Soham Das, a luminary in the realm of both codes and captures, is not your typical software engineer. Beyond the lines of complex algorithms, he finds his muse in the simplicity of nature’s grandeur, encapsulated through the lens of his camera.
As a devoted engineer currently immersed in the tech hub of Seattle, he unveils a parallel world where the binary of coding converges with the poetry of landscape and wildlife photography.
His narrative is a tapestry woven with childhood memories spent amidst the Himalayas, a journey from reel cameras to DSLRs, and a seamless transition from the plains of Kolkata to the captivating Pacific Northwest.
His lens captures not just landscapes but moments frozen in time, each frame a testament to the symbiotic relationship between his technological expertise and his artistic vision.
In his conversation with Icy Tales, Soham Das uncovers how he harmoniously balances a demanding tech job with his passion for photography, turning the pristine landscapes of the Pacific Northwest into his canvas.
His journey unfolds as an ode to the fusion of code and creativity, inviting us to witness the alchemy that occurs when a software engineer becomes a storyteller through the lens.
Q) Soham, for those who might not be familiar with your work, could you briefly introduce yourself and describe your style of photography?
I am a software engineer originally from India and currently working at a tech company in Seattle, USA. Besides coding, I am also truly passionate about landscape and wildlife photography. I absolutely love spending time amidst nature and photography offers me the perfect avenue to do so.
Q) How did you first gain interest in photography, especially given your background in software engineering?
My interest in photography developed ever since I was a little boy in India. Both my parents were avid nature lovers. Visiting hill stations in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, the north-east and other parts of India was an annual tradition for the family for many years and these trips occupy a significant portion of my fond childhood memories.
Dad had the then popular kodak reel camera and he used to have a detailed plan beforehand saving up the reel for major sunset/sunrise shots. I have vivid memories of him waking us up in the middle of the night in many a hotel room to hit the sunrise spots early to witness the changing morning light on the snow-clad mountains, and my mom and me cooperated as well because we equally enjoyed being in nature.
The interest in photography grew every time I held a camera. What started with playing around with a reel camera during these childhood trips continued to buying my first DSLR as a student and gradually evolved into a passion over the years.
Q) How did your journey from India to Seattle influence your perspective and style in photography?
Because I hail from Kolkata, which is a city in the plains of eastern India, as a kid I used to always look forward to our trips to the Himalayas as an escape from the mundane city life. After completing my undergrad from Kolkata, I lived in multiple cities in India and the US for grad school and jobs.
However, prior to moving to Seattle in 2017, photography opportunities came only during vacations. I had to invest a lot of time planning trips during long weekends and holidays around shooting landscapes and wildlife.
Moreover, when the genre of photography you are into depends a lot on external factors like the weather, natural light, tidal movements, wind and so on and you need hours if not days at the same location to nail the perfect shot you dreamt of.
It is very difficult to find such prolonged periods of time for photography when you are travelling with family and friends. Seattle solved this problem for me to a large extent- the city is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, surrounded by the beautiful Olympic mountains and the Pacific Ocean on the west, the North Cascades Mountain range in the north and Mt.
Rainier national park in the south and numerous other locations in the vicinity. The area provides ample opportunities for outdoor activities and is a paradise for landscape photography.
The best part of living in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest region in general is that you can reach breathtaking locations driving only a few hours from your place.
This enabled me to dedicate a lot of time towards photography, scout for new locations, visit the same location multiple times sometimes on solo trips, other times accompanied by my wife and close friends and this process helped immensely to practice and hone my photography skills over the last few years.
Q) Balancing a demanding tech job with a passion for photography must be challenging. How did you navigate this transition and what motivated you to pursue photography alongside your day job?
Yes, my day job gets challenging at times, but photography for me is actually a good stressbuster. After a long day at work or a stressful work week, spending time in nature, especially the mountains is therapeutic. It helps calm your nerves and you feel rejuvenated.
With late sunsets during the summer months in the PNW, after a long day at work, I often venture out after work to shoot sunsets in the city and nearby waterfronts. This is a shot of Mt. Rainier from one such afternoon outing.
I would also like to mention here that I get a lot of support from my wife, especially in handling social commitments so that I can go out and shoot whenever I have some free time. She is also a hard critique of my work and I often ask for a second opinion on my photos from her.
Q) How did winning accolades at university photography competitions and PNW photography competitions shape your confidence and aspirations as a photographer?
There is no denying the fact that winning competitions do provide additional motivation to get out and shoot especially on days you are feeling lazy to leave the comfort of your home.
Getting featured on Sony Alpha Universe stories was also a huge boost to my journey as a photographer in that respect- Behind The Shot: A Low-Light Landscape With The Sony 24-105mm f/4 G | Sony | Alpha Universe.
But I still would like to think that I do photography for myself and out of sheer passion. Landscape and wildlife photography require a lot of time and effort and on majority of days, you come back home without any shot worthy of a place in your portfolio.
So, unless and until the motivation comes from within it is hard to get out of bed in the middle of the night, drive for hours on dark lonely roads with the hope of getting the perfect sunrise shots in the mountains.
Q) What prompted your transition to Sony mirrorless cameras, and how has it changed your approach to capturing moments?
I was looking to upgrade my Nikon system before my trip to Masai Mara in 2019. I was considering a Nikon full frame, but Sony a7III had already taken the photography community by storm by then and I pulled the trigger.
Ever since I have been shooting exclusively with this body and Sony glasses. The main criterion for me was to have a light and compact system that would not slow me down on trails and a7iii was the perfect fit.
Never again I will have to debate with myself on whether to carry my DSLR for a hike. I also felt that the auto-focus system and the in-body stabilization of the camera were amazing.
Q) Soham, your trips to Masai Mara, Patagonia Glacier National Park, and the Pacific Northwest sound fascinating. Can you share one unforgettable moment from each of these trips?
In Masai Mara, the thrill of witnessing a cheetah kill 10 ft from our safari vehicle was one of my most fascinating experiences so far.
I doubt if anything else would match up to that, but I would never say never. The action was too fast to be captured in the camera, the following shot is just after the kill was made.
Patagonia and the W-trek in Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile has been on the top of my wish list for landscape photography for quite some time and the trip finally happened in 2022.
The entire 60kms of W-circuit was incredible, but if I have to pick an unforgettable moment, I will pick the one where we first got a glimpse of the Cuernos and the Paine Grande at sunrise from Mirador Condor. A close second would be the base of the Torres hike also at sunrise.
Q) The image from Cannon Beach is breathtaking. What challenges did you face while capturing this shot, considering the unpredictable weather of the Pacific Northwest?
Glad you liked the image. Cannon Beach is one of my favorite locations on the Pacific coast. I have been there numerous times and every time there is a new shot waiting to be clicked. The main challenge for this shot was to get a reflection of the Haystack rock on the sands.
You have to be aware of the tides and also the light post sunset needs to be soothing to set the mood for the silhouette. This was taken during late November and luckily both the factors played to my advantage. Another challenge at Cannon Beach particularly on weekends is a lot of people.
Although I prefer to have some human element in my shots, I don’t want my shots to look too busy with people all over. So, I preferred to walk away from the base of the rock to avoid the crowds. This couple was walking their dog on the beach and mostly getting back to their car when I clicked the shot.
Ideally I would have wanted the couple to walk towards the rock, but you have to make the best out of the situation you are in.
Q) You mentioned the 24-105mm f/4 G lens as your go-to for landscape photography. Are there any other lenses or gear that you swear by for specific scenarios?
24-105 is an all-purpose lens and great for travel photography. Off-late I have switched to shooting more and more on the 16-35 f/2.8. The wide-angle lens comes super handy when you want great eye-catching foregrounds in your shots.
Q) Soham, the rule-of-thirds and the inclusion of human elements for scale are evident in your Cannon Beach shot. Are there any other compositional techniques you often employ in your work?
Yes I frequently use rule-of-thirds and human elements in my shots. However, I would like to consider myself as a free-flowing photographer and I do not care too much about composition technicalities as long as the photograph is pleasing to look at.
Among the few things I do care about are the crop of the photo and the use of negative space. For example, if there is nothing interesting going on in the sky, there is no color or dramatic clouds, I always look to crop the sky out as much as possible and allow the viewer to focus on the parts of the photo that is interesting.
Similarly, if there are distracting objects hovering on the edge of the photo or others that are making the photo too busy, I always try to keep them out.
Negative space can also make or break a photo. Specifically for wildlife photos, I always want to use negative space in a way that helps the viewer with some breathing space and gradually attracts them towards the main subject of the photo.
Q) How do you prepare for a photography trip, especially in terms of researching locations and understanding the best times to shoot?
A lot of work goes into planning a photography trip- I would go a step further and say that more than 50% work behind a good photo is done before you are on location.
It includes researching the location on apps like Google earth, studying the direction of light during the time of day you would be there, looking out for weather conditions like cloud cover etc.
Then there are specific things you need to look out for specific sub-genre of nature photography- for example, for seascape photography, studying the tides is super-critical.
On the other hand, for astro photography tracking the milky way and stars on apps like SkyView Lite helps you be at the right location at the right time.
But it is always important to keep in mind that ultimately for landscape and wildlife photography, you are always at the mercy of the weather gods and no matter how much you plan, improvisation is critical when it comes to make the best out of what you get.
Q) You’ve emphasized the importance of natural tones in post-production. How do you strike a balance between enhancing an image and retaining its authenticity?
In today’s day and age and with super-saturated photographs flooding Instagram it is very difficult to not go overboard on post-processing.
I am not saying that it is bad, at the end of the day, the photographer has total creative liberty to do whatever he or she wants to do with his or her work.
However, I always prefer creating photos as close as to what I have witnessed with my naked eye on location. Yes, the Instagram algorithm may not like it too much, because you do not have a lot of “popping colors”, but I feel responsible to some extent to not deceive the viewer with artificial images.
Q) What advice would you give to budding photographers who are looking to develop their unique style and voice in the world of landscape and wildlife photography?
I would say ‘Just go out and shoot, you will fall in love with the art’. If you are doing nature photography as a hobby, you are on your own and you are doing it for yourself.
You do not have clients to pat your back and instant acknowledgement like other genres of photography and provide you with additional motivation.
Even on days with not so ideal conditions, please go outdoors and explore, you never know what gems you would come home with.
Soham’s photographic odyssey is not merely a visual feast but a testament to the unwavering pursuit of passion amid the demands of a tech-driven world.
As he navigates through city skylines and untamed wilderness, his lens captures not just images but moments suspended in time.
Through the lens of a software engineer turned photographer, we witness the seamless integration of precision and creativity, each frame echoing the serenity found in nature’s embrace.
His journey, rooted in family traditions and nurtured by the diverse landscapes he encounters, inspires us to seek the beauty that lies beyond the binary, encouraging aspiring photographers to embark on their own quest for the perfect shot.
Last Updated on by NamitaSoren
