Sakela – Udhauli and Ubhauli (उधौली उभौली पर्ब)

Sakela – Udhauli and Ubhauli (उधौली उभौली पर्ब): Nepal is a country of ethnic diversities .Different ethnic communities follow their own traditions and cultures. Fairs and festivals have been a part of each and every ethnic community. Thus one or another kind of fair and festivals are observed... Continue Reading →

Yomari Punhi

Yomari Punhi: Yomari Punhi is a Newari festival marking the end of the rice harvest. It takes place in November/December during the full moon day of Thinlā (थिंला), the second month in the lunar Nepal Era calendar. Yomari Punhi, meaning the full... Continue Reading →

विवाह पञ्चमी – Bivah Panchami

विवाह पञ्चमी – Bivah Panchami: Background Lord Janak, his daughter Sita, and their ancient Kingdom of Mithila, were all right here, within these borders, in the Tarai district of Dhanusa (Sanskrit for “bow”). The scene described above, happened in the uniquely constructed, mesmerizing temple, known... Continue Reading →

विवाह पञ्चमी – Bivah Panchami

विवाह पञ्चमी – Bivah Panchami: Background Lord Janak, his daughter Sita, and their ancient Kingdom of Mithila, were all right here, within these borders, in the Tarai district of Dhanusa (Sanskrit for “bow”). The scene described above, happened in the uniquely constructed, mesmerizing temple, known... Continue Reading →

Kartik nach: खँलाबँला

Kartik nach: खँलाबँला: खँलाबँला:Kartik nach Kartik Naach (Kartik Dance) is an originally 27-day-long traditional dance and drama festival that takes place in the Hindu lunar calendar month of Kartik, which falls in October/November. This festival is performed on a public platform in front... Continue Reading →

Tihar : तिहार

Tihar : तिहार

Khokana Jatra (Sikali Jatra)

Khokana Jatra (Sikali Jatra)

Dashain – बडादशैँ, विजय दशमी, मोह्नी

Dashain – बडादशैँ, विजय दशमी, मोह्नी

Kartik nach: खँलाबँला

Kartik nach: खँलाबँला

Why This Generation is losing the ability to be in love??

Ever wonder what our generation will be known for in the decades to come? I ponder the question regularly.

There are so many great things we could be remembered for, but if history has taught us anything, it’s the negative that tends to last the test of time, not the positive. My greatest worry is our generation will be looked at as the generation that gave up on love. We date for the sake of dating. The generation that forgot how to love — which is ridiculous. Most people have never had a good understanding of love, just a poor interpretation of it.

"Generation-Y" seems to be the first generation moving away from conventional takes on romantic, loving relationships.

The only question that remains is whether we’ll be remembered for being the first generation to accept a more logical and rational take on love or the generation that gave up on it altogether.

I guess you’ll be the one to decide.

1. We care more about instant gratification than we do anything else:- The most common trend amongst Generation-Yers is our need for instant gratification. We grew up and continue to thrive in a culture that allows us instant access to just about anything.

If we want food, we have it delivered with the click of a few buttons or we walk a block or two and grab dinner. If we are bored, we have endless distractions in the form of phone apps. If we need directions or a question answered, it only takes us a couple of seconds. Such convenience is entirely a modern-day perk — previous generations never experienced anything even remotely close to it. The problem is instant gratification is addicting and often becomes a habit, a habit that tends to seep into our love lives.

Love isn’t meant to be experienced in an instance, but in a lifetime.

2. We’ve built a culture driven by drugs and booze:- This goes hand in hand with our culture’s need for instant gratification. Drugs and booze are the most common form of self-medication. When we feel sad or unhappy, we go out for drinks. When we’re stressed or unable to handle our lives, we may turn to more intense substances. Of course, not everyone drinks alcohol and/or does drugs, but it is a trend among our generation. Drugs and alcohol often end up being love’s worst enemy. These substances give us the illusion of an alternate reality — a reality in which our emotions are heightened, and the love we experience becomes exponentially intense. Unfortunately, all this does is confuse us, making us believe love is little more than the feelings we experience. Nothing could be further from the truth.

3. We sleep around — a lot:- Some less than others, but most individuals have multiple partners every year. Don’t get me wrong, I like sex just as much as the next guy, but sleeping around ends up leaving us feeling empty. It starts out feeling exciting and gratifying, but ends up making us feel even more alone. Worse yet, it makes finding someone to love infinitely more difficult. You’re wasting your time with people who mean nothing to you and, to top it all off, you are likely to turn sex into a sport. When that becomes the case, good luck trying to make love. Good luck enjoying sex when sex is no longer a special or unique experience, but just another trivial evening.

4. We’re becoming even more egocentric :- Every individual in the world is egocentric; we all think about our needs and ourselves first and foremost. Whether this is good or bad doesn’t really matter; the world is the way it is. It’s part of human nature. The problem arises when our egocentricity overtakes our ability to feel empathy. As human beings, we have no choice but to live and function within society, within communities of different sizes. Relationships are really nothing more than granular communities. When we focus on only ourselves, our needs, our wants and desires, the needs of the others in our community get overlooked. When this happens in a relationship, it all begins to fall apart.

5. We date for the sake of dating:- It has become a sport — a favorite pastime among Millennials. We date because we believe we’re supposed to date. We’re supposed to find someone to fall in love with and spend our lives with, and we are under the impression that the best way to go about it is to date as often as possible. This backwards logic brings about countless horrible relationships that never ought to have been in the first place. Every time you date someone who isn’t right for you, you’re giving up your chance to meet someone who is. Same goes for the rest of the world.

6. We aren’t fans of making compromises:- We like to have things our way, always. Why wouldn’t we? If we can have it our way, why would we settle for anything less? This logic makes sense until we find ourselves in a relationship. When we’re a part of a relationship, we are only a piece of a greater whole. What we want and need is not nearly as important as what the relationship needs. And what the relationship often needs is for you to compromise. So you’re left with a dilemma, which is fine, as long as you accept that compromises need to be made. Once we no longer accept that as a necessity, we will lose the ability to create a loving relationship.

7. We believe in fairy tale endings:- What was our favorite thing to watch growing up? Most people our age will say Disney. We grew up on Disney movies and learned all about love through the stories they told — or at least I did. The problem is such movies are incredibly inaccurate and often end up doing more harm than good. They create impossible expectations — expectations that always leave us disappointed in the end, not to mention confused. How could you not question your love for someone when your story doesn’t line up with what you believe defines a happily ever after?

8. We’ve been fooled into believing perfection is attainable:- It’s not. Never has been, never will be, and yet, we are all looking for that perfect individual. We are all looking to become that perfect individual. Sadly, we’re all going to fail, and it’s going to suck. No matter how unrealistic our expectations are, the disappointment we feel when they aren’t achieved is very real. The grass always seems greener on the other side. But who the hell told you to look for greener grass?

9. We’re goal driven, but often forget to include our partners in the mix:- I love the fact that our generation is really the first generation to put the focus on the individual, allowing for personal growth and development. I’m proud our generation is the first generation that believes working for ourselves is better than working for someone else. Having dreams and setting goals are both incredibly important however, what’s more important is setting the right goals. We need to understand the difference between the things and individuals in our life who hold value and those that do not. Sadly, this is an area in which our generation is greatly lacking. Most of us put off finding someone to love until after we get the rest of our life together. Not sure why no one realizes finding a partner is the most important piece of the puzzle.

10. Most of us are really bad at loving:- Love is confusing. It has layers and is mutable, changing over time and changing with each new partner we let into our lives. Love is so incredibly complex that most people simply haven’t been able to get a grasp of it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it is reason to worry. The real question is: Are we getting better or worse at loving? That’s a question I’m not able to answer, but I fear it maybe the latter. Of course, each individual is different in his or her understanding, but most people seem to be incredibly lost. The issue is if we don’t come to understand love better — its purpose, its boundaries and its shortcomings — we will never be happy.

“That’s nothing short of fact”. - Paul Hudson

10 TIPS FOR SHARPER PHOTOS (EVEN WHEN ZOOMED IN)

SHARPNESS TIP #1: SHOOT LIKE A SHARP-SHOOTER

Anyone who has ever shot a gun or bow and arrow knows that the key to shooting well is finding a firm shooting foundation.  Shooters do this by stabilizing themselves against a bench, using a monopod, or standing in the most stable positions.  Not surprisingly, photographers should use the same advice.  If you haven’t taken a minute to consider whether your photography posture is solid, think about it for a minute and decide how to improve your stability.  If you don’t regularly use a tripod, just do it!

SHARPNESS TIP #2: DON’T ZOOM TO THE EXTREMES

I have never tested a lens that is sharpest at the extremes of the zoom range.  For example, if you shoot a 75-300mm lens, you will get sharper photos at 280mm than 300mm.  The Nikon 70-200mm lens shoots sharpest at 135mm.  I’m sure there are exceptions to this rule, but I haven’t seen them personally.  Almost all lenses are sharper somewhere between the extremes of the zoom range.

This is especially important if you are shooting a less expensive zoom lens or a kit lens.  Spend just a minute and take a picture of a newspaper taped to the wall across from you at different focal lengths and apertures.  You’re likely to find quite a variation in sharpness levels depending on the focal length.

SHARPNESS TIP #3: DETERMINE YOUR SHARPEST APERTURES

Just as the zoom dramatically impacts sharpness, so to does the aperture. Many photographers learn that the sharpest aperture on many lenses is f/7.1 or f/8, but it totally depends on the lens.  That is a good general rule, but it is foolish to accept this as 100% true.  Just take a minute to lock your lens on a tripod and shoot a subject at all of your aperture levels to see what photo is sharpest.  If you are a landscape photographer, you will likely notice that many wide-angle lenses are significantly sharper at slightly higher apertures, because they are made that way.  This test will only take you 5 minutes to perform and will improve your photos for the life of the lens. To test sharpness, make sure to shoot from a distance that you commonly shoot that lens, shoot in lighting conditions similar to what you will shoot in the field, and do common-sense things like shoot on a tripod with a cable release and mirror lock-up.

THIS TEST WAS PERFORMED ON A NIKKOR 70-200MM LENS AT 200MM.

SHARPNESS TIP #4: DO YOUR OUTPUT SHARPENING LAST

Unfortunately, many photographers use the sharpness slider in Camera Raw or Lightroom first thing. I strongly discourage this technique because sharpening should match the medium, or be applied selectively. Photos should be sharpened differently for the use on the web as they are for print.  For example, when saving a photo that will be displayed on a computer (like posting a photo to Facebook, for instance), less sharpening is needed because a screen is a sharp output medium.  When saving a photo for matte paper, more sharpening should be applied than when printing on glossy paper because the matte paper soaks the ink more than the glossy does. Also, a photo that will be seen small should be sharpened differently than photos that will be seen large.  It just doesn’t make sense to sharpen before finishing the editing process.  This way, you’ll be able to go back and re-sharpen the photo in a different way when you want to use that photo for a new purpose without needing to re-do all of the other edits done in Photoshop.

SHARPNESS TIP #5: STOP MASHING YOUR SHUTTER BUTTON

In my photography workshops, I see many photographers smash their shutter button with more force than they would smash a cockroach.  Mashing the shutter button will torque the camera at the critical moment when the photo is recording the scene.  The proper way to press a shutter button is to simply roll your finger back across the button.



SHARPNESS TIP #6: PICK UP THE MANUAL FOR YOUR LENS

The lens manual will tell you whether or not to use image stabilization (vibration reduction for us Nikon folks) when the camera is on a tripod.  Some lenses should have vibration reduction ON when using a tripod, and other lenses should have image stabilization turned off when on a tripod. Lenses made in the last couple of years will make this switch for you, but you’d probably be surprised by looking at the manual for your lens to find that many lenses that you think may be turning this off for you… are not.  The only way to know is to check the lens manual.

SHARPNESS TIP #7: DECREASE YOUR ISO

Photographers know that increasing your ISO increases the noise in the photo, but their knowledge usually stops there.  Did you also realize that increasing the ISO also dramatically reduces the visible detail in the photo?  When I say “dramatically,” I mean dramatically! When you’re in a situation where you have to increase your ISO beyond where you’re comfortable, consider adding flash or moving to an area with better lighting to produce a sharper shot.

SHARPNESS TIP #8: TEST DIFFERENT COPIES OF A LENS

When lenses are created, they are made to certain tolerances.  Especially in the case of lower-end lenses, the tolerances are not precise and allow for size variances.  For this reason, one lens may shoot better on one camera than another.  Make sure the lens is working well for your camera.  If it isn’t, you might consider returning the lens and buying another copy of the exact same lens model and see if it works better.

SHARPNESS TIP #9: KNOW YOUR FOCUS

#1. Decide if you are shooting an action photo or a photo with a stationary subject.  If you’re shooting a moving subject, choose continuous focus (AI servo on Canon or AF-C on Nikon).  If you’re shooting a stationary subject like a landscape or a person standing mostly still, choose AF-S on a Nikon or Single Servo on a Canon.

#2. Always choose the focus point yourself.  Don’t let the camera decide.  Get used to moving the focus point with the four-way selector on the back of your camera.  If you’re shooting a portrait, ALWAYS place the focus on the eye of the person closest to the camera.  On the nose or face or body of the person is not good enough.  Always focus on the eye.  If you’re shooting a landscape, generally focus one-third up from the bottom of the frame, but if you have a strong foreground element, you may want to focus closer.

#3. Once you’ve focused, be extremely careful not to sway forward or backward at all.  When shooting with a fast lens at a wide f-stop, even a slight movement will move the focus before the shot.

#4. Be sure not to focus too close to the lens.  Each lens has a close focus distance, and the camera manufacturers like to push the envelope with this distance.  I usually find that if I focus right at the closest point where the lens will still focus, the result is a blurry shot.  Back up a little bit from the closest you can be to the subject and you’ll always improve the result.

SHARPNESS TIP #10: UPGRADE YOUR SHUTTER BUTTON

Less expensive cameras come with either a metal or plastic shutter button.  It does the job just fine, but it encourages the poor habit of “clicking” or “mashing” the shutter button.  More expensive cameras like the 5D Mark III, Nikon D810, etc, have squishy shutter buttons with a rubber coating on top so that the press of the button does not vibrate the camera as much. For only a few dollars, you can pick up a rubber pad to fit over your shutter button which will solve this problem and upgrade your shutter button for you.

IT CAN BE TOUGH TO TELL HOW SHARP A SHOT IS WHEN LOOKING AT THE BACK OF THE CAMERA. ZOOM IN ALL THE WAY ON THE EYE AND THE DIFFERENCE IS EASY TO SEE. 

BONUS TIP: ZOOM TO THE EYES!

The best way to know if you have a sharp photo while shooting is to zoom in on a picture you’ve just taken all the way to 100%.  Zoom in on the eyes and see if you can see the eyelashes.  If the eyelashes are just a clump of black, the photo is not sharp.  If you can see each hair in the eyelash, you have a sharp shot. If you have more sharpness tips, please share it with the rest of the Improve Photography community by leaving a comment below.