Jathin has right focus

HAPPY snapping schoolboy Jathin V Premjith grabbed his dad's old camera and shot an F1 masterpiece which has earned him a spot in a glossy magazine published by a leading photographic equipment manufacturer.

Jathin, 12, an eighth grader at the Asian School, was excited to receive his father's hand-me-down Canon 350D 8.2 mega pixel camera and took it to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.

"My father had bought a new, more sophisticated camera, Canon 50D, just before F1 and he gave me his old one which is in perfect working condition.

"I experimented with different shutter speeds and other technicalities that I learned from my father and spent the majority of my three days at F1 taking pictures from the Batelco grandstand," said Jathin, a resident of Umm Al Hassam.

Prompted by his father and using his limited knowledge of photography Jathin went on a clicking spree under the blazing sun.

Jathin's father, Premjith Narayanan, is an engineer by profession but dabbles in astronomy and photography, both of which are close to his heart. He is self-taught in both and his interest in these subjects has transcended from being just amateur hobbies.

Jathin has over the years observed his father's photographic skills and picked up a few tricks. "You need steady hands when taking photographs of objects moving at high speeds.

"Moreover, you have to have the aptitude to identify and highlight an aspect of an object and make it out of the ordinary. That, in my opinion, makes a good photograph," explained Mr Narayanan.

Jathin took 500 photographs during F1 and Mr Narayanan was pleasantly surprised when he saw the results.

Being a regular subscriber to Canon's Photo Plus international magazine, Mr Narayanan sent three photographs taken by Jathin to the editor.

One photograph of Brawn-Button has been chosen for publication in its upcoming issue in 'Your Photos' section where a panel of expert international photographers offer their opinion on the photograph.

"I took this photograph on day two of Formula 1 using a combination of F-stop, shutter stop and ISO with a 28-300 mm lens. I didn't expect such good results. I now want to explore photography further and maybe later take up astro-photography like my father," said Jathin, who also plays the violin and keyboard.

GulfWeekly photographer Jayson De Leon was also impressed with the schoolboy's efforts. He said: "The eye is immediately attracted to the subject and I'm particularly impressed by the angle and the panning style."