Last Post!!!

There has been no activity on this blog for long. This is probably my last post on this blog.

The blog has found a new home here where I intend to write travel and documentary photography.

Shimla Evenings

View from the the Ridge

The Ridge

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
W i n t e r, 2 0 0 8

Shimla still retains its old world charm and to me it still is very much a British town. I have never been to UK but I have this feeling that British country side would be very Shimla like. The only thing that might not be there is the crowd. :-)

I love those misty, dreamy mornings and evenings. The pace of life slows down by itself. What I miss most about Shimla is probably the evening walks. Time just flies by, watching everyone watch everyone else :) .

Against tERROR

© All Rights Reserved
Candle Light March Against Terrorrist attacks in Bombay.
Near Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
December 2008

It has been a mayhem in Mumbai (Bombay). I am usually not the one to talk about my political inclinations but we desperately need a leader with some resolve. My heart also goes out for Pakistan which is equally inflicted with such terror attacks. They are suffering from what they started and funded, which no longer seems to be in their control. But what scares me most is that unfortunately the willingness to resolve this issue, at the political level, still seems to be missing.

Chandratal - the moon lake

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Chandratal, Lahaul, Himachal

July, 2008
Nikon D80

Situated at approx, 4270m, the crescent shaped bluish green lake has its own charm. It's one of the bigger alpine lakes of this region (around Manali).

Snuggled in between the ChandraBhaga range and the barren mountainscape, Chandratal is at the source of Chandra river and is fed by meltwaters from the Chandra glacier. From here one gets a beautiful unobstructed view of the peaks of the Lahaul range, Mulkila peak (6517m), Minar (6172m), Talagiri (6279m), Tara Pahar (6227m) to name a few.

Balance of power...

Balance of power..., originally uploaded by Mohit Gupta.

Shot @ Inle, Myanmar
Nikon D80.

While lazing around in one of the "floating" markets in Lake Inle, I saw this balance of "power". A man was selling onions using these weights. I don't know what the battery weighed but people were trusting the weight and the price. It wasn't a surpise, it reminded me of the numerous "jugads" we see around in India as well.

The "balance" led to a number of thoughts...the balance of "power" is rather an "imbalance" in this country. While I traveled through Myanmar via road (for whatever small time I did), I did see the abject poverty people live in. Having lived in India that's not new to me, but the state of affairs in Myanmar is worse.

And now I just can't imagine life of people who got affected by the cyclone...

After the rain...

Noida, June 2008
Nikon D80, 105mm Nikkor

Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships. ~Ansel Adams

:-)

Light patterns

Schwezigon, Bagan, Myanmar
February, 2008

Once is an Instance.
Twice may be an accident.
But three times or more makes a pattern
- Diane Ackerman

Schwedagon Monastery

Nikon D80
Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)
January, 2008

Schwe means Gold. And there is just an overdose of gold and golden color in Myanmar :). I had always associated austerity with Buddhism. For me the sense of grandeur and Buddhism as a religion never went along. But the preception changed after this visit to Myanmar. Just to be clear I am not saying its bad, I am just talking about my perception. The kings in Myanmar have really spent a lot in building these Buddhist temples. Schwedagon has a 76 carat diamond at the very top of the temple.
The Pagodas don't have a pre defined shape and it seems to vary with the form of Buddhism and the country they are in. Burmese Pagodas are bell shaped in form.

A sepia morning at Purana Qila

Purana Qila, New Delhi
Nikkor 12-24mm, Nikon D80
Oct '07

Just opposite to Pragati Maidan and sharing the entrance with the Delhi zoo is the old fort (purana qila), one of the few Delhi monuments which boasts of history even before Mughals made Delhi their home.

Is it me you are lookin for?

October' 07
Nikon D80
New Delhi Zooligical Garden.

Pelicans

New Delhi Zoological Garden
Oct '07

The experience at the Delhi Zoo was much contrary to my expectations. I spent a couple of hours sitting close by to these pelicans and painted storks. The zoo definitely deserves many more visits this winter.

Digital version of Orton technique

Manali'07
D80, 70-300mm

I was quite excited to see photographs of tulips in the last edition of Photo Life. One of the photograph was clicked using Orton techinique, a technique originated by a Michael Orton whereby a sharp transparency was mounted together with an out of focus one of the same view. And the result is a beautiful dream sequence.

And then I I decided to explore the digital equivalent. A lil bit of surfing and I found this. In summary this is what I did.

1. Open image
   
2. Duplicate the background layer (Right click on the background layer and choose duplicate) and name that layer Sharp
3. Create another duplicate of the background layer.
4. Change the Blending mode of the Sharp Copy to screen
5. With the Sharp Copy layer selected, right click and choose Merge Down
   
6. Right click on the Sharp layer, choose Duplicate and name this layer Out of Focus
7. On the Filter Menu, choose Blur - Gaussian Blur
   Depending on the resolution of the image you are using, the amount of blur needed will change.
   
8. Change the blending mode of the Out Of Focus layer to Multiply

Enjoy!

A colorful Prayer

A Monastery in Manali, October '07

I just love the vibrant colorful Tibetan (Buddhist) prayer flags which one can see as one nears a place with fair amount of Tibetan inhabitation. Just not inside the monastery the flags can be seen fluttering all along the mountain ridges as if blessing the valley. For me the colors exude energy and few things are as beautiful in comparison.

Just after the rain...

Lodhi Garden, August '07

Morning freshness coupled with rain...

From dewy dreams...

Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi, August'07

From dewy dreams, my soul, arise,
From love's deep slumber and from death,
For lo! the trees are full of sighs
Whose leaves the morn admonisheth.

Eastward the gradual dawn prevails
Where softly-burning fires appear,
Making to tremble all those veils
Of grey and golden gossamer.

While sweetly, gently, secretly,
The flowery bells of morn are stirred
And the wise choirs of faery
Begin (innumerous!) to be heard.

- James Joyce