May 13, 2013
Living close to Chicago has its perks, but star-gazing is definitely not one of them. With so much of ambient light pollution, it is difficult to see any stars. Tools of trade – Dark Sky Finder – came to the rescue, in locating some decent dark skies @ Green River State Wildlife Area. The 2 hour drive made me realize how much impact light pollution has on the night skies. Anyways, couple nights back – everything fell in place – new moon, weekend, forecast for clear skies and not so cold nights – all came together. Clear Sky Chart is one other site that is quiet handy to plan trips like these …
Out at this location, the side roads, provide for some interesting composition – without being bothered by light trails of the vehicles. There are not many crazy folks who drive around at that hour ;-) It was an happy accident to have captured a meteor on this particular night. This probably was from Eta Meteor shower that peaked couple of days back.
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 12 mm : f4 : 30 sec
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Eta Meteor (05.11.2013) @ Green River State Wildlife Area
Harmon, Illinois, USA |
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February 3, 2013
Last November (2012) got a chance to get up the Space Needle at Seattle. It is one of the best places to get the amazing city view of Seattle. Given the season and altitude, the chillness was quiet expected, but the night being so crisp and clear was a pleasant surprise.
As I was going up, I was cursing myself to have left the tripod at home. Luckily I was at least carrying the gorillapod and it turned out to be a blessing. The odd shape of the fencing at the watching balcony renders the tripod useless, unless you are using a long zoom. The gorillapod just snug to the rails and helped capture the nightscape in all its glory.
I was pretty surprised on how much details my nifty canon 10-22 mm lens was able to capture – if ur keen u can read the apartment names & ‘now leasing’ ads complete with phone numbers :) The lower Temperature (one of the key setting you can play with when shooting RAW) aided in enhancing the bluish futuristic glow. Though I like the beauty of the night lights, for some reason, this shot reminds me of the aimless pursuits that we manage to partake in our daily lives, systematic yet chaotic, with a goal but not knowing what next, so focused on the destination that we forget all about the journey … Wake Up before it is too late - oh well may be it is just me !!!
Camera : Canon 7D
Lens : Canon 10-22 mm
Filter : 3 stop ND Filter
ISO 100 : 22 mm : f8 : 15 sec
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Living Nightlights, View from Space Needle
Seattle, Washington, USA |
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December 13, 2012
I came across Maryhill in Washington, when I was trying to finalize (light pollution free) places to shoot Geminids meteor shower. This park has a full-size, astronomically-aligned replica of Stonehenge and was commissioned by Samuel Hill and dedicated on July 4, 1918 as a memorial to those that died in World War I. The memorial was completed in 1929.
The peak of Geminids is actually tonight (Dec 13, 2013), but given the overcast weather here at the northwest, it is not very promising. Hence, when there was a break in the weather yesterday, decided to take my chances. It was a nice experience, braving the December cold and watching the meteor shower in person. I was able to witness close to ~5 in a span of 15 minutes, as I was scouting / setting up at the location. But subsequently the skies were clear only for a few minutes – here and there. So much for the forecast and almost clear skies. It was not a great night for capturing the meteors, but given the new moon and having the entire place to play with some lighting, it turned out to a pretty good night for some star photography.
I used a small headlamp to light up the inside of the Stonehenge. The light from a near by settlement was reflecting on the clouds creating the yellow. The (once distracting series of) tower lights, harmonized with the fog resulting in the lovely red hue over the horizon. Incidentally, the passing by Union Pacific train decided to play along and lit up the outside of the Stonehenge. Wish there had been a meteor on this particular shot, oh well … I just love it when a plan comes together, or not :)
Camera : Canon 7D
Lens : Canon 10-22 mm
Filter : None
ISO 3200 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec
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Milky way @ Stonehenge
MaryHill, Washington, USA |
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November 15, 2012
12×16 Canvas Giveaway
It is holiday season and I just passed 1000 “Fans” at my FB photography page. I’m truly amazed. I would like to give my humble thank you to all that enjoy my work and follow my exploits here on Facebook. You guys rock, I mean that and I appreciate it so much.
As a token of thanks and to celebrate the holiday season would like to have a giveaway – an 12×16 Canvas of Mt Hood @ Twilight [http://bit.ly/HfdHnB] or a 25% off coupon on any kind of the print you would prefer from the LikeTheOcean Shop [http://bit.ly/HfdHnB] .If you are outside the US, it would probably be the latter as shipping outside would not be economical].
All you have to do is
- Like the FB Page – LikeTheOcean Photography [http://bit.ly/Ho1ngL]
- Share this post on ur Wall [u can use the FB button below this post]
- Comment below telling what kind of photos you would love to see from me (Landscape, Nightscape, Waterscape, Cityscape). Answers can be multiple or even outside the ones listed !!!
Even if ur connected to my FB Profile feel free to like the FB Page, with the new restricted updates to Facebook’s Edge rank this decreases the probability of missing out on my photos/post updates a bit :) I’ll leave this open till around Thanksgiving and draw a winner at random from all the entries on Friday, Nov 23rd.
Reflections at the Dock
This is from one of the docks at Newport, OR. Was real glad we took that turn to take a break, as we were heading back to Portland. The initial intent was to get a 5 mins break, but ended up spending a good hour and half walking / shooting at this dock. It was such a cold (in a good way) and calm evening. I have never in my life seen a dock that was so still. Pretty stroked at how sharp this turned-out right out of camera, especially with an exposure of 30 seconds !
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : 3 Stop ND Filter
ISO 100 : 16 mm : f11 : 30 sec
EDIT : The Giveaway is complete – http://on.fb.me/UlnA8d
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September 10, 2012
It was a fun drive up Mt St Helens over the weekend. I was rooting for the sunset and there was some good light. But the highlight of the trip definitely was the milky way – suspended over St Helens. As we watched the stars drift across, the distant light on the horizon, lit up the clouds from beneath. It was ethereal.
I have tried to capture that feeling and moment in time. Nothing in this shot was created in Photoshop, It was all there – the stars, the clouds, the distant light and Mt St Helens. This is a composite of 60 shots each with an exposure of 30 seconds. One of the intermediate shots was processed to highlight the milky way; others were processed to highlight the star trail. I present to you ‘Condensed in Time’ – Approximately 30 minutes from that night, condensed into a single shot for you to enjoy. Hope u like it !
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Castle Lake Viewpoint
Mt. St Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington, USA |
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September 3, 2012
Blue Moon is term for the second full moon in any given month. The phrase ‘once in a blue moon’ is supposed to indicate a rare event – thought the blue moon sighting is actually once or more in around 3 years. And no – the blue moon is no where near blue. Actually it was having a more warm yellowish glow, as it was rising behind the Mt Hood.
This shot was from Jonsrud view point at Sandy, OR during the blue moon on Aug 31,2012. Photographing the moon at times can be quiet intimidating. U might be tempted to treat it as night photography. The moon being a source of light can appear just as a white blob if not exposed properly. If you are planning to shoot just the moon, then a long zoom and couple of tips could get your started. Shooting it along with the landscape require a bit of planning. On that particular day, the moon being slated to rise just 30 mins prior sunset, created a very conducive and magical light. The beautiful colors were just as such and created by the alpine glow of the setting sun on the opposite side. The full moon, clear skies, the alpine glow – everything just came together. Enjoy the blue moon, as it rises :)
This shot required some pre work : being at the right place and at the right time made all the difference. The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) – a nifty software available for both desktop (requires Adobe AIR) and mobile, greatly helped in finalizing the shooting spot and also the location / time of the moon rise across the horizon.
P.S: This was taken from the same spot from where this sunrise was shot, wow how much of a difference light can make !
Camera : Canon 7D
Lens : Tamron 18-270mm
Filter : 3 stop Neutral Density Filter
ISO 100 : 70 mm : f8 : 0.5 sec
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Jonsrud Viewpoint
Sandy, Oregon, USA |
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August 13, 2012
Sleeping under the stars is an experience unto itself. In addition, being away from the city lights takes on a whole new level of fun, when you start taking star pictures. If u have not done it before, definitely give it a try :) In expectations of capturing a moment of Presides Meteor shower, headed to Trillium lake over last weekend (Aug 11-12, 2012) . Overall the meteor shower was pretty elusive than expected, always managing to put a show where the camera was not pointed. As the night was passing by, was worried that the moon rise (around 1:30 AM) might reduce the possibility of meteor sighting. But I was pretty surprised when everything just lined up just (around 3:30 AM) – the Venus, the Moon and the Jupiter – and even a meteor was adorning the scene. The star cluster you see a little off center on top is Pleiades nebula.
Hope u enjoy viewing as much as I did during the shooting !
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Perseids Meteor
Trillium Lake, Mt. Hood, Oregon, USA |
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August 2, 2012
Seattle is a such lively city especially for photographers – located adjacent to water, hills all around, lovely skyline, beautiful S-curves leading to the heart of the downtown area. Love the way how it comes alive at night. Here is one of the scenes for your to enjoy. You can get this view from around Dr Jose P Rizal Bridge. Check here for other shots of Seattle.
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Seattle Downtown
Seattle, Washington, USA |
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July 25, 2012
Getting all pumped for the London Olympics !
This week shot is from a quick stop over at London, from the recent past. In this photo you can see the London Eye (left, obviously :) ) in its full glory and the Palace of Westminster + Clock Tower (right). This was shot from the Millennium Bridge as we were enjoying a leisurely stroll with the cool night’s breeze. Though I was not there long enough to take a ride in the eye, the memories from the short visits to downtown is enough to pull me back there, sometime in future maybe !
Are you visiting London for Olympics ? What is your favorite spot there ?!
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July 9, 2012
It was one hell of a trip to Mt. Rainier National park last weekend. Trying to take advantage of travelling alone (which happens rarely), was thinking to sleep in the car- probably at a campground or at one of the overnight parking lot. The plan was to stay in the vicinity, to capture the first morning light on Mt Rainier. Being summer, that means being up at the spot by 5 AM. As I was driving towards the sunrise area of Mt Rainer, came across an empty parking lot at Sunrise Point. The view was so good that I decided to night out, right there. Dang it, I did not realize it would be this cold even inside the car. Next time need to carry a sleeping bag too :)
Anyway just as I was getting settled, the stars begin to peep, begging to be captured. I just could not help but take a stroll and set up for this shot. Though it was quiet remote northern part of the park & being atleast an hour+ drive to any established community, was surprised to see as much light pollution on the horizon. To add to it, the moon popped from behind. It was one fiery moon rise. I did want to capture more of the horizon, but the moon was way too bright to be captured along with the stars. Anyway the moonlight did help in lighting up the mountain. This is a panorama of two landscape shots. It is a single exposure (each) stitched together, with slight adjustments on levels and a bit of dodge, to put the the Milky Way on spot light.
It was one hell of an experience – just being one with nature, enjoying the slight cool breeze, shooting at mid night. Here is this week shot, in an attempt to capture that experience. Am sure you like it as much as I do. And by the by this would look amazing on metallic print !
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Milky Way @ Sun Rise Point
Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington, USA |
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April 9, 2012
The last few weeks blog posts were related to waterscapes. It was not intentional and I was really surprised that all were from Oregon, very different perspectives of waterfalls and all were having variations of green. Yet each one was so unique. Even the greens within the same shots were so varied. Ah! the beauty of pacific northwest !!! I can go on and on about the northwest landscape, let me just stop there :)
In an attempt to diversify a bit, this week shot is from other extreme – an urban landscape – Night lit skyline of Salt Lake City. Incidentally it also kind of reflects my mood – scattered, hyper, juggling too many thing – hopeful of finding the calm within the chaos.
The dome without mistake is the state capitol building, which by itself has a wonderful architecture and elevation. If you look keen enough, you can notice the adjoining lawns that have nice evening picnic spots and views. On the right is the famed LDS Temple. The elevation of this temple is beautiful too. Click here to check out the close up shot of the Temple Square. This panoramic view is from somewhere around the Ensign Peak Nature Park. Read somewhere that the pioneer leaders envisioned Salt Lake City layout plans from this point. Now I know how SLC ended up with the boring co-ordinate road system :)
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View from Ensign Peak Nature Park
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA |
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February 12, 2012
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
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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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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 |
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January 4, 2012
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
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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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June 3, 2011
Mysore palace is now one of the most famous tourist spot attracting more than 2.7 million visitors in the recent years. This Indo-sarsenic style Palace reflects Muslim architecture on the outside, while the interior is a fine example of Hindu architecture. The palace is in its full grandeur in the night, as it is lit with thousands of bulbs and it becomes the most attractive monument in the city. Even without the thousands of light bulbs, it is a sight to watch when it is back lit with flash lights. The below was shot at one such occasion. I really like the way the Big cats came out as silhouette on the back lit palace.
The part I did not like about the place is – though tourists are allowed to visit, they are not allowed to photograph inside the palace, what crap :( Wish they make it photographer friendly, so that the grandeur can be shared with you, who are not able to make it to the palace in person.
On the processing, the HDR accentuated the intricate work on the palace walls (worth checking out on the larger size), highlight part of inner chambers , garden and the walkway.
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April 2, 2011
Kodai Lake is located in the Kodaikanal city (Dindigul district) in Tamil Nadu, India. Sir Hentry, then collector of Madurai was instrumental in the initial set up of the lake in 1863. The lake is probably one of the most popular stops at this summer destination.
Apart from the regular boating – the lake offers much more. A late evening walk with a loved one, a bicycle ride with ur kid [oh yeah u can rent all kinds of cycles], shopping for or with ur wify along the entire periphery or just gazing from one of the view points – the possibilities are limitless. Outflow of the lake create the much famed silver cascade falls [that would be a shot for a diff week ;-)]
The low f stop (f/22) actuated the star effect on the lights, which I really dig. This is a single exposure, with minimal adjustment on levels. Was really surprised how sharp the shot came out even with a minute long exposure. Looking at the shot really brings back the stillness of the evening – both inside and out.
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March 19, 2011
Much discussion have been floating around the so-called "super moon" that will take place tonight (March 19). Actually the phenomenon of super moon occurs once in 14 yrs or so, but this time it also turns out to be on a full moon day. The discussion has been actuated by aftermath of the Tsunamis that hit Japan around last week and the rumored natural causes around the super moon.
Is it really super. Decided to venture out and take a look at the same. Though scientifically it is indeed couple of 100 kms closer, not sure if it would not make much of a difference to a casual observer. Also the time / location of observing and the optical illusion around it (Building or know objects in the close foreground , and the moon on the far back ground at horizon) make lot of difference to the perception. As I was at the terrace , not much of interesting subject to shoot along with the moon. May be next time should head out to the lake or something !
So what do u think, Is there any thing super about super moon ? Super moon or not, it was indeed enjoyable spending some night time, out with the moon !
P.S : Drop by my Photo Site. Have updated the home page with awesome mega slide show, that fills ur browser automatically(Pure CSS / JS / HTML, yeah ditched the Flash!!! - Thanks 2 FastlineMedia for sharing the amazing library). Do share ur thoughts on the same :)
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March 13, 2011
After a five km hike, that too in the night, was exhausting. But having a camp fire, with an awesome view, waiting for the sun to rise – was quiet an adventure. This is from a full moon night trek. Yeah I had posted this shot as part of the travelogue. But I liked the shot soo much that I wanted to get it out here in full glory here @ the main blog for all my friends to enjoy. The way the distant city lights and the camp fire turned out was really vibrant. You should really check out the large size to see the starry sky ! Wish I had reached couple of hours earlier to do a star trail shot, need to plan for it sometime …
If you are planning for a skandagiri trek, do check out this travelogue !
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