About shooting stars
Samira Sukhija | Oct -2005 | Better photography magazine
" Kedar Bhat radiates an air of optimism around him, which stems from an intrinsic belief that life is all about experiencing "the now". He is a photographer who enjoys the process more than the end result and shoots distinctly good images. "Samira Sukhija finds out more."
Kedar's interest in Astrophotography has made him experiment a lot with his camera under cold night skies
For a start, Kedar is a photojournalist. But his interests spread to wildlife, nature and even to Astrophotography. That intrigued us to a great extent and we decided to explore it more.
Kedar Bhat, a physics graduate, has been into photography since 1995. He freelances with publications like the Times Group, The Indian Express, PTI (Press Trust of India), The Week and Outlook. For starters, Kedar's interest in photography began in his trekking expeditions. Along with friends he would visit many places and according to him "each of my friends had a different hobby - some wildlife, some star gazing and some adventure sports and they would each carry a camera".
Being exposed to various hobbies and the camera as well opened up possibilities of doing photography. He took no formal training in this field but taught himself by "reading manuals and going through many images". He elucidates his preference for freelancing by saying that he likes to have a choice in the assignments he does. "I like having control over what I do", explains Kedar. His pictorial contributions extend to Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). He is also the founder member of the India chapter of "Space Guard India", where members observe the near Earth objects. They indulge in sky watching, star gazing, observing eclipses and transits. In 1995, he led a team of 40 photographers to experiment with photography during the eclipse.
When we got to the topic of space and celestial objects, I wanted to delve further into this aspect of his photography. He explains that he is not into the scientific study of all things related to astronomy. For him, the pleasure of shooting images lies in the beauty of what he is shooting. "There are lots of things that one can consider when looking at it from the scientific point of view, but the aesthetics is what is important to me", remarks Kedar. Aesthetics for him involve including a good foreground for the astronomical subject he is shooting.
Kedar and Astrophotography:
There are many genres that one can explore in photography. Astrophotography is one of them, and a specialised field at that. It requires study, customised equipment and tremendous amount of patience. The following few paragraphs will give you Kedar's interesting perspective of this field.
Kedar begins explaining that there are two aspects to astrophotography. One is the technique of photography itself and the second is the subject. To be able to shoot an astronomical object, one needs to understand the science behind it - where are you going to be able to see it? What aspect of it is important to shoot, and how do you go about shooting it? "A lot of research needs to be done beforehand. Read up books, visit web sites, do whatever it takes to increase your knowledge", says Kedar. When a celestial event-like an eclipse is due, where metering the exposure is not possible because exposure variation is rapid from minute-to-minute, NASA's website is the answer. It gives a lot of information on how to shoot images of the event, and gives details on exposures based on the path of the eclipse. Which is another thing - in your research you also need to understand the path of the objects. "Apart from research, you need to pre-plan the shoot. It can take up to eight days to plan a shoot, finish mathematical calculations relating to the event. Once you understand the precise timetable, it is then a mechanical process", emphasises Kedar. According to him, in one night of shooting even if one gets four or five usable images, its great.
Another aspect of astrophotography is to understand the direction in which the Earth moves, especially when photographing stars. It is sufficient to use a 35mm SLR camera on an 'equatorial mount'. Unlike regular tripods which move only vertically and horizontally, the equatorial mount is capable of moving parallel to the motion of stars in sync with the Earth's direction. Setting up equipment can take two hours, and following stars is necessary, apart from taking care of the alignment.
Capturing star trails and constellations comes under basic astrophotography. "There's another form of astrophotography called 'Piggy Back Photography'. Cameras with wide-angle lenses are attached to high-powered / magnification telescopes. The cross wire in the telescope is used to define a focal point - in the case of capturing star trails, one particular star. With the help of the telescope it is easier to follow the path of the stars and the image will ultimately be a wide-angle image. The telescope has no use in recording light", says Kedar.
He also tells us that there are special CCD cameras designed for astrophotography with special software's to work them. Telescopes are linked to CCD cameras and these cameras have high sensitivity, low grain, and come along with a cooling mechanism to reduce temperatures to 4-8 degree centigrade. (Long exposures that are required for astrophotography tend to heat up the CCD).
The biggest learning for him in this field has been patience. That apart, was dealing with low temperatures, humidity, and lots of equipment in the open under the sky.
Being a physics student helped him understand and appreciate this form of photography and he keeps experimenting with long exposure, multiple exposures, etc.
For Kedar, the adventure is more important than the photography. He says, "Even if you don't get the image, you should enjoy the experience". He is complete fan of the digital technology for the obvious reasons of instant feedback. The possibility in the post shooting processes too gives him a lot of control over his images. He started his photography with the Zenith 50 mm f/4.8, but he currently uses a Nikon D100 and also owns the Nikon F70 - essentially a self-proclaimed Nikonian.
Kedar admires the work of photographers like John Shaw and Joe McNally. He has a lot of things that he wishes to do - for instance underwater photography, shooting editorial assignments mixing natural and artificial lights.
But till then he plans to continue freelancing. His interest in long assignments and photo features is also strong and that's why it was no surprise when we asked him about his dream assignment and he categorically stated: "National Geographic"!
