Paul Kibii Tergat - World 10K Inagural run & fun

These pictures of the great marathon runner were taken in Bangalore during the inaugural Sunfeast World 10k marathon in Bangalore in 2008. Paul was a nice gentleman and this was evident while he interacted with all and sundry during his five day stay in the silicon city.

Paul Kibii Tergat is regarded by many as one of the most astounding long distance runners of the last decade, along with his Ethiopian rival Haile Gebrselassie. World Marathon record holder Paul Tergat was born on 17 June 1969 in Kabarnet, Barango, Kenya. Before becoming an athlete Tergat used to be a basketball player and in 1992 his exceptional career began when he won the Kenyan Cross Country Championships title. However he had to miss the World Championships through injury.

Paul Kibii Tergat, addresses the media (left), as he tries his hands with a archers bow an arrow (top and left below).

Tergat has since won a record five consecutive IAAF World Cross Country titles from 1995 to 1999. On the track, Tergat won two World Championships (1997 and 1999) and two Olympic (1996 and 2000) silver medals at 10,000m on each occasion beaten by Haile Gebrselassie. Now concentrating on the marathon, Tergat is an accomplished track, cross country, and road runner. Tergat achieved one of his most wonderful victory on November 6, 2005, when he won his New York City Marathon debut in a thrilling sprint finish through Central Park, prevailing over defending champion Hendrick Ramaala 2h09'29",90 to 2h09'30",22.

Indian Hockey Player Dhanraj Pillai, Kenyan marathon runner Paul Kibii Tergat and actor Rahul Bose prepare Pasta at the Pasta party on the eve of Sunfeast World 10K Marathon in Bangalore on Saturday 17th May 2008 (top), as Paul Kibili Tergat, Anil Singh of Procom International and Ravi Naware at the Sunfeast Charity night of the World 10K Bangalore Marathon on Friday night (left).

Tergat also won two consecutive editions of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1999 and 2000. In September 2003, he ran a superb 2:04:55 to break the Marathon World record in Berlin. At the Athens Olympic Games, he made his first Olympic appearance at the marathon and finished tenth.

Paul Kibii Tergat during the marathon (circled in red) he pulled out after had a cramp (left).

Paul Tergat has been married to Monica for 13 years and has three children. He has been a goodwill ambassador for the World Food Programme of the United Nations : in January 2004 Tergat was named a UN World Food Programme (WFP) "Ambassador against hunger". When he was a child, Paul Tergat’s family was too impoverished to send him to school with food. Were it not for the World Food Program, which provided food at his school, he would never have gotten a full education.Tergat is also a member of the IAAF Athletes’ Commission.

How to Photograph People - Portraits

Shooting People fall into two categories: portraits and candid. Either can be made with or without your subject's awareness and cooperation. However near or far your subject, however intimate or distant the gaze your camera casts, you always need to keep in mind the elements of composition and the technique that will best help you communicate what you are trying to say. Use the background to your advantage to make the whole picture filled with elements that bring graze and poise. The most common mistake made by photographers is that they are not physically close enough to their subjects. So don't be shy. If you approach people in the right way, they'll usually be happy to have their picture made. In total you have to make sure that the subject is comfortable with you so that you finally get the portraits you wanted of the subject. Always be on the lookout for those moments when a person's character shines though. If you have a formal portrait session with someone, make some frames of him while he straightens his tie or while she brushes her hair before the formal sitting. Walk back to the car with her and shoot her on the street, this will help you have a variety of formal portraits and candid pictures of the subject. The best place to shoot some of the good portraits is use the natural shadows of a tree shade, under a porch, or even better the room where most subjects feel comfortable in. The Shutter speed varies when one uses or not uses a strobe. If you are going to use a strobe it is better to bounce the light source so that the soft light is evenly distributed on the subject body and also the background.

Indoor Portraits
The normal Shutter speeds for indoor with Strobe:
Exposure: 1/125, Aperture f: 8

Without Strobe: (if the room is well lit)
Exposure: 1/15 or 30, Aperture f: 5.6 or 4

Outdoor Portraits

Exposure: 1/ 250, Aperture f: 11

All the above technical details are for ISO 400 ASA.

These pictures of Kris Gopalakrishnan the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Infosys were taken in his office during a exclusive chat with Bangalore Mirror on Tuesday 7th August 2007. Since i had to get some very good pictures of the CEO I had to make him feel comfortable before making sure that he would oblige my demands. And I used the strobe as a bounce light to give me the equal distribution of light.

These above pictures are the Portraits with the subject fully comfortable with the camera lens staring on the face.

The below pictures are the Candid Portraits of People with them not conscious of them being photographed.

These pictures of Kris Gopalkrishnan on the left was taken soon after I had entered his office and the one with the coffee cup was taken during the interview.

These candid portraits of renowned Vocalist Balamurali Krishna were pictured during his interactions with the media on the eve of his performance at the Ramnavami Ugadi Utsav in Bangalore on Tuesday 13th May 2008.

These informal candid portraits of former Miss India and Bollywood actress Neha Dupia was taken during her chat with the media at the launch of the Flying Cats air hostesses set up in Bangalore on Saturday 4th August 2007.

British Actress Nicky Bingham Teaches art of Acting to Children

These photos were shot during a children’s programme at the Bal Bhavan children park in Bangalore. When I visited that event thinking that it will be another painting or craft making for children, to my surprise I saw this British actress and teacher Nicky Bingham imparting the art of acting to some 150 odd children all huddled up with full attention to every word and action she was making. The parents of these were standing in the backdrop to also learn some acting lessons.

Nicky also told these children as to how her long journey in acting started and what changed her course to also impart these finer techniques of natural acting.
Nicky told the attentive children that “When I was a child, I always knew that acting was in my blood. Some people tried to deter me because of its unstable nature but as soon as I went to drama school at 21, I knew I had found my home,” and added that when she chose to travel with a touring theatre company to South America, little did she know this was a decision that was going to change her life.
“I moved to Argentina for a year, we were based in Buenos Aires and touring the surrounding countries. When the tour finished, I stayed on for a couple of months and was offered a permanent job working in the acting field. I was actually getting more work in Argentina than I was in London,” she told the crowd who started to cheer her. Nicky Bingham style of acting and teaching is unique, she says that the audience should first understand what you as an actor is trying to convey through your words and action as this is gauged by them, once you have them in your sway then you have to build that tempo so that they end up not only watching your performance but remember it for a long period of their life.

Nicky also told them that what one as to do as an actor and as a teacher in acting. “When you’re in a play you are part of a team and you only have your character to think about. There are challenges, you constantly have to think of other people and work with others.
But as a teacher “you are on your own, you are responsible for everything: for all the characters, the narrative and for not missing out the crucial events. It’s hard because I’m responsible for the whole audience,” she told the children who by then had already gone through some real story telling by her. One may not be surprised I they get to see some of these students hitting the acting scene shortly with the lessons learnt from Nicky Bingham and give their senior actors a run for their money.

The Last Hours at Indian Coffee House

On the 5th of April, 2009 one more historic place which has remained as one of the garden city's talking joints, the Indian Coffee House was reaching its last breath of steaming fresh filter coffee. The Coffee house which has served many top personalities in the past six decades was on its last journey to death. This Coffee place gets one back to old memories during my stint with the Times of India - Bangalore edition from 1987 to 1993.
When I got to know that the 5th of April would be its last day, it made me feel as though a part of me was being split up and put to rest. So I quickly got my camera and went to the heritage old place to get some pictures of the last few hours and also ensure that I have my last cup of filter coffee from this house.
The coffee house played host to some regulars or occasional visitors to Bangalore's most popular avenue, M.G. Road in the past 50 years of its existence, apart from playing host to personalities like former Prime Minister’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee, H D Deve Gowda, painter M F Husain, Jnanpith awardees U R Anantha Murthy and Girish Karnad, filmstars Dr. Rajkumar, Ambreesh, Vishnu Vardhan, Mohanlal to name a few.
Run by the Indian Coffee Workers' Cooperative Society Limited, the Coffee House was established in Jan 1958. The end came as the society lost a legal battle with the owner of the building to continue in the premises.
'The court had directed the Coffee House to vacate the premises in 2006. However, we managed to get an extension till March. Now we have no other option but to move out and find an alternative place for ourselves,' Ravi, the manager of Indian Coffee House, told me when I spoke to him during his last working hours and added in the same breath that 'We are looking for a place on MG Road to restart our business. Till then the employees, 48 in all have to remain without any salary.
Regulars to the coffee house for the past 35 years Shanmugam and Natrajan were there on Sunday, to sip their last cup, narrated some of the best times of their lives they had under this roof which will be closed in a few hours. Shanumagam said that he had met Natatajan a hockey player then and now a hockey referee and coach, here at the same table they are sitting in 35 years ago, and now had come with their wife and children to bid a snuffled farewell to their thrice a week meeting place.
'I worked in the Coffee House for the last 25 years. It is hard to believe that it has been closed. I have enjoyed serving the visitors all these years,' said Peter John, a waiter in his mid-40s, sporting his red turban and white unvarying.
Hanumanthaiah, coffee maker had delighted many discerning coffee lovers, said the place had been his home for almost three decades.’
‘I prepared filter coffee for coffee lovers for almost 30 years. Coffee House was my home and I am homeless today,' lamented 50-year-old Hanumanthaiah.
Even as he regulars for decades came to bid a appetite fill farewell to their second home, the youngsters who were regulars for 5 to 8 years had started to put an online ‘Save Indian Coffee House’, campaign on various social networking sites.
The Manager Ravi said that the society is looking for a alternate place on M G Road but till they do get one the employees in all 47 will have to stay without any salary.
Sweating and knowing regular customers on first term basis were two waiters Gangaiah and Chinappa, who had no words on the last working day as they kept their weeping hearts within themselves and put up a smiling face to the customers and the media, serving them with utmost pride.
Below are the pictures taken by me during the last few hours before the coffee house closed doors and the locks put on for one last time to end a rule of the coffee on M G Road, Bangalore.

The Waiters Chinappa and Gangaiah go about their duty on the last working day serving the customers at the Indian Coffee House at 4.35PM, on 5th April, 2009.

Some of the Regulars for the past few year (left) and the old time regulars Shanumugam and Natrajan (right) enjoy their last cup of Coffee on the first floor of the Coffee House at 5.05 pm on 5th April, 2009.

Hanumanthaiah the coffee maker at the coffee house for the past 30 years prepares the last filter coffee and serves them into waiting cups at 5.30pm on 5th April, 2009.






Lakshmi films her husband Shankar and their child outside the Coffee House, where they had met and fell in love. They stumbled in not knowing it was the eatery's last day.








A couple pose for a picture with one of their regular waiters as DNA Money editor Chitti Pantulu leans over to a side to give way for me to take the picture, at Coffee House on 5th April, 2009 at 7.45pm.





A art student sketches some of the last moments at the Coffee House (left) as smokers stand at their space meant for them between the ground and the first floor staircase sipping their coffee with a cigarette (top).




The chefs of the Indian Coffee House prepare the dosas and omelets for one last time on 5th April, 2009. The Omelet being prepared (left top) and the Dosa being steamed on the hot tawa (top right) as another cook moves some plates of Dosa and Omelet from the first floor kitchen to the ground floor kitchen through the 50 year old hand mad pulley (left).





History pieces displayed for one last time: the Cash counter on the first floor (top left), H Ramalinga and Gangaiah in the uniform for one last time. These Traditional uniforms have been with them for the past 38 years during their service (top) and the menu card which (left) which I also took procession for my keeps as an memory memento.




The Gate keeper locks the doors of the Indian Coffee House on M G Road for one last time at 8.45 pm (left) as the Evening staff pose for a group picture (right) at 8.55 pm.

Vinay Kamat and me have the last plate of omelet and cutlet at the Indian Coffee House which we used to visit 20 years ago (left) as Vinay Kamat and Chitti Pantulu pose for a picture with the staff of the Indian Coffee House (right) after the locking of the doors for last time.

Special Guest at Aero India 2009

The Aero India International air show 2009 had some special guests apart from the the defense chiefs.

Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor inspects the static venue of the air crafts and also takes keen interest in the Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems display counter while taking a feel of the Helicoat simulator and the Spike-MR (Gill) with range of 2,500m, Spike-LR with 4,000m range. Spike is anti-armour weapons. The weapons are lightweight fire-and-forget anti-tank missiles and use electro-optical and fiber-optic technologies. The systems are used by infantry soldiers, special rapid reaction forces, ground forces and helicopter aircrew.

Defense Minister A K Anthony and MOS Pallam Raju, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall F H Major along with other senior officials of the Defense ministry at the inaugural function of the Aero show 2009 in Bangalore (left) as he along with Rahul Dravid look at some of the manuvers of the Sarang Helicopter team (right).



Admiral Sureesh Mehta interacts with some of the officials of the Russian Mikoyan the builders of the MIG-35 at the display stall in the Aero India 2009.






Tamil Film actor Ajit was there to have a close look at the static display. He spend more than five hours being escorted by the HAL employees. He claimed that he was a very personal visit and that's why he was sporting a moustache along with the beard so that he will be able to hide his identity. Anyway after speaking to for a few moments and requesting him if I could take some pictures of himself freeze framing the Iron eagles on display he obliged and wanted me to picture him with the Sukoi static display plane and mail it to him. After framing him into my Canon-EOS D50, he handed me over his Nikon with a 80-200mm ED lens mounted to shot his pictures. With my pictures taken I parted ways with him and started to concentrate on the air show again.