Gogol, Saratoga, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Beach Mural, Monterey, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Looking out, Santa Clara, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Light on Tiles, Santa Clara, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Wild Grass, Palo Alto, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Exit blobs, Santa Clara, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Tree reflections on buildings, Santa Clara, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Shadow play sidewalk, San Francisco, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.

Potted plant, Saratoga, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.
Slighty overdeveloped: Developer – Kodak D-76 6.15min at 80F, Kodak Rapid Fixer with hardener (5 min at 80F).

Morning bench, Santa Clara, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.
Slighty overdeveloped: Developer – Kodak D-76 6.15min at 80F, Kodak Rapid Fixer with hardener (5 min at 80F).

Waiting at the carwash, Santa Clara, CA

Kodak Tri-X 400. From the Leica year challenge.
Slighty overdeveloped: Developer – Kodak D-76 6.15min at 80F, Kodak Rapid Fixer with hardener (5 min at 80F).

Birds on a electric line, Mission peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, CA

Hiking on a Saturday morning just after sunrise, at Mission peak Regional Preserve. Test drive of my LMMM setup. Simple, minimalist photos are so hard to take. But it is an aesthetic I seem to be liking more and more.

Mesh on leaf, Kotetsu Ramen, Santa Clara, CA

Day One of LMMM. The reflection of the mesh screen on the plant next to my table at lunch.

Cow, Mission peak Reginal Preserve, Fremont, CA

Hiking on a Saturday morning just after sunrise, at Mission peak Regional Preserve. Test drive of my LMMM setup.

Last Bench, Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, CA

The last bench on the trail. It was cold drizzly day and the trail was empty. And beautiful. Good to be with one\’s thoughts.

Self portrait – 2, Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, CA

What\’s this? Yet another self-portrait? 2013 is after all the year of the \’Selfie\’. And I am now shamelessly copying Vivian Maier\’s self portraits. Many many more of these to come. Be warned.

Dizzy Dried Grass, Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, CA

Playing with camera motion on the golden dried grass on Mission Peak just after sunrise.

Self Portrait, Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, CA

Mirrors and Windows (and a camera), Kotetsu Ramen, Santa Clara, CA

Never realized \’selfies\’ are this much fun! What fun eating ramen for lunch, good conversation with friends and taking photographs. This is from Day One of LMMM.

Man checking phone, Outside a restaurant, Santa Clara, CA

Taken through a mesh screen at a Japanese restaurant – Kotetsu Ramen in Santa Clara, CA. The man in the photograph was sitting on a bench outside the restaurant while waiting for his table. I was, luckily, seated right by the window.

This was day one of the LMMMs. This is hard. I am realizing how much I don\’t know about dialing in the right shutter speed and focal length for a given ISO. I never knew I depended on the in-camera metering this much. Setting the ISO fixes to 1000 was a good idea.

Why did I choose 1000? Well, I know it is pretty high. But if I am to take photos every day, it will mostly be indoors, and I need a decent ISO to make low light photographs, and my camera can handle it. Day one has been very enjoyable so far. I am loving the look of my Konica Hexanon lens. It is not perfect – flares easily, soft wide-open….but so what! I love how the photos look. Someday I will have the vocabulary to describe what is so different, so nice about images from this lens.

Tree without leaves against dawn sky, Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, CA

Training hike on a cold cold morning. Training for hiking, training for photography. Winter tree, no leaves against sky before sunrise. Black and White in post-process via Lightroom.

Sunset on Carmel beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Carmel beach sunset with the sun at the horizon. ‘Straight’ jpg from camera using the ‘Diorama’ ‘art’ filter. Love the waves crashing on the beach.

Chilling at sunset, Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

A couple enjoying sunset on Carmel Beach on a Wednesday evening.

Dogs on Beach – 3, Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Carmel beach, at sunset – on a Wednesday evening was filled with people and dogs and kids. It felt like it was a weekend. It was fun o see two passing dogs playing, chasing each other – just having fun.

Dogs on Beach – 2, Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Olympus E-P5 with Panasonic Leica 25mm. Whats not to like with this combination? Light beautiful camera, the prettiest I have ever owned. Amazing lens – I cannot articulate why I like the images from this lens so much – but I do. My current favorite lens – the one with which I shoot most of the time. This was shot in Raw + JPG. What you are seeing is the \’straight out of camera\’ jpeg image.

A happy dog fetching his ball, running full tilt back to his master, on a gorgeous beach against the setting sun.

Dogs on Beach – 1, Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Photographing outside after a long long time. Gone are my Canon equipment. Now shooting with Olympus Micro-thirds exclusively. And this is with my favourite 25mm lens! This was also shot in JPG – with \’art\’ filter – Diorama.

The little white dog looked like it was lost – and kept bothering all the dogs in a 5m radius. Later on, we saw the the owner – a stout old lady was sitting around, smoking and enjoying people\’s confusion and concern over her \’lost\’ dog. Crazy how some people entertain themselves!

Where the column meets the roof – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. The pigeons who live in this temple are pretty amazing. They have pretty much taken over the temple. This one was sitting on top, in a almost-dark corner, where this intricately carved column met the even more beautiful ceiling.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4. Also used Tony Kuyper\’s Photoshop action – \’Make it Glow\’ for the subtle glow in the sandstone. Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

By the sun streaming window – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. The pigeons who live in this temple are pretty amazing. They have pretty much taken over the temple. This pigeon was in a contemplative pose, sitting on the ledge of the cool dark windows, perhaps contemplating life in the bright hot sun outside?

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4. Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

Pigeons on carved ledges looking down – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. During my time there, I was enchanted by the pigeons who have made this temple their home, and how they have pretty much taken over the temple. Inside, the temple, one has to look up and see the exquisitely carved columns, and the roofs…and the pigeons hanging out there.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4. Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

Pigeon and Sun – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. During my time there, I was enchanted by the pigeons who have made this temple their home, and how they have pretty much taken over the temple. This pigeon with the puffed out chest was the first one to pose for me. In front of an exquisitely carved Sun God!

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4. Also used Tony Kuyper\’s Photoshop action – \’Make it Glow\’ for the subtle glow in the sandstone. Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

Rows of Carvings – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. Like most Indian temples, the exterior of the temple features row upon row of carving – of animals, soldiers, musicians, people, dancers, gods and goddesses.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4.

Musicians – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. A closeup of a row of musicians carved in one of the rows in the exterior of the temple.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4. Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

Temple Exterior – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Another photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. This is just a photograph of the beautiful light on the equally beautiful, aged and carved exterior.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4.

Elephants – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Another photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. As in a lot of temples in India, the temple in Modhera also had a \’frieze\’ of elephants. Basically, from bottom up, there are rows of elephants supporting the base of the temple.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4. Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

Intricacies – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat.Some more intricate carvings of Gods and goddesses and apsaras of the Hindu pantheon.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4 and converted it to Black and White there, and of course had to add some toning.

Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

Unfinished Cravings – Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Photograph from the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat. There was this rock lying around the perimeter which was only partially carved. Wonder why the artisans decided to leave it unfinished – or maybe some looters had chipped this part away from some other structure around the temple….

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 4 and converted it to Black and White there, and of course had to add some toning.

Manually focused, aperture priority, using my Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 with Konica AR to Micro 4/3rds adaptor. What a fun lens! A little heavy on my slim and trim EPL3 – but love the look of the images from it.

So I think I\’ve killed my muse. My fire to go out and photograph seems to be totally doused. When did this happen? Why did this happen? I don’t know… Was it because I decided to move camera systems? Don’t think so… because I still have my canon and my lovely little Olympus.

I just seem to have no drive to go to places to photograph anymore. And the fact that my drive\’s vanished is driving me crazy… I do still have the desire to go out and shoot – but when push comes to shove, I just sit on the couch! So what is this happening to me?

Just another boring yearly or bi-annual rut? Will I ever recover from this? Should I just find a corner and sit and cry?

The Last Supper Diorama – Monastir de Pedrables, Monastir de Pedrables, Barcelona, Spain

A diorama of the last supper with Jesus. The lower level in the monastery at Pedrables had a bunch of these very beautiful dioramas depicting the story of Jesus Christ..

This monastery was founded in 1326 by Elisenda de Montcada Jaume II\’s queen as a place to retire to after the King passed away. You can read more about this monastery at Frommer\’s. Another link: www.barcelona.de.

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/60s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 200
Date: March 02, 2012

Stairs Diorama – Monastir de Pedrables, Monastir de Pedrables, Barcelona, Spain

A diorama from the life of Jesus at the lower level in the monastery at Pedrables.

This monastery was founded in 1326 by Elisenda de Montcada Jaume II\’s queen as a place to retire to after the King passed away. You can read more about this monastery at Frommer\’s. Another link: www.barcelona.de.

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/8s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 200
Date: March 02, 2012

Faded Murals – Tomb of Elisenda de Montcada, Monastir de Pedrables, Barcelona, Spain

Gorgeous, faded murals on the tomb of queen Elisenda de Montcada, Jaume II\’s queen at the monastery complex at Pedrables, Barcelona. The queen\’s sacrophagus is double-sided. This is the back portion of the tomb as seen from the cloister, where Elisenda is depicted as a mourning widow. The other end of the tomb is in the adjoining Gothic church where she is depicted as a queen.

This monastery was founded in 1326 by Elisenda de Montcada as a place to retire to after the King passed away. You can read more about this monastery at Frommer\’s. Another link: www.barcelona.de.

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/200s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 200
Date: March 02, 2012

Down the cellar – Monastir de Pedrables, Barcelona, Spain

This is the staircase leading from the wine cellar / living quarters of the nuns to a drinking well, and what I think should be a very nice outdoor area. This was at the the monastery complex at Pedrables, Barcelona founded in 1326 by Elisenda de Montcada, Jaume II\’s queen. Unfortunately, this area was cordoned off to visitors.

Again, I was drawn to by the light – diffused light inside the cellar – mixed with the warm tungsten lamp and the outdoor light at the end o the tunnel! Beautiful!

You can read more about this monastery at Frommer\’s

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/8s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 200
Date: March 02, 2012

Hallway – Monastir de Pedrables, Barcelona, Spain

This is a photograph of a hallway in the monastery complex at Pedrables, Barcelona founded in 1326 by Elisenda de Montcada, Jaume II\’s queen. You can tell why I had to take a photo. Creamy yellow colors, a repeating pleasing complex arched pattern on the ceiling – and the heavenly light difused light from the window down the hallway – whats not to like?

You can read more about this monastery at Frommer\’s

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/13s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 200
Date: March 02, 2012

Dining room – Monastir de Pedrables, Barcelona, Spain

We took the hop-on hop-off bus tour of Barcelona. This was one of the places where we got off the bus – and we were the only ones. I was a little apprehensive that no other tourist wanted to check out this monastery … and we ended up liking it. It is a very peaceful place, founded in 1326 by Elisenda de Montcada, Jaume II\’s queen, as a place where she could retire to after the king\’s death (What a mobrbid thought – but I guess that\’s how it was in those days). She is also buried here. More about this place from Frommer\’s

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/15s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 400
Date: March 02, 2012

Some door, Barcelona, Spain

I know I was fascinated by the doors, and the graffiti in Barcelona. Why? Maybe I was looking at photographs of doors before I went there?

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL3
Exposure: 1/15s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 400
Date: March 02, 2012

Building in Veils, Barcelona, Spain

After a long day with a lot of walking we were looking for a coffee shop and happened to walk along this street. We found ourselves in front of the Palau de la Musica deCatalana – however what caught my attention was the building next to it. This one, was under some renovation of some kind, and looked like it was covered with veils. However this corner had torn its veil and was basking gold in the evening light and the the light of the lamps, with its veil fluttering in the wind.

The lovely architecture of Barcelona in the pale evening light.

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus E-PL3
Exposure: 1/20s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 400
Date: March 02, 2012

Casa Amatller and Casa Batllo, Paseig de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain

We were walking down the Paseig de Gracia, window shopping, since the prices were not that attractive at all the uber branded stores! (Really! 90 euros for a tie-die like t-shirt?). It was around sunset. And luckily for me, the sun happened to shine in this exquisite way on the two modernist buildings side by side – Casa Amatller and Casa Batllo.

Of course, I could identify only Casa Battlo. Antoni Gaudi. A bit of time on a search engine helped me identify Casa Amatller – with its colorful steps profile. Casa Amatller is the work of another Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.

Anyway, after photographing this building, and how nice looked in the light, we walked on. I must say that one can never ignore a modernist building (unless of course you pass by it twice a day..). Love it or hate, but you will notice it!

Clock Tower at Placa Rius I Taulet, Barcelona, Spain

We visited Parc Guell in Barcelona, and decided to walk to this square which the person at the apartment we were saying told us about. Actually, we wanted to take a cab – but no cab was ready to take four adults and a three year old – and since we didn\’t know exactly where we wanted to, we decided to walk.

The person had described the Placa Rius i Taulet as the town square of an old village, which is now a part of greater Barcelona. (I found out the name of this place today after a lot of searching! In my mind it was a town square with click tower..not very descriptive) He had told us that it was a very charming place. In the evenings, all the locals come and sit around here, order coffees or a glass of wine while the children run around and play (soccer!). It was such a great suggestion!

And it was just like what he had described. We ended up eating some tapas at a restaurant called Bo – they had yummy patats bravas and the deep fried padron peppers! Yum!

At Parc Guell, Barcelona, Spain

This is a tiled mosaic inserted on the roof in a structure at Parc Guell in Barcelona. The tiled mosaic was made by Antoni Gaudi who was also the designer of this Parc. All this info from Wikipedia – here. Its a pretty nice place – though unfortunately, we didn\’t have enough time and energy to explore the entire parc.

Technical Details:

Camera: Olympus E-PL3
Exposure: 1/30s at f1.7
Focal Length: 20mm
Lens: Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
ISO: 800
Date: March 02, 2012

Gothic Cathedral, Barcelona. Which do you prefer color or monochrome?

This is a photograph of La Seu the Gothic Cathedral. This is in Barcelona in the center of El Gotic – the Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia – This cathedral is dedicated to St.Eulalia, a co-patron saint of Barcelona.

I could not decide if I liked it better in black and white or color. What do you think?

Other photos from Barcelona:
– By La Rambla
– Pillars
– Arches
– Gothic Cathedral – Barcelona
– Cathedral Corner

Gothic Cathedral, Barcelona

This is a photograph of a corner of the the Gothic Cathedral in Barcelona in the center of El Gotic- the Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia. This cathedral is dedicated to St.Eulalia, a co-patron saint of Barcelona who achieved sainthood by being tortured by the Romans when she was a young virgin of 13

Other photos from Barcelona:
By La Rambla – www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2183
Pillars – www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2192

Gothic Cathedral, Barcelona

In Barcelona, after work was done with, got time to just be a tourist and do a lot of sightseeing. On a Friday evening, walking past the Gothic cathedral, the doors were open, and I got to go in. This cathderal, full name \’Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia\’ is the first church in Europe I have visited and I was blown away at how gorgeous the interiors are – the soaring vaults and transepts – amazing – and the decorations and carvings (and bling) inside this gothic cathedral is indeed elaborate. I found out that this cathedral is dedicated to St.Eulalia, a co-patron saint of Barcelona who achieved sainthood by being tortured by the Romans when she was a young virgin of 13!

Processed in lightroom – almost no adjustments except bumping up the contrast a little bit and bringing the saturation down.

Play of light and shadow on the roof of some terminal in the Hong Kong Airport. This is what one does after a 14 hour flight, and 7 1/2 hours to go separated by a 4 hour break in between….
This is the last of this series.

Other Images in this series:
Hong Kong Airport 1 – http://www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2100
Hong Kong Airport 2 – http://www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2102

Play of light and shadow on the roof of some terminal in the Hong Kong Airport. This is what one does after a 14 hour flight, and 7 1/2 hours to go separated by a 4 hour break in between….

Other Images in this series:
Hong Kong Airport 1 – http://www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2100

Play of light and shadow on the roof of some terminal in the Hong Kong Airport. This is what one does after a 14 hour flight, and 7 1/2 hours to go separated by a 4 hour break in between….

Trees on Mt. Hamilton Road, San Jose, California

Last spring, there was snow forecast down to 3000ft here in the bay area. There was snow on Mt. Hamilton (just like this spring). One Sunday morning, I decided to drive up there and see what I could photograph. Alas, the road all the way to the observatory was closed. And it was raining. And it was foggy. So, on my way down, I stopped by a couple of places and took a few photos. This is one of them. I love how these trees look in the fog – and the minute I saw these, I knew I had to try a black and white conversion.

Post Processing: Raw image + Lightroom 3 processing. I used this develop preset called Soft Highlights by Joop Snijder as a starting point and then did the black and white conversion. Here is the sample image and download link at Joop\’s blog. This lightroom preset is highly recommended – one of the staples in my workflow.

Lake on Mt. Hamilton Road, San Jose, California

Last spring, there was snow forecast down to 3000ft here in the bay area. There was snow on Mt. Hamilton (just like this spring). One Sunday morning, I decided to drive up there and see what I could photograph. Alas, the road all the way to the observatory was closed. And it was raining. And it was foggy. So, on my way down, I stopped by a couple of places and took a few photos. One of the photos on this trip was this lake.

Post Processing: Raw image + Lightroom 3 processing. I used this develop preset called Soft Highlights by Joop Snijder as a starting point and tweaked some. Here is the sample image and download link at Joop\’s blog. This lightroom preset is highly recommended – one of the staples in my workflow.

Some barn on Mt. Hamilton Road, San Jose, California

Last spring, there was snow forecast down to 3000ft here in the bay area. There was snow on Mt. Hamilton (just like this spring). One Sunday morning, I decided to drive up there and see what I could photograph. Alas, the road all the way to the observatory was closed. And it was raining. And it was foggy. So, on my way down, I stopped by a couple of places and took a few photos. One of the photos on this trip was this barn.

Post Processing: Raw image + Lightroom 3 processing. I used this develop preset called Soft Highlights by Joop Snijder as a starting point and tweaked some. Here is the sample image and download link at Joop\’s blog. This lightroom preset is highly recommended – one of the staples in my workflow.

Locals visiting – People at Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

Other tourists taking in the place at the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 3, apart from some basic processing, used BoonDoggle 2 – a free develop preset available as a part of 14 free presets from Wonderland presets.

Other photos in the \”People at Modhera” series
School Kids – www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2145
The Sweeper – www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2155
Locals – http://www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2169

Locals visiting – People at Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

I was resting at the Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat, after taking photos for a while. I saw these three locals, two in a traditional dress, and one man in modern attire taking in the place.

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 3, apart from some basic processing, used BoonDoggle 2 – a free develop preset available as a part of 14 free presets from Wonderland presets.

Other photos in the \”People at Modhera” series
School Kids – www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2145
The Sweeper – www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2155

The Sweeper – People at Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

I was in Modhera, Gujarat, India during December 2011. The really old Sun temple here, built between 1022 – 1063 AD. is an awesome place with exquisite architecture. And since this is a ruined temple, only visitors were around. Since I reached there early (but not early enough for my liking), the caretaker there was still around, sweeping the place. Its like one of the cravings came to life, put on modern clothes and was taking care of the place for the fellow carvings (yeah..time to go get some coffee..).

I processed the photograph in Lightroom 3, apart from some basic processing, used BoonDoggle 2 – a free develop preset available as a part of 14 free presets from Wonderland presets.

I have finally done it! After planning to do so for almost 2 years, I have finally come up with a free theme – Sea for Flogr for you to use!

Let me rewind a bit – If you have gone to the \”Flickr Gallery” section of my website, you will see photos in a web photo gallery format. These photographs are actually my Flickr Sets.

I use the excellent free program – Flogr by Mike Carruth for this section of my website. From Mike\’s description: \”Flogr is a flexible script that displays your flickr photos in a customizable photo gallery you host on your website. If you use flickr but want to have a different look and feel for your photo gallery you may like flogr.\”

What you do is: you install this script on your web host space (with your domain name), and point it to your Flickr account – now you have a website to showcase you photographs. You can see how convenient this is, can\’t you? All you have to do is manage your photographs on Flickr, organize into sets and tag them, and voila – you have a fully functional web gallery!

Well, for my website, a while back, I had customized the stock themes which came with Flogr to match the rest of my website and customized the pages I wanted it to show. Over time I had a lot of people ask me (ok… maybe just a few people…) how I did it. That had given me the ides of coming up with a similar theme and distributing it for free.

School Kids – People at Modhera series
Modhera, Gujarat, India.

I was in Gujarat, India during December 2011 and went to visit Modhera. Modhera, literally means \”The Mound of the Dead\”. The Sun temple here was built between 1022 – 1063 AD. – there is no active service / puja there anymore since the inner sanctum has been destroyed – by various invasions and earthquakes. I spent a good four hours getting a feel of the place, enjoying the architecture, checking out the pigeons and trying to not smell the bat guano.

While I was there, a huge batch of school kids came by on a school trip. I was trying to photograph the Ramakunda or the sacred tank when they all decided to sit to pose for a photograph. I took a break to enjoy their antics. As soon as the shutter clicked on the group photo, the kids all started scrambling up. That\’s when I had to turn and take this photograph.

Did you see the bird and the mooon in the photograph as well?

Berries and Shadows, Santa Clara, CA

One afternoon, walking from one building to the next, I was entranced by the trees which had shed most of their leaves and had lots of berries. What leaves were remaining were with the berries. This tree was casting a shadow on the wall and also on the shiny glass wall. Perchance, I happened to have my camera, and shot this scene knowing I was going to turn it into monochome…

This is the last in this series.

Berries and Shadows, Santa Clara, CA

One afternoon, walking from one building to the next, I was entranced by the trees which had shed most of their leaves and had lots of berries. What leaves were remaining were with the berries. This tree was casting a shadow on the wall and also on the shiny glass wall. Perchance, I happened to have my camera, and shot this scene knowing I was going to turn it into monochome…

Berries and Shadows, Santa Clara, CA

One afternoon, walking from one building to the next, I was entranced by the trees which had shed most of their leaves and had lots of berries. What leaves were remaining were with the berries. This tree was casting a shadow on the wall and also on the shiny glass wall. Perchance, I happened to have my camera, and shot this scene knowing I was going to turn it into monochome…

Merced River outside Housekeeping camp, Yosemite National Park.

For the first time ever, I ended up staying at the housekeeping camp in Yosemite National Park. I have previously stayed at the tent city in Curry village – and this was a treat. The housekeeping cabin consisted of three concrete walls, concrete roof, one canvas entrance, beds, and a patio with a fire ring. It was also right next to the Merced river. It was so cold in the night that the two space
heaters we got were life savers.

Waking up in the morning and walking to the Merced is a treat in itself. Add to that the fog burning away, the smell of wood smoke and breakfast cooking at various campfires, the sound of the Merced flowing over the rocks, the muted sounds of humanity waking up…and the sun light streaming through the trees… what a sight! I had to try to photograph and this is what I ended up with.

Merced River outside Housekeeping camp, Yosemite National Park.

For the first time ever, I ended up staying at the housekeeping camp in Yosemite National Park. I have previously stayed at the tent city in Curry village – and this was a treat. The housekeeping cabin consisted of three concrete walls, concrete roof, one canvas entrance, beds, and a patio with a fire ring. It was also right next to the Merced river. It was so cold in the night that the two space
heaters we got were life savers.

I was walking to the Merced to set up for a night shot – to try to stack for star trails (Click here to see what I got). I happened to look back and this is what I saw …Moon light and camplight almost merging all separated by these tall tall trees.

Merced River outside Housekeeping camp, Yosemite National Park.

For the first time ever, I ended up staying at the housekeeping camp in Yosemite National Park. I have previously stayed at the tent city in Curry village – this was a treat. The housekeeping cabin consisted of three concrete walls, concrete roof, one canvas entrance, beds, and a patio with a fire ring. It was also right next to the Merced river. It was so cold in the night that the two space
heaters we got were life savers.

At night, I went and setup my camera and tripod with an intervelometer menaing to let it run through the night while I sleep happily. However, within about an hour, there was mist and then fog – I bailed out on this plan at this point. This photograph is a stack of the images in about a 50 min span.

Below are some links to tutorials about Star Trails for those interested:
Star Circle Academy star trails – http://blog.starcircleacademy.com/2011/03/star-trail-creation/
Photo extremist – some tricks – http://photoextremist.com/star-trails-tutorial
Another nice tutorial – http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/725769/0

Half Dome from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park.

I am back from Barcelona – a long two weeks of work and a little vacation. I\’ll have more photos from that trip in a bit. meanwhile, here is one from good old Yosemite.

We were at the Glacier View Point in Yosemite National Park for Sunset. It was very crowded, along with a range program about the history of Yosemite as a National park. He was talking about how the sunsets from Glacier Point are either \”Wow\’ or \”oh..that was all?\”..

Luckily for us we got a very nice sunset, with the sun kissing Half Dome and the snow topped mountains behind it. The moon in the sky was just the right touch.

Arches – off Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain.

A photograph from walking around Barcelona\’s Las Ramblas with the Oly E-PL3 and the Panny 20mm. This was some old building in the Gothic Barri area, on the right side of Las Ramblas (right walking towards Playa Catalunya). There were chairs and tables setup underneath these arches – outdoor seating for a restaurant.

Processed in Lightroom Beta 4, using Mikey G\’s Kodak Film emulation preset – Kodak Technical Pan and then made some more adjustments.

Pillars – Next to the La Boqueria market off Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain..

Another photograph from my first evening walking around Barcelona\’s Las Ramblas with the Oly E-PL3 and the Panny 20mm.

Processed in Lightroom Beta 4, using Mikey G\’s Kodak Film emulation preset – Kodak Technical Pan and then made some more adjustments.

Boys by an old water tap on the side of La Rambla.

My first day – actually evening at Barcelona, I was walking around with the E-PL3 and 20mm on the notorious Las Ramblas at night. This is one of the more satisfactory photographs from that evening – for some reason was not feeling inspired by Barcelona yet – maybe it was the jetlag?

Processed in Lightroom Beta 4, using Mikey G\’s Kodak Film emulation preset – Kodak Technical Pan and then made some more adjustments.

Reading on a airplane to somewhere…
About Photograph:

During my vacation in December 2011, I was on a lot of planes, travelling a lot on my vacation. At some point on this plane ride, I woke up and it was dark. However, there was this lady some seats to the left who was reading, and the lamp light was falling so beautifully on her shining hair. I had to take a photo using the extremely amazingly lovely Konica Hexanon 50mm F1.7 (did I tell you that I love that lens? almost more than my Canon 10-22mm EF-S?)

Passion Flower – 3 : The Top View

Photographed lovingly with the OLympus E-PL3, a Konica Hexanon 50m f1.7 lens attached to the camera with a Konica AR to Micro Four Thirds Adaptor, tripod. cotton cloth for background and available light.

Passion Flower – 1 : www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2117
Passion Flower – 2: www.suprada.com/photoblog/qrchives/2128

Passion Flower

Photographed lovingly with the OLympus E-PL3, a Konica Hexanon 50m f1.7 lens attached to the camera with a Konica AR to Micro Four Thirds Adaptor, tripod. cotton cloth for background and available light.

Passion Flower – 1 : www.suprada.com/photoblog/archives/2117

At my parents place, they have this amazing looking flower with an intensely sweet scent – very attractive to humans and bees and butterflies alike. They call it the \”clock flower” (translated). Now with an hour on hand I had to absolutely try to photograph this.

And, what fun I had photographing this flower. My setup was my Olympus E-PL3 with the Konica Hexanon 50m f1.7 (which is a 100mm equivalent on my micro four thirds sensor). To get a dark backround, I found a black cotton cloth, tied it to a door handle and let it drape on a stand, the fabric draping down at at an angle. And then I rested the flower on it.

What do I like about this photograph? That it is one my very first macros. That I really like this particular flower. I looove the shallow DOF, the thin focus plane of this lens. And that the bokeh – the out of focus bits look so good. That I was manually focusing the lens, on a tripod, and this is quite good for a novice manual focusser.

Mission Peak, Bench at the Flagpole, Fremont, California.

This was an attempt at HDR. I was hiking up Mission Peak via the Ohlone trail with a friend, after work. We walked up to the bench next to the flagpole. And I set up there to photograph the glorious sunset over the bay area. It was awesome…until I strated getting bitten by mosquitoes. And thats when we headed down.

I used FDR Tools Advanced – Compressor algorithm to blend into HDR. It is an amazing piece of software… and I seem to like it much better than Photomatix.

Umbreallas, Great Mall, Milpitas

Bored of landscapes. Here\’s something different…nohing more to it than what you see…

Going to a mall, we were sitting out eating lunch. I happened to look up at the umbrellas, and I had to get my new E-PL3 out and shoot this. I loved the lines, the abstractedness and the RED color.

Sunset on White Mountain, View from above Barcroft Station, California

In August (2011), I attended a workshop – \”Dark of the Night Star Photography\”. This was organized by the Pt. Reyes National Seashore Association and the instructors were the really good Harold Davis, Steven Christenson and Eric Harness. (Side Note: Check this interview I did with Harold Davis a while back – its an awesome read.)

On Day 2 of the workshop, we drove up to the Barcroft Research Station at 12500ft, and got a tour of the facility. After that we hiked up about 3/4th of a mile to a view point to see sunset on white mountain. I made it up there with difficult due to a bad case of altitude sickness.

Sunset on White Mountain, View from above Barcroft Station, California

View
In August (2011), I attended a workshop – \”Dark of the Night Star Photography\”. This was organized by the Pt. Reyes National Seashore Association and the instructors were the really good Harold Davis, Steven Christenson and Eric Harness. (Side Note: Check this interview I did with Harold Davis a while back – its an awesome read.)

On Day 2 of the workshop, we drove up to the Barcroft Research Station at 12500ft, and got a tour of the facility. After that we hiked up about 3/4th of a mile to a view point to see sunset on white mountain. I made it up there with difficult due to a bad case of altitude sickness. However once up there, I recovered pretty fast. It was a spectacular sunset.

Bristlecone Pine and Blue Skies, Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone pines.

In August (2011), I attended a workshop – \”Dark of the Night Star Photography\”. This was organized by the Pt. Reyes National Seashore Association and the instructors were the really good Harold Davis, Steven Christenson and Eric Harness. (Side Note: Check this interview I did with Harold Davis a while back – its an awesome read.)

On this workshop, we stayed at the Crooked Creek Research Station at 10,200 feet altitude. The accomodation was good – clean, warm. Not your luxury accommodation you would find at a five star hotel, but dorm style with very clean bathrooms, and beds, and a heater and with a very nice view – just perfect for people on a photography workshop.