Photography is a hobby that I picked up about 15 years ago, around the time my son was born. I should thank him for that; for, it was to capture his birth and growing up that I bought my first ‘real’ camera (the SLR kind).
My first camera was a Nikon FM 10; one that required manual actions to advance the film, focus the lens and for various other functions. Many of the photos I took using that camera were really bad – I was still learning the basics of exposure and composition. I then moved on to a Nikon D80, which is the camera I still shoot with. Apart from the standard 18 – 135 mm lens that it came with, I also picked up a 50mm prime lens. So these are the only gadgets I have in my arsenal to shoot pictures.
Over the years, I tried my hand at various kinds of photography, and I’ve kind of figured out that Street photography is the genre that I enjoy most. I take my camera on all my trips, and try to walk around places looking for stories to be frozen as images.
Of late, I have been trying my hand at taking better portrait photographs. Like many photography enthusiasts, I follow the ace photographer Steve McCurry, and try to pick up tips from the images he’s shot. If you aren’t familiar with him, watch this video below, or hop over to his web page, stevemccurry.com
Here’s a video that captures 9 photo composition tips from Steve McCurry:
Here’s a portrait I recently made in Mexico City – that of an Organ grinder:
I will put up the portraits that I make on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sampathmenonphotography, and on my Instagram feed. I look forward to your feedback and comments on those.