wagha border and amritsar

Ill be going to amritsar n wagha in december.
Can someone tell me about which one lens I should take with me to the wagha border ceremony - the 18-55 or the 55-200?

Tips appreciated..

---> SLR Photography at the Wagah border ceremony

Shortform answer: 55-200, without question.

Longform: Even if you can get into the VIP section – which is evidently reserved for real Indian VIP's (who are given comfortable chairs in a little reserved garden); or for Indian tourists who know that a few rupees correctly applied makes them into VIP's or for foreign tourists who need a close-up dose of propaganda (the Indian and foreign tourists are obliged to sit on a stone kerb that is torture to any but the best-padded butts) – you will be so far from the action that a 55 would be the minimal requirement.

More likely you will be confined to the bleachers. These are about a gazillion kilometers from the action, and you'll wish you had a tripod and a booming great birding lens to photo the action at the gate. On the other hand, if it occurs to you to photo the excitement of the crowd as they're whipped into a frenzy by the Jai India! cheerleaders, the 55 would do, and you may want the 18.

what about the lighting conditions.. the event takes place in the evening and wouldn't the lighting be poor. the 55-200 is not that good in low light.. ill have to push the iso for that.. ?

We were there on 26 February 2007, on a gray afternoon with occasional spits of rain. We made these quick-take-photos, the crowd scene at 4:30, the handshake at 5:33.

We are posting them straight out of the camera, completely unedited, except that the CU of the handshake has been cropped and straightened in iPhoto.

We shot Samsung Pro815's, with 28-400 lens, the cameras set on automatic exposure. We find they're quite good in low light (as in, shooting blind in the dark, without flash of course, in Ajanta caves, then using the viewscreen to show all the other tourists what the murals they couldn't see looked like).

You have to be prepared to shoot fastfastfast. The Indian troops zoom by like they have rockets in their trousers, and the Pakistanis are no slouches either. The toughest shot is the handshake: these guys don't want to touch each other, and it happens in a nanosecond. That, and the poor light, account for the out-of-focus-ness of the handshake crop.

Hope this info will help you make a choice.

Which lens did you carry in the end?
And post some pics too!

Love the photos, hfot2! Thanks!

Thanks, DaisyL. We have a slew of them, most of better quality – these were just to show arian29 the lighting conditions when we were there.

But the Handshake Shot is something of a prize, I think. It just goes to prove the old adage, Fortune Favors the Prepared Distaff. (I myself was fumbling with my shoelaces at the time, as I recall.)

sperehealfe

There could be thick fog during Dec/Jan and it's gonna be tough to get some decent snaps these days

There would not be much fog in evening provided it is a sunny day.

i was late to the ceremony.. thanks to the cab company (mega cab), they said the event starts at 5:15. i reached at around 4:30 so had missed a lot of fun.. at the end i was happy that i carried the 55-200.. i was far away.. with one foot hanging in the air .
at one time my lens hood came off.. thought i lost it but then suddenly someone from the crowd returned it to me.. it was nice

a few shots i managed..





























same day, early morning..

Brilliant Arian!

Wonderful photos, arian! Thanks for sharing!

I'm convinced, my next trip this is where I want to go.

Nice photos Arain!

Thanks.. @all