About Sreeranj Sreedhar
Our guest today is Sreeranj Sreedhar. Sreeranj is from India where he curates for photography groups and is a member of the Indian Street Photography Collective and In-Street Collective. Since retiring as an Administration & Human Resources Manager, Sreeranj now gets to pursue his street and documentary work full time.
In his Italian Street Photography Festival finalist’s picture, Sreeranj devises a work of science fiction making creative use of light, shadow and geometry.
Making Of Interview
Where and when did you make the photo, was it a familiar or new location to you?
This was taken at the division of Louvre Museum opened at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 29 Dec 2017. It was my first time visit to the location.
What was happening in the situation and what inspired you to start photographing it?
In this particular section of the museum which is the final stop after visiting inside museum, the roof has open slots whereby the sun light passes as beam of lights. I wanted to capture the sense of place by adding a surprise to it. Seeing the light falling, I sensed there is a potential picture in the place hence I waited for the right subjects to fall in place.
Did you prepare or was it spontaneous? What were your thoughts and actions?
I was preparing for the scene to happen. I framed what I need to include in the picture and then it was only a matter of wait and watch and click. I saw this person sitting on the foreground area with his family. He was actually sitting on the steps and on this particular time, he stood up, and I just waited for the light to hit his face to get the surprise I wanted.
Did you made more than one exposure or just a single shot and could you describe how you might have “worked the scene”?
I did work the scene to get the correct placement and exposure but my habit of editing is to delete the ones that didn’t work for me – this is to avoid the space consumption of the HD; hence, sorry, I do not have other shots to share. He actually faced opposite direction initially, then I waited for him to turn around so the light could hit the face and expose properly.
What camera, lens, and settings did you choose?
I use Fuji XT-1 with Fujinon 16-55 f/2.8 lens. Settings: F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200, focal length 16mm (crop sensor)
Were you happy with the image, did it come out as you imagined?
Yes I am so happy it has surprised me too. This image was featured in many places and was a finalist of the Italian Street Photography Festival.
What post-processing did you do, if any?
Since I shoot in RAW, while transferring to Lightroom, the image loses its actual settings. hence I have to bring back the profile used, then bit of crop and whites and blacks. This is my usual processing flow.
Do you recall anything about the sequence of events that led to taking this picture?
It was taken during my family day out to the museum. Nothing much happened except my family had to wait patiently until I finished my shoot.
How technically challenging was it to make this shot?
I am a fan of light and shadows hence I am aware of the exposure I need in such situations. The only challenge was to get the placement correct. Otherwise not much in this case.
What did you take-away from making this picture?
A satisfaction of creating something original and new in my works. The events after making this image and the recognitions it gave me, make me even happier.
Could you have done anything different given the second chance?
No, it would not be this image then.
Links to Sreeranj Sreedhar
Website – https://www.sreeranj.com
Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/sreeranj
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sreeranj
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/sreeranj
Interviews with Sreeranj Sreedhar
Lightchasers.in – http://www.lightchasers.in/featured-photographer-sreeranj-sreedhar-interview/
121clicks – http://121clicks.com/showcases/incredible-travel-and-people-photography-by-sreeranj-sreedhar