Trails of a Traveler

Sunrise @ Besant Nagar

2012-02-11T10:27:00.001+05:30

Sunrise @ Besant Nagar Sunrise and Sunset have always been a favorite subject of photography for me. Not sure if it is because of the light or colours or the landscape that comes with it, I just like it. Recently myself and couple of friends visited the Besant Nagar Beach to take some sunrise photographs. Here are the photos. This is the first time I extensively used the 11-22mm lens which I

Backyard Visitors

2012-01-19T09:08:00.028+05:30

Backyard Visitors Off late, I have got some new visitors in my backyard. A few of them have become regular visitors and friends as well. All of them are very interesting in their own ways. Here are their photos. All these photos were shot from inside my house. Never stepped out to photograph these fellows. Shikra - (Accipiter badius) - A common urban raptor. It can be found hunting

Bird Watching at Vedanthangal

2012-01-09T17:43:00.010+05:30

Bird Watching @ Vedanthangal Here are some photos taken during this trip and the past I visited the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary with friends this weekend to check out the feathered friends that may have come from various parts of the country. I somehow had a feeling that the number of birds has reduced this year as compared to last year. But I am really not sure and will leave that to the

Bird Watching at Siruthavur

2011-12-26T18:36:00.001+05:30

Bird Watching at Siruthavur Here is the link for more photos - not so much though I had planned to visit some "unconventional" place for Bird Watching near Chennai. Quite similar to what I had explored earlier this year. I inquired with a few people and I was informed about Siruthavur, which is about 5 kms or so off the Old Mahabalipuram Road. I along with 3 more friends set out

Regency Park

2011-12-13T00:18:00.000+05:30

Regency Park Regency Parkway is actually not a park but the place where I stayed and went to work while I was in Cary, NC in USA. But the name is very apt for the place. The whole place looked as if it was built in the midst of some huge park or forest. It is one of the most beautiful, friendly and peaceful neighborhoods I have ever visited outside India. Heh Heh.. Now don't ask me how

Coorg Bird Watching

2011-12-06T23:30:00.002+05:30

Coorg Bird Watching More photos in this link Coorg was the one of the first places where I started photographing birds. This over a period of time got me a bit interested in watching the Birds. Hence over a period of time I developed some interest in birds and even started recognizing (ID-ing as it is commonly called) some of the birds. But this trip has completely changed my perspective of

Deep Run Park

2011-11-01T07:50:00.001+05:30

Deep Run Park More photos in this link The Deep Run Park in Glen Allen, VA is very much within the city amidst the neighborhood. Just as any other park in the US, this one is also a big one with naturally developed trees. For someone who travels from countries like India, this park would look like a forest! In the literal sense, it also has a good number birds and small animals like

Maymont Park, VA

2011-06-09T17:55:00.001+05:30

A walk in the Park – Maymont Park More photos in this link Maymont Park in Richmond, VA is a perfect spot for a weekend picnic for a family. It has everything that a family would need to relax and be with their family / friends. Unlike a theme park, the Maymont Park has lot of open spaces, lawns, artificial ponds which can give a good relaxation after a hectic week. One can do running /

Poomparai Balamurugan Temple

2011-05-31T11:13:00.001+05:30

Poomparai Balamurugan Temple Sometime back I had been to Kodaikanal with my family for a week. Though I have been to Kodaikanal quite a few times, my parents have not visited the place for the past 14 years. So we decided to make full use this vacation and visit some new places apart from common place like the coaker’s walk, lake etc. We planned to go to Mannavanur Lake and thought of stopping

Bird Watching in Chennai

2011-03-21T00:00:00.000+05:30

Bird Watching in Chennai Here are more photos What is the first place that comes to your mind when we say Bird Watching in and around Chennai (those that fly mind you)? Vedanthangal or Pulicat Lake, right? A few others will talk about Guindy National Park, Adyar Estuary and Theosophical Society of Madras. Very few also know about the marsh lands in Pallikaranai etc. These are no doubt

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary

2011-02-18T10:31:00.002+05:30

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary More photos here Click here for latest updates on Vedanthangal Bird Watching I visited the Vedanthangal bird sanctuary a few weeks back to check out the migratory birds there. Though I am not sure if the birds I spotted have migrated from other countries or other parts of India, the numbers were quite good. Of course, some say that the number of visitors has gone

Rengasamudram

2011-01-20T11:03:00.002+05:30

Rengasamudram About 1 hour drive from Tirunelveli, a famous South Indian town, is a village by the name Rengasamudram. This was the birth place of my dad and our Kula Deivam (Family Deity) temple is the Srinivasa Perumal Temple in this beautiful village. Off late we have made it a point to visit this place every year and we started the year 2011 by visiting this temple on the first week of Jan.

Thirukkurungudi - One with Nature

2011-01-15T23:37:00.002+05:30

Thirukkurungudi – One with Nature Recently we (family) visited our native place Tirunelveli. We make it a point to visit the native place and the temple at least once a year. During these visits we also make sure that we explore some of the nearby places. One such place is Thirukkurungudi. To be honest this was the first time I am hearing about this place, but my parents had known a bit about

A hike in the wild at Parambikulam

2010-12-01T00:02:00.002+05:30

A hike in the wild at Parambikulam Here are a few more photos Andy was visiting Chennai and informed that he would be in Chennai over a weekend and asked if some trekking is possible. So I considered the options and decided that we go for a trek in Parambikulam. This is a Tiger reserve on the Tamil Nadu Kerala border and approachable from Tamil Nadu. A well maintained and preserved place with

A Trip to Bushkill Falls

2010-09-01T05:23:00.002+05:30

Bushkill Falls – Niagara of Pennsylvania Click for rest of my photos While I am here in the US for a longer period this time, I thought of visiting some place during the weekend. I caught with long time friends whom I have not met much after they moved to US, but have been in touch regularly over the net. Ravi and Raghu have been my friends for more than 10 years and are now settled in the US.

Trip to Venkatagiri and Talakona

2010-07-28T00:30:00.001+05:30

Trip to Venkatagiri and Talakona Here are some of the photos We had a sudden plan of driving to Venkatagiri hills, do some minor trekking, if possible, spend the night camping there and return back the next day.My friend Shrinidhi had booked a Ford Endeavour for rent and was interested in testing the machine in various conditions. We were just hoping that it should not turn out to be like the

Kolli Hills - A Total Recall - Part 3

2010-06-28T23:53:00.004+05:30

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Kolli Hills - A Total Recall - Part 2

2010-06-24T10:00:00.003+05:30

Kolli Hills - A Total RecallPart II June 16, 2002 – Day 2 – The Day of Kongalai Amman We got up on time, surprisingly of course, and we were ready by 08:00am. Our new friends were also ready by then and we started a little after 08:00am. We did not go directly to the temple as no one is sure of the way to reach there. We need to take some local guide if we have to reach the place. So we went to

Kolli Hills - A Total Recall - Part 1

2010-06-15T00:01:00.018+05:30

Kolli Hills – A Total RecallPart I There would be some incidents or adventures in all our lives which we will never be able to forget. More importantly remember every single detail of that adventure. This is one such incident which happened about 8 years ago on the same day. I still remember every single detail of the adventure me and my friends had in Kolli Hills. I am also sure that all of

A Drive to Horsley Hills

2010-06-05T22:00:00.002+05:30

Horsley Hills Here are a few photos A long pending plan to Horsley hills got fulfilled this weekend. A team of four hired a self rental car and drove to this serene place. Though the place is situated in Andhra, it is still very much accessible from Chennai and Bangalore easily through good state highways. My major disappointment this time is that my Olympus E-510 is not with me. I have still

Sunrise and Sunset

2010-05-06T21:16:00.002+05:30

Sunrise and Sunset Here is a compilation of some of the Sunrise and Sunset photos I have taken over a period of time.These are, of course, not the best, but these are some of the ones I liked the most. The in-camera White Balance has been used in manual mode and values are tweaked to give the photo more colourful look. None are the photos here are modified in Post Processing to give the colour it

Macro Photography

2010-04-22T00:46:00.003+05:30

Macro Photography A couple of weeks ago, I and my friend John thought of trying some macro photos. It was actually me who had asked John to show me some techniques on macro photography and he had accepted to it. So we headed to a park near John's place and he shared with me some tips on macro photography. Since neither of did not have a proper macro lens, we thought of using the kit lens with a

Agumbe - The Cherrapunji of South India

2010-04-14T17:37:00.003+05:30

Agumbe – The Cherrapunji of South India Here is the link to the photos A quiet serene village in the lap of the Western Ghats, that seems to be cut off from the rest of the civilization. Still young in its good old days, this place is one of the hotspots of bio diversities in India.Agumbe had been in our minds for quite sometime as a proper destination to spend a weekend – a longish weekend

Welcome Summer

2010-04-03T16:42:00.000+05:30

Welcome Summer As you know, summer in Chennai can be quite hot. I know what you think, it is actually hotter, and hot during the supposed to be rainy and winter seasons.Well you may keep it that way if you want to! But are the Chennai people prepared to face it? I guess so. Just a walk along the roads and streets in Chennai, will make you realize that the city has already started gearing up for

Bird Watching at Pallikkaranai

2010-03-26T02:20:00.006+05:30

Bird Watching at Pallikkaranai Here are the photos taken during the outing A plan was on to go for a bird watching trip to the Marsh Lands in Pallikkarani from CTC photography team. Though the birding season is over and almost all the migratory birds would have gone back, we nevertheless decided to go on for a bird watching. For me, the day started as early as 4:00am. I was to be picked up