The sun doesn’t care … it sets just the same way – be it majestic mountains, lovely valleys or man made concrete jungles.
It continues with it’s magic.
But may be we should care.
Or is it already too late to fix the mess we are creating, in the name of development ?
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 100: 10 mm : f4.0 : 1/90 sec
Urban Sunset
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
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.
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Full Moon |
It is a really nice feeling when you least expect and things just unfold – one step at a time – resulting in something awesome. The same was the case with this shot. One lazy afternoon, just decided to take my son for boating at the KR Puram lake. Little did I realize that it is a commercial picnic spot run under the name of ‘Fantasy Lagoon’. Apart from the jogging / walking track, there is a choice of boat rides – pedal, speed or scooter boat. They do have food options, though we did not try anything. As we were enjoying our pedal boat, the sun decided to peak out of the clouds to create the stunning scenery.
It is a nice place to kill time. How do you think it is ! What are your favorite places around Bangalore to spend a lazy afternoon ?!
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KR Puram Lake |
This weeks shot is in entire contrast to last weeks spring image with so much vibrance and energy. It is from enroute to the dream land of Hampi from Bangalore. The dry brittle land reminded me of drought, but the monsoon storm that was building up that afternoon, was so very promising. For reasons unknown this scene evoked a mix of emotions in me. Nature has a peculiar, but very effective way of keeping things in balance. Be it thru drought or flood, famine or tsunami, forest fire or rain, abundance or dearth – there is a reason and rhyme behind everything. It just happens, with the flow.
But we humans – are so prone to – not just getting stuck with something , but not willing to move on either. It is so very tough for us to accept and move on – “Sometimes you hurt yourself more than anyone else ever could. Look deep, then you might understand better.”
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Enroute to Hampi from Bangalore |
This square stepped shringi thirtha pond is located in one of the small, not so very famous temples, near Nandhi hills, Bangalore – Bhoganandishwara Temple. It was a hot afternoon, still sitting in the shade under the mandap, along this pond was so pleasant and breezy (though the steps were scorching hot). The 10mm came in handy to capture the complete pond in this perspective. This place also boasts shrines with fine sikharas, built out of stone. Check this out for one of the most ornate temple walls that can be found in the south Indian temples. Do make it a point to visit this place if you already have (or not) Nandhi Hills in the itinerary.
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Bhoganandishwara Temple, Near Nandhi Hills |
Being at Peace – It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm at heart. Just felt at peace, watching the sun set, across the city from the terrace. It pays – to take time – to look around , what do you say !
And on the processing, just applied a bit of focus vignette around the corners and a bit of warmth to the HDR shot.
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Sunset |
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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Super Moon, Mar 19, 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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Full Moon Trek, Skandagiri |
Jacaranda (blooming period Feb-Mar): Delicately beautiful, this tree carpets the roads and yards all over town, with fragile purple flowers. It is one of the most ethereal sights to see every feb/march or so. Of all the places in Bangalore, Cubbon Park, as usual has a prize collection of the colorful carpet flowers, apart from houses all around town.
Was quiet lucky when the sun-set treated me one nice evening, from the luxury of my balcony, with the below scene. HDR really came in handy in capturing the twilight along with the beautiful violet jacaranda in the foreground. It is probably worth to check out the full size (clicking the below image and selecting ‘X3’ in the sizes).
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View From Alpine Eco Apartments, Bangalore |
Just a fortnight onto 2011 and I had a chance to make it to Nandi Hills twice clubbed with a hike. Great way to start a year ! But yeah both the times the security check at the foot hills jeopardized the sun raise shots , which was ridiculous. Anyway, the hike at Nandi hills today, with my bro was a real treat. We got to find some real sweet secret spots. Note to self : Plan for an overnight @ the place, to better leverage these view points and avoid the early morning check post trap !
Below shot – The New Dawn (as apt as it seem) – is from an un documented spot at Nandi Hills, which is around 60 kms from the maddening crowd of Bangalore. Being a week day not many people were around , allowing oneself to bathe in nature’s lap with out any disturbance. Though the sun was almost up , the blanket of fog was still covering the distant mountain ranges. It is worth checking out the larger version by clicking on the image below (like all other Photos , it would open up the larger version @ my dedicated photo site) to see around 10 mountains tips over at the horizon. The early morning dawn light with the for created an amazing splash of colors.
And Happy Sankaranthi (இனிய பொங்கல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்) to all. This is partly the Indian version of Thanks Giving for those who are not aware !
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Undocumented Location, Nandhi Hills Near Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
2010 had been a great year. Just that it flew fast, real fast ! Wishing a very happy and a prosperous 2011 to all my readers. And to me – hoping that I would keep pace with 2011 as much as I am wanting to. Though I had been blogging on and off for quiet some time now, I had not shared as much as I wanted to (oh no, not the rare ramblings, but atleast some inspiring photographs ! ).
This 2011 am planning to share atleast one photo every week this year [and yeah u can keep a tab on me :) ]
This week shot is from the numerous sunflower fields en’route Hampi to Bangalore. Hampi by itself is so majestic, that these travel experience are noting but an additional bonus!
It is not who you are that makes you stand out. It is what you do, with what happens to you , that makes the difference !!!
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Sunflower Fields |
This is one of the amazing falls @ 2-3 hrs drive from Bangalore. There are different names around this falls like Bluff, Shivanasamudram, Shivasamudram, Gaganachukki, Bharachukki. Mother Kaveri splits into two major branches creating Gaganachukki and Bharachukki falls. The below is that of Bharachukki , few kilometers to the south-west of the Gaganachukki falls. Even here, the falls is huge (roughly with a width of 850 mts). It is a beautiful panoramic view and with the full flow one can find different kinds of smaller falls. Like Jog falls, not sure if each of these have their own names :). The center falls is very different in that it creates different levels before flowing and continuing down . To its left are couple of beautiful ones [not with too much of water] and lends itself for longer exposures even during early evenings (as it would be in shade :) ). Onto the right, the rock formation tends to create multiple stepped falls with the right amount of water [will post this some time in future !!!] .
Some suggest to get to the falls before noon as the light would directly be falling on the falls. But for me it is always the dreamy effect and the dusk light that creates the magic. Its worth checking out the larger versions by clicking on the below image.
It is also significant to note that the Asia’s fist hydro electric project was started here in the beginning of the century(1902).
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Bharachukki Falls Shivanasamudram, Bangalore, India |
Bhoganandishwara Temple – This small unknown temple, near Nandhi hills, is perhaps one of the finest and ornate of the Dravidian temples that I came across in Bangalore, Karnataka. There are three temples side by side , each having a slightly different style , probably built during different periods. The back wall of the temples was the most ornate, with very different sculptures like standing Ganesha among others.
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Bhoganandishwara Temple |
Sunset
Bangalore, India
Lovely sunset with warm vibrant fading in the horizon and kind of leaving Inner Light to the skys above.
This is one of my favorite sunset shots due to various reasons
This was a shot from my new apartment @ Bangalore, India ! It is amazing what u can see when u take some time to look around. Generally we travel all over to get to see sights like this … atleast I do !!!
Also this was a first shot from my new Wide Angle (10-22mm !!!) It has got amazing clarity. Need to try a full size to see the details on the construction , the playground etc. Probably need to get some vijayanagar architecture shots to better leverage the wide angle.
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Like the Ocean 