It might not be always possible for a photographer to be present at the right place at the right time. However, Gulf News readers continue to try hard at achieving the best photograph.
In the month of May, the newspaper received several hundred pictures from its readers, many of which were published in the ‘Reader Picture of the Day' section on the Your Turn page.
Featured reader photographers of the month: May
However, only three get selected as the featured photographs of the month. The winners for May were picked by the Picture Editor K. P. Devadasan.
He said: "It was harder to select the winners this month. The pictures are slowly getting better."
The criteria for selection are composition, perspective, clarity, framing, contrast and light.
On receiving a call from the newspaper regarding their photograph, most readers express their joy at being selected to display their talent through a "great platform for amateurs". Many readers are so encouraged that they start to carry their camera around all the time, in search of the picture that might be considered for publication.
Gulf News reader K. Gopala Krishnan, who is among the best three photographers of the month, said: "With reader pictures, Gulf News have given amateur photographers a great platform."
The reader is now a regular contributor to the space.
Today, Gulf News salutes these readers for their passion for photography and going out of their way to achieve professional standards.
The winning readers are asked to send in their five best photographs, which are then displayed on gulfnews.com.
First place: S. P. Srivatsava
Profile:
S. P. Srivatsava is an amateur photographer and an electrical engineer by profession. Originally from Hyderabad, India, he moved to Abu Dhabi in August, 2008. He said: “I have always been a photo enthusiast with an eye for beauty. I think everyone deserves to enjoy photography and have their most precious memories captured forever to share with generations to come.” His areas of interest are still life photography, events, architecture, street and portraits. He is married and has two children.
Reason for winning: Picture Editor K. P. Devadasan said: “The exposure is perfect. The lighting and streaks look really good. Also, the picture has good composition.”
Second place: K. Gopala Krishnan
Profile:
K. Gopala Krishnan is a 46-year-old Indian expatriate who has been interested in photography since 2007. He has been a resident of the UAE for five years and works for an automobile trading store. He is an active member of uaephoto.com.
Reason for winning:
Picture Editor K. P. Devadasan said: “The timing of the picture is perfect. The composure is quite tight, which is good for this specific shot.”
Third place: Shibu Bhasi Gopalan
Profile:
Shibu Bhasi Gopalan, an Indian expatriate, has been residing in Dubai since 1979. He is currently working for a private firm in Dubai.
Reason for winning:
Picture Editor K. P. Devadasan said: “This picture deserved to win because of timing. It also has good details.”
Photography tips
K. P. Devadasan, Picture Editor at Gulf News, shares photography tips with readers.
Sunset photography: Beautiful sunsets can often be challenging to capture.
Rules: Protect your eyes and camera. It is dangerous to point your camera directly at a bright sun. Using a long lens or optical zoom will magnify the damaging effects. Play safe and get a better picture by waiting until the sun is setting or is a dark red.
Capture the colour: Ever run out to photograph a brilliant sunset but then wondered what happened to those saturated, bright hues? Usually the culprit is the camera's automatic white balance. While the human eye can see the brilliant sunset's yellow, orange, magenta and blue, the camera's automatic white balance tries to dull them down and make them look more ‘normal'. When you are photographing the sunset, everything in the foreground will be a silhouette. This means if you follow the rule, a big part of your composition will be black. By allowing your sky to dominate you fill your picture with colour and draw even more attention to the sunset.
Find a good foreground subject. The important thing is to give your picture a focal point.
