Lightscapes

winter mornings at Lodi – 3 - Calendula

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Another flowery treat at the Lodi Gardens are the flower beds brimming with Calendula (pot Marigold) in a variety of colours….

winter mornings at Lodi - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:07:00 +0000

the roses at Lodi are a beautiful sight. They are lovingly cultivated so that they are in full bloom in the winters.

early mornings are a treat, because the morning dew adds pearls to the flowers…..

winter mornings at Lodi - 1

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:12:00 +0000

A photo shoot organised by photosplendours to Lodi Gardens on a COLD winter morning was invigorating and fun. One ended up taking loads of photographs of wildflowers and roses with the occasional bird thrown in.

A review of my blog…

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:19:00 +0000

A beautiful review of my blog has been written at Lucifer House Inc. at the link given below -

http://luciferhouseinc.blogspot.com/2012/01/lightscape.html

Moon @ Delhi on 10.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:11:00 +0000

An urgent phone call from a friend, Sujata Khanna extolling the beauty of tonight's moon made me trudge up to the roof and shoot the above picture.

Thanks Suj for sharing this moon with me….

Technorati Tags: Moon,Sujata,Khanna,Delhi,10.01.12

Va va varoom… -2 - bikes

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:03:00 +0000

The last post was about cars at the Auto Expo 2012. This post is about my first love – BIKES

Here are few photos of the same….

Technorati Tags: auto,expo,delhi,2012,harley,Davidson,Gul,Panag,bikes

Va va varoom… -1

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:05:00 +0000

The 11th Auto Expo is on at Delhi and visitors are greeted with beautiful models (human and machine)

Here are few photos of the same….

Technorati Tags: auto,expo,delhi,2012,harley,Davidson

Spot-Billed Duck

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:32:00 +0000

The Spot-Billed Duck (Male) (Anas poecilorhyncha) photographed while basking in the sun at the Haus Khaz Lake.

Technorati Tags: spot-billed,duck,deer,park,haus,khas,khaz,Anas,poecilorhyncha

5 W’s & 1 H

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:42:00 +0000

It was during an elective class in Journalism (during my Masters in Ecology) that I learnt about the concept of the 5 W’s & 1 H. (The story of what was I doing, taking classes in Journalism in a course on Ecology is another story and might come at a later date).

Of course, most of us, curiosity seekers that we are, ask these questions often, not knowing that the list given below is the staple of every pencil pushing journalist (the electronic types are often not very interested in facts)

Who is it about?
What happened?
Where did it take place?
When did it take place?
Why did it happen?
How did it happen?

By now, most of you reading this are probably asking, what brought this on?

Well I was reading a blog by a fellow blogger called The Diary of the Narcissist, who in turn referred me to a person who reviews blogs. While going through that site, I came across this questionnaire that asks pertinent questions about ones’ blogs, before the person reviews it…..

The questions are as under -

The link of the blog
The objective of the blog (Entertain, Informational, Social cause, Share feelings, Literature etc.)
The links of 5 best posts according to you
What is special about your blog/writing?
Does it cater to any specific niche? If so, mention.

Sometimes, things are defined as they are, and sometimes things need definitions. So, the above lines, would be food for thought for my friends reading this post…..

and the sun shines….. 01.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:18:00 +0000

the sun this morning was hung-over from all that partying last night…

it decided to make an appearance around 9:30, wrapped warmly in cloudy woollens.

and disappeared around 12 complaining of a headache :-)

So, since the sun was unimpressive, shot some flowers to wish all my friends a HAPPY NEW YEAR….

Delhi Fog – 30.12.11

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:36:00 +0000

Woke up this morning to a world that was wrapped in a cocoon of fog…..

some views from my rooftop at 0900 hrs….

Technorati Tags: fog,wnter,delhi,december

Merry Christmas….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:24:00 +0000

even flowers bedeck themselves in red and green to get into the Christmas Spirit :-)

Indian Bushlark @ Sultanpur….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:07:00 +0000

The Indian Bushlark (Mirafra erythroptera) is a small bird that is quite abundant in arid areas.

Technorati Tags: Indian,Bushlark,Mirafra,erythroptera,Lark,photography,sultanpur,bird,india,delhi,santoshnc

Painted Stork @ Sultanpur

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:07:00 +0000

The Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wading bird in the stork family.

They are found in the wetlands of the plains of India and other countries of South Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish.

They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds.

Winter mornings at Sultanpur…. part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:26:00 +0000

cont….

The sound of woodpeckers moved us towards this patch of trees, where we saw not one but two woodpeckers of different species, digging for insects from the dead branches of a tree.

This one is a Yellow-crowned Woodpecker (Dendrocopos mahrattensis), which is a pied (black and white) woodpecker.

and this is a Black Rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense)

In addition to these two, the thicket was also home to a pair of Scarlet Minivets (Pericrocotus flammeus) which is a small, very brightly coloured bird.

And another Hoopoe, shown below.

Flickr Tags: sultanpur,birdwatching,watching,sanctuary,national,park,delhi,santoshnc,woodpecker,yellow,crested,black

Marsh Harrier @ Sultanpur…

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:21:00 +0000

The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reed beds

Winter mornings at Sultanpur…. part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Come winters and enthusiastic bird-watchers flock to lakes and marshes around Delhi to view and photograph migratory birds that come here to breed in large numbers.

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is situated 40 kilometres from Delhi and is a delight to everyone who visits. Since the numbers of birds are numerous, this post will be split into several posts to share all the photographs.

The morning started off with us taking the past least taken :-) which was in a clockwise direction around the lake, as most visitors (non-birdwatchers usually) take the anti-clockwise path.

The air was still a bit hazy although it was around 10 in the morning, but the nip in the air was really enjoyable. One of the first birds we saw was a Large Egret (Cosmerodius albus) (shown above) wading through the shallow waters while a Hoopoe (Upupa epops) was flitting in and out of the trees, and searching for insects on the ground. (shown below)

But the most fun was when we spotted a (female?) Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) which usually feeds on insects and small crustaceans trying to swallow a fish. We spent about 10 minutes seeing its attempts at trying to swallow the fish before moving on :-)

The next set of pics will be posted tomorrow

Flickr Tags: Hoopoes,Upupa,epops,Large,Egret,Cosmerodius,albus,Sultanpur,National,Park,Delhi,Bird,Birdwatching,sanctuary,Black-winged,Stilt,Common,Himantopus,himantopus

Last Lunar Eclipse of 2011…

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Clear skies and a early eclipse prompted a lot of shutter-bugs (photogs) to take to the skies to capture this beautiful phenomenon. Given the fact that most lunar eclipses that i know of usually happen late at night (around midnight) this was a lovely opportunity to shoot the lovely moon.

Normal moon photography is not too much of an issue, as the settings are more or less fixed,

but this was the first time I shot a Lunar Eclipse and it was a couple of hours of experimentation that went into the whole thing. While the normal moon photographs like the one above and below were take with the following settings,

F/11, Shutter – 0.05 seconds (1/20), ISO – 400, focal length – 300 mm.

But these looked like photos of a normal moon, a bit orange – red coloured, but otherwise normal, while the moon i was seeing was awesome…. so once I tried to show the eclipse, as I was actual seeing it, I was stumped. Trying to get the parts in shadow meant that the lit part was over-exposed.

But persisted with different settings, and finally got some good pics….

Got a nice one of the total eclipse….

and finally the total eclipse….

And the return of light :-)

del.icio.us Tags: eclipse,moon,delhi,final,2011,total,lunar,december,10,santoshnc

Fountain of life…

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower,

But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee.

For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life,

And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,

And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.

~~ Khalil Gibran – The Prophet

Mud, dust and masti….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 06:47:00 +0000

Remote Controlled Car Racing or RC Car racing is a very popular sport around the world, with dedicated grounds / areas although in India, due to prohibitive costs, this sport is yet to gain popularity…. below are some images of some trial runs held at a field outside Bangalore….

if tomorrow never comes ….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:21:00 +0000

This was sent to me by a friend, and i really liked it so wanted to share it here….

I have no idea who wrote it, but it was lovely and worth sharing…..

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say I love you,
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.

There will always be another day
to say our I love you's,
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get
to hold your loved one tight..

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear,

Take time to say "I'm sorry, please forgive me,"
"thank you" or "it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today

Old man….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:17:00 +0000

Karva Chauth Moon 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:50:00 +0000

del.icio.us Tags: karva,chauth,moon,2011,photograph,image,santoshnc,delhi

butterfly pea….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:42:00 +0000

The butterfly pea is a common wildflower seen all over the country. The flowers of this vine have the shape of human female pudenda, hence the Latin name of the genus "Clitoria", from "clitoris". This plant is scientifically called Clitoria ternatea. The flowers have a vivid vivid cobalt blue colour with a white throat and are locally used in Asian cuisine as a food colouring.

The roots of the butterfly pea are used for curing whooping cough in children. The blue flowers are used as a food dye. The extract from plant is known to have anti oxidant properties.

The flowers are used in Ayurveda to enhance memory and sharpen intelligence.

The flower is also called Shankha Pushpa in Sanskrit and is the favourite flower of Ganesha, the elephant headed God.

del.icio.us Tags: butterfly,pea,clitoria,ternatea,shankha,pushpa,Sanskrit,Ganesha,anti-oxidant,santoshnc

jungle cat….

noreply@blogger.com (Santa) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:56:00 +0000

cat in the jungle……