Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

A pig coated with a thick greenish film sniffs the ground while foraging near the shore. Pollution around Lake Maracaibo, one of Latin America’s largest lakes, is the result of decades of oil exploitation, inadequate maintenance and a lack of investment to improve an already obsolete infrastructure, say environmentalists

Photograph: Ariana Cubillos/AP

Alia Bhatt shared this image. (courtesy: aliaabhatt)

New Delhi:

Alia Bhatt scooped some time out of her busy schedule and did an Ask AMA session on Instagram, on Wednesday. Alia Bhatt answered a few questions pertaining to her personal as well as professional life. Alia Bhatt was asked by a fan, “Did Ranbir click the picture that is your current display?” The actress replied sharing another shot of herself, “Yes…Even this one… He’s my most fav photographer…Ever.” A question about daughter Raha also popped up. “How are you handling work and baby as a new mom? I feel so guilty at times,” asked a user. Replying to the question, Alia wrote, “Parenting is a lifelong role. I don’t think you can have all the answers or be perfect…All I strive to do is live each day with love and only love…Because there’s no such thing as too much love.”

Here are some of the questions answered by Alia Bhatt:

Screenshot of Alia Bhatt’s Instagram story.

Screenshot of Alia Bhatt’s Instagram story.

About her favourite Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani song – Kudmayi it is.

Screenshot of Alia Bhatt’s Instagram story.

Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor’s forever muse, loves to “casually flex” Ranbir Kapoor’s photography skills. Back when the Dear Zindagi actress and Ranbir ushered in 2022 together, she shared shots from their holiday and she wrote: “Casually flexing my boyfriend’s photography skills.”

Just another picture of Alia Bhatt through the eyes of Ranbir Kapoor. “All I need is sunsets and you…. Taking my pictures,” wrote Alia Bhatt, sharing this picture clicked by Ranbir Kapoor.

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor trended all of Wednesday, courtesy a video that the actress posted for Vogue India. In the clip, Alia is then seen wiping off the lipstick and she explained that she does so because her husband and actor Ranbir Kapoor would ask her to “wipe off” her lipstick back when they were dating because he liked her natural lip shade. A section of the Internet wasn’t very happy with Ranbir’s remarks and bombarded social media with comments slamming the actor.

Alia Bhatt married her Brahmastra co-star Ranbir Kapoor in April last year at their house Vastu, in front of a few family members and close friends. The star couple had been dating for over 5 years before getting married. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor welcomed their first child, a baby daughter on November 6 last year. The actress announced the news of her daughter’s arrival with this post and she wrote: “And in the best news of our lives:- Our baby is here…and what a magical girl she is. We are officially bursting with love – blessed and obsessed Parents! Love, love, love Alia and Ranbir.” They named her Raha.”

I discussed my book about Route 66, night photography, light painting, history, and stories in this YouTube video. I love it when so many fascinating topics collide in one presentation.

California Historic Route 66 Association Zoom Series

California Historic Route 66 Association began in 1990 to foster, expand, promote, and perpetuate public awareness relating to the development, history, and significance of Route 66 in California. It’s especially exciting when they ask you to discuss your book on night photography and the history of the Mother Road with other noted historians and authors.

I had the honor of presenting photography and stories with other noted authors Jim Hinckley and Cher Eichar Jett. We all have documented the Mother Road in different ways, whether through day photography or night photography.

More about Route 66 Abandoned: Under a Western Moon

I joked that the irony of my presentation with the California Historic Route 66 Association was that I would present places that no one wanted to go to anymore. But of course, Route 66 is about everything: Western Expansion, history, cars, the Dust Bowl and more. It’s also about what was left behind as well as what’s coming. Of course, much of it either brings the past alive or is moving forward. There are plenty of new stores, businesses and more along California’s portion of Route 66. Indeed, a decent part of Route 66 in California is in colorful, well-populated areas.

I wrote a book with over 140 color photos about the part of the Mother Road that was left behind. This covers much of Arizona and California. Some of the places are better known, such as Two Guns or Twin Arrows, while some are obscure. But all are fascinating.

To many, Route 66 became a beacon of liberation and opportunity.

And eventually, loss. 

The three of us presented our takes on Route 66 while touching upon these themes.

Photographing Route 66 at night

I explored these abandoned locations, driven by curiosity. And sure, I searched out the unusual and strange as well, aiming to photograph them at night. I would illuminate these forgotten locations with a handheld light, illuminating them during long exposure. Throughout the years, I put thousands and thousands of miles on my car, exploring the most famous roadway in the United States.

Saving history through photography

I had photographed Goffs General Store before. I now felt fortunate that I had done so.

Also, I photographed the store sign at night. It had fallen and was leaning against one of the exterior walls. Someone had seen the sign. That person brought it to the attention of the nearby Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association in Goffs. They took the sign over to the cultural center for preservation.

Now, that sign was all that was left of Goffs General Store.

Lots of photographers wonder about what the best camera for street photography is. And indeed, some are better than others for it. If you want really good autofocus, it’s tough to beat what Sony does. But if you’re looking for unique image quality, photographers trust Fujifilm and Leica the most. The same has been true since the beginning though the cameras don’t matter anywhere as much. What matters is the photographer’s ability to zone in on what’s happening and get the shot. That situational awareness can help photographers capture images like so many did before. What also matters, though, are the lenses.

The lenses are mostly what we’ll be talking about here for around a single paragraph. Lenses, specifically manual focus lenses, are best for street photography because of the zone focusing technique that you can use. Zone focusing is arguably faster than person and face recognition for street photography. But it also depends on the situation that’s currently happening. We prefer manual focus still.

Years ago, I made a video on how to do exactly this. And you can find it below:

We already talked about situational awareness and how important it is just a bit. But here’s the more important thing about street photography. The secret to better street photography is understanding the final photo. Lots of photographers simply just shoot and worry about the images later. This can be a valid technique, but it doesn’t always yield you your best images unless there’s a happy accident. Instead, you should try to look around, understand what’s happening around you emotionally, and then revision what the final photo will look like. At the same time, you should be constantly surveying the scene around you to figure out what your settings should be.

Yes, you should ideally be shooting in manual or aperture priority here. But those settings are nothing without the moment.

The reason why so many portrait photographers like shooting portraits is that they’ve got control over the moment and what’s happening. For the most part, the same goes for landscape photography. But with street photography, you’re only able to control what you can do. Everything else around you isn’t necessarily in your control. There’s the idea of the photo wait, which photographers like Jonathan Higbee do.

Unlike portrait photographers, street photographers, and other documentary-style photographers give up control of the situation that’s in front of them to a degree. And because of that, no amount of great camera gear can help them. With that in mind, you sometimes need to understand that you’re going to lose great shots because you can’t get to them in time.

Here’s a great exercise for you to do: go into the street and start doing street photography in program auto mode on your camera. Do this straight for a week. And when you’re done, and only after a week, look at the photos. Figure out what went wrong technically speaking and ascertain if the photos would’ve been great street photographs. If they were, then you’ll at least know what you needed to do technically. But if you don’t think that the images would’ve been portfolio-worthy, then go back and try again.

It’s important to understand the very human element to street photography that AI imagery and makers can’t necessarily always understand or put into words as prompts.