First Offline thePin G2G! : Delhi: 20th June : Qutab Minar

[Sunny]

ThePhotographer.in had its first offline G2G in Delhi today. The subject was the Qutab.

thePhotographers:


Anurag Ashok with his Canon 5D mark 2 and 24-105mm L, 100-400mm IS L
Sundeep Gajjar (Sunny) with his 500D and 450D and 100mm Macro, 50mm 1.8, 70-200 f4, 10-22mm
Bobby Roy (Aryan) with his 450D and 18-55mm IS, 100mm Macro
Krishnendu Kes with his 5D and 24mm and a couple of more lenses which I forgot.


Not forgetting two iPhone 3G and a Nokia N72.

We gathered at around 6.45Am and the shoot went on till 8.30AM.

We will soon be posting the results from each of us in this thread.

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/500/thephotographers.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/500/firepower.jpg

[Vicky]

Wow! Great initiative :)

Eagerly waiting for the photos...


@ Aryan: Great to hear that you have upgraded from the 400D to 450D:) Congrats mate!

P.S. - On seeing the 2nd pic closely, I can tell that the body on which the 100-400L is mounted is a 450D, but the one on which the 18-55 IS is mounted is definitely not a 450D... you can tell them apart by the color of the Flash hot shoe:) So, I guess that must be a typo on Sunny's part:)

[Aryan]

@Vicky: I did not upgrade to the 450D. That is, infact a typo bu Sunny. :o It's really a hassle to correct something like this, and again upload it. Moreover, I don't really mind. ;) :D

[canon_shooter]

good G2G .. i guess i now need to be more regular here to not miss such G2G's

[Vicky]

Ok, done it!:)

[KrishnenduKes]

Ok, done it!:)

Oh, yes, that is much better now! Thanks. The Master of PP is at work again :D And he can also make out from a distant image shot by a pathetic camera phone the difference between a 50 f1.8 and a 85 f1.8 just by looking vaguely from the top at the lens caps!!! Really amazing fella our Vicky. And he could also make out the 200 f2.8L, phew!

[Aryan]

The 'debut' G2G of thePhotographer.in was a real good opportunity to mix and shoot with like-minded people. There was Anurag Ashok with a Canon EOS 5D Mark-II(!!) and a Canon 100-400mm L lens plus the Canon 24-105mm L Lens, there was Sunny with his usual gauntlet of equipments (Canon 450 and 500D bodies plus 10-22mm, 70-200mm f4L, 50mm f1.8 II, 100mm macro), there was Ken da with the Canon EOS 5D plus a few quality lenses (24mm f2.8, 200mm f2.8) and lastly there was me with my humble Canon EOS 400D plus the 100mm macro lens, the 50mm f1.8 II lens and ofcourse my ever trusty Canon 18-55 IS lens. :)

It was a good learning experience for me. I was also fortunate enough to get a chance to shoot with the mighty Canon 100-400mm L lens, and was totally blown off by the reach the lens has, and also the kind of sharpness there is to each photograph, clicked by this lens. I can only imagine the kind of quality Vicky must be getting out of his 'prime' (400mm f5.6)!!

Well, let me start off with my share of photographs from today's shoot. Even at 7am in the morning, the light was not really conducive to photography, still we tried. :)

I look forward to be a part of such future thePin G2Gs. Thank you all. :)

The Qutub
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2752/mg7747edit.jpg

Lonely
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8954/mg7759edit.jpg

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8084/mg7769edit.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1245/mg7781edit.jpg

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6374/mg7755edit.jpg

The 'bokeh' - Canon EOS 400D plus Canon 100mm f2.8 USM macro lens at f4!
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3956/mg7785edit.jpg

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/8726/mg7794edit.jpg

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4015/mg7805edit.jpg

This is just to show the kind of reach the Canon 100-400mm L lens got. Fitted onto a APS-C sensored body like the Canon EOS 400D, the lens turns out to be a massive 160-640mm! Clicked at 400mm (640mm equivalent).
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1051/mg7811edit.jpg

Anurag Ashok (left) with the Canon EOS 5D Mark-II and the Canon 24-105mm f4L lens, and Sunny (right) with the Canon EOS 500D and Canon 10-22mm lens
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/2987/mg7821edit.jpg

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2491/mg7830edit.jpg

:D :D :D
http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/4038/mg7835edit.jpg

[Xavier]

Awesome initiative Sunny!
And some great pics there Aryan! Waiting for the others to post their photographs too.

@ Aryan
Why do some of the pics look overprocessed? Deliberate?


P.S. : That Sony R-1 looks huge! :eek:

[rio008]

The 'debut' G2G of thePhotographer.in was a real good opportunity to mix and shoot with like-minded people. There was Anurag Ashok with a Canon EOS 5D Mark-II(!!) and a Canon 100-400mm L lens plus the Canon 24-105mm L Lens, there was Sunny with his usual gauntlet of equipments (Canon 450 and 500D bodies plus 10-22mm, 70-200mm f4L, 50mm f1.8 II, 100mm macro), there was Ken da with the Canon EOS 5D plus a few quality lenses (24mm f2.8, 200mm f2.8) and lastly there was me with my humble Canon EOS 400D plus the 100mm macro lens, the 50mm f1.8 II lens and ofcourse my ever trusty Canon 18-55 IS lens. :)

It was a good learning experience for me. I was also fortunate enough to get a chance to shoot with the mighty Canon 100-400mm L lens, and was totally blown off by the reach the lens has, and also the kind of sharpness there is to each photograph, clicked by this lens. I can only imagine the kind of quality Vicky must be getting out of his 'prime' (400mm f5.6)!!

Well, let me start off with my share of photographs from today's shoot. Even at 7am in the morning, the light was not really conducive to photography, still we tried. :)

I look forward to be a part of such future thePin G2Gs. Thank you all. :)



wow those are really pretty good clicks aryan.
i prefer the 2th & 5th in black and white :)
6th is amazing. love its bokeh
thanks for sharing

[Aryan]

@Pageisgod: I guess got a little carried away while post-processing them. :D
@Rio: The 100mm macro lens is a 'bokeh master'! :D

[shutterbug]

Aryan, great pics and I loved the 7th pic a lot!
Its great to see that Offline g2g s have started happening! I so wish something of this sort could happen here in cochin too!
And, let the shots flow!

[rio008]

@Rio: The 100mm macro lens is a 'bokeh master'! :D

will love to have something like that in future :)

[Xavier]

@Pageisgod: I guess got a little carried away while post-processing them. :D


Oh! :p
I was kinda surprised to see the over processed pics, coming from you ;)

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

aryan are u using the technique of lucis art??

[Vicky]

Oh, yes, that is much better now! Thanks. The Master of PP is at work again :D And he can also make out from a distant image shot by a pathetic camera phone the difference between a 50 f1.8 and a 85 f1.8 just by looking vaguely from the top at the lens caps!!! Really amazing fella our Vicky. And he could also make out the 200 f2.8L, phew!

He He:rolleyes::p

@ Aryan, some nice pics there.. but you screwed up big time with the WB in a few of them.. look at #1, its too yellow in the lower half... just check out he amount of yellow in the green trees:eek: Btw, great work to catch that place at the right moment:)

# 11 is too funny! Playing with the 10-22mm ha?

[Psycho_McCrazy]

There was some real good equipment present in the G2G, including the latest machines out of canon's arsenal, the 5-2 and the 500.

good to see the 640mm being utilised to the max.

PS. aryan's last shot of Ken Da is kool too. wideangles rock.

[Aryan]

@anvancy: What is 'Lucis Art' technique? :confused: I am not aware of anything like that.

@Vicky: Oops! I shoot keeping the 'White Balance' on Auto. And I do not tamper with it during post-processing too. May be 'Auto' screwed it up. :( How should I go about it during processing? A few tips would be great. :)

[Vicky]

@Vicky: Oops! I shoot keeping the 'White Balance' on Auto. And I do not tamper with it during post-processing too. May be 'Auto' screwed it up. :( How should I go about it during processing? A few tips would be great. :)

As long as you are shooting in RAW it does not matter what WB the camera chose at the time of shooting... While doing the conversion from Raw to JPG in either CS3 or DPP, you can play around with the WB slider till the colors look original:)

[Aryan]

As long as you are shooting in RAW it does not matter what WB the camera chose at the time of shooting... While doing the conversion from Raw to JPG in either CS3 or DPP, you can play around with the WB slider till the colors look original:)
Okay. Thanks. :) I generally do not tamper with the white balance, ever! Yes, I shoot in RAW. I will try and play around with the WB henceforth. :)

[KrishnenduKes]

PS. aryan's last shot of Ken Da is kool too.

Terrible!!!

Okay. Thanks. :) I generally do not tamper with the white balance, ever! Yes, I shoot in RAW. I will try and play around with the WB henceforth. :)

I showed you during the "unofficial" G2G to Old Delhi! The first slider right on top when you open the RAW file. I fool around even while shooting, I change the temperature if I can figure out. And if I cannot, I use a white paper to do custom WB. I don't think that one gets grey paper here to do Custom WB.

[Sunny]

Ken is looking dark and handsome, as always.

@Aryan: I know where those over processed pictures came from, but I know it wont happen the next time. :) Some very good shots there.

@Ken: I am dying to see your pictures. You have been my inspiration all along and it was a pleasure to have you at the G2G. We enjoyed the cold chocolate though. :D

[KrishnenduKes]

Ken is looking dark and handsome, as always.

But of course!

@Ken: I am dying to see your pictures.


And I am dying to see yours.

We enjoyed the cold chocolate though. :D

I am glad you liked it.

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

i am waiting for all pics.:D

anvancy

[Vicky]

C'mon guys! Enough of the wait... lets have the pics asap!!

[Sunny]

Cameras used: 500D and 450D.

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/291.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/281.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/271.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/261.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/251.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/216.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/221.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/231.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/241.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/202.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/192.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/182.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/172.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/163.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/153.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/144.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/134.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/124.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/116.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/94.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/84.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/74.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/45.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/55.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/64.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/35.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/215.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/104.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/115.jpg

[Sunny]

^Those are mine. Now the maestro will post h is photos, we are all eagerly waiting for that. :)

Ken, may we please?

[canon_shooter]

Lovely shootinig there guys .. i am so cursing myself to miss this G2G :(

[KrishnenduKes]

^Those are mine. Now the maestro will post h is photos, we are all eagerly waiting for that. :)

Ken, may we please?

Very good stuff Sunny! Lovely creative work indeed with PP. The parakeet and the pigeon photograph for instance.

I have yet to look at my photographs. As you know, I am pretty lazy. Gotta go and find which folder I have kept them... terribly sorry for this delay! :(

Edit; There is uncanny similarity in some of our shots!

[Sunny]

^I only know that you deploy your unfathomable energies into something radical, like trying to lean all sorts of bikes early mornings (and not really succeeding :D)

Edit: The similarity is because you are my guru, though I can never surpass your excellent command on photography. :)

[KrishnenduKes]

^I only know that you deploy your unfathomable energies into something radical, like trying to lean all sorts of bikes early mornings (and not really succeeding :D)

I generally succeed! Like I have done before. I will do this one as well. It will take time... but I will do it.

And the photos will come as well. Like I have said before... all good things to those who wait.

[Aryan]

Beautiful photographs, and even better treatment (PP)! :)

[rio008]

awsome shots sunny bhai
loved the way you PP them.

Aryan : what type of dance you were trying to do ? :D

[KrishnenduKes]

Aryan : what type of dance you were trying to do ? :D

Which one?

[Hunter]

All the people having CANON cams :eek::eek:
Lovely Pics :D

[rio008]

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/271.jpg

i was talking about this dance :D

[Aryan]

@Rio: That is not me. :D

[rio008]

@Rio: That is not me. :D

then ? is it ken ?

[Aryan]

then ? is it ken ?
Ah yes, bang on! It is he doing the 'jump', and Sunny capturing the antics! :D

[rio008]

Ah yes, bang on! It is he doing the 'jump', and Sunny capturing the antics! :D

looks like a dance more than a jump from his face expression :)

[Sunny]

Thats is indeed Ken, overjoyed to have clicked unprecedenetd photos of the Qutab with his 5D and prime lenses. :D

[KrishnenduKes]

My contribution to the Offline meet that happened at the Qutb Minar. As far as history and architecture goes, this is arguably one of my favourite spots. Strangely, I have not come here to shoot stills... ever! Yes, as Sunny says, this is unprecedented. And since this is an area that I see as architecturally and historically a turning point, my photographs are quite evidently influenced by these factors. Here are some of them:

Qutb Minar late 12th century

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4447.jpg http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4444.jpg

Take your pick! :)

The Earliest Remnants of a Mosque on the subcontinent!

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/MG_4468.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4466.jpg

The Photographer at work with a famed L

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4470.jpg

Protection work by ASI. Ant corrosion chemical being used pre-monsoon.

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4458.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/MG_4472.jpg

A full century later, additions by the Khalji dynasty. Note the first ever introduction of the "keystone" in arches in India in the form of Roman or True arches by the Delhi Sultanate, a clear move from the older established corbelled arches. Note also the difference in the colour of the stone used.

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/MG_4492.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4494.jpg

The ornate Mihrab inside the Quwat-ul Islam Mosque or whatever remains of it...

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4497.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/MG_4499.jpg

The similarities that I was talking about

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4501.jpg

At the tomb of Iltutmish/Altamash

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4478.jpg http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4490.jpg

Detail of Koranic inscriptions on the remains of a Mihrab pillar

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4495.jpg

Thanks for looking. Comments and critique welcome on my photographs.

Equipment used by me:

EOS 5D, 24mm f2.8, 85mm f1.8, 200mm f2.8, and one shot with the 100-400 L generously lent by Anurag.

Equipment used by the Team

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/DSC07641.jpg

The Team

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/DSC07643.jpg
Anurag, Aryan, Krishnendu (Ken) and Sunny
Team photo credit: Moon Das

A vote of thanks to the participants, notably Anurag, Aryan and Sunny for coming at such short notice and making a Great Saturday morning successful. Thoroughly enjoyed shooting with you guys at one of my favourite historical sites.
A mention of thanks also to Moon Das for coming and joining us and adding mirth and colour to our gathering.

Looking forward to more such meets with enthusiasm.

[Sunny]

Nice to see your photos up Ken. :)

I would like to critique on a technique which you seem to be using:

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/medium/MG_4447.jpg

^ As you can see in the photo above, there is a visible halo. Seems like you were playing with highlights slider in PS or maybe overdid somethings in Lightroom. I am also finding some photos underexposed and some oversaturated with colors.

It was also nice having you with Moon at the meet. Thanks for coming. Let us decide the next venue!

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

enjoyed the tour thru the 5d.

[Bibudesh]

@ken- As said earlier, i liked your shots bcoz its genuine'ness. I like them bcoz it has an original touch to it. Loved them all.
Though I feel might be the hot weather after 7.30 might be unfavorable for your cams still the shots are good.


@Sunny- I have to say this I like your shots as always. There is a different feel and an identification factor in your shots that its taken by you. Given an anonymous image I can easily identify that its your shot. Its similar to ar rehmans music which has its own identification factor, just hear the music and u can make it that its rehman :) ..
A completely different touch to the shots is something I am fond of in your shots. All are amazing.

@Aryan- I liked the angles the best in your shots, though I agree with the WB part with vicky.

Co-incidently I also went out for shoot on saturday to cubbon park, bangalore. But seeing these shots I think I am in complex to share them ;).

[rio008]

lovely shoots ken. keep the good work :)

more GTG's to come ? red fort of some others monuments around delhi ?
eagrly waiting

[BANDHAV]

Great initiative. Great pics.

Would have loved to join.

[Aryan]

Great initiative. Great pics.

Would have loved to join.
@Bandhav: This is just the start of photography G2Gs. More G2Gs will follow, I am sure. :) Would love to go on a shoot with you. ;)

[suvo]

Lovely shots...

[Psycho_McCrazy]

thanks for posting these beautiful pics.

I like Ken Da's the best. Honest to reality unprocessed/mildly processed look.

Aryan's pics I find to be slightly overboard with PP and saturation, though some of the compositions are good.

Sunny is brilliant also as usual in some of the wonderfully framed shots, but to be honest, most of the other pics are too dark or too bright (I am sure that those pics are exactly what Sunny wanted as a creative experiment, but I prefer more 'normal' exposures), and for some reason, I do find the big Q and the faded/darkened areas to be a serious distraction away from the actual content of the photographs.

[Vicky]

Some really nice Photos there!

Got to see stuff that you normally wouldn't get to see on a tour to the Qutub:)



..I like Ken Da's the best. Honest to reality unprocessed/mildly processed look...

Sunny is brilliant also as usual in some of the wonderfully framed shots, but to be honest, most of the other pics are too dark or too bright (I am sure that those pics are exactly what Sunny wanted as a creative experiment, but I prefer more 'normal' exposures), and for some reason, I do find the big Q and the faded/darkened areas to be a serious distraction away from the actual content of the photographs.

+1 on all of the above

Ken is like the old school master... knows what he wants.. goes there and gets it. Photos that are realistic and have easy mass appeal:)

Sunny on the other hand is striving to explore.. be it angles, exposure or post processing... mass appeal and realism is not what he's after.. he likes to do things differently and that's his style! Though a no. of his photos don't work for me, however, I admire his perseverance and imagination!

Same with the Q lettering, the black band and watermarks.. i found them very distracting too:o

My three favorites form the shots posted are:

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8084/mg7769edit.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/523/134.jpg

http://www.thephotographer.in/galleries/data/524/MG_4472.jpg

Once again, thanks for posting guys!:)

[Sunny]

Thats the constructive critique I am talking about. :)

Yes, I always believe in doing things differently, cant do anything straight and simple :D

Also, Ken is indeed a master, with 20 years of photography experience you cant expect anything lesser than those pictures, can you? :)

Thanks for the critique guys, keep it coming!

Anurag Ashok's photos are remaining - will get him on the forums soon.

[KrishnenduKes]

thanks for posting these beautiful pics.

I like Ken Da's the best. Honest to reality unprocessed/mildly processed look.



Thanks for the appreciation.

Some really nice Photos there!

Got to see stuff that you normally wouldn't get to see on a tour to the Qutub:)





+1 on all of the above

Ken is like the old school master... knows what he wants.. goes there and gets it. Photos that are realistic and have easy mass appeal:)
[/IMG]

Once again, thanks for posting guys!:)

Thanks for what you said. Had to get some feedback. It is important for me to proceed in the future.

OT; Do the tour sometime with me of the Qutb with/without the camera. I guarantee you a very good time. :)