Like the Ocean

Misty Morning @ Matunga & Photoshop Sale

Sathya — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:59:54 +0000

Hampi, apart from the historical ruins is an awesome place for trekking and rock climbing too. Matunga hill @ Hampi is one of the best spots for watching sunrise. the hike is a bit on difficult side, especially if you are not aware of the route. It is better to have a guide if you planning to hike up in the dark for sunrise. But the views are well worth it, they are pretty amazing. This week shot is of the temple ruins, right on top of the hills. The sun was playing hide and seek as the mist was starting to clear. This was taken just moments after the sun rise shot that I had shared in the past. wow the scene changed so dramatically with light , angle and direction !

Update : Sorry, the deal is dead. Not sure why, It was supposed to be active thru Mar 2, 2012.
On a different note, if you are into photography and were looking to buy Photoshop, now is the best time. There is a huge sale going on @ Adobe site. The current version of Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended can be got for $39, yeah you read that right – $39. The Student version generally sells for $199 (and the original without discount sells @ $699) and there is a 80% additional off, if you use the code SAVE80EDU. You could even get this for your kid who is in kindergarten – all you need is a student ID card or an appropriate school document. If you don’t have a student in the family, now is the time to join that course that you were eying for a long time ! The lower price is probably because of the fact that next version of Photoshop would be out in couple of months, but @ $39 I am not complaining :) The deal is supposed to be on till March 2, 2012, Go grab it while it lasts !!!

Veerabhadra Temple
Hampi, Karnataka, India

When Silence is more than Golden

Sathya — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:09:14 +0000

The universe is large and we are tiny, without the need for further religious superstructure. One can have so-called spiritual moments without belief in the spirit … When you look at the Moon, you think, ‘I’m really small. What are my problems?’ It sets things into perspective. We should all look at the Moon a bit more often. — Atheism 2.0 – A TED Talk by Alain de Botton

The beauty of being with nature, is that there comes a point,
When you are totally lost, as u search for yourself,
There is communication, even without conversation,
There is an insight, born out of silence -
Just being in the presence of self, both within and out !

Minimalistic Moon
US 26 Enroute OR Coast, Oregon, USA

Million Stars @ Trillium Lake

Sathya — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:33:38 +0000

The starry skies on a clear night is so peaceful and soothing. Trillium Lake @ the base of Mt hood is an awesome place for watching the stars too. It is just far enough from the city to avoid the light pollution and short enough for an evening drive.

This was shot with the canon 7D at a slightly higher ISO [6400] and exposure of 30 seconds. It is indeed amazing how much cameras have evolved there by enhancing flexibility, freedom and creativity. This is one of my initial try, yeah there is lot more learning yet to be done … Though I am not satisfied with the overall shot, I was glad to be able to capture the milky way. Now I would just have to wait for the winter to pass so I can just drive up to Trillium Lake. U know, its biting cold to hike up, and not so pleasant to camp out in the snow :)

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Milky Way @ Trillium Lake
Mt Hood, Oregon, USA

The Ray of Hope or probably not

Sathya — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:13:40 +0000

I hope she would …
I hope one day …
I hope to …
I hope if only …
I just hope …
I hope …

It just doesn’t feel right. May be – hope – is just an excuse, for NOT wanting to take action.
It stops you from recognizing what is within you, what you are capable of, what you can achieve.

So, stop hoping …
Find the spark within,
Make things happen,
Get what you want,
The way you want,
And by the by, Do it now!

This abstract looking shot is for real. It is from the upper antelope (slot) canyon. Antelope Canyon is sometimes called Corkscrew Canyon, for the twisted features inside. Probably one of the most photographed places in the world, it is carved, day in & day out, by forces of nature. It pays to be there in the mid-morning (~ 10 AM). Next best time would be mid-afternoon (~ 2 AM) to get vivid colors. The position of the sun and the season also makes a difference. Light can make all the difference, right ! And do make sure to take care of Daylight saving time. As if DST is not confusing enough, Page(AZ) the nearest city does utilize DST but the Navajo nation (inside which the slot canyon is located) does employ DST. And when you are there, please don’t use flash. It does more harm to the shots than you know :)

Even the best of the photographs don’t do enough justice to this place. You just need to be there to experience it and see for yourself.

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Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation
Page, AZ, USA

Shrine of Subramanya @ Tanjore

Sathya — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:29:38 +0000

I generally do not tend to post photos from the same place in continuity. But the more I look at the shots from Tanjore big temple, the more I am amazed. Hence continuing from last week, I present – The Shrine of Sri Subramanya – located just behind the main temple within the same compound. This definitely needs to be viewed in large, to enjoy the intricate sculptures and pillars. If this tower standing at 55 feet can carry so much grandeur, imagine how inspiring the main vimana can be at 216 feet !!! Surprisingly, this shrine is not referred to in the early inscriptions, and probably not contemporaneous to the main temple. It is popularly believed to be of the Nayak period, giving it a date not earlier than 600 A.D. The flash lights that you see around the corner is directed towards the main tower. Need to plan another trip once the maintenance work on the main vimana is over, hopefully !

This was 30 second multiple exposure, manually blended to highlight the texture on the sculptures and walls. As with most protected monuments, tripods were not allowed. I generally try to use my camera bag, wallet etc. to improvise, but that day, was lucky to have had Gorilla pod. I set it up in a remote corner and happily let it shoot multiple long exposures, as I was chatting with the security. It definitely disguised as – just a camera stand, rather then a tripod – at least in this place, where Gorilla pod is not yet prevalent :)

Have u sneaked behind security to get your best shorts ;-) would love to hear ur experience , do share in below comments !!!

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Shrine of Subramanya
Tanjore, TamilNadu, India

Big Temple @ Tanjore, India

Sathya — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:25:19 +0000

The Big Temple, as rightly said, was constructed by Raja Raja Chola nearly 1000 years back – to be precise in 1010 AD. This is also the world’s first complete granite temple and an brilliant example of the grandeur and the major heights achieved by Cholas in Tamil architecture. Also know by the names of Brihadeeswarar temple or Rajarajeswaram – this Shiva temple – still stands as the largest temple in India, with the main vimana towering to 216 feet.

This week shot is SOOC (Straight out of camera) of the main vimana / tower at the Brihadeeswarar temple. Even with all the wooden frame around the vimana for some maintenance work (yeah! such a bad timing for the visit), could feel the awe and grandeur of the architecture. The temple had been sculpted to detail in every nook and corner. It is so spacious with the open dance floor, huge lawn and multiple sanctum. This shot gives a much closer view of one of the hundreds of pillars out there. Makes one wonder on the amount of passion, dedication and work that would gone behind these marvels. If you are planning for a trip to south India, this is a must have on the iternary !!!

Brihadeeswarar Temple
Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India

Mt Hood on a Really Really Cold Day

Sathya — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:35:00 +0000

There are some amazing view(s) of Mt Hood when you drive on I84 or US 26. But there are very few places, where you can park and enjoy the view. This is from, one such pull out, right on US 26. Apart from the ample parking, you can get just across the fence, for a nice panoramic view. It is around the final curve before reaching Mt hood, when driving from Portland thru US 26. To be exact, here is the spot on Google maps .

This particular day, it was probably so cold that even the majestic Mt hood was trying to tuck herself in her own blanket of clouds. It was just magical to watch.

Though I do love the first snow, some how the days seems to be too cold and overcast this year. Winter is just here and I have already started dreaming of the fall and awaiting for the spring, ha ha ha … Anyways how is the weather there & how is winter treating you !!!

Mt Hood National Forest
Mt Hood, OR, USA

Space Needle Fireworks with Seattle Skyline – 2012

Sathya — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:26:53 +0000

A bit of fireworks, some snow, a trip to the rainforest, throw in some waterfalls on the way and a drive thru amazing 101 pacific coast highway. What a way to start a new year. Not all happened as planned, due to mother nature deciding to join us, in the last minute, in form of lashing rain. Nevertheless it was an awesome trip encircling the Olympic national park, Washington.

This shot is the first one I had taken for this year 2012 & am very pleased with results. It is a high dynamic range shot with multiple exposure to capture the reflections, highlights and fireworks. I really love to watch fireworks up and close at space needle-Seattle, but did not want to be spending 2-3 hours getting out of the downtown traffic once the show was over. Hence after a bit of help from Google Earth, settled for a spot from Hamilton View point park, West Seattle. But as we were driving to the park, the view from harbor avenue was so breath taking, that we decided to settle there for the fireworks show. Arriving at the spot early always has an advantage. As we strolled down the harbor lane, was able to locate a secret sweet spot just behind the parking lot of Salty’s seafood grill. The view was probably better than the deck at Salty’s. Of course we were not served beer ! To make it easier for you, here is the actual spot (47.586095,-122.375566). Just be careful of loose rocks. I had always wanted to shoot the Seattle skyline and this is probably the best view of the Seattle skyline that I had come across. Though an urban setting, it indeed was serene, with the cool breeze, reflections and background effects from sea lions.

If you are still reading … Sorry I had been away for almost a month with unplanned hiatus over here at the blog. I really did not want to start the year’s post with an apology hence pushed this to the later part of the post. It always makes me wonder how something that happens in one part of your life has so much of impacts on your actions, thoughts and eventually how it reflects on almost all other phases. Anyway life just goes on … For the last couple of weeks, I had not been very active here, but had been making changes slowly. You can now see that LikeTheOcean.com points to this very blog and photo.LikeTheOcean.com points to my smugmug portfolio site. Much easier to remember, right :). Hopefully, the new-non intrusive theme allows, to enjoy the photos directly form the blog. As before am definitely planning to share atleast one amazing travel photo, if not more, every week of 2012 too.

Thanks for sticking around and travelling with me ! Happy New Year to all.

P.S: Definitely best viewed at large. Seattle Skyline is available in Print as such or with customization. This would make a great wall frame as such or with a inspiration quote on the the bottom. Just drop me a note with the request if u want any customization.

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Fireworks @ Space Needle, Seattle Skyline
Seattle, WA, USA

Submerged Temple of Talakadu

Sathya — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:42:10 +0000

Talakadu (also known as Talakad) is a town on the banks of the Kaveri river, Karnataka, India. The place is known for temples submerged in sand. It is said to have around 30+ temples under sand. It is surprising to see the geology out here. The powerful Kaveri had helped create the dune like area. There is a little bit of history here, blended with some geology and topped with legends and myths. The bit of history is associated to the place is tied to the Mysore Raja Family of this palace. You can read further about the legend here at wikipedia. This weeks shot is one of the excavated temples, along with the intricate stonework, laid out beautifully in front.

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Lord Vishnu Temple under Sand Dunes
Talakadu, Karnataka, India

A Different Perspective

Sathya — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 06:18:44 +0000

A different perspective of fall colors – sandwiched ! This is from the Scott’s lake at The Three sisters wilderness. This lake is indeed known for the pristine reflection of the three sisters. But when I took a walk around the lake, I were presented with the below scene that beautifully highlighted the fall colors across the other bank. The tall coniferous trees were still dense and green, but really loved how the foliage across the shore was so colorful [best enjoyed at large size].

Lesson learnt – keep walking – keep looking for things that are not prominent. Look out for the different perspective, you will not be disappointed :)

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Scotts Lake, Three Sisters Wilderness
Sisters, OR, USA