Notes From Canon Photography Workshop at Cochin

Last week, on 30th, I attended the Canon Digital Photography Workshop at Abad Plaza, Cochin. It was my first serious step into Photography and so I was really looking forward to it.

I didn’t want to be late, so I set out really early in the morning (had a plan to see a guy before the event which was at 10:30 am, thanks to the slow ordinary bus, I missed the meeting, but was really early for the workshop). From what I had known from my friends, I had decided to get off at Kacherippady bus stop; I didn’t bother to ask anyone where it was, by the time I asked someone, I had missed the stop.


I got off in front of Sunny Diamonds, well, this stop is much closer to Abad Plaza than the other one. It was my lucky day!

So I reached the registration counter and was prepared to pay Rs. 200 as mentioned in the invitation. But they didn’t ask for any, gave my name and visiting card (yay! I got plenty of them ๐Ÿ˜› ).

Mumtaz

There were about 10 guys inside, and by the look and feel I could say that they all were professionals. I found a guy who looked more like an amateur near the front row.

Okay, here is the deal – I forgot his name, but I have it on my notepad. I kept my notes in @BinnyVA‘s carry bag and left it there. He is supposed to send me the scans by now, well, he is super busy, so that will have to wait. Notes from the camp will come up once I get it ๐Ÿ˜‰

Update: Got his name, he is @mahadevaniyer.

I saw coffee being served on the sidebar (?). I was not sure if it was free or paid, so I waited. Then I saw the guy in front of me, one Mr. Binil, (he gave me his card), having coffee. So I followed.

Right after I finished coffee, @Jinson and @NeenaNair walked in. I remember Neenz from BlogCamp Kerala 1, but I couldn’t recall Jins. He could recall me, so I was in an embarrassing situation. Anyways, we got introduced. (After reaching home and some digging up, I found him here, now I remember!)

Our resource person, Mr. Balan Madhavan (@WildFrames) came in with his Mac (oooh!). Lights went down, and a Canon Feature Video came up on the huge screen.

@BinnyVA came in from nowhere and took a seat near me. Balan sir introduced himself and started off with some of his shots.

The aim of the photography was to enlighten the Digital SLR users about the possibilities of their gear and make then get the most of it.

The morning session was about the technical aspects of the Camera, and how the Digital concepts are related to the old film photography concepts. Mr. Balan knows everything so well and his examples were so to-the-point.

I had the feeling I had at BlogCamp Kerala 1, the feeling of an alien, but I tried to keep up and took notes. BlogCamp Kerala 1 proved to be a milestone in my blogging career and I hope this one turns out to be one for me in Photography.

After a while we spotted @BinoyXJ on a back row. He was my companion for the rest of the day. We had great free lunch (discovered: there is something called Free Lunch, find out where the next Canon India Workshop is ๐Ÿ˜› ), and had lot of fun at the Social Media Meet up later in the evening.

I was surprised to meet @KarmaDude, I thought he had left India. Next surprise came in the form of @ShalvinPD, he too is into photography! Also met @Zuhiboy who is a fashion photographer himself.

[@BinnyVA just sent me the scans of my notes, so here they are, just in time. And this link is a thank_you for his effort, no he didn’t ask for it. Go check out – http://binnyva.com and get a hang of #BinnyVA]

Notes From Canon Photography Workshop

For clarity, let me introduce the least effective way for the human brain to remeber – Bullets ;). All thanks to Mr. Balan.

  • Digital Photography is ever improving, so if you are buying a Digital Camera, buy the latest. The latest would have all the issues fixed as compared to its ancestors.
  • Raw Image Format is called “Digital Negative”. Shoot important shots in Raw. Raw format allows a lot of post-production edits. Also if you have to file a copyright claim, you need raw image to show that you shot the image.
  • JPEG is not compression, its removing the repeated pixels. JPEG is finished image, the output and not recommended for post-production. Shoot in Raw if you are planning of post-production edits.
  • Adobe Lightroom is a recommended software for editing Raw. Costly option.
  • Buy the oldest and one of the cheapest accessory that can improve your shots dramatically – The Tripod.
  • We talked about Exposure Bracketing and HDR.
  • Its not all about how many Mega Pixels you have, the size of each Mega Pixel vary. DSLR cameras have bigger sensors. So an image taken with a 8 MegaPixel Mobile Camera, 8MP Point and Shoot Camera and 8MP DSLR, all three will be different. DSLR will be far better.
  • Show the world only your best shots, trash the rest.
  • Always transfer pictures to a studio computer via CD Rom or DVD. There are viruses that affect camera’s software and many cases have been reported.
  • Buy a Desiccator Box to protect your gear.
  • If you cannot afford a Desiccator Box, buy an air tight, transparent pearlpet jar, buy a packet of silica gel (about 500 grams), make a layer of Silica Gel first, cover it with a dry towel and store the camera on it. When the Silica Gel turns white, remove moisture from it by heating in a microwave.
  • One thing I really understood from the camp is that, they all are damn serious about their profession. They are ready to go to any extend the situation demands and buy any equipment no matter how expensive they are. I met an old guy who had over 3 lack rupees worth of gear in his bag.
  • The afternoon session was a practical session with a real Model (Mumtaz). Lighting up a model using minimum lights was discussed.

Overall, I found it really effective. I got to meet a bunch of cool people, thought I felt way out of the league ๐Ÿ˜‰

P.S: Dad bought me a Canon 550 D the day after the camp, un-boxing pics will follow.

Social Media Day @ Cochin

Mashable had declared the same day as World Social Media Day and so we had a Social Media Meetup there after. Basically all those of us who use Twitter, Facebook and the like met at a cafe and had some drinks ๐Ÿ˜‰

Me, @BinnyVA and @BinoyXJ walked to a nearby cafe, Coffee Cube. @ShalvinPD came in with his wife. Then came @KarmaDude (or maybe in the reverse order). @Zuhiboy came in, then came @Praseed3point14. @KenneyJacob also came in. and that was it.

We played some crazy naughty game, what is it called? some Jiggle I guess ๐Ÿ˜› Had a couple of very expensive drinks and talked about everything under the sun. Saw some superb works of @Zuhiboy on his laptop.

After the meet, we said good byes. I came home with @Praseed3point14, he gave me company till Aluva Bus Stand, I got a Kothamangalam Bus and I came home. Lets call that a day!

p.s: Mumtaz’s mobile number: 9995394558 ( I kept my word!)


Comments

37 responses to “Notes From Canon Photography Workshop at Cochin”

  1. Nice post, obviously i missed it. This is what i hate being at kannur, miss stuff in cochin and trivandrum…

    Canon 550 D? How much?

    1. Sorry to say this man, that trip to kannur was tiring, you guys are really kept apart from the rest of Kerala. You should think of moving to cochin, at least before you get married ๐Ÿ˜‰

      550D = 45,500 Rs.

      1. 550D cool.

        Well I’ll soon figure out someway so that i wont miss stuff in cochin atleast.

        And Bombardier Learjet 60SE is for sale in Cochin, Should buy it I guess for better travel options :P.
        http://bit.ly/dopNCo

        1. Holy moly! How did you even find it? You are hopeless. lol ๐Ÿ˜› ๐Ÿ˜€

        2. ;)…

          That link was floating around twitter few days back. I kinda like those ๐Ÿ˜‰

  2. Wow – that’s a long post. And thanks for the links ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thanks to you! Else I would never have made it now ๐Ÿ˜‰

  3. @Niju – Ah, That explains ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. Thanks for wiping my tears of missing the class by providing the necessary notes.

    1. he he, still you missed the experience, will tell you more when we meet (about lighting).

      1. I’ve been home for 2 damn months now and haven’t met any tweeps! Can’t believe it..

  5. Damn, now why did I miss this!
    And congrats for your 550D, maybe we can plan photowalks and stuff! ๐Ÿ˜› I got a Lumix FZ35 recently (it’s a super-zoom)…

    1. You dont follow our BarCamp Kerala Google Group? I have created a group to keep track of such things – http://groups.google.com/group/photographykerala

      Oh yes, photowalk, as soon as I get my Carry Case for this one! How is your Lumix? Where are the shots?

      1. Oh! Didn’t know man.. Anyway, I’ve applied now.

        My snaps are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pranavashok/

  6. missed it ๐Ÿ™ got to know of it very late…hopefully next time i will know abt it well in time so that i can plan!!

    1. Yeah, I think Binny said about you when we were there. I just added you to a newly formed Google group for Photography Enthusiasts – http://groups.google.com/group/photographykerala

  7. I love Canon, they’re my favorite photography brand.

    The tips were great, thanks for sharing! So glad you had fun and learned a lot. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. I was a Nikon lover a while ago, I didn’t have a SLR, still I had a soft corner for Nikon.

      Now its all Canon, just love the Camera I have now, and the possibilities I have with it ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. […] so as I said in the Canon Photography Workshop notes, I bought my Dad bought me my first DSLR camera, Canon EOS 550D or Rebel T2i as it is known in the […]

  9. Thanks for the tips man. Great post. And is that cell number at the end of the post a bonus .? ๐Ÿ˜‰

    1. Lol, call her ๐Ÿ˜›

  10. Gibi George Avatar
    Gibi George

    Hi Guys
    It was cool to see you youngsters are interested in photography and more nice to see that u r updating yourself with the technology.
    By the way im Gibi George a photographer from Indian Navy.
    Would like to meet u guys for a wonderful photon!!! chat
    Do update me if ever there is any more workshops coming up in Cochin. Hopefully we all can meet there to exchange our views and ideas.
    and a big thanks!!!! to Arun for the essential notes.
    also feel free to call me on 9037030370

    1. Hello Gibi,

      We have formed an email group http://groups.google.com/group/photographykerala to keep track of such events. Join in. Would you be available for a Photowalk this saturday?

      1. Gibi George Avatar
        Gibi George

        Can u give me the itinerary o f the programme and who is conducting the show/class
        else give me ur contact no. i will cal u

        regards

        Gibi

        1. Nothing planned yet. Me and @Binnyva just had this idea. Will call you once something is planned.

          btw, its just a photowalk. We grab our gear and go together somewhere and shoot something. No class. We learn from each other ๐Ÿ™‚

          My no: 999 539 4558

  11. hi.. anyone know, when is the next photography workshop happenin n cochin??

  12. anand prabhu Avatar
    anand prabhu

    whn wil b d next workshop?

      1. Gibi George Avatar
        Gibi George

        Arun we had workshop by Canon at Naval Base for the photographers of Indian Navy.
        But due to lack of time Canon has assured us a full fledged workshop as and we will demand.
        Mr Thomas the BDO of Canon India, Chennai and Mr Bharat Singh , Senior Executive from imaging division Canon India has assured to bring Mr Y Shimogawa the Director of professional Imaging division Canon Indian Pvt Ltd.
        Do let me know if you are interested
        Will work out the feasibility to accomodate you and your friends Arun.

        1. This is a great opportunity, am gonna work on this (as per the talk we had) and lets do this asap ๐Ÿ™‚

        2. anand prabhu Avatar
          anand prabhu

          pls do infrm here abt it. am also intrstd

        3. khaleel hussain Avatar
          khaleel hussain

          sir my name khaleel hussain , i am looking for a photography workshop to attend so inform me if any, thankyou.

  13. of course! I will leave a note when the date is finalized. Some preparation to be done before that as well. You are in this group, right? http://groups.google.com/group/photographykerala

  14. anand prabhu Avatar
    anand prabhu

    ya

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