PHOENIX PHOTOGRAPHY

Kindly introduce yourself.

Hi, I am Chandan D. Naik Gaonkar, a resident of Panaji, Goa. India. An artist and a photographer. I like reading, traveling, listening to music, journalism, and spirituality. In 2000, I wanted to pursue photography course in college but due to some issues couldn’t get the seat, it was a painful moment but then I decided to learn photography of my own. There were finest books, magazines in library which i used to borrow. I started buying photography magazines too, reading them helped me a lot in improving my technique. My first camera was Nikon FM 10, a 35 mm, analogue camera. With it I have practiced a lot, exposing different films(color, black & white, slide). Later moved to Nikon F80, and in 2006 to Nikon D80 (DSLR). Since 2003 I am participating in photography contests and I have won many state, national and international level awards and prestigious honours in photography. I have also attended few workshops on photography years ago.
From 18 May 2018 I am exclusively clicking on smart phone. My first phone was Asus Zenfone 3 and currently i am using Poco X3 from January 2021.
My work have been exhibited at different parts of the country and abroad (UK, USA). Published in newspapers, magazines,photo blogs and different groups on social media.
I strongly believe that beauty is everywhere, only the thing we need to observe it and finally capture. I thank everyone for supporting me but highly grateful to my parents and sister who have always supported me in my journey, without their support it wasn’t possible to reach here.

Which kind of photography fascinates you?

Well, it’s a bit difficult question. I like pictorial photography, fine art, and yes photo journalism (social, documentary photography).

Which camera & lens you use for photography?

Earlier I have used Nikon FM 10,Nikon F80, Nikon D80 with it’s kit lens(28-80mm,18-135mm). I also have Tamron 70-300mm. Besides this I have also used other camera brands like Kodak, Yashica, Ricoh, Minolta, Sony, Canon. But it’s a dream to use a Leica once. As mentioned earlier since 2018 I am exclusive using smartphone(Asus Zenfone 3,Poco X3). Camera, lenses are merely just a tool, vision is important.

Tell us about a memorable photograph which you would treasure always & why?

It’s among the tough questions again!!! Every image is memorable, as each one has some memories, feeling related to it. Can’t remember of any such particular favorite image, sorry.

Tell us about your preferred post processing tool.

I am using Snapseed app by Google for editing. It’s simple and easy to use. Personally I don’t believe in spending hours or days on image editing. Minor editing like cropping, brightness, contrast, saturation etc are more than enough for me.
For resizing images for uploads I use Lit Photo app.

What are your thoughts about mobile phone cameras? Which is the best mobile phone for photography according to you?

Since it’s inception smart phone photography is increasing. Even the camera quality & it’s inbuilt features has improved a lot. Mobile phone has a very small sensor to record an image so some disadvantage are there too. In 2019 I have won India Press Photo award and the organizers manage to print 30 inches print for an exhibition. Even now i can easily make 10×15 inches print. There’s a restrictions for exposure as the lens is fixed for phone, one can not change aperture to get desires results, play with depth of field. In general I use auto mode, compensate images (no hdr) and in complex conditions prefer Pro/Manual mode.
Now a days some phone lens manufacturers also introduced clip on lenses/filters too. ND, ND grad, CPL, Macro, Star filters etc which are useful. Due to it’s handy feature many photojournalist, video journalists started using the phone now.
Whatever but learning basics of photography is a must. Mobile phone is just a tool. A person with good basics and some art knowledge will definitely create better images.
Which is the best mobile phone for photography? It’s the one which you have with you. Many say I phone is best, though I haven’t use it yet, but not everyone can manage to buy it. So whatever phone one has he/she should try to shoot with it. Camera is just a tool, the eye behind it, the creative vision is important for good images. I have seen many people they use latest costly equipments but fail to give good image, they blame their equipments.

Remember, a skillful artist can draw best drawing on any paper.

Talk us through the works of your favorite photographer(s) alive or dead.

In pictorial photography I owe a lot to living legend of photography Mr. O. P. Sharma. His book Practical Photography has helped me a lot to improve my vision. I love the works of Ansel Adams, Steve McCurry, Raghu Rai to name a few.

Any favorite place where you would visit regularly in search of good photographs?

Well I don’t have any favorite place as such. I find good images everywhere, even in my house. We are all surrounded by beauty, only the thing is thatbwe have to observe it and click. But yes, it’s a wish to travel to different places and click.

What are your thoughts about modern day photography ?

Journey of photography has changed a lot from Darkroom to now Lightroom. Few times I have spent in darkroom,processing my own film images. I remember earlier I use to click using film cameras, then give it to laboratory for processing & developing then wait for the print, selecting best for final image, giving final touches with photo ink etc. So now with digital age everything is easy. One can click and see the results on the spot. Still foundation of the art of photography is same. Basics is important. We should welcome technology. But with the advance of technology everyone consider himself,herself a photographer. Now with smartphone craze of taking selfie, vlogs are at peak. It’s a part of life, a photographic journey.
But good images will be always appreciated.

What elements makes a really good photograph according to you?

First of all our basics should be strong. Choice of subject (it can be anything), composition(rule of thirds,leading lines, etc), aesthetic sense, creativity, creative use of forms, shapes, lines etc, Using colour or Monochrome for print/digital image for final presentation etc plays a very important role in creating a good image. At the end our images should have feelings. They should touch our soul.
Love & Light
Thank you.