Portraits Archives - Gaurav Mittal Photography
26
Mar
Backgrounds Can Make or Break Bird Images
- By Gaurav Mittal
- One Comment
As a bird photographer, I always prefer to see birds perched or flying against colorful backgrounds that accentuate their beauty. As beautiful as birds are, in bird photography that almost amounts to nothing if one does not take into consideration that it is in the hands of the photographer to bring birds to life thru carefully crafted images. I say this because to most people birds are a distant moving or sitting subjects. Many photographers go into a shooting spree when they see a bird, often not taking into consideration about the background behind it. By virtue of considering and practicing the following concepts, your bird images can go from looking ordinary to spectacular. Read more…
29
Dec
Canon 7D Mark II Review
- By Gaurav Mittal
- 11 Comments
Canon 7D Mark II Review
Introduction
Three years ago when I got very serious about bird photography, I knew I needed to upgrade from my first DSLR the Canon 50D to something better. After a thorough research, I decided to invest in the Canon 7D, which had a slightly faster frame rate and being an APS-C camera with a crop sensor, gave me more effective focal length. Increased focal length is always a driving force for a bird photographer when considering a camera. Equipped with my 7D and the 500mm lens, in December of 2011, I headed to Bosque, New Mexico. After two days of shooting with the 7D, much to my dismay I found that the ISO related noise handling was extremely poor, causing the images to suffer badly, it was surprising that even at very low ISO, images seemed to appear as if high ISO settings were used. The autofocus was also sluggish.
30
Aug
Learn Flash Use in Bird Photography and Expand Your Photographic Horizon
- By Gaurav Mittal
- 2 Comments
In a recent interview, I was asked the question, what are some of the challenges you face in bird photography? I thought for a while as to how to sum it all up in the best possible way and here is what I said, “wildlife photography in general is a very challenging form of photography, elements of nature such as weather; lighting conditions and a cooperative subject are not in a photographer’s hand. Many a times, regardless of all the preparations we make, even if one of these elements is missing then the photographic opportunities are lost.” Read more…
17
Jan
Bird Photography Trip: Fifteen Hours in Bharatpur
- By Gaurav Mittal
- No Comments
I’m finally back and blogging again after a long break. I would have hoped to start of the first blog of the New Year with an exciting story about my first bird photography trip of the year, a trip to Keoladeo National Park in Bhratpur, land of birds. You would probably be scrolling down by now to quickly have a look at my new images from KNP before settling into reading this post. Well, this post is neither very exciting nor filled with images of the colorful birds, as you would have expected.
Do stay with me on this as this may be worth your while. Barely fifteen hours after I arrived in Bharatpur, I was already on my way back to Delhi. The car ride was emotional for me, the unfortunate streak now extended to six. Six is the number of consecutive photography trips that I have failed to either start or finish in the last four months. Read more…
23
Oct
Bird Photography Trip – Paradise Galapagos.
- By Gaurav Mittal
- 4 Comments
Frankly speaking, I was not sure weather I was nervous or excited for this bird photography trip to Galapagos. It has never come up in a conversation, at least not that I can recall that I don’t know how to swim or that I don’t care to be on cruises. I remember well, my only cruise was that on a giant ship with ten restaurants, and I was seasick the whole time and couldn’t splurge on the daily giant buffets. I was a kid then and imagine my dilemma! Today, I’m a bird photographer and I travel the world for my love of birds. In July I traveled to the Galapagos on the seventy-eight foot long boat named Samba, visiting fourteen Islands in fourteen days and making over fourteen landings in small zodiacs. The fear of water was always there, but I had to step out of my comfort zone and get over that fear. For there was paradise on the other side of it.
A single blog article cannot to justice to the beauty of the Galapagos Islands which in my opinion is a paradise for bird photography trips. In this article I have put together images I felt compelled to share with bird photography enthusiasts, with each image their are some bird photography tips and my thought process behind them. I suggest that as you read along do click on each image to see a larger version. Read more…
13
Jun
Bird Photography Tips: Use That Flash!
- By Gaurav Mittal
- No Comments
The verdict is in. The weatherman says that the monsoon will hit Delhi by the end of June. Soon we will all be able to get respite from this suffocating heat. The birds too have been busy trying to beat the heat by crowding the big birdbath that I have in my back yard, it’s like a swimming pool filled with rowdy kids splashing away! Read more…
26
May
Bird Photography Tips: Keeping it Real in Post Processing
- By Gaurav Mittal
- 2 Comments
As I look through many online galleries and portfolios, it is just incredible how much talent is out there in nature & wildlife photography. Images after images I’m left astounded and left wondering, “How did they do that”? The perfect shot that I would be so glad to have in my portfolio is an envy to look at.
Sadly, with the growth of digital photography and the advent of software’s like Photoshop, a lot of image manipulation is being done and to a level of perfection which is downright scary. Now, every time I look at an image, I’m wondering more about it’s authenticity then it’s sheer beauty, was an object removed? Was something added? Words like “cloning” and “cleanup” have become part of a photographer’s armor of tools. This is sad because I may be questioning a photographer who might have worked very hard to make those images. Moreover, many authentic images posted on various social media sites receive heavy criticism for being “too perfect” often referred to as being “Photoshopped”. Part of the problem is that many photographers simply don’t post details about the images they present, far from describing the situations and conditions the images were made in even the basic exposure details are missing. Due to these situations it becomes hard to judge what is real and what isn’t. Add to this that many wildlife photographers are using Photoshop for more then the basic corrections, adding or removing from the scene what was or wasn’t there. The world of digital photography has grown murkier and effecting every genre today. Read more…
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