Posts tagged ‘jan’

January 26, 2012

Shrine of Subramanya @ Tanjore

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

Big Temple @ Tanjore, India

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
January 12, 2012

Mt Hood on a Really Really Cold Day

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
January 4, 2012

Space Needle Fireworks with Seattle Skyline – 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

February 4, 2011

Jacaranda – The Purple Carpet of Bangalore

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
Karnataka, India

January 28, 2011

A Visit to Venetian

Las Vegas , is an awesome place – to gamble, to kill time, to shop, to spend, to visit places across the world (with themed hotels from La Paris to NYC to Luxor) , to eat (from the themed hotels ;-) ) – and of all – a great place to photograph.

Though at some level the whole Vegas feels a little artificial (it really is) , it does provides an awful lot of photo opportunities.  The night offers different options like fountains of Bellagio, Eiffel tower of La Paris, Fremont street experience at the old Vegas. The day time is equally interesting- in case you have the energy & manage to get out of the hotel room, after the loooong night life from the previous day :-)

Today’s shot is from a street or rather canal near Hotel Venetian, Las Vegas. If not for the water, I would have walked right past , only to hit on the wall. Yeah look again, anything behind the first set of brick pillar is actually a painting. Though I was not able to do full justice to the painting , tried capturing the essence and the feel of the scene ! The HDR technique did help capture the mood subtly. Do you know of any more sweet spots across Vegas, do share in the comments!

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Hotel Venetian, Las Vegas
Neveda, USA

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