May 17, 2012
Madurai, apart from being my home town, is really famous for many things from soft idles to jasmine flowers to being the birth place of ancient Tamil. Madurai is also synonymous with Meenakshi Amman Temple. Covering an area of 17 acres , the enter city was built around the temple. As you get near the temple the city streets meander and before you realize become lanes within the temple.
Known for its amazing architecture , this temple is one of the most ancient and famous ones in south India. As a kid I have always taken for granted, my visits to this place. When I went to my hometown in the last year, I made it visit this place. I did not have as much as time as I had intended, but still enjoyed it. I really wanted to capture the grandeur of the Gopura, its ornate work, the intricate sculptures from the pillars, the lovely etc colorful paintings on the ceilings etc. I think I succeeded, at least partially. This week shot is one of the 14 Gopuras that adorn the beautiful temple.
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Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India |
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February 22, 2012
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 !!!
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Veerabhadra Temple
Hampi, Karnataka, India |
Posted in Photoblog, photography |
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January 26, 2012
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
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Posted in Photoblog, photography |
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January 19, 2012
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 !!!
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Brihadeeswarar Temple
Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India |
Posted in Photoblog, photography |
11 Comments »
November 6, 2011
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
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August 27, 2011
“If dreams were made of stone , it would be hampi” – One can completely relate to it, the moment they get into the vicinity of the place. Hampi – has some amazing and stupendous architecture captured in stone from the Vijayanagara period. Apart from the architecture, the place is also know for some strong and dynamic sunrise / sunsets. Matunga hill is a prominent hike up, where one can enjoy the same. Since a relatively a larger crowd trickle in to bid goodbye to the sun rather than to witness the sunrise, I decided to hike up at dawn. There are a couple of paths leading to the topmost point, where the Veerabhadra Temple is located. It is better to carry a torch irrespective of if you are planning for the sun rise or the sun set as the place is not well lit. After taking up the stepped ramp from the west , reached the top just prior to sun raise. There were only a very few folks around, but was really surprised to see a small shop selling garam garam tea and noodles, at that place and time :)
As it was quiet misty, was not hoping much for the sun to come out. Just as I was enjoying the watery tea, the sun decided to give a peek out. It was quiet dramatic, with the Achyuta raya temple at the foothills , the dense forest and the sun peeking thru the misty morning mountains afar. Boy, was I glad to have the 10-24mm wide angle. Did my best to capture it, though I knew I was not able to do complete justice.
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Sunrise, Matunga Hill, Hampi
Karnataka, India
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Posted in Photoblog, photography |
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August 6, 2011
There are those special full moon days, when u feel that the moon is much larger. The drama created by the clouds is so strong, that you just feel like being one with the night. This weeks shot is from one such days. Photographing the moon is a real challenge, if you don’t know how to do it. But just a handful of tips & a bit of trial and error, you definitely can get a keeper. When I initially started shooting the moon, used to set up my tripod and try for long exposure, you see it was night and dark, right ! Wrong. Moon is one of the brightest objects and at the same not static. Hence any thing less than a 1/125 sec would result in not so sharp shot. This article has lot of details on the technicalities of setting up the shot. Before you head out, u definitely need to know when the next full moon is. This calendar is handy, yeah gone are the days when we all had the time to look up, every night and know when the full moon was approaching.
And to go along with the shot, here is one of my, supposed, haiku. For my non-tamil readers, have tried my best to provide a close enough translation. Hope you enjoy it as much as the shot.
ennavalae
nee nilavai pondraval
andru alagil
indro thoo’laivil …
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Dear,
you are like the moon
then in beauty :)
but, now in distance :(
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Posted in Photoblog, photography |
8 Comments »
July 10, 2011
Kodaikanal is one of the most popular and charming hill station of south India. This was shot enroute from Kodai to Bangalore. As we were leaving, just before the down hill drive started, pulled by a place to shop for the famed home made chocolates. Just behind the shop(s), was graced with the beautiful hilly terrain with this lone home. Definitely makes one wonder how it would feel to stay right amidst nature !!!
p.s : If you are on Google+ you can connect with me here. If you would like an invite, just drop me a note or leave a comment with the request. After a week’s usage, this definitely seems to be addressing some major concerns of Facebook !
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June 25, 2011
Flowers in general are always cool to shoot with – they are colorful, attractive and if you are lucky, they would be just stand still, for as long as you want, with a little bit of support from wind :). So when I came across the vibrant lily at Meenmutty Falls Resort , was delighted. This was shot during broad afternoon day light and was surprised the way it turned out. I had always thought that these kind of shots were made within a studio set up. All I did here, was used circular polarizer to make the water, non reflective and dark. Playing a bit with curves and levels, helped lose some of the other unwanted details. What do you think of the result ?
Below is a (so called) Haiku that I wanted to share alongside this shot !
Sometimes when
Every thing looks right & Every thing looks wrong … simultaneously
Look again
There is nothing wrong about the right &
There is nothing right about the wrong !!!
If you are still reading , then I welcome you to my kirukalgal (scribbling) collections !!!
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12 Comments »
June 18, 2011
This is from the Miramar Beach, Goa. As part of the stay at Bogmallo, we were offered to be taken to Basilica and Panjim City for some shopping, before the evening Cruise. Opting to miss on the shopping & getting dropped off at Miramar Beach for sunset, turned out to be not that bad a choice. Walking toward the beach, it was not just cloudy, but real overcast too.
There were around the 8-12 ships lined up at the horizon. As I was thinking – all chances for a great sunset were bleak – it just happened. For a moment, the clouds opened up, a little bit with drama, to allow the rays fall on one of the ships, as if it was chosen for something. The evening sky was kind of red. I waited to see if it would be sucked up into space like in alien movies, but nothing happened :)
As for the processing, this is straight out of camera, with just some level adjustments. I know it is kind of dark, but felt it rather added to mystery around the shot and overall. What do you think !?
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10 Comments »
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