I grab a pen
I drop a cap
I opened a book
and closed it shut.
I kick the sand
and raise some dust.
I run a circle
I do a jiggle
I go up in smoke
I stumbled
I crumbled
I laughed
I cried
someone,
someone …
just told me –
that you are coming :)
May 24, 2012
She is coming
April 9, 2012
Night lit Skyline of Salt Lake City
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 :)
| View from Ensign Peak Nature Park Salt Lake City, Utah, USA |
August 21, 2011
Life is Wonderful
When you are calm and centered inside,
noise is musical ; clouds are magical
stones are beautiful ; life itself is wonderful !
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Sunset, Mirror Lake Scenic Byway |
August 13, 2011
Reflections
Why are reflections so cool and soothing …
Is it because, it allows us to get lost, in the moment ?
Is it because, it makes it makes one forget what is real, and what is reflected ?
Is it because, it forces us to reflect onto ourselves, unknowingly ?
Is it because, it make one realize life is nothing by a reflection …
Do share your reasons !!! Here is this weeks shot for you to reflect , i mean enjoy, upon !!!
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Reflections, Mirror Lake Scenic Byway |
July 2, 2011
Happy ID4 & Have a Blast
In the spirit of ID4 celebrations coming up in the US, this weeks shot is from the fireworks show that was shot from previous years. July 4 celebrations, or pretty much any major celebrations across the world is not complete without fireworks. It is always much more fun to select fireworks of ur own choice and blast them in ur back yard or streets, like we do for Diwali in India. For those who don’t have that luxury, the only option is planned firework shows. This by the way gives an option for amazing photo opportunities.
Some tips that I can think of : Scout for the location – This definitely is key. Generally you can even get the info (just Google !) on where the show would be launched from. Prior scouting could help you get some vintage view points like near by parking garages :). Look for any water bodies that could be included in the composition. The reflections are quiet nice, as always. Get the tripod out – If you are shooting fireworks, you need to have a tripod. Be more comfortable with the manual focus. Be sure to use BULB, as this gives u an option to decide on the exposure time based on the size of the explosion. with BLUB it definitely goes without saying – use a remote trigger to avoid any shake. Happy firework shooting.
| Flickr Page |
ID4 Celebration, Fireworks |
June 10, 2011
Morning Glow @ Bryce
As I mentioned earlier, Bryce Canyon is not much of a canyon. One could visit the place umpteen number of times, but still be awed. It is just magical. The hoodoos change with time – due to the forces wind, water and snow. The colors are amazing and different, depending on the time of the day. The early morning with the dawn’s first light, is probably the best times to visit the place. For a close up shot – check this out. Oh yeah, you can hike down into the palace, How cool is that !
I love this shot for the flow it has – from the skies to the mountains, from the mountains to the plains, form the plains to the forest and eventually culminating at the canyons. It kind of gives lot of depth, what do you think ?!
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Bryce Canyon |
May 5, 2011
Where are the Buffalo – Gone
Toroweep is one of a kind – awe inspiring, rare places, where one can stare into the face of time, still un-touched and un-spoilt. Check this out for the amazing 3000 feet Vertical drop at the view point. Anyways, while visiting this place, we stayed at a small inn, enroute from Kanab to Toroweep. It was a small cozy place, with a typical country side set up. The rooms were based on tribe themes with wooden floors – it went really well with the outside surrounding of red rocks. As soon as we entered the room, the hanging on the wall caught my attention – a framed letter from Seattle Chief to then US President (1855). It was quiet touching and I feel it is even more applicable today and not just for the whites referred here. Present to you the same, below.
| Flickr Page |
Graze lands Enroute to Toroweap |
The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land * How can you buy or sell the sky * The warmth of the land * The idea is strange to us * Yet we do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water * How can you buy them from us * Every part of this earth is sacred to my people **
We know that the white man does not understand our ways * One portion of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs * The earth is not his brother but his enemy and when he has conquered it he moves on * He leaves his fathers’ graves his children’s birthright is forgotten **
The is no quiet place in the white man’s cities * No place to hear the leaves of spring or the rustle of the insect wings * But perhaps because I am savage and do not understand, the clatter only seems to insult the ears * And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the or the arguments of the frog around the pond at the night **
The Whites too shall pass, perhaps sooner than the other tribes * Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste * When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest, heavy with the scent of many men, and the view of ripe hills blotted by talking wires * Where is the Eagle * Gone * Where is the Buffalo * Gone * And what is to say goodbye to the swift and the hunt, the end of living and the beginning of survival **
Chief Seattle to President Franklin Pierce, 1855
March 2, 2011
Great Salt Lake @ Twilight
Great Salt lake is not one of the pleasant places to be (atleast for me). It is interesting to note that the Great Salt Lake is actually three to five times saltier than the ocean. Given this salinity, there is not much of aquatic life. Some kind of bacterial life (Halophiles) living in high salt concentration areas helps keep the balance of the ecosystems. Due to these activity, the resulting odor is not very pleasant.
But at the same time, this is one of the best spots to catch stunning sunsets. This was shot during one one of those short twilight times, just as the sun went down. It was real soothing to watch the yacht slowly sail across the horizon. oh yeah it is still in the frame, u might need to look a bit close [full size] :)
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Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City Utah, USA |
February 18, 2011
Bryce Canyon – It really is not a Canyon !!!
“ The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense “ – Tom Clancy. That is exactly what I felt, when I got the first glimpse of Bryce Canyon. Is this real ? Is this a Hollywood set ? So many questions :) Looking at this place, it definitely begs the question as to why (or how) this entire Bryce Canyon was created (and is still evolving). Apart from the natural forces, probably , may be He just looked and thought – why not !
Getting up at 5 in the morning – was much more than the worth – to see the amazing color that the hoodoos turn onto, with the dawn’s light. Bryce canyon is probably a misnomer , as it really is not a canyon. Though it is the result of the same natural forces – like that of canyon. It looks more like a huge natural amphitheater – ever changing. Canyon or not – it indeed is amazing.
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Bryce Canyon National Park |
February 11, 2011
Fremont Indian Petroglyph – Spectacular Rock Art – Hunters Panel
Fremont Indian rock art is often positioned on trails and commonly depicts mountain sheep, hunting weapons, and trapezoidal human figures. Out of curiosity I dug further to understand the difference between a petroglyph and a pictograph, if any. To my amazement, below is what I found !
Petroglyph is an image or design cut into a rock surface without the use of pigment or coloring. In canyon country, desert-varnished sandstone was most commonly used. In desert areas, this brown or black varnish builds up on rocks after prolonged exposure to the elements. The tool usually used to produce petroglyphs was agate, chert, or jasper. Pictograph on the other hand are painted on light-colored sandstone surfaces. A mixture of sumac, yellow ochre, and pinyon gum was used to make a black powder; yellow from rabbit brush and red from red ochre or the roots of mountain mahogany. Animal fat and plant oils were used to bind the powders together.
Anyways, Utah has some of the most spectacular rock art – found in Nine Mile Canyon northeast of Price. The canyon is actually 40 miles long, probably the name -nine mile- is a misnomer :). Beware, this Canyon is remote, hostile, unblemished and dryly beautiful. Called “the world’s longest art gallery” it is home to numerous rock art panels, including the below famous “Hunter Panel”. Most of the rock art was created by the Fremont Indians who occupied this area some 1,000 years ago.
The “Hunters Panel” is one of the more famous and most recognized Fremont style petroglyph rock art panels in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah. The panel depicts 36 bighorn sheep, 5 hunters, a snake, and several ambiguous images. Notice how the bighorns are connected by consanguinity lines – probably depicting a natural relationship that co-existed.
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Hunters Panel, Nine Mile Canyon |
January 21, 2011
Go with the Flow
There is something magical about water falls, yeah the falling water. It is so soothing, just to sit by the running water and let yourself flow. May be it is the fluid nature of water, may be it is trying to find your ever flowing inner self, may be its the calm that it brings, may be …
what ever it is, i always love to visit a waterfall …how about you !!!
The below is from a hike to Donut Falls – a gem hidden at the Big Cottonwood canyon, Salt Lake. It is always an ideal place to hike up and spend the afternoon, provided of course, the path is not covered with snow !
P.S: Did you know you can always connect, for the blog updates @ the FaceBook Page 
or Subscribe thru feeds 
or email 
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Donut Falls, Big Cottonwood Canyon |
October 12, 2008
God is an experience, not an expression
Nebo Loop Scenic Drive, Payson
Utah, USA
It was an amazing drive to the Nebo Loop. Nebo loop is a scenic drive – probably the most scenic in Utah for Fall colors. As we started the drive in the morning thought the colors have not yet peaked out and was quiet dull. But as the sun came higher the colors just popped out !!!
For other experience in the collection check this out.
August 5, 2008
American Southwest – Monument Valley
Three Mittens, Monument Valley Navajo Park
UT , USA
Monument Valley is not really a valley, but an upwarp of sedimentary rock that is at least 260 million years old, surrounded by sentinels that have yet to fully erode. The floor itself is more than a mile high, part of the 130,000 square-mile Colorado Plateau. Sandstone is easily eroded, and the wind, rain, cycles of frost and heat have been at work, cracking and chiseling the valley to its present form.
October 7, 2007
Fall in Love with Nature
Alpine Scenic Loop
Provo, UT, USA
For the full set check this out.
September 29, 2007
Ancient Drawing Board
Lower Calf Creek Trail
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Utah, USA
It was an amazing experience just walking between mineral-streaked cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, beaver ponds and pre-historic rock art sites en route to the 126-foot-high Lower Calf Creek Falls. The total roundtrip distance to the falls is 5-1/2 miles. Though the summer sun was above and my (a little over a year old) son was on the backpack, the hike was pretty enjoyable with very little elevation change. Most of the trail is sandy & that slows the pace, at times !
The most interesting part of the hike were the wall paintings and the Indian granaries (zoom in & zoom out) and of course the jewel of the crown being the lower falls itself.
On an entirely different perspective, we travel so far, hike so long to get a peek into the lives of the Anasazi Indians. These petroglyph on the walls of the canyons does provide the glimpse. But you know what, in most of these trails you see a notice that there are messages that indicate a heavy penalty if you make new makings (or painting) on these canyon walls (of course !!!)
We do have the technology to make new painting on these walls, that could last more the existing ones. If we are not allowed to make new paintings today how would people, 800 – 1000 years from get a glimpse onto ours lives …… right :-)
Wrong !!! As technology grows, live changes and so is the medium. Who knows even the blog(s) like these -yeah the same one u r reading now ;-) could serve the purpose of providing the window to our lives, in future. Time’s Person of the year , 2006 clearly indicated the significance of the user generated content (if you already don’t know Times Person of the year 2006 is YOU) .
The count of blogs, as of writing this post, just on WordPress.com alone is 1,562,804 blogs with 53,197 new posts today. Even after dropping off the test blogs and the inactive ones, it is still quiet a number – the point is there is a good amount of user content getting generated every day on the Internet.
What would happen to these valuable user generated content, once the user is no more ?Even if someone decides to manage and maintain a users content after user’s time, On what basis would the user account details be shared with the family or friends ? May be the blog or the site could be graciously closed, but what if the users demise is not expected ? Would these become asserts of the individuate and hence be part of his Will ? How would we differentiate between the valuable and junk out of these content ?
So many things to ponder about ….
August 29, 2007
The Earth is Cooking
Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA
This national park sits on 2000° lake of molten lava, an underground pressure cooker of 50 miles long and 30 miles wide. For atleast a few million years, since magma burned a hole under ancient Wyoming’s bedrock, yellow stone periodically disgorged a small ocean of lava in eruptions hundreds of times worse than any volcanic eruptions on earth.
Today, the volcanic action, heats the rocks below the surface, and this in turn creates all manner of spectacle in thousands of steaming hot springs and hundreds of geysers, plus bubbling mud-pots and fumaroles.
At Yellowstone, the earth is cooking - Life, Times Inc
August 5, 2007
Temple Square
Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT
Temple Square – An amazingly different place , an entirely new world within the downtown of Salt Lake City, UT. One a beautiful evening with a wonderful sunset – Lush gardens, serene pond, water fountains, iron cast statues – the list goes on …
For other shots of the Temple square, check this out (slide show).
I need to plan on a couple of visits, there is so much more around here.
May 6, 2007
First Day in Utah
It has been nearly 2 1/2 months and here I am writing about my first day @ Salt Lake City, UT.
Change is good, especially when you initiate it. Or atleast, better , accept and grow along. Change in location from Portland to Salt lake city was quiet exhaustive, with change in location, change in responsibilities and changes in my view of life !
Portland,OR with its year long pleasant (at times cold !) climate was in entire contrast with Utah’s climate. I read somewhere and laughed, but after being here for two months realized how very true it is
If u don’t like the climate , wait for 5 minutes ,
ur in Utah!
The place where I’ve moved – Midvale (probably denotes middle of the valley), is surrounded by snow covered mountains, they are just gorgeous. It is just wonderful to drive around. I were told that, Utah basically being a desert, turns really really hot in summer. Hope it is not too hot this year !
Watch out for my travel blog for travelogues around UT.
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