Hello again from the Tramping podcast. Rajiv Chopra is back again, but I guess you know that already. I have not done a podcast for a long time. One reason was to plan my 'podcast' direction for 2025 and beyond. The second reason was that I wanted to go through a short course on sound before I resumed podcasting.
I accomplished the second task but not the first. However, I have a vague idea of where I wish to take the podcast. For one, I'd like to focus on photographic themes and link them to a few thoughts on society and the photography and writing process. I may go off on tangents. AI interests me, as does Palestine, but I will avoid political discourse.
I intend to monetize this podcast in the second half of the year and hope to hide it behind a Substack paywall.
First, I'd like to wish all of you a Happy New Year and express the hope that all of you have happy, healthy, and prosperous lives.
Now, I will move on to my topic: size. Size matters, and I am not referring to male or female anatomical features!
Earlier this year, I postponed my Timurid or Mughal, Delhi project because I could not get into the project's spirit. The old emperors refused to call out to me, their ghosts telling me I needed to do significant research before they would let me into their ghostly realm.
In the meantime, I started doing street photography at night. Nighttime street photography presents the photographer with unique challenges. The low light demands high ISO shooting, and even when you reduce noise, you will not always get a sharp image. Second, people move, and even when you raise the ISO, you may need to open your aperture to avoid a shutter speed of less than 1/125 of a second, or you will have a lot of blur. Third, street, shop, and traffic lights are bright, casting deep and deep shadows perfect for creating certain moods. Be aware, however, that the shadowy parts of an image are noisier than the brighter parts, so use software like DXO Pure Raw at the start of your workflow or Topaz Photo AI at the beginning and end. Always Topaz Photo AI at the end.
Where does size enter the equation? As I post these images to social media – people consume media on their phones – I realize that the small screen size robs the images of their drama and impact.
In an ideal world, you must view these images (most images) printed or on a large screen. Also, when you post to Facebook, your pictures compete with those of society's people pretending to have a great time, and when you post to Instagram, you compete with bimbos. My Instagram feed is full of Thai bimbos in bikinis, and I wonder if the algorithm has gone mad.
Another solution is to post to your website, remembering that, once again, people consume images on their phones. I'd love to insist I have a solution, but I don't. We must keep this fact in mind when we post our images on social or other media. You will have to contend with small screen sizes until you put your photographs on a wall. When that happens, stand back and watch the admiring faces of your viewing audience.
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