Prabuddha Dasgupta, a photographer who celebrated nudity, passed away on 12th Aug 2012. He was 56. He was self-taught. His collection of photographs titled Women was published in 1996. It had portraits and nudes of urban Indian women. He did both the commissioned and artistic work. His photographic series Longing too is very famous. He worked with Lara Dutta and Lakshmi Menon. Lakshmi was his muse. Then he entered into a relationship with her.

Art Heritage is the Delhi-based gallery established in 1978 by the theatre personality and art connoisseur Ebrahim Alkazi and his wife to promote photography as an art form. The Alkazis are known for their huge private collection of over 85,ooo images of the 19th century. Photography has come of age. Photography has evolved from being just documentary to an art from like a painting. Theses days photos have become a mass medium. Photographers have to think how their work is different from a common man’s click. As an art form, photographers need not show just harsh realities of life. They should diversify in more areas.

The most iconic photograph of all times  — a naked John Lennon clings like a foetus to Yoko Ono on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine after Lennon’s death. This photograph was conceptualised by portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz. She is the recorder of celebrity persona. It is hard to say  whether Leibovitz began recording history before she became a part of it, or the other way round. She maintains that to photograph someone with any degree of authenticity is to understand their life, and what makes them click. A documentary has been made on her life.

Many certificate courses in photography range from one to six months duration. They help students to learn the basics before they chose to specialize in a particular genre. Those who want to specialize in a particular genre can opt for a diploma course. A professional photographer does a lot more than just taking pictures . He manages artists-products, set lights, manages the time and creates quality images.

The genres range from candid, product, food photography and photojournalism to wildlife, car, interior and fashion photography.

Candid photography: Here there is no stage set. It is impromptu. It is the art of capturing the right moment at the right time. It aims at capturing things or moments differently. He captures the image before it is too late.

Wildlife photography : They click animals in their natural habitat. It requires detailed knowledge of wild animals and their behavior. It also requires an understanding of their natural habitat. The buyers of wild  life photography are the media and wild life enthusiasts.

Photojournalism: A photojournalist capture events and evidence through pictures which are  later published with relevant information. It  requires understanding of journalism along with alertness. It also requires willingness to work at any time.

Bharati Vidhyapeeth, Pune runs a School of Photography which offers a 2 years course in Creative Media with optional one year specialization. It also offers Diploma courses in Advertising and Commercial Photography, Fashion and People Photography and Photojournalism. The courses are of 18 months duration.

Though photography was once considered to be elite and expensive art form, it has now become a common man’s medium.It can have the smallest thing as its subject.

The techniques have undergone a huge transformation, and that has affected the style and aesthetics of photography. Every new technology has affected the imagery  — from black and white to colour negative, to chrome, to digital, to photoshop and now to cell phones. The factor that has remained constant is the use of light and the content. Its basic ability to document something with candid honesty has remained unchanged.

Gautam graduated in Chemistry at St Xavier’s in Mumbai. He then joined the ad world in 1974 and kept working for 15 years.He was teaching at St Xavier’s. He approached approached Alyque Padamsee, the then CEO, Lintas for a job.He joined as a copywriter and the went on to be in charge of the photo department. He turned a fashion photographer in 1980. He shot pictures of actors Shabana Azmi, Tina Ambani and Jackie Shroff. He soon became famous for portraits of Hindi film stars shot in soft diffused light. He took up from where photographers Dheeraj Chawda and Neeraj Arya left. He preferred to be in the picturesque Kunnoor, and shttled between Kunnoor and Mumbai during the latter half of his life.He was an avid music lover and collector of opera recordings. Nikhil-Wagle of IBN-Lokmat in an interview asked him as to how he would like to be remembered. Gautam’s response was that people should say, ‘ He was living till he died.’ He also established him as an author by contributing to Celebrity magazine. He also wrote scripts. He did scripwriting for Bekhudi (1992) and Anjam.He published Faces, a coffee table book, in 1997.

According to Shobha De, the difference between a good picture and a great picture is in understanding light. Gautam understood both light and people. Gautam will live in his many immortal images. Gautam’s soft focus style of photography was unique.

SLR or Single Lens Reflex camera’s were a signature style of all professional photographers. It ruled the market for four decades. However, it is now threatened by the mirroless cameras. Since the birth of photography, for almost 100 years, it remained a hobby for the rich. The cameras and printing were expensive. The SLR  technology came into vogue in the 1970s. It brought the cameras within the reach of the upper-middle-class. In the 1980s, the cameras became just aim and shoot or point and shoot  type. Hotshot was introduced in India. It took the camera to the common people. There after, we witnessed the digital revolution. Everyone felt that this is the climax.But then came the mirroless camera technology. This camera retains its image capturing power in spite of being compact. At present even digital cameras are compact. However, their lenses cannot be changed. D-SLR cameras are available where lenses can be charged. They are bigger. D-SLR are used by professional photographers. The images are clear and good. They use a big sensor for it. As mirrors have been removed in mirroless cameras now, their weight and sizes have reduced. The sensor is bigger. It takes the direct image. The image is clear.

Right now, Lyka, Olympus, Panasonic and Sony have put mirrorless cameras in the market. The technology has also enabled the companies to price the cameras economically. Lower prices, excellent imaging and ease of operation are the factors which will make even the professional to go in for the mirroless cameras. It is estimated that 30 per cent of SLR market share will be cornered by mirroless cameras. Still there are no standards for this technology. The companies must evolve the standards. Canon and Nixon are likely to enter this field.

Single Lens Reflex cameras throw the rays of light on the mirrors inclined at 45 degrees . The image is seen there first. There is a penta-prism at the top. The image gets reflected there. That could be seen through the viewfinder. When we click the camera, the 45 degree-inclined mirror is shifted up and the shutter opens up to capture the image. Because of the penta-prism, the SLR cameras are bigger and weighty. In mirrorless cameras, they remove all the mirrors. The rays of light fall upon the sensor directly. The image could be seen on the backside LCD screen. This is the direct image capture.. The professionals can change the lenses in the mirrorless cameras. The lens is the crucial element of the camera. The photographer keeps a lens kit to suit the different needs. There will be new lens kits for the mirrorless cameras. The lens included are from the wide angle type to zoom and micro type. In the coming days, there will be special lenses called fish-eye.