16 Hour Photography Project – How it helps

We all love to photograph. Most of the amateur photographers start with grabbing the camera and clicking random subjects. Which is fine, but then there is the next level to it. Photographing randomly without any direction doesn’t help you become a better photographer because you remain in your comfort zone and click what comes to you. To take photography to the next level, one must start with photography projects. That gives a proper direction to photography.

A project can be anything, shooting one subject from different angles, shooting a specific color, only portraits etc. Basically, a theme to stick to. That helps in brainstorming and eventually, your photography will improve.
So I assigned myself a project: 16 Hour Photography Project. The aim was simple, to go out and click continuously for 16 hours, a whole day, early morning till late night.

The 16 Hour Photography Project

The plan was simple, to get up and leave home at 6 AM and come back at night, decided my itinerary for photography in Delhi. I was already ready with my plan for the next day which included:

  1. Chandni Chowk for street photography in early morning
  2. Red Fort
  3. Back to Chandni chowk for street photography & breakfast
  4. Humayun Tomb
  5. Hauz Khas Village
  6. Delhi hat in evening

Gear I carried was a Nikon D750 with lens Nikon 24-120mm f4 and Honor 8 Mobile Phone.
It is better if you make a list of few ideas you want to photograph and constantly keep looking for them. That will give you better results from the project. For instance, I was constantly looking for Patterns, Contrasts, Shadows, Colors etc.

The Execution

I woke up early and left home by 6 AM and reached Chandni Chowk in an hour. It is the best place for street photography in Delhi (Have a look at my street photographs). The best time to photograph the streets of Chandni Chowk is early morning as it gets crowded during the day.

16 hour photography project

Street food of Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Portrait, Red Fort, Delhi

Portrait, Red Fort, Delhi

Red Fort, Delhi

Red Fort, Delhi

 

After spending a couple of hours at Chandni Chowk, I had some delicious street food. Then I headed towards the Red Fort, which is just next to Chandni Chowk. You can either walk to it or take a rickshaw. I spent qualitative time at the Red Fort photographing its architecture, gardens, squirrels and took some rest in the shade of trees.
After that, I took a cab to Humayun Tomb, which is one of the most beautiful places of its kind in India. If you are in Delhi, You would certainly not want to miss this place even if you are not a photographer. I stayed there for 4 hours.

Namaz, Humayun Tomb

Namaz, Humayun Tomb

Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk

Humayun Tomb

Humayun Tomb

Colors at delhi haat

Colors at delhi haat

 

In the evening around 4, I left for Hauz Khas Village. Humayun tomb and Hauz Khas, both are located in south Delhi. So it didn’t take much time to reach there. Hauz Khas is famous for its lake, the fort and the delicious food & drinks which the nearby restaurants offer.
From Hauz Khas, I visited the Delhi Hat. I just used my mobile phone for shooting Delhi Hat as I wanted to test the low light capabilities of Honor 8. After having dinner in Delhi hat, I took a cab and came back home.

How it Helps

In 16 Hour Photography Project, You dedicate one whole day to photography, nothing else to do other than this. Just take some good sleep a night before and you’ll be fine. The way it helps is you are concentrating only on photography. You are not in a hurry to go back or do anything else. If you are a hobbyist, it helps you to continue the photography at a good pace. So if you haven’t picked up the camera in the recent times, this project will help you get started again with a good headstart. One important aspect you’ll notice is, getting up before sunrise and ending after sunset will let you see all different shades of light in one single day. You will get to observe all kind of possibilities for photography, Softlight, Hardlight, Shadows, Sunrise & Sunset all in one shot. Exciting, isn’t it?

If you feel tired, take some rest, grab some snack and get started again. Some things you won’t notice during the session. But, when you’ll start reviewing the images, you’ll realize how good you were with the frames, light, composition etc. You can also try the same itinerary again after few days. Then compare the photographs between both sessions, you’ll see an improved photographer in You!

Tips for this project

  1. Try to do this project over a weekend, preferably Saturday. In that case, you’ll have a whole next day to relax and to review your photographs.
  2. Don’t carry heavy gear, that will be a burden more than fun. Travel light, wear comfortable shoes, keep a water bottle and a pair of shades.
  3. It will be also good if you have someone to accompany you during the session. My wife accompanied me and we spent some good time together and I got my personal subject to photograph at different places 😉

Please share your experiences of such projects in the comment box.

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Varanasi

My first experience as solo traveler, when I found a companion in myself

I have been traveling in groups until now. Primary purpose of traveling was usually photography. But this was the first time I planned to go out on my own. I recently completed my first solo trip to Varanasi, India. So I am going to share my first experience as a solo traveler. At first, it was a little scary to plan alone. A lot of things came to mind; what if I get into any trouble, what if I feel bored, what if it fails? But I was fed up of making plans with groups, last minute cancellation of plans, changes in itinerary. Decisions are more collaborative, you share the responsibilities. You’ll do this, I’ll do that. If anything goes wrong, somebody always got your back. This time, there was a lot more to it than just photography or even the place.

Evening aarti in Varanasi dashashwamedh ghat

Evening aarti in Varanasi dashashwamedh ghat

The Freedom

There are times in everybody’s life where the person struggles with finding significance to his life. A lot of questions starts confusing the mind. Such thing happens when you don’t want to be bound by limits of human life. You don’t want to live life in the way most of the people around are living, that is the time you start searching for answers from different sources especially books. But nothing really gives you the answers, because you want to figure out answers to your own relevance. A similar thing was happening with me from the last couple of months, where I was feeling restless all the time. The monotony of the life has begun to bug me slowly.

It is about discovering who you are when nobody is looking.

I understand, more you travel, more clarity you get with your life with the experiences of traveling. So to break the monotony of the life, I planned to travel. I was not in a mood to convince anybody else to go out with me. Moreover, I was interested in trying something new, not the usual traveling, so I thought, let’s travel solo. As a solo traveler, being totally responsible for yourself, it’s inevitable that you will discover how capable you are.

Without the presence of family and friends who expect you to act in a certain way, you can be yourself more than what you are at any other time. In other words, it is about discovering who you are when nobody is looking at you.

The Experience

The experience was just awesome. More than anything else, I won’t be wrong if I call this a self-realization kind of experience. Traveling alone was not about the loneliness, it was more about finding out how good you are with your own company. I didn’t choose to stay in a hotel. There was one hostel I found in Varanasi, a place called Zostel. I stayed there for three days. It was my first experience in a hostel. Never knew how it would be, but honestly, if you are not looking for a luxurious trip, a hostel is the best way to experience things. You get to meet a lot of new people there.

Zostel Cafe

Zostel Cafe

It was a welcoming experience when I stepped in the hostel. Quite different. In just a few hours, I started getting to know people. And then, we had long conversations on different topics all night long. Conversations full of laughter and mindfulness. In those conversations, eventually, there are answers hidden to your questions. Sometimes, we call those as experiences as well. The second thing, you start realizing things you are good at or the things you lack at. You’ll start realising how you stand out in the world. After all, that is the beauty of meeting new people from different cultures and countries.

Then comes exploring the place/city alone. When you travel with a group of friends, the agenda of the group gets more priority than your own. But when you are a solo traveler, even if you make new friends, your personal agenda is still a priority. Even with those friends, you are still independent. So here, choose to explore the place alone, but it also feels nice if you explore some part of the place along with the new friends as well. Exploring the place alone will result in you talking to local guys more deeply when you connect with them, you’ll realize how many misconceptions you had about other cultures. So there is a lot of scope to understand how things work in different places.

Boating in Varanasi

Boating in Varanasi

Varanasi Boating

Boating in Varanasi

 

In a nutshell…

For me, it was a lovely experience. I can’t wait to travel solo again soon.

I’d say, to those who never traveled alone, They should give it a chance. You never know what you will find out about yourself and reveal the hidden self-confidence unintentionally. You never know what beautiful experiences you’ll take back. However, you start getting answers to the questions you struggle with. So there are hundreds of opportunities. This is something which can get you what you are looking for.

Moreover, you’ll have at least one more life story to share with your children 😉

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