Nokia Lumia Instagramer of the Week: Husain Ujjainwala

Photography provokes passions of many kinds. Take Dilish Parekh of Mumbai, India, who’s been amassing cameras since 1977 and now has the world’s largest collection.

This week’s Nokia Lumia Instagramer might not own 4425 cameras, but he’s also from Mumbai and he also has an all consuming love of photography.  So much so, that Graphic Designer Husain Ujjainwala has even named his Instagram handle after his beloved Lumia. Yet, as his stunning photos show, Husain is more than just a Lumia lover in name only. To see for yourself get ready to feast your eyes on his images. First though, let’s find out more about the man himself.

Which Nokia Lumia do you have and what do you like most about it?

I’m a huge Nokia fan. My first Lumia was a 720, but currently I have a Lumia 920 and I love almost everything about it. The best part is the definitely the manual control of the Nokia Camera app. I like to play a lot with different settings especially manual focus, which gives depth to the shot.

I love the fact that the 920 has practically all the settings you’d find in a DSLR. I also love its UI and design. Its the best you can get in a phone. Before getting my 920, I was never into photography but it’s really fuelled my passion for it.

Where do you shoot most of your photos and what sort of photos do you like to take best?

I live in suburb of Mumbai so that’s where I shoot most of my photos. although I also love to travel and explore new places. I shoot almost anywhere be it on street or beach or at home. The National Park is my favourite location and there also many Hill stations nearby so when I take trip during weekends I can get some exceptional shots. I like to take all sorts of photos be it natural landscapes or city streets. Lately, I’ve also been developing a greater interest in macro photography.

What are your top tips for taking Instagram photos on your Nokia Lumia?

Firstly, don’t get intimidated while shooting. People tend to give you strange looks but just ignore them. Remember to use perspective and try to use Rule of Thirds whenever possible, where the subject in your scene sits along “third” lines. Do not be afraid to get closer to your subject. Frame the shot in your mind before capturing, it will definitely give you a better result. Also look for sunkissed shots they are always gorgeous.

Practice makes perfect, so take lots of photos with different setting of Nokia Camera each time. Shoot from new or different angles, and find new subjects to take pictures of. You can even make the most boring, everyday things look amazing. I feel the beauty of a shot is in its originality, so when it comes to editing I like it to keep it simple. The only edits I like to do are with saturation, brightness and contrast, which works like a charm on any image.

For this I use Fotor and Nokia Creative Studio and occasionally Adobe Lightroom. I also use an app called 4blendHDR, while shooting, which is quite unique and beautifies the look of whole shot. On top of this, I think it’s important to find a suitable caption. It helps people to better connect and interact with you. Finally, learn from and get inspired by other instagramers.

Which five Nokia Lumia instagramers do you recommend everyone to follow?

This is really tough. I’m a great fan of @pingpings39 work but he seems to have been inactive for a long time, so here are the people who’ve recently been doing a really great job with their lumias and inspire me.

@velisekpeter
@albanxhakaj
@deepakkhoenie
@albene_dictine
@robmulallly

I love everything about this shot. Perfect perspective, perfect lighting. It’s one of my favourite shots ever.

It think this looks like a scene from a dream. I used 4blendHDR while capturing and that’s the reason for its beautiful colours. This shot was even featured by the developer of the app.

I shot this in the National Park. It was the first time I tried macro and I was blown away with the result.

Some skyline this time. Walk down this lane when the dawn breaks and you’ll be mesmerised by its beauty. And the best thing is no filter or edit was required in this one.

Again no filter was used for this. I adjusted the white balance while shooting and made some brightness and contrast adjustments. That was all that was needed.

National Park is one of my favourite places to shoot and as I said sun-kissed shots are always gorgeous.

This was during Holi (The Festival of Colours). I wanted a good shot to describe this festival and then suddenly saw these kids. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

 I visit the beach a lot so I try to find a new subject every time I go.

I love the colours in this one. Again captured this with 4blendHDR.  I don’t want to sound like I am promoting this app but I’d recommend it to everyone.

Doesn’t it looks like Tolkien’s  Shire? This was from a trip to Matheran- a Hill station nearby. A beautiful place with beautiful landscapes.

We’re massive fans of Husain’s photography and love the way they celebrate the natural beauty of India. If you’d like to see more of his work, make sure you follow him on Instagram. And if you’re a Nokia Lumia Instagramer who’d like to see their life showcased here, you can either follow us on Instagram or share your best pics with #Lumia, or both. In the meantime, we’d love to know which of Husain’s photos you enjoyed most in the comments below.