Author: Arkaprabha

A Poem From Portraits

For me, photography is all about being passionate about the art form and stubborn about getting the results you imagined. So despite the unprecedented once-in-a-century circumstance of the pandemic and the physical distancing, I did not let photography take a back seat. On days of strict lockdown, I spent hours studying theories, reading books on various techniques and sweeping through hundreds of pictures taken by the great masters of the trade. And when the lockdown relaxed, I regularly went out with my new Nikkor 50mm 1.8 prime lens and put all the theories I learnt to practice.

Portrait photography was a genre that preoccupied my conscience the most, and I focussed a lot of time and energy on upskilling myself in this. For that, I arranged and went out for many portrait shoots over the spring and summer of 2020.  These shoots, along with my theoretical brainstorming, helped me shift gears in my photography techniques and offered me a life-altering experience. I followed my usual natural style of accentuating my subject through light and shadow play and tried to freeze the moment. Not only did I try to freeze the moment, but I tried to elongate that moment in my pictures. Natural lighting made it more tricky and even unpredictable at times, but the challenge was well accepted.

Overall, these portraits provided me with an artistic and philosophical release from the caging boundations of a rapidly changing and unpredictable world. It helped me pen down a poem of sorts through shutter clicks (or at least I think so). I am not sure whether these portraits collectively give a poetic or any philosophical direction to my art in any way, but it definitely made me think deeper about the practice of my art and the path that I want to follow in the years ahead keeping portraits as one of the key genres of learning and exploration.

The Boudoir Summer

I had been fascinated by the human body and its potential of being a wondrous subject for photoshoots for quite some time. And last summer, I got a handful of opportunities to explore it through boudoir photography. Having no formal training or prior experience, it was quite overwhelming and a tad bit scary at first. But with each photoshoot that I did, I found myself to be more confident and at ease with the craft.

I implemented my style of playing with the intersection of light and shade. I attempted to accentuate the body’s shape in these light and shadow intersection points to uplift the composition’s beauty. Juggling with different natural light conditions, locations and attires, I pushed the boundaries of my artistic and technical comfort zone.

The lush green outdoors, the warm sun and the occasional rain made shooting boudoir this past summer both fun and challenging. Meeting new people and learning from them in the shoots made my first boudoir series genuinely memorable.

The Colourful Garden Of Learning

You are not only a teacher
My Guide as well.
You are not only an advisor
My Philosopher as well.
Not only are you a well wisher
But my Dearest Friend as well.

Bagh August 2020

My Patience Stone you have been everyday
Healing my wounds and listening to me cry.
A Saviour and Moulder you have been in my life
And so I send up prayers and wishes every night.
That your Golden touch on me be Immortal
And like Spring may you forever be young and vibrant.

-SHAMS

Beauty Is The Wine That Heals

A fire burns in me,
The one of love and separation;
Charring me,
To the cores of my soul.

Pentagon December 2020

And then I see a flash of you,
Subtle or blood I do not know;
But I care not,
For your beauty is the wine that heals.

-SHAMS

Healing.Pulse.Sohbet – 2

The late winter afternoon photoshoot under a dim Sun continued with I and Elena attempting to experiment and take full advantage of the natural setting of Wienerberg Park. We walked around amongst the dead foliage, broken twigs, felled tree trunks and the skeleton-like woods. We tried a combination of headshots, chest level, waist level and some full-body portrait shots. I found myself gaining confidence and even being able to guide her before composing a shot. Elena’s occasional tip, not only for our ongoing shoot but also on the theories and philosophies behind photography, proved vital in this shoot. Also, she provided me with some million-dollar post-production tips, which worked wonders in the actual post-production process later.

Harmonising with Elena’s belief in nature’s healing power and the pulse of life that emanates from it, I tried to integrate the natural elements around us. I followed her playful body movements and made sure that I got enough sunlight just on the right spot of her facial profile. Her jewellery accessories and the twigs and grass combined to make a beautiful collage, thereby creating wondrous stories through the snapshots.

The shoot with Elena was not only a fun-filled portrait model shoot, but it was a seminal learning experience for my photographic journey. It was not merely a dialogue that I shared with her in the shoot but more like a Sohbet-an enlightened discourse. The Sohbet, captured in my lens, pulsated the healing power of Mother Nature even in the middle of a dry winter landscape.

Peppy.Playful.Portraits- 2

The shoot continued with NX taking advantage of the grand old castle with her playful poses, making a beautiful juxtaposition, keeping in line with my recurrent efforts to control light and shade and capture their intersection points.

And as with my other shoots this summer, I pushed boundaries and made it more provocative and edgy. I was impressed by the NX’s maturity in manoeuvring between different styles of shots.

We moved to a wooded area near the castle, and I increased the exposure while taking some shots. In the post-production. I tried to create a vignette effect to highlight NX and the dirt path in the woods. And as we were wrapping our shoot, the rains came pouring down, and we had to rush back to the bus stop, leaving behind us a fun-filled afternoon at the majestic Liechtenstein castle.

Dar

This door in a stone structure in the Buda Castle basking in the sunlight reminded me of a magical portal between two worlds. And as I took the shot, I kept wondering what the other side of the Dar would look like. Was there a Winterland like in Narnia or was there a hot burning desert devoid of water and life?

Dar August 2020

Maybe it was best kept a secret to let the magic and the suspense live on. The dreamers could keep on dreaming and stitching poems of love and war with their wild imaginations.

Castle On The Hill

Perched on top of Buda Castle, the fisherman alley tower looks like an Ottoman tower. A building that is part of another smaller castle itself; it gives a magnificent view of the Danube and the city. On a clear day you can also see the fields and hills far beyond the city.

Castle On The Hill August 2020

The tower seems to be sending a signal to the vastness in front of it. It is a message beyond the reaches of the five senses, yet inferior to a fairy tale. It longs for an answer; a longing that has transpired centuries. But the tower does not know that it is too early for the message to come and that it would only arrive on the Day of Judgement.

Roobaroo

The golden hour sun was shining bright after a fresh spell of summer rains. I was in the middle of a photoshoot with Marios when I noticed a big clear puddle.

Roobaroo July 2020

When I asked Marios to stand over it, I noticed that the reflection acted more than a mirror. It felt like he was face to face-Roobaroo- with his self.

Elegance On The Rocks

My model, NX, was an enthusiastic young and ambitious actress. She was confident and thorough in her interactions with the camera. She displayed an unusual calm and elegance during the shoot and was sure that she would move her body to get the perfect shot.

Elegance On The Rocks June 2020

My work, as the photographer, became relatively easy owed to NX’s expertise. However, a rainy early summer afternoon by the Danube made it harder to shoot. The incessant drizzling and my good for nothing umbrella tested my patience and my shooting skills with practically one hand.  

In this photograph, I asked her to lie down on one of the big rocks on the Danube banks and arch backwards while looking directly at the lens. This was one of the perfect shots of the day-I had the right aperture settings; I got the right frame and to top it off , my model had an elegant pose on the rocks in her beautiful reptile print one-piece bikini.

Vineyard Vignettes

Ever since coming to Europe a few years back, I always wished to do a photo shoot in a vineyard; and finally a few days back, I got the opportunity to do so in the vineyards of the Kahlenberg region in Vienna. I, along with my model Giovanna, trekked down a few dozen meters from the hill to the more flattened lush green slopes. Situated at an elevation on the northern edges of the city, the vineyards provided with a breathtaking panorama of the city and the Danube basin beyond it.

The golden hour evening light had just set in and it created the perfect blend of natural contrast and light intensity for the shoot.  I started with some normal portrait shots and then moved on to taking some perspective portraits to accommodate the rows of grape climbers in the plantation. I proceeded to take some beauty shots with the grapes and creepers in my composition. However, as the grapes were just in fruition, I did not get the exact shot I was looking for. Nonetheless, these shots highlighted Giovanna’s expressions quite successfully.  We continued our descend through the plantation in search of better locations. We found some country streets meandering through woods and dissected by small streams where we took shots in a beautiful scarf draped top which gave the pictures an added edge and, gave depth to the bodily spirit of the model.

Wrapping up with shots amidst the panoramic background of the city, the photo shoot ended with my learning of controlling light and shade in rapidly changing light conditions from the vineyards to the woods. As we were also interrupted with bad light on account of large black clouds passing through, this lesson in quick adaptation on my prime lens was a valuable lesson.  Tired from the shoot as I walked down to the bus stop, the smell of barbecues from the nearby farmhouses was also a lesson that I need to carry some food to long photo shoots in adventurous locations to not find myself satisfying my appetite with the just the smell of barbecue sauce on grilled meat.

Peppy.Playful.Portraits -1

It was a sultry July summer afternoon when I took the bus to Vienna’s edge in the nearby woods. With my model NX, I walked through the picture-perfect hamlet and reached the 12th-century Liechtenstein castle for a summer-themed fashion shoot.

This small but grand castle and its grounds provided us with an ideal location for a portrait shoot. The Sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds, and the sudden burst of calm wind added the much-needed flavour to the shoot.

As always, I geared my 50mm prime lens for the shoot and clicked away, following NX’s peppy lead in her summer dress.

The photoshoot continues here…