Amateur Non-Pro Application: Fill & Download for Free

No DSLR/SLR/iPhones/Flagships. Here's the camera I use:​Xiomi Redmi 1S - 8 Megapixels - $100 / ₹6000. Nothing fancy.Let's prove by some examples. Below are some photographs it framed,Close-up and details.​Action and Silhouette?​Street light. Minimal. Yes, all these are from a phone camera.​And did I mention colors?​​Bright and beautiful sunrise!​The power of focus and blur!​Totally unedited​​Another unedited version​​​Oh! She's cute, isn't she?​​Night shot​​Till now we have seen nature, objects and colors. Some portraits..​The power pose (That's me!)Because selfie sticks are too mainstream! :DUPDATE 1:Adding some more photos that I recently took.This one is non edited.Another non edited.Fafda - Very well know Gujarati food item.FINAL UPDATE:I bought new device few days months back. (OnePlus X) Below are some the last shots taken by Redmi 1S.Arambol Beach, Goa.End of action!Proved? :)Point being, you don't need an expensive gear to become a photography enthusiast. All that's required is, to be aware of the surroundings and to use the opportunity.With the use of the right techniques and right post processing, one can produce high quality photos from a phone camera too. You don't need a DSLR.About Post ProcessingYes, I do edit the photos.Yes, because the phone camera can't capture the colors and light properly due to sensor limitation. Also, you don't get the impressive blur/focus effect that you get in a DSLR.Initial CaptureI use CameraZOOM Fx as primary camera app.Settings:Focus Mode > Pre-focusMetering > Spot-metering-advAll others auto and I change them as per the scene requirement.EditingMostly I use Snapseed app for basic editing.For advanced edits, Adobe Photoshop.Snapseed is the fastest and most effective. For quick special effects and filters, PicsArt is handy.I'll be happy to answer on specifics.How did I learn?"When you stop doing things for fun, you might as well be dead."First things first, I'm not a pro photographer. I do it for fun and memories.I learned concepts of Photography from various books, blogs, Reddit etc.However, all those concepts I learned are not really applicable in the case of mobile cameras . E.g. , You can't set shutter speed in a phone.I wrote an introductory post on basics of photography on my blog. It's a 3 minutes read to get started: Learning Photography 101: The Essentials Terms and Techniques & TricksMy initial photos were boring and totally dull. The key for me was to keep capturing scenes and moments. After a while, when I became a bit good, when people saw and liked my photos, it motivated me to take even more good photos.If you're an amateur wishing to get into photography, you'll take horrible photos first. Don't feel down. Keep pressing the shutter button and you'll be a pro one day!MindsetAll I mind when taking any picture is the content in the frame. If you get the frame right, all other things can be easily modified/transformed.Personally, I love to do Silhouette photography: Silhouette Store - Playing With Sun, Sky And ColorsNormally people see Instagram as a platform to show off selfies and body curves. I rather see it as a potential photo sharing platform. For me, it's Instagram that gave me constant fuel to take good photos. :)Find me on Instagram: Darpan Dodiya (@darpandodiya) • Instagram photos and videosThanks Saagar Dhadnekar for A2A!

Explore these 5 categories of non-fiction books to feed your intellect and discover:a different approach to the meaning of lifethe importance of building goals and a life strategyhow to master skills you need to succeedhow to boost your levels of happinessthe best ways to feed your brain and optimize its performanceCATEGORY ONE. Expand your mind by discovering how other people approach life and create their personal philosophy.Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl: the psychology of survival and finding strength to live in circumstances where most would give up. It is written as a real life story by a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. It is also one of the most humbling reading experiences of my life. I recommend it to every human being.The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer: a roadmap to achieving happiness, an exploration of what letting go can do to one's life (it's not what you think! so be prepared to be challenged as you read this), and a discovery of what happens when we tune out the noise of our busy lives.The Untethered Soul (also) by Michael A. Singer: transforming your relationship with yourself and the world around you, a practical guide to letting go of painful experiences, living mindfully, and freeing yourself from habitual thoughts, emotions and energies that limit your growth, your work, and the quality of your life.Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh: a practical guide to finding peace, reducing our daily stress levels and overcoming fears, written in a voice that is kind, calm, reassuring, and wise - a true mark of a spiritual leader.CATEGORY TWO. Positively change the way you look at challenges, the work you do, the skills you need, and your abilities to master anything you set your mind to.Mastery by Robert Greene: a book that in essence debunks the myth that it takes a genius with innate talent to produce work of timeless quality. Greene gives examples of some of the biggest minds through history, and shows us that it is focus, true passion and most of all dedicating ourselves to doing deep work that can make us successful in what we do.Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck: a book that focuses on how the view we adopt for ourselves profoundly affects the way we lead our life. Dweck explains the difference between a fixed mindset (believing that our qualities are set in stone - we can only have a certain level of intelligence, a certain type of personality, or a certain moral character, which we need to prove over and over) and growth mindset (believing that the hand we are dealt is just the starting point in our development, and that our qualities are things we can cultivate through our efforts, in other words we can change and grow through application and experience).Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg: Being busy doesn’t always mean we are being productive. In fact, there are ways to work smarter instead of harder. Duhigg provides powerful real-life examples of why it’s important to develop motivation to accomplish our goals, how we can strengthen focus by building mental models, and how daily rituals can give us space and time to think about the bigger picture and what our true goals ought to be.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: learn from high-achievers and what makes them different, and discover whether it’s genius, talent, or mastering a skill through overcoming a difficulty that makes them be the best in their field.CATEGORY THREE. Boost your strategic and leadership skills to help your career or personal development.The Prince by Machiavelli: learn in depth about human behavior, politics, and gaining power.The Art of War by Sun Tzu: think ahead, develop tactics to manage conflict, and ensure victory.Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield: find out how to go from amateur to a complete professional, and what it takes to gain respect from others as well as yourself.The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin: learn the importance of working on the resistance you feel when faced with a challenging situation, instead of simply giving up.The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: understand the impact of the highly improbable and our error of placing too much weight on the odds that events from the past will repeat themselves.CATEGORY FOUR. Flex your happiness muscle by treating happiness like a habit and by actively working on becoming happier every day.Get ideas from one of Harvard University's most popular lecturers, Tal Ben-Shahar, who writes books on positive psychology and gives examples how you can apply it to your daily life:Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting HappinessChoose the Life You Want: The Way To Lasting Happiness Moment by MomentCATEGORY FIVE. Feed your brain with power foods to boost your cognitive powers and strengthen your memory.Power Foods for the Brain: An Effective 3-Step Plan to Protect Your Mind and Strengthen Your Memory by Neal D. Barnard, MD. This book includes a list of foods for optimizing your brain performance, as well as mental and physical exercises that can sharpen and strengthen cognitive skills and improve memory.

I enjoyed reading many answers and I could relate it to me. Here are some from my experience. I hope some of us could relate to some of my points.When you get to drive on a public / festival holiday in the city and you get to realise the actual Bengaluru native population.That moment when you don't find your bounce bike/yulu miracle which was just used by you an hour back. Your mind voice is like “who is this guy?”That common Kannada words used like a pro by non-Kannada speakers. You know what I am talking about .. “Maadi" , “Estu" , “hogita" , etcAt bill counter you ask for 1 idli plate and at delivery counter that guy asks “sambar dip?” By the way i love sambar dip.This is a city where you very rarely get to see people on bike without helmet. (Applicable mostly on main roads)That moment when you try to use your amateur Kannada skills to the auto driver / shop keeper and he asks back “Telugu/Tamil?”. (Applicable only to Tamil, Telugu speakers)On a severe Bandh day your office/tech park entrance says “we are not operating due to bandh” and you are entering your office to work by reading it.ITI gate for Andhra and silk board for TN , you know what I am talking about. I leave it your imagination when you want to go to your native for festival holidays.When your BMTC ticket cost is 19 or 29. If you pay 20 or 30 respectively. You know you are not getting that 1 rupee back or you get it back after a long struggle.Bengaluru City geography can be viewed as Parks, Tech parks, Gated communities and PGs.