A Journey called Life

Bloom

2011-12-18T18:30:00.001+05:30

Find the path

2011-09-04T01:00:00.000+05:30

Birds (Part 2)

2011-05-31T21:47:00.008+05:30

Some more posing - Painted Storks

Just about to land. A lighter background would have had more impact (IMHO)

All the colours displayed here

The Egret.
Distinct feature in this one is the green streak between its eyes and beak and bushy tail

Finally the crocs. Scary moment this!
Thank God it turned and moved away, I almost screamed when it headed towards the boat :D

Birds

2011-05-22T19:52:00.011+05:30

Last weekend we drove out to Ranganathittu bird sanctuary near Mysore.
The weather was almost perfect, not too sunny not too cloudy. We reached there close to lunch time and sighted quite a few bird species.

My favourite of the lot has to be the Painted Stork. They hang out together in groups near water bodies. Even in flight they perform a synchronized dance routine. The vivid colours of their feathers are their best features.

Bowing down to fetch some water (see the water droplets from its beak?)

Next we have the Ibis. Partly black, partly white. The webbed feet are clearly seen in this picture
The strange thing about the Open Billed Stork as the name suggests is the shape of its beak. They cannot close completely. I have to read up and find out more about its use.
Then a few more birds for which I still need to learn the names:
Some more photos in the next post...

Three wise men

2011-04-28T23:01:00.004+05:30

This photo was taken a while back, but am posting it now for its processing.
I remember seeing the men chatting and thought they'd make a good photo. Was not sure if they would agree to be photographed. Walked past them and then came back and asked if I could take their photo - saying it would be published on "the internet". Not sure how much they understood, but they obliged :)
What a difference in each of their expression -The shy, the jolly, the bold

Two of my favourite things

2011-03-27T17:45:00.004+05:30

Music playing in the background: Simple things by Amy Kuney

The moon tonight

2011-03-20T01:53:00.003+05:30

Said to be the biggest moon in about two decades. Did it look bigger - Not actually. Was it brighter - Oh yes, definitely. NASA link

Lesson learnt from yesterday's experiment is that the sun/moon appear to be larger, when at the horizon (a supposed illusion). Today's moon definitely appeared much bigger and I guess it is seen in the difference in clarity.

Lost in the clouds

2011-02-06T18:26:00.007+05:30

Place: Lonavala
Music playing in the background: Yiruma - Till I Find You

Life out of focus

2011-02-05T16:58:00.004+05:30

Stemming from roots of a bleary notion
Woes blown up in grand disproportion

Whirling in high speed into a ceaseless blur
Fighting hard to find hope, some answers

Time to get up and make a move, or
Time to give up and convictions disprove

Weekend at Yercaud

2011-01-24T00:44:00.014+05:30

Yercaud is a hill station that lies in the Eastern Ghats, in the state of Tamil Nadu. It takes 20 hairpin road bends to get from Salem city to the top of the hill.
See the road down below in this photo?
Once you are at the top, clouds and fog is all that you get to see. Even in the middle of the afternoon, it is difficult to make out much more of the view.
This is the view at 7AM.
And this is the view of the lights in Salem city right after sunset.
The clouds are moving in so quickly
First rays of the sun hitting the hillock on the right hand sideThe last few moments that the moon was visible. Also, notice below the man-made crater, it is a quarry.

East Coast Ride

2011-01-15T01:19:00.013+05:30

Sharing photos from @ssunder's road trip.

This is what he said: "9 days, 2700km, 3 states later, my mini East Coast Ride is finally done!"

Tranquility at dusk

Where the water flows

Silhouettes

In flight and at rest

Beauty amidst the clutter

Capturing the mood

Places of worship

and finally, the bike

PS: These images have been reduced in size for this post

The phase

2010-12-31T17:31:00.003+05:30

The phase's meant to be new
About things differently we could do
Connections we should renew
Dispensables to cut through

Pose questions avoided hitherto
Propose options up to now considered taboo
Past burdens and weirdness having let go
Making better decisions that we've thought through

<...doesn't end here>

Dark side of the moon

2010-12-26T16:53:00.003+05:30

Tired of the mysteries
Of secrets safe inside
Pray please tell
What lies on the other side

[Photographed by @ssunder]

Karthikai Deepam

2010-11-21T19:44:00.006+05:30

Rangolis outside every home, oil lamps lit, prayers said - Families celebrate Karthikai.

Had I known (better)

2010-11-21T01:20:00.002+05:30

Had I known better
Minds I would have read
Had I known better
This path I would not have tread
Had I known better
That, I would not have said
Had I only known better
Would have done something else instead
Life just happens, crazy as it may be
Am not going to get stuck in the moment
And let everything else pass by me

Happy Deepavali

2010-11-06T22:36:00.003+05:30

Where's My Sunshine

2010-11-05T16:36:00.005+05:30

Time: Early morning on Deepavali day
Mission: To take photographs of kids/family having fun with fireworks/crackers
What we do instead: Focus on dew drops :)

In my defense, there was only about a 10-15 minute period of good lighting from the morning sun. The sun, as usual kept playing hide-n-seek with the clouds. Before I got used to taking the photos (the way I intended them to be) it became cloudy.

Paint me a smile

2010-10-24T20:41:00.002+05:30

Photowalk - Street Photography

2010-10-17T21:26:00.012+05:30

Weekend put to good use. Attended a 2 day photography workshop conducted by Kshitij Garg
Agenda: Using *anything* but the automatic mode.
Great learning experience. So much learnt, so much to do, so much to get better at.

Random shots from this morning's photo walk. 7AM @ at City Market

All locked up

Different folks, Different moods

Panning effect - Autorickshaw zooming by
Love behind bars
Reach out to me
Love this bunch. What a shade! Viewed best in large size :P
Some fun things...I love ligh(t)

Ellora Caves

2010-08-27T19:44:00.011+05:30

Similar to Ajanta, Ellora is another UN World Heritage site. However unlike Ajanta, there are only rock-cut sculptures and no paintings in Ellora.
The Ellora caves were excavated between 6th and 12th century AD and they depict Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

The first two images are from the Jain caves

The below image shows how sun, rain and moss affect the carvings on the rocks
The below image depicting Buddhism is very similar to the sculpture in Ajanta (except for the interior lighting). People kept walking in and out of this cave. I had to literally stand at the entrance, not allowing anyone to enter while I took this shot. Also, there were a couple of people still inside the cave, whom I politely asked to move behind the pillars. I did shout out a 'thank you bhaiya' once I was done :D
The last three images are from caves depicting Hinduism.
The below image has episodes from Mahabharata carved on the rock
This is one of the last photos that I took. People kept walking into and out of the frame and no amount of patience helped in this case. Anyway, what is a photo if it does not have people in it :D

More photos here

Ajanta Caves

2010-08-27T17:18:00.016+05:30

The Ajanta caves site is recognized as a UN World Heritage site. The caves were excavated between 2nd century BC and 6th century AD. There are 30 caves along a horseshoe shaped valley. The caves at the bottom contain mud-colour paintings explaining concepts of Buddhism including Buddha's life and stories from Jataka tales. The remaining caves have rock-cut sculptures.

The first two photos are from the last cave. I love the symmetry, intricacy and details of these sculptures.

The below photo is from the exteriors of one of the caves. The left half shows the intricate carvings, while the right half shows the weathering rocks and how this beautiful site is slowly getting destroyed.Moving on to the paintings: In order to preserve what is left of the paintings, the caves themselves are very dimly lit and flash photography is not allowed. The first photo below is a painting on an exterior wall, so the colours and details are visible. Not so much in the remaining two.
Note the face of the lady on the extreme left close to the shoulder of male figure in the centre. Black was considered a beautiful colour in those days and women figures were painted black in order to depict their beauty (or so we were told).

Some more photos here

Ahead

2010-08-14T22:06:00.002+05:30

Look back at the journey
Things that made you smile
Some things never change
Even if it's been a while

You can't get back the past
Can't wish everything lasts
But you can rest assured
The course ahead will be a blast

Aug 1st

2010-08-01T14:15:00.002+05:30

The sky this weekend

2010-07-11T22:33:00.006+05:30

Loving the location... for every evening, it is a different view!

End

2010-07-03T16:48:00.001+05:30

Sun sets upon the past gone by
Rain lashes through the darkening sky
Dispersed colours turn plain black
Music reaches the end of track

Currently playing: G Soul