Breath-in.2.3.4.
Hold.2.
Breath-out.2.3.4.5.6.
Hold.2.
& repeat …
Watercolor on Cold Pressed Paper
December 24, 2020
Geminids
The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a “rock comet” orbit. This makes the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. – Wikipedia
The weather Gods were not very kind when planning for the grand conjunction ( Jupiter and Saturn) this week, but they were very supportive just the past week.
2020 had not been great for travel & photography. But as the year is coming to a closure, am glad our drive to Udupi, gave us the required rejuvenation by way of access to crystal clear nights & witness some of the showers :)
Sony A7III : Sony 16-35 mm : ISO 2500: 16 mm : f2.8 : 6.0 sec
Kapu Beach
Kapu, Karnataka, India
August 4, 2020
Aihole wrapped in a blanket of stars
Just an hour’s drive from Badami is Aihole – a historic site of ancient & medieval era with Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments. There are a variety of temples sprinkled all over this place. With so much variety, Aihole is indeed the cradle of temple architecture. The incredible work here dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century.
This week’s shot is from one such complex which hosts a collection of about 30 temples by the banks of river Malaprabha. The quarter moon was just enough to light the temple complex, while still allowing to enjoy the grandeur of the stars. The trip from earlier this Feb was not conducive to enjoy the Milky Way, but it helped to get an enticing composition around the north star with equally captivating temples in the foreground. How do you like it ?!
PS : This shot was made possible with ~200 shots over 45 mins and composited with the “Creative Effects” Photoshop script. You can download the same for free here :)
By the banks of Malaprabha
Aihole, Karnataka, India
October 21, 2017
Orionids on a Chilly Night
A Sip of a hot chai
Gentle breeze of the cold night
Shimmering of the twinkling stars
A blazing streak of a meteor
– few experiences are worth skipping the cozy sleep :)
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 20 sec
| Orionid Meteor Shower (10.21.2017) Whitmire, South Carolina, USA |
September 21, 2015
Go, Get Lost !
It is good to get lost. It helps to find yourself.
With technology today, one can afford to get lost, without getting lost. It is much easier to take that road not taken, knowing that you have access to GPS and can get back home, if u decide to. I generally plan for location and timing to get the golden light. But once in a while I do enjoy getting around without a destination. Not knowing where the path leads, making the journey even more interesting.
What are you waiting for, just hop in the car and drive to the stars ! I assure, you wouldn’t regret :)
The journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination. – Dan Milman
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30.0 sec
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Green River Wildlife Area Harmon, Illinois, USA |
July 27, 2015
The Celestial Alignment
When life knocks you down, just roll over and enjoy the stars :)
This shot is from a few years back, when I was out at Trillium Lake to enjoy the Perseids Meteor Shower. Being my first night-out shooting, I consider myself lucky to have captured the Perseids. It really did not start out that way. The first half of the night was more of hide and seek, as the meteors were adorning the skies, especially where the camera was not pointed at. I was much worried that the possibilities would only go down, as the moon was coming up.
As the night was wading, the moon was coming up the horizon. But only after I decided to stop chasing the Perseids, did I notice that the moon brought in Venues and Jupiter along, in a lovely celestial alignment. As I zoomed in to capture the night sky along with the Moon, Venue & Jupiter – a Perseids – decided to join the show too. I couldn’t be more glad, when all things came in alignment :)
Perseids Meteor Shower is one of the more consistent meteor showers in the northern sky. Its coming up in a few weeks (Aug 12-14, 2015) and the waxing crescent (3%) would not be hindering the same. Have you planned where you would be enjoying the show from for 2015 ?!
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 1600 : 19 mm : f5.6 : 15.0 sec
| Trillium Lake Mt. Hood, Oregon, USA |
March 29, 2015
Falling Star … Falling Star …!!!
This was from the night, few moons ago, when I was shooting the camelopardalis meteor shower. Clear nights are nice to shoot the milky way. But a little bit if mist, actuates and gives a good nice glow to the stars. I love the Green River Wildlife Area for the night sky watching. It provides ample dirt roads and parking spots where you could set up base ! For this shot I set up the camera and decided to drive around and the set the car, so the head lights could light up the trees :)
It is fun to shoot the milky way. It is even more enjoyable when my family joins in the party. My son (8 yrs) is equally intrigued by the night sky. Along with the shot, just wanted to share something he wrote during one of our trips to catch a glimpse of a meteor shower.
Falling star Falling Star
Sliding down the Sky
I will catch You when I fly.Falling star Falling Star
You have a Shiny light,
Which makes you very Bright
You go swiftly
– My Dad takes snaps of U quickly.Falling Star Falling Star
We see U barely,
So come out early
We see U in dark starlit midnight
Hoping to see U tonight. – Pranav :)
Canon 7D : Canon 10-24 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec
| Camelopardalis Meteor, Green River Wildlife Area Harmon, Illinois, USA |
November 30, 2014
Storm in the Skies
After driving for 14 hours straight, I thought, all I would want was to get some break and sleep. But I was wrong ! As we reached the Smoky Mountain National Park and set the tent well into the darkness, the conditions were just ripe to explore some stars and was too tempting to miss ! The moon was not up, it was one of the darkest skies that I had seen in a while. It took a while to drive around and identify a spot, safe enough to shoot shoot the stars with some interesting foreground. Being new to the place, the mystery of the night and the sound of the rushing stream near by, added to the experience. The clouds were moving pretty fast, and helped set the mood of this shot to a great extent.
As for the processing of this shot : it was aided by the nifty Photoshop script(s) – Creative Trails UI & Creative Effects UI. I wrote a whole article about these scripts over the weekend. You can download the scripts here (for free, of course !) . If you are into photography do take some time to check it out.
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec 
| Great Smoky Mountain National Park Elkmont Road, Tennessee, USA |
May 24, 2014
209P/LINEAR’s handshake with earth – Camelopardalis
As you would have read from the news, the new meteor shower – Camelopardalis – was expected to adorn the skies during the early morning of 5.24.2014. When I heard about this meteor shower, I was pretty excited. Time of the event being a weekend – check. Location – northern continental US – favorable. Clear skies – check. May be the stars just aligned for this :)
Camelopardalis – I was wondering about the name, as it has been as long as the giraffe’s neck, when I came across this !
The giraffe’s species name, camelopardalis (camelopard), is derived from its early Roman name where it was thought of as a composite creature, described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard.
The forecasted peak time for the meteor shower was from 1 –3 AM CST. It was not as much as hyped (~200 / hr ?), but the night was still clear and Milky way was magnificent. Around 4 AM, took out my flash light and started playing to get a star war style crisscross with the milky way. Just then the celestial gods decided to bless – look – a shooting start in the same direction my camera was positioned, as if to slice the Milky way.This was not one of the shooting star i saw in person. I was busy walking up & down and playing with the flash light. But I will definitely settle for this shot instead :)
Lesson to self : Never given up, just go out and do what you like, you never know when the stars will align :)
Note: Are you just getting started with night photography ? Do check out this article !
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec
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Camelopardalis Meteor (05.24.2014) Green River Wildlife Area Harmon, Illinois, USA |
June 27, 2013
Super Moon Lighthouse
Super moon, Blue moon, Pink moon, Harvest moon – are all nothing but whimsy media terms. Believe me, there is nothing super about the super moon.
I am definitely not an expert at shooting the moon. I have captured the moon in the past, but am still learning. One thing that helps in getting a captivating shot is to capture the moon when it is low – real low – on the horizon. The other is to include a foreground subject to get a scale of reference. Just make sure you far away from the foreground subject and shoot with a really really long long lens [ beg borrow or steal, just get the longest lens you can :) ]. Shooting with the long lens helps actuate the size of the farther object (in this case the moon) by playing with your mind. As with the below shot or this example of the sunset. It becomes much more obvious in this shot by Photographer Alessandro Della Bella.
This evening the weather was playing hide and seek. It was supposed to be clear. Then it was all overcast. After lot of deliberation, decided to drive out to the planned spot. It was still an hour or so more for the moon to come up. It was still drizzling. Decided it would be a nice evening walk, if not anything else. Just around the time of the moon rise, the clouds had cleared a bit, but the the horizon was still overcast and hazy. What is the fun if everything goes as planning right :) After suspenseful wait the moon decided to show up – just at the right spot. At the end it was all worth it. Yes – there is nothing super about the super moon. Actually – every full moon is indeed super. What do you say ?!!!
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Super Moon on 6.23.2013 @ Chicago Lighthouse Chicago, Illinois, USA |
June 12, 2013
Delphinids – That elusive Meteor Shower
I went to shoot the Deliphids and all I got was this :)
Coming in from office stumbled upon the article – that talked the the elusive Delphinids Meteors. When NASA said it was elusive, I should have agreed. Instead I decide to drive up 2 hours, to sleep under the stars. I just awaited a bit too long for the peak of the meteor (forecasted around 3:30 – 4:30 AM) and missed to realize that the sun would start to lit up the horizon quiet early during summer… The meteors were indeed quiet elusive. Given this was mid of work week, it was a good straight 36 hours without sleep, but was well worth the experience !
Just in case you were wondering, this was just a regular star trail shot processed with Comet effect. Am working on an article explaining the same. For now do check out – Getting Started with Starscapes here.
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 1000 : 10 mm : f22 : 30 sec
| Green River State Wildlife Area Harmon, Illinois, USA |
May 13, 2013
The Road to Milky Way
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 |
February 3, 2013
Wake Up, before it is too late …
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 |
December 13, 2012
Stonehenge – right here at Oregon
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
| Buy Print | Milky way @ Stonehenge MaryHill, Washington, USA |
November 15, 2012
Reflections at the Dock & 12×16 Canvas Print Giveaway
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/ICwAgH] or a 25% off coupon on any kind of the print you would prefer from the LikeTheOcean Shop [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://on.fb.me/RixoiN] [OR] Subscribe to this blog by email [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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The Dock Newport, Oregon, USA |
September 10, 2012
Milky Way @ Mt St Helens – Condensed in Time
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 |
September 3, 2012
Rise of The Blue Moon
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 |
August 13, 2012
Shooting Star(s) & the Moon, Venus, Jupiter etc.
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 |
August 2, 2012
City Of Lights – Seattle
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 |
July 25, 2012
The Eye of London
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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London Eye London, UK |
Like the Ocean 