Windows Phone apps for India’s Independence Day
You can hang a flag in front of your house, wear a lapel pin on your coat, or don tricolored clothes to show your patriotic spirit as India celebrates her 68th Independence Day today.
Just in case you can’t do any of the above, here are some Independence Day-related apps for you to enjoy on your Lumia.
But before you check them out, have you paid attention to the fact that both Lumia 630 and the Nokia Portable Wireless Speakers echo the shades of the tricolored flag? How about your own colors of freedom?
IndependenceDay (free)
Why do we celebrate Independence Day? What were the events leading up to it? What does our national symbol signify? If you paid attention to lessons taught in your junior high history class, you would know. If not, then this app will refresh your memory and give you a glimpse of Indian history in a concise way.
HostingIndianFlag (free)
Have you always wanted to fly your own tricolored flag but never got the chance? Unfurl one on your Lumia with the national anthem playing in the background. If you wish to fly a physical flag, bear in mind the Flag Code of India. It lays down the rules and procedures to do so. Check them out here.
Refresh your memory and watch the first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, hoisting the national flag for the first time from the ramparts of Red Fort.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/-2Ac_X1noLQ[/youtube]
Indian Flag Wallpapers (free)
Here’s a perfect way to show your patriotism on your home screen. Either choose the flag wallpaper you want from the app to save it as your lock screen, or set it as your Start screen background.
Each time you use your phone, the photo will be seen through system tiles and you will see the colored hues of your flag.
Patriotic Songs (free)
You have heard these songs innumerable times and their lines may be etched in your memory. Could there be a better day than today to play them? Choose from a mix of old and contemporary melodies and create your own jukebox.
Our readers outside of India can tune into MixRadio for their popular numbers.
Kite-Flying and Lumia Photography
In keeping with tradition, kite-flying competitions are organized across the country on Independence Day. Soaring high, the kites of different sizes (diamond, demon, dragon, bird, etc.) and hues make the sky come alive.
If you would like to know more about kite flying, try the Kite Flying app. It tells you everything about kites, such as how to fly them, with information on kite festivals and videos on kite flying.
We asked Nicolas Chorier, a professional photographer who specializes in kite aerial photography, for tips to photograph kites with your Lumia.
How can people photograph kites flying in the sky (both from a height and from the ground) with their Lumia?
Nicolas Chorier: Shooting kites is always a challenge. The kite alone will have less interest than the kite and the kite flyer together in the frame.
You can use two different ways to capture both — either from a distance with a wide-angle lens, (but in doing so, you won’t get much detail and depth of field), or by clicking a close-up of the kite flyer from behind with the kite in the background. (Then you can play with different depths of field using manual mode, and get very creative results.)
From above, it’s the same, but reversed … trying to frame the kite in the foreground and the kite flyer in the background requires a lot of safe practice.
Share some tricks and ways for our readers to capture the details and composition of these kites in the sky.
NC: If I want to capture details of a kite, I won’t shoot it when it’s flying high in the sky. Only a few meters high will be enough, and will allow use of regular focal length. I won’t need telephoto lenses: They are difficult to handle without a tripod. Side shots will be very interesting too, showing the angle of flight, the structure, the volume…
Do we need an external zoom to shoot objects that are high up in the sky?
NC: As mentioned above, there is no real need for an external zoom for shooting kites. All you’ll need is a good tripod … to help you keep the kite framed steady. Don’t forget that a kite “dances” in the wind, and oscillates left and right, up and down, and a blurry image will be a waste.
Nicolas has been clicking amazing photographs for the last 15 years; you can view his work here.