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There is a line on the inside fl ap of the book that says, “... Bombay was the fi rst Indian city where the

photographic needs of the public—including more affl uent indigenous Indians as well as British— were

catered to.” Considering this was in the 1850s, it is safe to say this was impressive. The fl ap further

tells you that Bombay had more practitioners of the art than anywhere else in Asia!

The book goes on to showcase the works of various ‘indigenous’ Indians like Hurrichand

Chintamon, Narayan Daji, Sivshanker Narayan, Shapoor N Bhedwar and Raja Deen Dayal, as

well as British practitioners like Samuel Bourne, the founder of India’s oldest surviving photo

studio, and Edward Taurines amongst others.

It is a fascinating look into early Bombay and the way of life through the eyes of the

inhabitants. Its features street scenes, Maharajas, artists, tribes, bazaars, children.

The cover itself has a English teacher or ‘mistress’ surrounded by female pupils of the

Government Normal School, Bombay. What makes the book even more interesting is the

running dialogue Susan Hapgood has with the viewer, peppered with anecdotes like the time Hurrichund

Chintamon was asked by Harper’s Weekly to contribute pictures of a ‘Hindu ascetic fl oating in the air and of jugglers

performing feats that could not be explained by Western scientists.’ ‘Bombay’ lovers, photography practitioners,

history buffs or anyone really, this one’s for you.

— Written by Natasha Desai

Title: Early Bombay

Photography

Authors: Susan Hapgood

iSBN: 978-81-89995-92-

Publisher: Mapin

Publishing and

Contemporary Arts

Trust, Mumbai

Price: Rs. 1950

BOOk review

Reminiscing Through the Streets of Bombay

Flat Elements to Make Lenses Smaller

A

team at Harvard School of

Engineering and Applied Sciences

has developed a method for making lenses

fl at. This may drastically reduce the size

and weight of camera lenses in the future.

The team originally made a breakthrough

in 2012, when it used metal nano antennas,

but has since switched to silicon.

Using tiny silicon antennas positioned

on glass components, the lens can redirect

light that reaches the surface of the lens

rather than of relying on refraction.

The Harvard team claims that with its

invention, “a thin disc using these antennas

will be able to achieve the same task as

weBSiTe

http://www.exposure.co

Exposure is a beautiful platform for photographers

seeking to upload their work in a minimalist and

aesthetically pleasing manner. Everything is

customisable on the website. You can drag and drop

photos into your browser, which appear as full-bleeds,

and even personalise the headers and body text within

your post. In the end, the user is left with a lovely clean

combination of visuals and typography.

Exposure allows you to sign up for free, and you

can even upload up to three stories. If you want

more from the website, then it will cost you USD 9

(approx. Rs. 560) per month. It doesn't seem too bad,

considering that it gives you a variety of benefi ts like

creating a unique domain for yourself, a statistical

report of your profi le's performance, password

protected posts and a bunch of other features.

Scott Kelby and several other professional

photographers have created their profi les on

Exposure. The way I see it is, if it is good enough for

them, then it is good enough for me!

— written by Conchita Fernandes

Nikon Moves in to the

Medical Devices Space

W

ith a USD 400 million (approx.

Rs. 2500 crore) purchase of retinal

imaging fi rm Optos, Nikon has moved in

to the medical sector. Optos is the market

leader in retinal imaging and its technology

produces images that cover more than 80%

of the retina. The group describes

the huge potential in this segment

stating, “285 million people are estimated

to be visually-impaired, while 80% of all

visual impairment can be prevented or

cured”. Nikon sees this purchase as an

important step in its long-term growth.

The lens design is able to focus light for three different

wavelengths with no need to increase the lens thickness.

Image Source: Haward SEAS

There is a line on the inside fl ap of the book that says, “... Bombay was the fi rst Indian city where the

photographic needs of the public—including more affl uent indigenous Indians as well as British— were

running dialogue Susan Hapgood has with the viewer, peppered with anecdotes like the time Hurrichund

to contribute pictures of a ‘Hindu ascetic fl oating in the air and of jugglers

three large regular elements used in

regular lenses”.

SNaPShotS

Better PhotograPhy aPril 2015

24