This is an appreciation post for life post-Covid that I’m lucky to be living. With collaborators, partners old and new. A new appreciation for several things one took for granted pre-Covid. Love and laughter. Loved ones and friends. Co-conspirators. And colours. My love for colours has not changed.
The smartphone device in the photographs is the Google Pixel 7 Pro. The Banarasi Zari overlapped kurta that I’m wearing is by Abhishti. The dhoti is the lower half of my work uniform. The footwear is a pair of leather shoes that I bought from the original American Apparel brand in 2015 from Los Angeles. The location is the stunning Moolsagar in Jaisalmer. Erstwhile Moolraj Sagar was established in the year 1770 by the Royal Family of Jaisalmer. It continues to be maintained well and I had the privilege of being able to photograph at. I wasn’t even aware that Jaisalmer had any stepwells!
The first section is photographs shot on the DSLR by Sachin Singh. Edited by me. The second section is photographs shot on the Google Pixel 7 Pro.
FIRST SECTION
The ear rings that you see up-close in the photographs below, I made them! Silver wire with brass Meenakaari beads. Coincidence that the colour matches with my Google Pixel 7 Pro!
Some photographs of Moolsagar, Jaisalmer, established in 1770 . Shot on the DSLR. The property is owned by the Jaisalmer Royal Family ( and is also available for shoots and events. )
The Moolsagar Jaisalmer Stepwell. I had absolutely no idea that there were stepwells in Jaisalmer. I know of one for certain now and I am sure there must be others that are obscure and hidden away.
SECOND SECTION
Now for a few photographs shot on the Google Pixel 7 Pro!
The smartphone excels in both people photographs and landscape. The previous device that I was using was the Google Pixel 6 Pro and the wide angle in the camera on that device was a 0.7. On the Google Pixel 7 Pro, it now goes down to a 0.5. I found that annoying because I feel, at least for my photography aesthetic, 0.7 was wide enough. One can horizontally scroll to change the degree of zoom on the device, which also I found annoying. I want to be able to tap on a number and just shoot. Scrolling is annoying and getting the precise number is a bit of a jiggle.
I’m just thrilled that the Google Pixel Pro smartphone models are back in India. They are absolutely the best IMO in terms of smartphone photography. Combined with post-production on Adobe Lightroom, right on the phone, I really don’t need much else. I love the photos coming out of this phone. And even video is seeming more accessible to me – I’m not much a video creator because I don’t understand the fundamentals of motion and haven’t given a real shot at learning more. But, the Pixel 7 Pro has this cinematic mode now, where you can lock focus on a subject and the background is blurred – it looks lovely when done right. For example, this video from my Instagram feed.
And then there’s the macro mode that comes on by default if you turn on those settings. I don’t have any examples to share in this particular blog post but you can see the images of an Emerald on my Instagram feed that were shot on the macro mode on the Pixel 7 Pro.
And then there is the super zoom – I took a picture of the Moon recently and was shocked at what it captured! Again, can be found on my Instagram feed here.
Almost everything that you see on my Instagram feed these days is images shot on the Pixel 7 Pro and edited in Adobe Lightroom.
Previous photostories about the Google Pixel Smartphone and other collaborations with Google India.
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