PIXETRA CLUB’s FOTO-GURU CLASSROOM IN THE OUTDOORS is coming to Kochi in the third weekend of September. Learn to take photos without a lot of technical equipment and without spending a lot of time setting up the shot. Capture some wonderful slices of candid life!

Novice to advanced photo-enthusiasts, new-camera owners, experienced shooters, all levels of amateur photographers are quaranteed to have fun.

Tucked in the coconut groves of a unique Kerala village, Kuzhuppilly Beach House promises nature, backwaters, beaches, ample seafood & local people.

The class is structured to help a novice photographer understand step-by-step the theory & practise of taking great outdoor photos.

For more details click here.

Well they came, they HDRI’d (new word that shows that I did not attend the classes) and they had only good things to say. Here is a sampling:

It was a fun filled weekend. The class was wonderful! For me, mission accomplished.
- Vidyadutt Pillai from Coimbatore

Great class & hospitality. Thanks for treating me as an equal even though I was less informed on the subject.
- Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim from Kochi

Nuff said. Here are the pics

Keep those shutter fingers busy till next time.

Thus sang Guns n Roses back in the day. We at pixetra club are singing the same tune now. What is this pray tell? Oh well, when one is creatively challenged, one falls back on the wisdom of old. Especially the one that goes - A picture is worth a 1000 words. So please click on the image (read picture) below and discover all about our GnR phase.

And as luck would have it, Word Press picks just this time to go on the blink and I cannot upload images. But no worries do check out the whole event at our Facebook page here (even the image!) 

Watch out for those creepy crawlies and shoot them right between the eyes (with your cameras of course!)

Until next time…

Does this sound hi tech? complicated? not something that you can understand?

Well it ain’t that difficult let me assure you, once you know how. What HDR is, is the technique of using ordinary point and shoot or SLRs to shoot several exposures of the same subject and mapping the exposures to make a stunning composite.

There! that does not seem too tough now does it? And all you regulars just guessed correct. Foto Guru classes are back with HDRI at our Kadavanthara, Kochi store on Jan 10th and 11th. So what will you get for your buck? Here goes:

The light control tools:

The three main tools viz aperture/ shutter speed/ ISO rating. The effect each tool has in controlling light. And the effects that each produce on the final image.

Depth of Field:
What is depth of field - making it work for you. How to use selective focus.

Digital Photography Overview:

What’s the difference between film and digital. Is one better (we might be able to lay this one to rest. Finally!)? What are the truths and the myths about digital?

File Formats:

TIFF/ JPEG/ BMP/ RAW - what is the meaning of all this? Which format is better to shoot? What does jpeg or tiff compression do to image files?

Shooting RAW vs JPEGs:

Is one better than the other? What is digital workflow?

Composition tips:

Composition rules - learn them and learn to break them. Includes an outdoor shooting session with your instructor. Followed by a detailed review of your photos! Learn from your mistakes and those of your classmates.

And finally HDRI:

The theory behind high-dynamic range. How to capture multiple exposures. How to use software to create HDR. How to render using tone-mapping.

Costs (no free lunches in this world): 

HDRI class only (2 half-days): pixetra club members: Rs. 750/- ; non members: Rs. 1000/-
HDRI with Basics of Photography (2 full days):  pixetra club members: Rs. 1400/- ; non members: Rs. 1850/-

Yes! club members are privileged folk at pixetra. Join up here and be one of them.

If all of this sounds right up your alley, then register online here or call Judy @ 0-93873 17792 or email us at club@pixetra.com. Please book your spot now!!

Happy HDRI to you! Ciao

We just can’t seem to stop it. Due to lots of requests from pixetra club members, we are organizing another Basics of lighting and portraiture class. This time at Kochi.

Want to know when? Want to know where? Want to know how much?

Well, for the when and where go to our Facebook page and check out the event details here.

How much? pixetra club members: Rs. 2500/-  Non-Members: Rs. 3300/- (this includes a Rs.500/- GIFT COUPON for purchase of lighting/ accessories from our partner www.harisonphoto.com)

Early bird offer - Rs 250.00 off for registrations before November 10th.

So go on and catch the worm (this lighting worm is worth Rs 250/-).

Till next time, keep it rollin’

Well it was Diwali with a difference at Lounge Habitats, Hyderabad. Foto Guru lit up the premises (literally) for the class on Intro to lighting. Our partners in this class were Harisingh and Sons, an Amritsar based company that makes high quality studio-type strobe and fluorescent lighting gear. They kindly loaned us some cool equipment so that the class rocked. The class re-capped the basics of photography and covered fundamental theory. On day one itself participants were ready to put their lessons in to practice, so the staff and friends at the venue (Lounge Habitats) modelled away for us and the resulting photos were astounding! From mixing lights to using flash and fluorescent and more, this was one fun foto-guru experience!! Check out the enthusiastic photo buffs in the shots below.

 

Foto Guru class on lighting at Hyderabad on Nov 1 & 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What else? Oh I nearly forgot the contribution made by the local hyderabad office of pixetra. They arranged for a professional model. That really lit up everyones face at the class without the aid of Harisingh and Sons
All in all a good outing as always. But you know what? I am sure that with inputs from you, who are reading this, we can come up with many more innovative and informative classes with Foto Guru. So write in and lets get clickin’

Till next time.

The Photoshop Jedis assembled across the past 2 weekends and got cosy with Adobe. They played around with color palettes,red eye reduction, brightness, contrast etc etc. Participants were very enthusiastic and
gave very good reviews to Sethu. We hope to assemble the Adobe clan again for more such Jedi workshops at many more locations across the country.

Here is a shot of them delving deep into making their ’shots’ richer.

May the force be with you!

For all us budding, amateur photo enthusiasts, there cannot be a greater truth than these 5 words. What it is about then, is the person behind the viewfinder. It’s about composition, knowing your equipment, following the tenets of lighting, learning to recognize a good photo op and the right moment to capture an image. It is also about luck to a certain extent (being at the right place, at the right time). 

I posted about the Foto Guru classes sometime back. Well, the class went off successfully (i’ll post with some pictures later). But our lens ace Sethu sent me some photos he clicked with a friends point and shoot. Not his own familiar camera, not a DSLR and most importantly not one with every bell and whistle conceivable. You will understand what I mean when you see the results. Click here to view some of the pics Sethu captured when the group went to Fort Kochi.

Btw, Sethu has also started a message thread about this at the pixetra forum that you can access here.

Now do you believe in those 5 words of mine? May the guardian angels of digital photography keep your lenses clear forever. Till next time…

Greetings and salutations to all wannabe Photoshop Jedis. We have dates, costs and online registration details for the Foto Guru Basics of Photoshop at Kochi.

Get your light sabres ready to rumble on 2 Saturdays namely the 4th and 11th of October. Now the costs - 2400 inter galactic credits (read Indian Rupees) for other Jedis and a mere 1950 inter galactic credits for pixetra club jedis. We always told you it is better to have pixetraed than never to have pixetraed at all (hey did i just invent a new verb? or is that an adjective/pronoun??!!). Want to enroll with our club? Do so right here.

And for online registration for the Photoshop classes, click here!

If you want to talk to us, please call Jedi Judy at 0-93873-17792.

What is missing? The arena where we can all unleash our light sabres. Well, we are in the final stages of finalising and will post soon about the venue.

So keep the force around you at all times and see you next post.

Thus wished the Jedis of Star Wars to each other. Readers please forgive me, I am a huge fan of the franchise and refer to it often.

Star Wars lore tells us that Jedis are identified when very young (coz the force is strong in them) and then train for a lifetime to become a Jedi master. Then they wave their hands around and get animate and inanimate objects to do their bidding (wish all of us were so lucky).

The training the Jedis go through is intense physically and mentally. Each youngster is attached to one master (reminiscent of the Indian Gurukul system) and trains under him/her. Check out what this gets the young Jedi - undivided attention from the master, exclusive and hands on access to all the equipment that the master had, enough time to absorb and practice the teachings, time to correct mistakes……the list is long but desirable for it’s proficiency. Now we at pixetra are not averse to getting our lessons even from George Lucas and a fantasy movie franchise. So we are getting into Jedi mode for a unique training exercise.

The first week of October will see aspiring pixetra Club lens Jedis go through a Foto Guru - Basics of Photoshop at Kochi. Patience pix clubbers, we will extend this to other centres soon. Classes are at Infopark. Our in house Yoda’s will ensure all youngsters get trained on individual machines. We will also be spreading out the 2 classes that make up one course, over 2 consecutive Saturdays. Beat that for exclusive equipment, undivided attention and time to learn, practice, absorb and course correct.

At the end of this course, we hope all aspiring lens Jedis will be able to wave their hands over their computer mouses and make their photographs do their bidding using Photoshop.  For exact dates, times and venue, watch this space.

The force is strong with this club, master Obi Wan….

Till next time….