It has been a busy couple of weeks and my posts here on TIFFINBOX have really trickled to a few drops. I hope to change that as soon as I get a few things sorted out at work and home.

Meanwhile, I missed posting this note about IDENTITY, a photo exhibit in NYC. David Wells, a photojournalist who has spent a great deal of time in India, told me about the show. His wife Annu is one of the artists showcased.

Sepia International and The Alkazi Collection in New York presented Identity, three concurrent exhibits by photographers. Two of the three photographers have Indian roots.

Annu Palakunnathu Matthew examines “the ‘staged' photographic document and its power to reinforce cultural stereotypes.” She combines images by Edward S. Curtis and digitally altered facsimiles using her own image. According to the press release, Matthew creates fabricated pairings that explore both the notion of originality and that of identity.

Sunil Gupta‘s work represents his journeys as a gay man with HIV from his homeland in India to his adopted homes in England and Canada. Known for his diptychs, Gupta's “narrative juxtapositions explore the inherent tensions which have shaped his experience of being a gay Indian man living in the West.”

The show ran from the end of January to the middle of March this year.

I am a die-hard Macintosh user and there is nothing that will convince me that PC's are better. If the network issues and crashes at work are any indication (where I am forced to use a PC), I'll play it safe with a Mac.

But once in a while I hear of a program on the PC side of life that ought to be on the Macintosh platform. The Font Creator Program is full of promise for font designers. If there is a Macintosh version, please let me know.

Via Eclecticism

Want to link your psyche to a famous novel? Take this online Book Quiz.

This is apparently who I am:

You're Siddhartha !
by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in. This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in ferries.

Kanak Mani Dixit is the editor of Himal South Asian, a spectacular periodical that covers the issues of the day from a unique perspective – it takes on all of South Asia!

Kanak has a photo exhibit online that you should check out. He says, “There are numerous photographic prints lying forgotten in the trunks and attics of Nepali families which should see the light of day, Dixit believes, to help us better appreciate our recent history, in the decades before the 1970s.”

Here is an example:

{above} The 1970s was when the first generation of Kathmandu girls made the shift from sari to Western wear, only later taking up the salwar kurta. (1979)

Ever backtrack a long URL to it's original source? Well I did that with Kanak's site and I landed at Shanti Marg, with more links to explore. Rohan Chitrakar‘s beautifully designed web portfolio caught my eye.

If you missed the Northern Short Course this year, I urge you to go next year. For some of you outside the New England area, it may not much sense to make the trip, but several workshops and panels made the two day drive from Hartford to Warwick, Rhode Island really worthwhile.

Topping the charts was Karl Kuntz‘ beginning and intermediate workshops using Adobe PhotoShop CS. Kuntz, the Managing Editor for visuals and graphics at The Columbus Dispatch, is also known in photo circles as a PhotoShop guru. I took copious notes and learned to color correct and knock down digital noise from my images. The upgrade to PhotoShop CS is a steep one in price, but after Kuntz showed us a few tricks, it just makes sense to make the leap. Kuntz is a wonderful teacher and his own notes are available for download here. [it's a 3.1 mb PDF file]

John Harrington‘s professional seminar was useful and we all received a binder filled with case-studies and sample forms that we can quickly apply to make our business run smoothly. Want to know how to incorporate business practices in photography? Check out Harrington's other website LIFES WORK.

Stock photographer Seth Resnick‘s no-nonsense approach to digital workflow was an eye-opener. If you are still using film (as I am), the pace with which the photo world is spinning around the digital format should make you giddy. I certainly felt like I needed to sit down. Digital has approached the quality level of film. Sure, you need a $8,000 camera, a slew of lenses, a high-end post-production computer studio to make it all happen. The cost of doing business has simply sky-rocketed.

I was sorely disappointed by the lighting workshops that I signed up for. They seemed utterly remedial. Despite the gusty winds or the cold weather, I had had hoped we could have gone out into the sunlight and used our strobes for that classic Annie Liebovitz effect. God, I would love to shoot editorial portraits like her.

Via Conscientious

“PhotoSeen is an ever-changing gallery for an expanding group of independent photographers. It exists to provide inspiration, motivation peer-to-peer critiques and a place to share our photographic passions. Membership is based not only on ability but on the desire to share, learn and help out other photographers.” 

Via Dr. S. S. Badrinath

The Hindu today profiled Vanitha Rangaraju-Ramanan, the lighting technical director for SHREK, the 2002 Oscar winning animation feature film. She is working on the sequel, to be released in the US on May 21st.

In 2002, `Shrek' won accolades for being the `Best Animated feature film'. DEEPA KANDASWAMY speaks to Vanita Rangaraju-Ramanan, the movie's `Lighting Technical Director', and also the first Indian woman to bask in Oscar limelight.

Every March, attention shifts to the Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, U.S. And amidst the speculation and excitement, it is not very often that one gets to know about a special Indian woman. Further,only a few know the name of that young woman. She's Vanitha Rangaraju-Ramanan, who won an Oscar for her technical work in the animation film, “Shrek”.

Vanitha Rangaraju was born in 1970 in Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu. The older of two girls, she did her schooling at the Holy Cross Girl's School and then St. Joseph's Convent, Trichy. She graduated in B.Arch from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy (now the National Institute of Technology) and went on to work for a firm in Bangalore. At Bangalore, she met Ramanan, an engineering graduate from REC, Warangal, whom she later married.

As a young girl growing up in Trichy, Vanitha says she became interested in animation. “All those Tom and Jerry cartoons I watched when I was young inspired me.” she says. But the turning point was when she decided to make the jump from architecture to animation after she watched a TV interview in 1995. It was about “Toy Story”, the first full-length 3-D computer graphics feature film. “In the interview, they talked about how people from many different fields contributed to the movie's creation,” Vanitha says. “I've always loved animation and the interview got me thinking seriously about entering the field.” While many dissuaded her, she attributes her success to those who supported her. “The people who helped me didn't think it was silly for a professional architect to want to become an animator — my parents, sister, Ramanan, and my friends Vidya, Babu and Kala.”

In 1996, Vanitha and Ramanan headed for the United States to enrol for a masters programme at the University of Texas, Austin. Vanitha did her studies in Architectural Studies, majoring in Computation and Simulation. It was while doing her masters, that she got an internship during her last semester (Fall 1998) at Industrial Light & Magic, a leading visual effects studio in Northern California.

“That was my big break. It gave me a chance to get my `foot in the door',” she says. “Right after I completed my internship, I was to finish my master's thesis in Austin when I got the job at Pacific Data Images (PDI), now PDI/DreamWorks to work on `Shrek'. This was in April 1999. Needless to say, I'm still trying to get back to school to finish my masters.”

In 2002, “Shrek” won the Oscar as the “Best Animated feature film”. The technical achievement, which translated into making “Shrek” a visual success, helped tremendously in the movie bagging the Oscar. The film is based on a picture book which is just 10 pages long, unlike other movies which are based on novels. Vanitha's credit title on “Shrek” was “Lighting Technical Director”.

Apart from digitally lighting the film, the Lighting Department is responsible for bringing the many different components of shots together — complex geometry, motion of the characters, textures, effects such as fire and dust, and the matte paintings. As a technical director, she was responsible to make this happen, using both her artistic and technical abilities. In addition, Vanitha also worked as a lighting animator on several shots, and as a co-developer for many animation sequences.

Vanitha is humble about being the first Indian woman to win an Oscar. “It felt great! Almost unreal. I'm excited to have been a part of this great team. I still remember watching the Oscars in India six years ago, wondering how it would be to touch the statuette, to feel the appreciation of the entire world for your work on a movie. Our producer Aron Warner returned with the Oscar to PDI. When I actually got to hold the statuette in my hands, it was a wonderful feeling.”

Her parents who had been watching the ceremony live on TV in Trichy were more excited according to her. Her mother then distributed sweets to everyone. “So many people whom I hadn't even kept in touch with wrote to me, congratulating. To me that's what makes it all worthwhile. I agree, it is special to be a part of the Oscar winning team but it's more special when you make your friends and family proud.”

Vanitha chose not to become an American citizen despite her successes. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. Says Vanitha, “Trichy is my hometown. I miss home, my parents, my sister, and all my friends.” Vanitha is currently busy imparting the finishing touches to the sequel, “Shrek 2”, which is to be released in July.

Considering her drive and dedication, it wouldn't be surprising if she wins the Oscar again in 2005.

Copyright: 1995 – 2002 The Hindu

Check out this week's issue of India Today. The International Editon's cover, which I shot recently, bears an image of Yoga teacher and performance artist Vennila Kain.

Tiffinbox continues to accept your writing, photography, art or design projects that have been published in a magazine or newspaper. We'll also accept links to work on nationally or internationally known web sites. Why? It's simply a way for us to share in our collective successes, to inspire and motivate each other as we embark on a creative journey. It's also an opportunity for people who visit this site to explore the latent talent in a diverse group of people. Please contact me at tiffinbox{at}pipalproductions{dot}com and include your name, email address, telephone number and of course, a brief description of your submission.

Badmash has gone and upped the ante. Their latest installment is a riot. The Singhsons is a spoof on the hit animation series The Simpsons. It was created for The Funjabis, a UK-based comedy group. You will need Flash Player and a fast connection to see the one minute creation.

If you aren't subscribing [it's free] to Badmash's weekly South Asian comic strip, you are missing out … yaar!

As an immigrant of sorts [I was born in NYC but grew up in India], with strong leanings to both the East Indian culture and the American way of life, I didn't, however, want to live a hyphenated existence.

Earlier this year, I signed on as the Image Editor for InTheFray a website run entirely by volunteers from different walks of life and in different parts of the country. The site's core mission is to tackle issues of identity and community in a diasporic milieu. While we may ping pong between terms such as “tossed salad” or “cup of soup” to describe the immigrant experience in America today, InTheFray attempts to help me make some sense of the various interactions and social relationships we maintain.

InTheFray needs your input, however. It seeks your writing and photography. And I am sending this call out to anybody who is interested in getting their work exhibited on a nationally known web site. While we may not be able to compensate you financially, the site does attract at least 10,000 unique visitors each month. That's a lot of eye balls, folks!

If you are interested in sending your work in, please first read our contributor policies posted here. This page also describes the four channels of the magazine — IDENTIFY, IMAGINE, INTERACT, and IMAGE — that accept content from contributors.

Each of these channels needs art and/or photographs for the stories they feature (usually about 1 photo/image for every 1,000 words). The IMAGE Channel, which is our visual arts section, features photo essays and other visual essays.

Please let me know whether you are more interested in contributing a photo essay to IMAGE or whether you would like to contribute photos on an as-needed basis for the other channels. If you're interested in contributing to IMAGE, please e-mail me, about your specific story ideas. If you are interested in contributing art and/or photos for the rest of our site, please contact Laura Pohl, our Art Director with your specific questions and ideas.

Rest assured while we are based in the US, InTheFray isn't an American-centric project. Currently on display, in the IMAGE channel, is a interesting photo essay on Tibetan exiles in Dhamasala, India.