Netflix and Chill with a cup of chai.
36
CLASSICS

Snowy Finn
Canon EF 100 mm F/3.3 1/400 ISO3200

Pippa and Mirror
Sigma Art 50 mm F/2.2 1/500 ISO640
Rupa Sutton is a mother to 3 human, 6 fur and 4
feathered kids. Through photography she has been
able to combine her two passions, animals and art.
Her favorite thing with animals is to capture the
interactions and antics naturally as they happen,
to tell a story and show the personality of her
subjects. She enjoy sharing the adventures of her
crew with so many through social media platforms
and print. With her fairytale like images, she hope
to make people smile as she does each day thanks
to these beautiful souls she’s surrounded by.
Freya in Blue Scarf
Canon EF 135 mm F/2 1/1600 ISO320

Rocco and Pippa
Sigma Art 500 F/4.5 1/200 ISO3200
Eva and Luca
Canon EF 200 mm F/2.8 1/1000 ISO200
River and Rain
Canon EF 135 mm F/5.6 1/320 ISO2000
River and Rain(close up)
Canon EF 100 mm F/10 1/500 ISO3200

High-Speed Cinebot - BOLT
World’s fastest high-speed camera robot ‘The BOLT Cinebot’ is
now available in India through Stereovision. A combination of
speed, precision, portability and repeatability, this is one robot
for the perfect cinematography experience. The high-speed
camera robot can move from standstill to high-speed motion
and back again in fraction of a second. The arm of Bolt allows
the camera to literally follow falling objects and capture images
which would be impossible by hand or any other method.
The Bolt high-speed Cinebot – for precise
camera moves at ultra-high speeds!
Along with the award winning software, the Bolt can do very
precise work which would be very difficult or time consuming
to create shots in seconds. Mark Roberts Motion Control
(MRMC), UK has certified this robot for the best high-speed
motion capturing and the best cinematography. The Bolt is
a multi-axis precision motor-controlled robotic arm fixed to a
stationary base, which, in turn, can be moved on hi-tech rails at
the speed of four meters per seconds and the arm can swivel in
a 180-degree arc, in any direction.
The camera at the end of the Bolt arm is positioned at the
beginning of the sequence of movement that has to be filmed.
All these features are programmed into the software and the
machine facilitates movements in such a way that they can be
repeated precisely and accurately as many times as required to
get the perfect take. MCRC can provide large range of different
sized robotics systems to allow for payload from 1kg to 1000kg,
while giving a full 6 degrees-of-freedom, at speeds that can
literally be faster that the eye can see.
MCRC makes Bolt as well as the flair software that operates the
Cinebot. Flair facilitates 128 axes of motion for the robotic arm.
Operating Envelope
Maximum Height 2.45m
Lowest Position .0m
Maximum Reach (from
rotate centre)
Practical Shooting Speeds
1.5m
For more details log on to:
stereovision.biz
info@stereovision.biz
1800 425 2774
1m vertical move
Complete 180 degree arc with
a 75cm radius
Complete 180 degree arc with
a 45cm radius
Half a second
1.5 seconds
KEY FEATURES
SPEED: Bolt Cinebot is the fastest high speed camera robot.
Turntables: Interfacing to camera, external triggers, model movers and turntables
for extreme precision timing.
Lighting: Contral DMX lighting.
Tabletop: shoot commercials, tabletop work, film or television.
LENS MOTORS: High-speed, high-tarque lens motors capable of precision lens
control.
TIME CODE: Trigger from time code.
REPEATABLE: Every camera move under complete control- precisely repeatable.
MAYA: Take moves planned in Maya and feed them into the Bolt.
FLAIR INTERFACE: Interface with real-time virtal and augmented reality graphicsall
through flair software.
TRIGGERS 41

Sitting or Waiting
Canon EOS 5D Mark III F/8 1/500 ISO160
J P Stones has spent much of his
life traveling from one country to
the next. While on this journey, he
became aware of how we seem to
be moving towards a homogenous
global culture of sorts. He saw
photography as a way to capture
and promote the uniqueness of
both ancient and modern cultures.
It was this seed of an idea that grew
into Aztec Photography Workshops
in Mexico: an opportunity to
photograph locals who have
retained their culture, customs and
heritage, despite modern pressure.
Owns the Territory
Canon EOS 5D Mark III F/1.8 1/200 ISO50

That Look
Canon EOS 5D Mark III F/2 1/100 ISO100
Playing with Nature
Canon EOS 5D Mark III F/5 1/100 ISO500

44
TRIGGERS
In Search of Prey
Canon EOS 5D Mark III F/1.8 1/250 ISO50
The Colorful Lady
Canon EOS 5D Mark III F/2.2 1/100 ISO4000

Taneka tribe, Benin
Nikon D750 35 mm F/2 1/250 ISO100

Fulani woman with traditional facial tattoos
Nikon D810 35 mm F/3.5 1/200 ISO100
Fulani woman from North Benin
Nikon D810 35 mm F/2.8 1/250 ISO100
Bedouin in Adrar region, Mauritania
Nikon D750 35 mm F/8 1/320 ISO100
Marco Vendittelli is from Sorrento (Italy) and is a
30 years old traveller and amateur photographer.
He loves to take the expressions and the feelings
of people through his photos that he meet around
the world from Eritrea to Nagaland. Without
too many programs and with the backpack on
his shoulder, he travel when he feels the need
to leave. He takes an aero and builds incredible
itineraries thanks to the people he meetsand
those who accompany him. He moves from one
city to another pursuing roads not too crowded
by mass tourism.
TRIGGERS 47

Woman from Tamberma tribe, Togo
Nikon D750 35 mm F/10 1/250 ISO100

Gross National
Happiness
The lifestyle, the food, the places and of course
the people, it’s all happy in Bhutan
Prateek Kashyap
New Delhi, India
Kids of Phuensholing
Canon 60D 90 mm F/5.6 1/200 ISO640
Happiness is a transient wave that we
chase while living this limited life. A
desire so potent which makes a man
move to unfathomable distances.
And yet, even when we momentarily
embrace this fleeting phantom, it
slips out of our grip like water leaving
us gasping, panting, and desiring for
more.
I’m sure you’ve lived long enough to
experience this. So let me ask you,
how does your version of happiness
looks like? I remember sitting on the
balcony of my house and asking this
question every single night before
going to sleep. My version was
simple - find your passion, be good
to others, and love yourself. I knew
I wasn’t the only person searching
for it but I wanted proof. I wanted to
validate my thoughts to know that
there were other people around who
consciously aimed to live and direct
their entire life in fulfilling this goal.
I was looking for a person, at max
a group with mutual philosophy. I
didn’t know that I would come across
a country.
50
FEATURE
The first time I ever heard about a
country called Bhutan was in middle
school when my teacher asked me
to locate this landlocked country on
a map. I might not have passed that
test but on that day, I was introduced
to this tiny neighbor of ours. And
now, 14 years later, I bumped into
this acquaintance again only this time
it happened through a friend.
‘...And Paro, Oh man the quaint Paro
valley. It got me high man.’ My friend
confessed after coming back from his
backpacking trip with his grad mates.
‘High on what?’ I winked.
He closed his eyes, sank back on
the chair and exhaled with a smile,
‘Happiness’.
That was it. If a place could literally
take my cynical friend’s breath away,
it could at least give me few bouts of
peace. I was not at all prepared for
what came next.
The plane landed at Bagdogra airport
and I mentally prepared myself for
the roadtrip to Phuentsholing. I
hadn’t slept all night to sort my work
before this vacation and I could feel
sleep deprived crankiness sweeping
through my mind. The last thing I
needed was a nauseous road trip
through the mountains. I took a deep
breath and woman-ed up. I had to
get through 4-5 hours of drive before
hitting my face on a pillow at my stay.
‘4-5 hours Swati. You can do it. Maybe
it’ll end sooner than you realize.’ I
told myself. Never in my life did the
universe ever respond so potently
and delivered so swiftly. And never in
my life I wish it hadn’t.
The journey from Bagdogra to
Phuentsholing felt like it was carved
out of a sculptor’s imagination. With
the mountains accompanying me
throughout the journey, I didn’t feel
tired or alone. I had a new travel
buddy and a pretty mesmerizing one I
tell you. The only time it disappeared
while I was on the road was when
it passed the torch to its other half
and let it surround my vision with
nothing but trees and wildlife. Yeah,
that happens too. You cross three rich
luscious forests and if you’re lucky
enough, you could spot an elephant

or two on your way. I felt like a child
visiting disneyland for the first time.
Everything grabbed my attention and
I was frantically peeking out through
the window trying not to miss out on
anything. It was such a rush of blood
to the head that my fatigue left the
room for wonder to fill that space. I
spent the night at Phuentsholing and
left for Thimpu the next day.
Upon reaching Thimpu, I saw this
woman at a restaurant where I
stopped to grab some breakfast; Late
80s, having this peculiar look on her
face as if she was amused. You know
that look when you see an old picture
and can’t help but grinning ear to
ear even after putting it down? Yeah,
she had that look since I entered this
place. I was intrigued. I immediately
wanted to talk and say Hi. Turned out,
she was the owner of this neat little
place and she didn’t realise that she
was smiling.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking
about. I was just cleaning the counter’,
she said with the same curve rested
on her face, as I pointed it out. She
unknowingly made my day. I paid my
regards to her and left, stealing her
expressions for the day.
A gush of fresh air swayed over me
as soon as I stepped out and opened
my eyes only to find myself standing
at this picturesque spot surrounded
by mountains and serene faces.
Throughout that day, all I saw was
this undefined curve and a sense of
absolute calmness which everyone
seemed to nonchalantly possess. To
be honest, I was a little jealous and
mystified.
The next day I began my day trip to
Punakha where the serenity stretched
over the landscape. However, I
couldn’t hide my excitement over
visiting the temple of fertility after
reading about it for so long and it was
as peculiar as I expected it to be. With
walls covered immensely with the art
of phalluses of all shapes, sizes, and
in all directions, I wondered if I would
ever get to see so many of them at
one single place especially with such
graceful undertone.
And the best was kept for the last.
A day later, I was in Paro valley and
that was the time, I understood my
friend’s remark in its purest essence.
It felt like going into a serene coma,
so overwhelming that you take in
everything and nothing around you
at the same time. I remember sitting
outside and having a cup of tea when
I saw a man carrying his toddler on his
shoulders and telling him something
with that same recognizable smile. He
felt like a character from some silent
indie movie involving lots of colors,
lots of calmness, and lots of feelgood
moments.
I embarked upon my three hour trek
to reach Paro Taktsang prominently
known as Tiger’s Nest. A dreamer’s
dreamlike journey introduced me to
the diverse flora and fauna of Bhutan
only to lead me towards one of most
magnificent sight ever captured by my
Marjit Bhaskar Gupta
Banaras,India
Kids of Phuensholing
Sony ILCE-3500 50mm F/1.8 1/400 ISO200

Prateek Kashyap
New Delhi, India
Paro Valley
Canon EOS 60D 18mm F/3.5 1/640 ISO100
Prateek Kashyap
New Delhi, India
Woman of Phuensholing
Canon EOS 60D 60mm F/5 1/200 ISO1250
Prateek Kashyap
New Delhi, India
Punakha
Canon EOS 60D 18mm F/3.5 1/200 ISO640
unfiltered eyes. The view welcomed
me with a monastery embracing a
side of the cliff. As soon as I entered
that spiritual haven my senses were
awakened by the aroma of the
incense sticks and deep moaning
chants. I felt rejuvenated and had
immense gratitude to be able to
witness this spellbinding experience.
The following morning when I went
for my very first hot stone bath
experience, I thought a part my soul
was healed.
The next day, I had a flight waiting for
me to take me home. But as I looked
back at those mountains and smiles
for the last time, I felt like I was leaving
one instead. When I was doing my
own little research before coming, I
came across this term called Gross
National Happiness. Throughout my
stay here, I understood what it meant
and I also found a better answer for
my eternal question.
This amazing journey of Bhutan was
made even more incredible with
Offbeat tracks. From the pick up
service to guides and the homestays,
everything flowed smoothly without
any hassle. This uninterrupted and
wholesome experience added even
more charm to this mesmerizing
journey. From making sure to keep
us comfy with adequate blankets
to providing us with authentic
and nutritional diet, if my soul was
recharged by Bhutan, then my body
followed suit due to these amazing
guys. Say hello to them here:
offbeattracks.co
Anand Suthar
Mumbai, India
OLYMPUS E-PL1 40mm F/4 1/80 ISO1600
Swati Rawat
swati@chiiz.com
A regular 24 year old stranger only with
untamable curls battling existential
crisis every waking hour. When I’m not
working or sleeping or eating, I write
to make sense out of my cluttered
thoughts.
52
FEATURE

Anand Suthar
Mumbai, India
Panasonic DMC-LX100 11mm f/14 1/320s ISO200
Yamini Krishna
Thane,India
NIKON D7100 24mm f/10 1/200s ISO100
Radha Swami
Banaras, India
NIKON D7100 1/400s ISO100
Radha Swami
Banaras, India
NIKON D7100 11mm f/2.8 1/640s ISO160
Radha Swami
Banaras, India
NIKON D7100 70mm f/6.3 1/100s ISO 100

Saptarishi Choudhary
Kolkata,India
Playing while praying
Canon 600D 24mm f/4 1/60 sec ISO:400
Jyoti Sharma
Banaras, India
The sacred Tiger’s Nest
Nikon D5200 20mm f/7.1 1/125s ISO 100
Jayesh Joshi
Navsari,India
Blood Pheasant
Canon 6D 700mm F/5.6 1/30 ISO800
Jayesh Joshi
Navsari,India
Monks on the Bridge
Nikon D750 Nikon 24 mm F/10 1/200 ISO 100
Jayesh Joshi
Navsari,India
Traditional Dance Ura Festival
Canon EOS 6D 24mm F/13 1/400 ISO100

Gear Review
SIGMA 14 mm 1.8 Art Series
SIGMA has been making some serious
lenses and recently after the launch of the
‘Art Series by SIGMA’, I was very excited
to give it a try. I never thought such lenses
would be made, like the 135mm 1.8 and 14mm
1.8. After the launch of 14mm 1.8, I decided to
give it a try in astrophotography as the focal length
and aperture of this lens are just perfect. I have
used other lenses of 14mm range, but this one was
special. Also, when photographing the night sky,
you especially need more light to enter the sensor
of the lens. So, I took the SIGMA 14mm for a test at
Spiti Valley along with two other 14mm 2.8 lenses,
to do a field test.
Image Quality
Just like other SIGMA Art Series, the image
quality and sharpness are not compromised for
wide aperture. The question that I had in my
mind was, would the 14mm perform well at wide
open 1.8? Well, it did a great job and the result
was just amazing. The sharpness at 1.8 was crisp,
even better than the other two lenses 14mm at 2.8
That’s a big deal as the other two lenses are also a
great name in the market.
56
TOOLS
Other Lens’ Center Sharpness
SIGMA 14mm Center Sharpness

Edge Sharpness & Coma
The SIGMA 14mm performed well and the edge
sharpness and coma was well controlled.
The SIGMA lens had very little coma as compared to
the other two lens brands which is very uncommon to
see.
Other Lens’ Sharpness
SIGMA Edge Sharpness 1.8
Build Quality
The mix of matte and glossy black adds a nice feel to
the lens, similar to other art series the build quality is
not compromised. The lens hood does a pretty good
job at cutting flares and also works as a protection.
Price & Value
The SIGMA 14mm is a must have equipment if you are
into landscaping, time lapse and night sky photography.
As compared to the other lenses out there in the
market, from performance point-of-view to price value,
it is worth every penny.
SIGMA Edge Sharpness 2.8
Focusing
Like other SIGMA Art series lenses, the 14mm was
pretty quick and silent in terms of focusing, with the
well developed HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor). The 14mm
focus ring is smooth and can be used for precise
manual focusing.
Navaneeth Unnikrishnan is an Indian Amateur Astronomer
and Astrophotographer from Kerala. He is the SIGMA KOL
(Key Opinion Leader) from India. He started photography
as a hobby using a basic Canon DSLR and later specialized
in imaging Deep Sky Objects. His images are frequently
published in magazines and websites including National
Geographic, BBC Earth, Space.com and he is also the
winner of photography competition conducted by
National Geographic Traveller India and National Students Space Challenge 2014,
2015 hosted by IIT Kharagpur. He has also been featured by Snapdeal in India’s
Finest Photographers. Navaneeth is self-taught and has learned photography
through experimenting and independent study.
TOOLS 57

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 200 mm F/2.8 1/1600 ISO800
Hello There
Leica Q 28 mm F/1.7 1/160 ISO100
Vedat Satilmis is a graphic designer and a street
photographer born and raised in Istanbul Turkey. After
graduating from American Inter Continental University
in London 1997, he worked in his advertising agency for
several years as a graphic designer and photographer.
For years he worked in different areas but his passion
to photography never ended, currently he owns a
coffee shop and works as a freelance photographer.
His focus is on portrait and street photography.
In His Thoughts
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 200 mm F/2.8 1/3200 ISO800
Help Me
Sony ILCE-7 55 mm F/2.5 1/1600 ISO320
Let me Eat
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 50 mm F/1.6 1/3200 ISO250
Frightened Kid
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 85 mm F/1.6 1/500 ISO200

TRIGGERS 59
The Tiger Face
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 176 mm F/4 1/640 ISO200
Happy One
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 200 mm F/3.2 1/800 ISO1600
There you are
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 200 mm F/5.6 1/200 ISO500
Wrinkled Lady
Canon EOS 5DS 200 mm F/2.8 1/500 ISO800
Don’t you Dare
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 135mm F/2.2 1/4000 ISO800
Salt and Pepper
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 135 mm F/2.8 1/500 ISO100

Wow
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 200 mm F/2.8 1/200 ISO2000
Want Something
Canon EOS 5D III 20mm F/3.2 1/1000 ISO1600
He loves blending
into the streets and
capturing faces
that has emotions,
expressions.
Check out his work:
www.thevedats.com
The Addict
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 168mm F/3.2 1/3200 ISO2000
Street Life
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 200 mm F/4 1/100 ISO400
It’s Cold out Here
Canon EOS 5DS 200 mm F/4 1/640 ISO400
Relieving Stress
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 160 mm F/2.8 1/1000 ISO1000

Mursi Old Woman
Nikon D800 42 mm F/3.3 1/80 ISO250
Arturo Lopez Illana is a spanish
photographer and freelance
traveler living in Madrid. For
him, these two activities go
hand in hand. Going around the
world with his camera is a way
of life. Since childhood he was
interested in photography and
he was forming gradually, year
after year, until in 2005 begin to
publish stories about his travels
and to consider photography
as something more than a
hobby. He has published
and collaborated in different
media, both magazines and
travel books and specialized
publications in photography.
Portrait(Calcutta)
Nikon D800 44 mm F/3.5 1/1250 ISO320

Old Portrait 1
Nikon D800 44 mm F/3.5 1/1250 ISO400

Harshawardhan Sham Nevkar
lives in Pune and he did MSc.
Microbiology from Pune University.
Currently he is working in TATA
Chemicals innovation center as
research assistant. All the portraits
are from his home town Pune itself.
If he gets a chance, he would love
to travel and click portraits all over
the world. He has a Nikon D5200
camera with 18-55mm and 55-200
mm lens. He bought this on Jan
2017 and from that day, his interest
in portraits has only increased.
Raw Life
Nikon D5200 Nikon 18-55 mm F/3.5 1/500 ISO160
The Bland Look
Nikon D5200 Nikon 18-55 mm F/4 1/100 ISO500
Old is Experience
D5200 Nikon 18-55 mm F/4.2 1/125 ISO250

Curiosity
Nikon D3300 50mm F/1.8 1/3200 ISO800
Gaze
Nikon D3300 50mm F/1.8 1/500 ISO100
Mayank Gandhi is a freelance photographer
and a digital artist. He Specialises in moody
portraits. After spending a good 15 months
into travel photography he developed a style
that attempts to push the boundary between
photography and dreams.
Innocence
Nikon D3300 50mm F/3.5 1/100 ISO200
Smile
Nikon D3300 50mm F/3.5 1/100 ISO200

App of the Month
AfterFocus
Category:
Rating: 3.5/5
Platform: iOS, Android
Cost: Pro version for Rs 102.21
If you happen to be driving from Delhi to Gurgaon on
the NH8, you’ll see huge banners proclaiming the great
photographic capabilities of the IPhone X. Yes the lens
is pretty good but major smartphone companies like
Apple and One Plus have been claiming that now you
can click DSLR like photographs right from your phone
with their digitally rendered bokeh effects, adding a
depth of field to your otherwise very flat smartphone
photos. But guess who beat them to the race? Say
hello to the app of the month AfterFocus.
Released back in 2012, AfterFocus was developed
by MotionOne and this app lets users transform their
ordinary smartphone into a DSLR-like camera. This is
all thanks to its DSLR-like lens and motion blur effects
that help create a user’s ordinary snapshot into a
professional picture.
If you are using the app for the first time, there is a bit
of a learning curve here with all the different settings
to choose from. AutoFocus has three main image
focusing modes: Smart Focus, Manual Focus and
Double Photo. Choosing the Double Photo mode will
automatically adjust the image focus for you. Snap a
couple of pictures and Double Photo will allow you to
compare the shots.
Smart Focus is the easiest way to take a picture since
this mode only requires you to paint roughly around
the edges of the object, a portion around the object to
set your focus for less intensity and a section in which
you want to have a blurred background effect.
Manual Focus, on the other hand, is the trickiest to set
up among the three modes. Using this mode requires
you to manually paint over the desired image you want
to focus on but don’t worry, you can always hit undo in
case you get it wrong. It’s easy to go overboard with
the app leading to very artificial looking background
blurs, for that reason the app provides two different
levels of blur. That way you can easily divide your photo
into three sections foreground, middle ground and the
background. Once you have done all of this you can
tweak the type of blur you want (lens, motion, zoom),
change the aperture. The Motion blur, I think is one of
the best around, for it truly gives that movement effect
you were always looking for. The bokeh, conversely,
could be better. There are options to add different
filters although I personally think there are other apps
Before
After
that do a better job with all of that stuff, the USP of this
app is a simple one and the name says it all.
Now don’t get too excited, this app won’t magically
transform photos clicked by your smartphone to pixel
perfect DSLR like photos. Photons being captured
through the optical lenses of those cameras and then
being registered in the sensors, it’s quite a complex
process. After all there is a reason those bulky things
exist. Trying to imitate that level of depth and then
digitally rendering it to photos clicked by your phones
is an extremely challenging task, one that no company
has really been able to achieve.
Despite all that if there is an app that has the capacity
to add that little bit of depth to your photos and make
them look somewhat professional, it has to be this one.
There are two versions of the app, a free one and the
(free of ads) paid one that costs around 100 bucks. If
you are a regular blogger who clicks a lot of photos
from your phone and consequently share it with rest of
the world, that price tag is worth it. In either case there
is no doubt that your next instagram post could enjoy
the advantage of looking professional.
Shrey Malik
shrey@chiiz.com
Self proclaimed intellectual, reluctant nihilist and a wannabe
comedian. He is a graphic designer with impressive problem
solving skills.
66
TOOLS

The Bishnoi Lady
Canon 1200D 50 mm F/8 1/80 ISO1600

The Bright Eyes
Canon 1200D 146 mm F/5.6 1/160 ISO640
Vijay Singh has been employed
in a government job for 18 years
and is an passionate photographer
and traveler. He has been traveling
the length and breadth of India for
learning the culture and cuisines of
the remarkably photogenic country.
It’s the sheer passion of learning
and photographing them so as to
highlight the vivid diversity and the
colorful romance which only India
can showcase to the world. He is
from Varanasi and as an Army kid,
have has a home in most of the
states of India.
Dreams Never Die
Canon 1200D 35 mm F/4.5 1/50 ISO200
Greetings from Pushkar
Canon 1200D 84 mm F/5.6 1/125 ISO200

In-Street is a collective of passionate street and
documentary photographers, mainly based out
of India, sharing a common passion – “walking
the streets, seeing the seemingly common life
around us in different, unusual and original ways
and representing the same through our own visual
language”.
In-Street is committed to promote the works of In-
Street members and overall street photography in
India and beyond.
In-Street also encourages other photographers
to participate in different street photography
programs, which will be showcased on In-Street
website.
Finally, In-Street is a platform for collective learning
and growing together as photographers.
The In-Street Collective Members are Manish
Khattry (Varanasi), Saumalya Ghosh(Kolkata), Raj
Sarkar(Kolkata), Sankar Ghose(Kolkata), Swarat
Ghosh(Hyderabad), Zahir Abbas(Gurgaon), Jayati
Saha(Kolkata) and Sreeranj Sreedhar(Dubai).
Canon 700D 25mm F/13 1/640 ISO800
WINNER
Sohail bin Mohammad
rajon009@gmail.com
For the Winning Photograph
This image depicts the essence of freedom quite aptly. The longing of the dog from behind the fence to be free
like the bird is beautifully portrayed and the black and white conversation adds to the mood as well.
~ In-street Collective

2nd PLACE
Himanshu Singh Thakur
himanshuthakur009@gmail.com
Fujifilm X-T1 18mm F/4 1/500 ISO400
3rd PLACE
Aniruddha Guha Sarkar
ani60k@yahoo.co.in
Canon 600D 19mm F/9 1/2500 ISO1600

Playtime
F/7.1 1/125 ISO2000
Saumalya Ghosh is a Kolkata based street and documentary
photographer. By profession, he is a software engineer. He loves to
document different people, places, culture and everyday life. However,
his common aim is always the same - to capture the human element.
He believes that gear is important but vision and expression are more
important in photography. For him photography is the visual expression
of his feelings at a particular moment of time.
72
TRIGGERS

He has won several awards including
HUMANITY PHOTO AWARDS
from UNESCO & China Folklore
Photographic Association(2013, 2015)
and CBRE Urban Photographer of
the Year(2014). His work has been
selected among the Finalists in different
International Street and People
Photography competitions like Miami
Street Photography Festival 2017, Sun
Francisco StreetFoto 2017, URBAN
Photo Awards 2017, London Street
Photography Festival 2017, SIENA
International Photo Awards 2017 etc.
His work has been exhibited in national
and international galleries in Agra,
Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai,
Greece, China, London, San Francisco
and Miami.
Roadside Salon
F/8 1/160 ISO1000
Happy Family
F/4 1/200 ISO1000
Sleeping Time
F/11 1/125 ISO1000

The Spectators
F/5.6 1/160 ISO1000
“I really love to see the
small drama of everyday
life as it is staged on the
streets. Common people
are my heroes and heroines
who play themselves in
this drama. I’m just a keen
observer, a mere admirer
and my job here is just to
capture the candid, unposed
and unguarded moments of
this fascinating ‘Real Life’
drama through my own
vision. I don’t interrupt or
influence this show. I accept
it as it is, in its original and
purest form. I believe that
reality can be stranger and
more fascinating than what I
can think of. To me that’s the
charm of photography.”
Limbs
F/8 1/70 ISO1600
74
TRIGGERS
Boy and the Dog
F/14 1/250 ISO500

Nimai Chandra Ghosh
Kolkkata, India

CHIIZ GALLERY
To get published, upload your photos on chiiz.com
Joy of Nature
Nikon Coolpix L16 15 mm F/4.4 1/192 ISO175

Abhishek Purohit
Rajasthan, India
Stare
Nikon D750 350 mm F/6.3 1/320 ISO200
Amit B. Dutta
London, UK
The Ladakh Smile
Nikon D750 54 mm F/4 1/60 ISO500
Yamini Krishna
Thane, India
Trance
Nikon D3300 35 mm F/1.8 1/125 ISO400
Asit Kumar Ghatak
Kolkata, India
Nikon D3000 24 mm F/5 1/100 ISO200
Amit B. Dutta
London, UK
Jejuri Saint
Nikon D750 155 mm F/2.8 1/160 ISO640
Sampa Guha Majumdar
Gujarat, India
The Face of Bhavnath Fair
Nikon D810 35 mm F/4 1/500 ISO64
Haresh Patel
Palghar, India
Welcoming Dance
Nikon D750 42 mm F/4.8 1/125 ISO1600

Souvik Banerjee
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Creator with his Creation
Canon 5D Mark III 70 mm F/2.8 1/200 ISO500
Radha Swami
Banaras, India
Happy Face of Happy Land
Nikon D7100 35 mm F/2.2 1/2000 ISO200
Asit Kumar Ghatak
Kolkata, India
Nikon D3000 24 mm F/4 1/30 ISO200
Somia Mallick
Kolkata, India
Young Shiva
Sony Alpha 58 50 mm F/1.8 1/400 ISO400
Pinkesh Bhati
Rajasthan, India
The Fall
Canon 1200D 50 mm F/3.2 1/1600 ISO800
Sadiqur Rahman
Assam, India
The Painter
Nikon D5100 36 mm F/6.3 1/200 ISO320
Pinaki Ghosh
Maharashtra, India
The Human God
Nikon D750 50 mm F/1.8 1/160 ISO100

Jevgenij Scolokov
Riga, Latvia
The Fairytale
Canon 5D 85 mm F/2 1/1000 ISO100
Mona Singh
Haryana, India
Tender Ties
Nikon D750 105 mm F/4 1/800 ISO100
Ritesh Ghosh
Kolkata, India
The Pilgrim at the Gangasagar Transit Camp
Fuji XT1 95 mm F/2.8 1/200 ISO100
Amit B. Dutta
London, UK
The Cubian
Nikon D750 75 mm F/4 1/80 ISO180
Shibasish Saha
Kolkata, India
Smiley Face
Nikon D5200 48 mm F/8 1/100 ISO640
Vedran Vidak
Croatia
Mursi Woman
Canon 5D 200 mm F/4 1/500 ISO1000

Yamini Krishna
Maharashtra, India
Calm
Nikon D750 95 mm F/4 1/250 ISO100
Mona Singh
Haryana, India
The Journey of Innocence
Nikon D750 24 mm F/4 1/200 ISO100
Satyam Roy Chowdhury
Kolkata, India
Canon 500D 140 mm F/5 1/80 ISO200

Áurea Canon
5D Mark III F/1.4 1/4000 ISO200

High Voltage Love
Canon 5D Mark III F/1.6 1/1250 ISO250
Lets Basket
Canon 5D Mark III F/1.8 1/250 ISO250
Joan Carol was born in 1983 in
a coastal town of Girona Spain
called Palamós. With more than 15
years in the field of photography,
he is influenced by the movement
and the four elements of nature.
Perfectionist and never satisfied,
he is always looking for surprise
with each photography.
California Dream
Canon 5D Mark III F/3.5 1/8000 ISO100

The Troublesome
Canon 5D Mark III F/2.0 1/8000 ISO50

Woman I
Pentax K1 Profoto B1 Pentax 70mm F/8 1/100 ISO100
Color Dust IV
Nikon D90 Nikkor 50mm F/5 1/100 ISO100
Call Me
Pentax K3 Sigma ART 21mm F/4 1/125 ISO100

Lídia Vives (January 29, 1991, Lleida)
studied Fine Arts and is currently
working as a fashion, musical bands
and artistic photographer. Her
work is characterized by pictorial
environment, the use of color, to
hide secrets in her pictures and the
dreamlike quality. When she creates
a photograph, her main interest is
not only the technical effect, but also
the anecdotal. The idea is to make
it look disturbing and disruptive, it
seems that the character will begin
to move at any time, to make clear
that they are only one frame of a
sequence.
Color Dust VI
Pentax K3 Pentax 70mm F/5 1/80 ISO100
Her goal is to make
people interpret
her photographs,
to create doubts.
The viewer is
forced to look
photographs for
a while to delve
into history. She
doesn’t want to
create scenes, but
new worlds.
Evil Mouse
Nikon D90 Nikkor 50mm F/5 1/80 ISO100
Bing Bang
Pentax K3 Pentax 70mm F/5 1/100 ISO100

Tanvi Manjunath
She is a 24 year old
PR professional from
Bangalore, India. Apart
from her strong taste for
fitness, fashion and food,
she always had a passion
for modelling too. It brings
out the essence that she
never discovered before.
Putting herself out there
in front of the camera and
getting into a character
she has unimagined of
is the best part about
modelling. Life is about
experimenting and rediscovering
yourself, and
she completely go by
that. So every opportunity
that comes my way will
definitely go unmissed!
Stats
Height – 5 6’
Bust – 33
Waist – 24
Shoe size – 38
Body size – UK – 6
Dress Size – XS / S
The Denim

Tough Look
Blue Feeds
Attraction Factor

Back to Black

Nude Formation 1
Nikon D90 38 mm F/13 1/125 ISO200

One Step Up
Nikon D800E 50 mm F/5 1/160 ISO64
One Step Up
Nikon D800E 50 mm F/7.1 1/125 ISO64

Curved Edge
Nikon D90 34 mm F/10 1/160 ISO200
Suniel Marathe started photography in year
2006. Pictorial photography has been his
main subject of interest during the course of
his photography journey. His works are mainly
focused on indoors.His passion for photography
started when he purchased his first film SLR
in year 2006. Suniel Marathe received the
distinction of PPSA in 2015 and EPSA in 2016.
Cross Angle
Nikon D800E 50 mm F/7.1 1/125 ISO100

The
Silhouette
Master
Surbhi Sharma talks to Erich
about how he has seen the
graphic design industry evolve
over the years
Erich Caparas was born in the Philippines but grew up in Northern Virginia/Washington
DC area. He has a degree in Economics and Engineering. Professionally, he has worked
as a graphics designer/photographer in Washington DC and New York and started
photography in 1977 way before digital, back in the film days.
He beta tested Photoshop and consulted with them when they introduced layers in
1993-94. Being on the cutting edge of technology gave him an opportunity to work with
some of the most known names in the industry including National Geographic, Mobil,
Smithsonian Institution, Discovery Channel, Victoria’s Secret, Ringling Brothers/Barnum
and Bailey, Siegfried and Roy, and the White House.

Q. What changes have you
seen from being a Beta tester
of Photoshop in 1993 to the
exciting innovations of the
21st century in Graphic Design
industry?
A. I consulted with Adobe when
they introduced layers in 1993.
That change was the turning
point in Photoshop. It was, at
that point , no longer just a
digital darkroom but also as
a raster software you can do
design with. That breakthrough
was monumental. It established
and propelled Adobe into the
21st century.
Q. What are the favourite
gears you prefer the most
while working?
A. My favourite gear when
shooting my photographic
images is a camera. I can use any
camera and have used plenty
over the years. My gear of choice
is a Nikon and I currently own a
Nikon D810. I use Photoshop
and Painter to edit my images
but mostly Photoshop.
Q. How do graphic designing
skills influence your work?
What post processing software
do you prefer for giving the
final touch to your work?
A. I never let trends influence
my work. I do what I like doing
most of the time. But since I
teach, I make note of the current
trends. This involves the current
toning and grading fads and
post processing trends that
most of my students like to learn
about. I use Photoshop to edit
my images from start to finish.
Q. What are the common
mistakes you see in the new
photographers who attend
your workshops?
A. The lack of basic
understanding of photography
as a whole and image editing.
Because of the internet,
everything is available all at
Want A Partner
NIKON D810 34 mm F/10 1/160 ISO100

once. This is good but
sometimes it can be bad also.
Because the student have the
urge to run, they forget that one
has to walk first before running.
As a result, the information is
not learned in the proper order
it should be learned. Bad habits
abound. And it’s usually harder
to teach someone with bad
habits already.
Q. Is there any dream project
which you have thought of
working on someday in the
near future?
A. I stopped dreaming a long
time ago. I just do what unfolds
before me and I make the best
out of them. The dream jobs
and projects I’ve had over
the years all turned out to be
disappointments. So I don’t
desire them anymore.
Q. Please share your
experience while working on
your latest Tribal and Neon
Makeup series.
A. The is the most intense and
creative work I’ve done. The
tribal is a series put together by
a dear friend. 30 professionals
volunteered their time and
talent into that epic series.
Looking back at it, I wish I took
more photos. I didn’t know that
it will be one of the defining
moments of my career as a
photographer. I originally said
no to photographing that series.
I am so glad now, that I did.
Thank you.
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. Fight Me
NIKON D810 70mm F/9 1/160 ISO100

Recent Credentials:
Awarded the coveted Becker Memorial
Award for Creative Photography, 2017
Highest Gold Award – Photographer
of the Year 2017 from The Societies of
Photographers (SWPP, UK)
Diamond Photographer of the Year from
Professional Photographers of America
(PPC) and International Photography
Contest (IPC) 2017
Selected by Team USA for World
Photographic Cup, 2017
Master Photographers International (MPI)
Competition, 2017:
TOP Photographer of the Year (Overall)
Commercial Photographer of the Year
Digital Illustration Photographer of the Year
Floral Beauty
NIKON D810 44mm F/13 1/160 ISO160
I See God
NIKON D810 70mm F/10 1/160 ISO100
Candy Shop
NIKON D810 105mm F/11 1/160 ISO100
Lost Soul
NIKON D810 90mm F/9 1/160 ISO100
The Opposite One
NIKON D810 55mm F/9 1/125 ISO100
Origami Crown
NIKON D810 85mm F/16 1/160 ISO100

Not From this World
NIKON D810 75mm F/11 1/200 ISO100