When I inquired from the charity centre staff they told me that an average meal which they give will cost around Rs. 80, thus it is impossible for a laborer earning a daily wage to afford such a meal for himself.
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Saturday 29 December 2012
Saylani welfare and CHIPA food shelters at SITE area
Tuesday 25 December 2012
Shooting Mutahir Mahmood – founder of O'shoot photography
*Tring* the alarm bells ring in my heart. These are not the
school bells which in my childhood I would joyously wait for to ring, so I
could head home; these are the calls of my sub conscious. It is only when the
depth of the soul is searched, that discovery of one’s true calling is made. A famous
couplet by Iqbal is apt to explain the situation:
Dil say jo baat nikalti hai asar rakhti hai
(When passion
streaming from the heart turns human lips to lyres)
Par nahi Taqat e
parvaaz magar rakhti hai
(Some magic wings
man’s music then, his song with soul inspires)
These were my feelings which prompted me to start pi studio with Hussain.
Belonging to a family of accountants and other similar “acceptable”
professions, I still chose the route to follow my yearning. Since then we always try to photograph people
who listen to their true calling, in short people who are alive from within.
One such rare individual is Mutahir Mahmood
Q. What prompted you to start O'shoot photography?
A. It was never a plan to start a photography firm. Though I was intrigued by the idea of being an entrepreneur, the discovery itself of finding my passion in photography was definitely more important. In retrospect, its never too late to find your passion, and its never to late to know what to do with it. Hence, O'Shoot was born :-)
Q. Who are your inspirations?
A. Various! From the local photographers, I really admire Ali Khurshid, Mobeen Ansari and Amean J’s work especially the way his photo agency is being run. From international photographers, I really admire Indian photographers such as Prabuddha Dasgupta. Natasha Jehangirs dreamy like work is always fresh and inspirational. Others include Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann and Henri Cartier to name a few.
Q. What is your basic style of shooting?
A. I shoot primarily weddings in addition to fashion (back-stage), travel, photo stories and product shots. The style and principles are usually the same (that is, to get the most natural shot possible) but a lot depends on my mood as well. For instance, the back-stage coverage of this years Fashion Week was in stark contrast to my earlier work and the idea was to show the back-stage as a chaotic, steamy and a larger than life environment.
Q. What gear that do you use?
A. I use a Nikon D7000 and three lenses Nikon 35mm f/1.8G
AF-S DX, Nikon 85mmf/ 1,8 D and Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM. Most of my
work is done with the two prime lenses at weddings and I use the Sigma for
wedding groups. I usually shoot weddings in ambient light at high ISO as the
D7000 gives me clean images up to ISO 2000. For lighting I use continuous light
(tungsten) and a softbox.
Q. Tell us about your
workflow.
A. I generally shoot JPEG while RAW is reserved for work with studio lights. For post-processing, I use Adobe Lightroom and the good old reliable Picasa :-)
Q. Are you studying photography and what are your
aspirations regarding photography?
A. Yes I am currently studying PGD photography in Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in order to know the possibilities of the equipment and medium that I use. Plus I've always been interested in the history of photography and this program at Indus has really helped me with it. There are very few educated photographers in Pakistan and I would want to consider myself among the few who have actually invested in educating themselves. Moreover, my marketing background has really helped me in understanding my clients and establishing firm client relationships.
The absence of light
This experimental shoot was undertaken by Pi Studio to
depict the historic argument between darkness and light. Man is a juxtaposition
of contradictions and this shoot was an attempt to highlight that. Our models
worked extremely hard and the result turned out to be brilliant. Moreover, we also wanted to concentrate on the beauty of men, a lot of work is directed towards women, however, being men ourselves we wanted to highlight the beauty of physique and fitness.
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Conceptual
Pi studio also does conceptual photography to propagate
progressive ideas and to awaken the people of our nation through art.
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Weddings
Pi studio has covered a lot of weddings and in fact has
grown its client base over the past year. From candid to bridals to true event
photography we have done it all!
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Flickr:
Phegency’s concert
Phegency organized the event titled Isloorachi, featuring Syed Tipu Yorguc Sharif and Suhana
Baloch
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Wednesday 19 December 2012
Sabz Shoot
This was our first fashion shoot for a designer line.
Sabeen’s clothes were being exported to Canada and we pulled the shoot off in a
day! There were sixteen dresses and five looks and the entire team did a great
job. This shoot was also done with Phegency’s collaboration. Laila Jafri was the model
and Sobiya Aaqil Haroon
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Monday 17 December 2012
Color Studio makeup tutorial
We were hired by Color Studio in collaboration with Phegency
regarding the shoot of makeup tutorials. The videos were delivered to the
client and all in all it was a fun day of shooting video. Our model was Sana
Jahangir, makeup artist was Anum Farooq Khan of Tariq
Amin , Catherine
was our coordinator for color studio and the lovely Pheby Haroon
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Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar
We set off to explore Mirpur khas via Tando
Allahyar (birthplace of Oosman’s favorite boss Mr. Waqasuddin
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Friday 14 December 2012
Sehwan, Ulta Qila and Sann
We set off to sehwan by bus. We took the A-3 bus to Sohrab
Goth. Sohrab Goth is a legendary bus stand on the outskirts of Karachi at Super
Highway where one can find any bus to reach any place in Pakistan. For
travelers like us Sohrab Goth is a perfect solution as it enables us to travel
on a budget. We then took a bus for Sehwan Shareef
When we reached there we were taken aback by the sheer
spirituality of the place and started taking pictures right away. As far as
photography is concerned, Sehwan
Shareef
Moreover, the age old concept of not dying even after death
suddenly became evident to us. We were forced to contemplate the greatness of Lal Shahbaz
Qalandar Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
We then walked to the Bazaar in Sehwan, which is a ten
minute walk from the Mazaar of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The Bazaar seems like a
shot from some old movie. Beautifully lined old streets where vendors sell
various items is a lovely experience. It is an excellent place to stop over and
enjoy tea and other refreshments.
After stopping over for tea we set out to Ulta Qila Ulta
Qila was a city which was inverted by Lal Shehbaz
Qalandar
We then left Ulta
Qila
After Sehwan on our way back we set off for Sann which has
the last resting place for G M Syed. On the way back after much difficulty of
taxis, getting stranded on the highway and finding a bus for Quaidabad did we
reach Karachi.
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Tuesday 11 December 2012
Street Photography in Karachi
We love Karachi, everything about it. Even though it is
suffering through turbulent times yet we love it to the core. To pay homage to
this great city we have covered various places of Karachi in various street
photography segments.
Emaho
magazine organized a photo walk from Atrium Mall till Zainab Market and it was
a great experience to meet other street photographers from Karachi. Photography
has the ability to bind disparate people together. Our greatest honor was to
meet and photograph the great Paksitani photographer and explorer, Mr .Danial
Shah. A multiple award winning photographer, Danial is known for his travels
and landscape shots and also his immensely popular blog. For pictures please check:
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Street Photography - Nikon F801 (35 mm Film Scan with DSLR)
Street Photography - Ibrahim Market, Soldier Bazar, Jamshed Town
Street Photography - Babar Market, Landhi
Emaho Magazine's Photo Walk
Street Photography - Bolton Market, Kohri Garden and Jodia Bazaar
Street Photography - Sandspit Beach, Karachi
Street Photography - Lighthouse, Karachi
Assorted places: University Road, Kharadar, Merewether Clock Tower, Memon Masjid, Hassan Apartment Extension Gulshan e Iqbal, National Coaching Centre Opposite National Stadium, Masjid Kanzul Iman Guru Mandir, SITE, Port Grand, Shara e Faisal, Jehangir Kothari Parade, Liaquatabad
Street Photography - Sea View, Karachi
Street Photography - Zamzama, Karachi
Street Photography - Urdu Bazaar, Karachi
Karachi during rain
For Danial Shah's work please visit:
www.iexplorepakistan.com
www.danialshah.com
Street Photography - Hyderabad
Our trip to Hyderabad turned out to be a great one. Everyone
was saying that what is there in Hyderabad to see. However, a photojournalist’s
eyes see things very differently. We visited Resham Gali, Pakka
Qila, Eid Gah
and other areas. We found the famous Gufa in Pakka
Qila and the sad place where a lot of people were
massacred by the government in Pakka
Qila. Oosman was even attacked by
an eagle in the Gufa.
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Thatta trip
We set off for Thatta one day without any specific target in
mind other than shooting places. The trip turned out to be a great one as we
covered Makli, Shahjahan Mosque, Keenchar Lake and Mola Qadam. Shahjahan mosque
built by the emperor Shah Jahan is a great architectural marvel and we lamented the current state of the Muslim
world by seeing the grandeur of the mosque.
Makli graveyard is the largest necropolis in Asia and was astounding to visit. We even shot a snake charmer’s snake which tried to attack us, despite knowing that it had no venom it still was scary. We also visited a Mazaar inside Makli.
Keenchar Lake was another great treat and we visited the tomb of Noori Jam Tamachi in the middle of the Lake. We were overawed by the power of true love.
Makli graveyard is the largest necropolis in Asia and was astounding to visit. We even shot a snake charmer’s snake which tried to attack us, despite knowing that it had no venom it still was scary. We also visited a Mazaar inside Makli.
Keenchar Lake was another great treat and we visited the tomb of Noori Jam Tamachi in the middle of the Lake. We were overawed by the power of true love.
We also visited Mola Qadam which is regarded to be a place
where Hazrat
Ali (R.A)’s footsteps are preserved in
stone.
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Keenchar Lake:
Mola Qadam:
Makli:
Shah Jahan Mosque Thatta:
Snog launch by Voila PR
Snog by Voila PR was a great event for the launch of Snog
frozen yoghurts. It was perhaps the best event we have covered with notable
personality the late Mr.
Ardeshir Cowasjee
was the chief guest. The event was a smash hit and cemented Voila’s reputation
as a great PR agency.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to photograph Mr. Ardeshir
Cowasjee, who passed away recently.
One of the greatest citizens of Pakistan, Mr. Cowasjee
will forever be remembered for his wit, passion for truth and contribution to
Pakistan.
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