A Grand Day Out in the Natural Beauty of Dharavi
Quick: what is the first think you think of when I say the word 'Dharavi'?
Slums. Squalor. Crowds. That movie that everyone was talking about a while back...
Of all the answers you came up with, I doubt that Nature Sanctuary was one of them. But that is indeed what you will find in Dharavi, smack dab in the middle of Mumbai.
Mahim Nature Park (also called Maharashtra Nature Park) is confusingly not in Mahim as most people define it, but sits unassumingly opposite the Dharavi Bus Depot, a five minute rickshaw ride from Sion Circle. Most people have probably never heard of it because you can't find a single swing-set, merry-go-round or snack stall inside. You will however find plenty of twisting pathways and dense foliage, countless species of plants, flowers, and bugs, all for a meagre Rs.5 entry fee.
It's a no-frills slice of nature, and a photographer's dream. Fantastic for a shutterbug's Sunday out, and a great roadtest for a new camera or lens. I took my Pentax K200D out with me on its first real shakedown, and once again I am reminded that isn't the camera that needs improvement, it's my photography skills!
Still, out of the nearly 400 pictures I took on Sunday, quite a few didn't suck. And here they are:
I had a blast that day despite the heat and humidity, and highly recommend it to any nature lovers & photographers in Mumbai.
V
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Vishal K Bharadwaj is a graphic designer, photographer, writer and a geek of several persuasions. His body is in Dubai, his heart in India, and his brain roams the internet with abandon. He is not famous, but is sometimes mistaken for being so.
Comments
Hi Vishal, with your pictures we can see what you talk about,admire nature, feel the humidity and smell the green, thanks for sharing, great pictures!
Magali
Thanks for dropping by, Magali! It was a truly unexpected place to find in the middle of the city. I should go back some time and take more pictures.
Nice pix dude...I like the style a lot. Hopefully you don't mind a bit of critique though? Needless to say its my perspective.
Pic one does not do anything for me.
The ones showing the path:
Pic 1: If you could have stepped 1 or 2 steps to the right and used a smaller aperture value (maybe f12) this would have been a much better picture - the promise of the path leading you to something exciting. Also the areas at the bottom of your pic are soft - the focal point is somewhere at 2/3rd from the bottom which does take away something
Pic 2 - The eye leads to the the point 2/3rd from the bottom. What is it that you are trying to depict here? Again, kneeling down and using the leading line concept with a smaller aperture may have done something.
Last pic - the unopened bud between the petals of the bottom flower is distracting. Also, is the colour true? Something tells me that the flowers (esp the one in focus) a little blown out.
To capture these pix with an 18-55 lens is amazing work sir. My guess was a 24-70 at least.
What sort of post-production work has gone into these?
Thanks for dropping by and commenting, and no, I don't mind critique at all.
Re: Pic 1 of Path
Taken from two steps to the right, the picture would have not been better. More of the fence would be seen,and the path didn't have anything of interest at that point. Besides, the picture itself is of that particular curve in the path, and not of where it leads. Two steps to the right would not represent it well, rendering the whole endeavour pointless.
As for a higher aperture, I chose to keep it shallow. A higher aperture would only give the picture a uniform, bland texture. It might make a better stock image to stick on a travel brochure, but that's hardly my goal. The exaggerated sense of distance would be lost, as well as the rule of thirds.
Re: Pic 2 of the Path
There's really nothing I'm depicting here other than the path itself. It isn't meant to lead to anything, so there is no need to go lower and make it point to something; that would distract from the subject, i.e. the character and nuances of the path itself. Other than that, similar reasons as those covered for the previous picture apply.
Re: Last Pic
Of the several bunches of inflorescence present on the plant, I chose this one specifically for the unopened bud. If it's distracting, then good, I've done my job, because it's supposed to be noticed. You will see that it has been framed at the 2/3rd point. The bud captures a sense of time and progression to the plant. Pictures of nature that are all perfect flowers are boring.
As for colours, this hasn't been greatly processed. A small bit of contrast and gamma, but no other correction. The plant itself was in diffused shade, and having very thin petals the one in front caught the most light. If anything, it looks a little less bright than it was in real life.
Re:Post Processing
Very little post process work went into these. Contrast, gamma & saturation adjustments, but no color-curve or level work, and absolutely no localised manipulation of parts of images.
Re:Lens
I've found the lens is less of an issue than is generally thought. I've gotten similar results with both digital compacts I've owned, as well as my old film cameras (the first of which was a fixed-focus, plastic-lensed 35mm, and whose results made it to minor exhibitions alongside professional SLR-taken photos). It's just a matter of patience and pushing what you have in your hands.
The lens is nice, and so is the camera, but in the end it's all down to your eyes and your brain.
Nice pics and post. Dharavi is a location for the Academy award winning movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.Dharavi is the largest slum in Asia.Dharavi has a wide array of manufactured products like ceramics, leather items, tapestry, plastic items, bluejeans amongst several others.Dharavi is a backbone of Mumbai. Watch the plastic and metal reprocessing factory located on the eastern side of Mahim Station.
Er, thanks. I guess.
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