arre... O! Sambar

And then, at nightfall…

2012-01-18T00:48:00.001+08:00

I made this postcard.

When you might ask? Right after I lifted my lazy bum out of the bed on a Sunday evening in spite of the incessant rain over the course of the day and headed out into the city to make this shot.

I had to fight quite a bit to get the previous one right – about 6 stops of ND filters, 3 shots and an hour or so on the computer fiddling with different settings and what not. But this one is my bread and butter. One shot. Mostly get it right on camera and standard post processing by playing with Lightroom Adjustments. Finally some Photoshop for contrast and sharpening. The only thing out of my ordinary sequence of steps here is to tinker with the blue palette a bit to get the blue hour feel. There was a little bit too much gray for my liking.

Compositionally, I like this one better than the previous as it puts the attention on the Cityscape. A postcard from Singapore ought to emphasize that, right? Actually, this is what I had in mind when I set out to make shots, but suddenly with all the drama happening in the clouds in that previous frame, I promptly zoomed out to get it all in and put the focus on the clouds. In hindsight, I guess that I’m happy with the decision. The 10-22 with its Ultra Wide PoV unusually dramatizes even normal skies – More so on special occasions like that!

ISO 100. 21mm. f/14. 30 sec.

Brahminy Kite

2012-01-17T00:20:00.000+08:00

The Brahminy Kite or the Red-backed Sea-eagle.

Fellow Indians may recognize it as as the Garuda, the vahana of Lord Vishnu. But did you also know that this is the National Symbol of Indonesia, Thailand and Mongolia?

The Singapore Skyline and Nature’s own way of rewarding un-laziness!

2012-01-16T11:22:00.000+08:00

The Story:

I have been wanting to get this shot for about 6 months now and it happened on the most unlikeliest of days. Almost every time I planned this, I got lazy and decided not to do . So, I had this carefully planned for a Saturday evening a week ago and as you might expect, the day turned out to be a damp squib – It was raining the whole day and sun never really bothered coming out. I was still lazing around at half past four in the evening when I should really have gone out and start scouting for the best location if I were to shoot. Instead, I was calling shoot buddies and cancelling the plans.

But amongst them, Jay was determined. Probably just because he was already out and waiting for me to join him for the shoot. So he pushed me to come and we agreed to have a rain-check (literally) in another 30 minutes. Things did seem to clear up in that time, so off I went to our meeting point and setup shop at nice little vantage point.

The sky was still dull and grayish and it wasn’t a promising shoot. I was hoping to get a nice little blue hour shot at least if it didn’t rain for the next hour or so. But what happened about 15-20 minutes before sunset seemed nothing short of magical. The fast moving clouds opened up a vast playground for the evening sunlight and what more can a photographer ask – It was pure delight. I’m really really happy that I moved my lazy bum out of my bed that day and I think that it is nature’s own way of rewarding us.

The Scene:

This is one view of Singapore that I haven’t been used to because I live in the other part of the city. Also, Singapore Flyer, the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, is in a corner of sorts and doesn’t really fit into other Skyline views of the City. So, that was definitely something that I wanted to include in my shot. Also, the new Garden’s by the Bay domes have curious shapes too. Funny how this particular “mid-ground” here – the Gardens By the Bay, the Sands, the Arts Museum, the double helix bridge and the Flyer have only evolved in the last 2 years or so yet have become very strong symbols of Singapore! Comparing this to, say Rome – where I was last year - photographing Julius Ceasar’s palace, the Coliseum and Saturn’s temples in the middle of the city makes this a very different experience and reminds us how fast the world is moving! (and the lazy bums that we have got)

The Shot:

[3 shot HDR, (+ 1.6s, 3.2s, 0.8s) . f/16.0 . ISO 100 . 10 mm]

Jet Skiers!

2012-01-15T20:54:00.000+08:00

Actually, water scooterers! Or Personal Watercrafters, perhaps.

Because the name Jet Ski is apparently trademarked by Kawasaki Heavy Industries for its own brand of Water Scooters and is often used as the generic name to any make of these crafters. Whatever it is, this is one activity that I have come to enjoy. On this day, the clear skies and low waves on the Andaman Sea set up an awesome stage for me to take one of these Yamaha scooters for a nice little spin. I shot these cute little girls who were brave enough to venture into the waters without adult supervision as the child in me was waiting impatiently for some others to return back to the shore.

Khai Nok Island and being at the mercy of the waves!

2012-01-14T22:02:00.000+08:00

This will be one of those frames that will be etched in memories for a long time to come. Not so much for the shot or the scene it portrays in itself, but the story behind it. A few of my friends who I have been able to talk to over the course of the last 2 weeks already know this part of the story, here it is for the rest of you:

So I visited Phuket, Thailand for a slightly extended weekend trip during the Christmas holidays. As it always turned out, we had a really packed itinerary, something where the word “rest” never finds a place. Day 1 was spent on a big ferry of sorts - where we did island hopping and sight seeing, we spent day 2 doing White Water rafting and racing on ATVs – things that were supposed to be the high point of the trip. As a matter of fact, it was an experience that we liked so very much that we made up our mind to upgrade our rafting trip straightaway from a 5 KM Class 1 rapid to a 7 KM Class 3 rapid before we could finish the first part. But little did we realize that there was something even better (or worse) in-store for us the next day!

The first day was gloomy with that occasional drizzle and the second day was mostly cloudy and dull. But the sun came out blazing and it was supposed to be the perfect treat for our eyes – the best weather day in our trip and we had visits to 3 exotic islands lined up plus about 3 hours of snorkeling. That set our expectations pretty high.

As it was on the other days, a mini-van arrived to pick us up to the ferry terminal from where we were supposed to take a “speed boat” to Phi Phi Islands. On our way, we were supposed to make stops on Khai Island and then move to Phi Phi Ley and Phi Phi Don Islands (Remember that beautiful lagoon surrounded by mountains in the movie The Beach? That was Phi Phi).

As it is with everything in Thailand, this was over crowded as well. I’m fairly certain that the tour company overbooked our boat today and as usual, my friends and I were late in queuing up to board. As the last people in the group, 3 of us were left to sit at a little bench like structure in the nose. We sat there bracing ourselves for the bumpy ride ahead.

5 minutes in to the journey it all started. No amount of prep talk could have told warned you onto what lied ahead. The next 45 minutes was as if it were hell broke loose. With 3 people falling off their seats and hurting themselves real bad one of our friends getting the worst sea sickness that anyone could possibly get, it was not a pleasurable experience. But, boy o boy, we did enjoy the cheap thrills.

Arriving at the Khai Islands, we were greeted by white sands and the blue sky. The emerald waters were glittering as if there weren’t anything wrong at all. Our not so friendly guide went on a rant at fellow passengers that another boat that set out for Phi Phi that day had capsized and people were now floating in the water. I’m not sure if I truly believe that statement for we couldn’t find any information about it on the papers or on the Internet. But in the end, it was decided that it was best not to head further into the sea for safety reasons. I just had to laze around the beach and get back without seeing the “paradise” – although I have my inhibitions on if it would be even remotely close to one with tourists thronging to that place day in, day out for the last few years.

Looking back at this, a few things come out striking. “Adventures”, unlike the west where they are carefully orchestrated, are true to their literal meaning in this part of the world. Safety sometimes comes as an afterthought to economic gains. This is especially true at least about Thailand where we were not even forced to wear life jackets for this truly horrendous ride. This could have easily been a mishap. It reminds to to be a little more careful in choosing such day trips.

Parting with Pearls of Wisdom [Phuket, Thailand]

2012-01-07T00:52:00.001+08:00

EXIF: 1/160s . f/6.3 . ISO 400 . 28 mm

A wise man once said that the mother's heart is the child's schoolroom. That is exactly what I saw when I made this shot just past Sunset, greeted by a fiery Orange sky over the Andaman Sea in Phuket, Thailand. The kid, like everyone his age was running around crabs and collecting shells around the beach while his mother walked by patiently, without losing her calm and patiently answering the zillion questions that the kid would continue to pile up on her. I was looking at this scene so earnestly that I was a bit late in setting up myself for ths shot. Suddenly,I realized that there was one here to make and ran a few paces back to snap this up. All fine but I erred a wee bit in leaving the ISO high up (at 400, my entry level rebel begins to show a teeny bit of noise! Now, that is how I convince myself that I need an upgrade, you see :P).

I'd normally have passed up on a shot like this. I have a ton of shots lying around my hard drive somewhere that would make awesome frames with a little bit of work, but I loved this moment so much that I had to get onto it right away, even if it meant spending that time. In then end, I really like the output. Do you?

Your feedback is welcome!

Happy New Year | 2012 - Singapore

2012-01-01T16:36:00.000+08:00

Wish you all a Happy New Year 2012.

Standing up for the lonely..

2011-12-03T18:50:00.001+08:00

Here are a couple of shots from the Gardens by the bay domes in Singapore.

200 and a floral abstract!

2011-12-02T00:27:00.001+08:00

First things first. I just realized that I hit up 200 posts on this blog. I sent the first Hello World post out on the 24th of November 2005 and the 200th post was on the 22nd of November 2011. I'd have planned an anniversary of some sort had I known. Hopefully, I will continue to go on with this and have a few more so that we could celebrate something next year!

Here's a flowery take - a floral abstract from the Domes @ Gardens By the Bay, which were open for a week during the course of the World Orchid Show. I've only gotten to downloading these images from the computer a couple of days ago; so be prepared for more flora in the days to come!

Nostalgia Yasin Bungalow, Trikora Beach, Indonesia

2011-11-22T11:39:00.001+08:00

This was shot around Sunrise at Nostalgia Yasin Bungalow, a resort in the North Eastern part of the Island of Bintan, Rhiu Province, Indonesia.

But what you see is not what I experienced. Curious? Read on..

A little bit of history:

Until around 2000, the only tourist activity along Bintan's east coast was at Trikora Beach, a popular hang-out for local visitors from Tanjung Pinang as well as foreign back-packers. Since then, the back-packer scene has largely given way to larger developments and other tourist destinations that have popped up along the east coast (see below). For local day-trippers, Trikora remains a popular day trip though. Trikora is actually quite a long stretch of separate beaches, with beaches numbered from south to north as one to four (satu, dua, tiga, empat in Indonesian).

This place, Nostalgia Yasin Bungalow is at the 38km mark from Tanjung Pinang. It is Bintan Agro's rustic budget alternative to their more expensive resort 2km away (which caters plainly to Singaporeans!). While we did multiple trips between Yasin and Agro for watersports and what not, I kinda liked Yasin better. It was far less crowded with a decent shoreline and white sands!

Mercy of the tides:

Everything in this area is at the mercy of the tides. What was a sparking ferry pickup point in the morning when we left for snorkeling turned into a mudflat by the time we returned. The boatman dropped us off about half a kilometer away in knee deep water making us walk all the way over to the shore. In another 2 hours, the water was back up again paving way for watersports.

The Deception:

The previous morning I was all geared up to capture the sunrise. But a early morning thunderstorm just around the right time played spoilsport too my plans. I shot this while waiting at the resort for a taxi to pick us up very early the next morning. The mood when I shot this nothing close to the serenity that one would normally associate with this picture. We were about an hour away from the Ferry Terminal where we would have to pass through Customs and Emigration checks and board a ferry in less than 2 hours. All this after a whole night spent playing cards! As we waited around furiously shooting profanities at the resort for not being organized, I wandered away into the beach to capture this one!

Exif:

f/10 | 30 sec | ISO 100 | 10mm @ Canon 10-22

The Pink Dragonfly

2011-11-14T02:19:00.001+08:00

The Species:

Common Name: Crimson Marsh Glider

Scientific Name: Trithemis aurora

It is a medium sized dragonfly that is commonly found in weedy tanks and ponds, marshes, channels, and slow flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills. It breeds in streams, rivers, canals, ponds and tanks. It is found commonly and widely distributed in the Oriental region throughout the year.

The Shot:

It has been about a month since I did any macro photography. So I headed over to the Singapore Botanical Gardens with fellow photographer Arun D. I was initially planning on doing some floral photography but I resorted to photographing dragon flies.

This is the result of a 12 shot composite stack. I'm still learning to master Focus stacking (here is a previous attempt) so this one took a while to process. My aging computer didn't help the cause either. Anyways, I loaded up all the shots on Photoshop and chose to Auto Align. Then Auto Blended. Once the shot came out, I applied a slight lens blur on the wings to take away some distracting details that had crept in. After that it was just a matter of a slight curves, levels and sharpening adjustments alone. In case you are new to Focus stacking, this youtube video would help a lot!

EXIF:

ISO 400 | f/3.5 | 1/100 sec | Canon 100mm 2.8 USM with 68mm of tubes | about 12 shots stacked on PS

When the sun goes down.. - Trigora Beach, Indonesia

2011-11-12T19:10:00.001+08:00

The Story:

This installment comes to you from Trigora Beach, a lovely shoreline on the eastern shore of the Island of Bintan in the Rhiu Province of Indonesia. The Islands of Batam and Bintan are favorite weekend getaways for many Singaporeans both because of the close proximity and the fact that things are much cheaper here than the Island nation. Commercialism has kicked-in over the past few years and it is now easier than ever to get to these islands with a lot of ferries plying to different "jettys" across the two islands at very frequent intervals.

While we are on the topic of Indonesia being relatively inexpensive, did you know that I actually spent about 2 million bucks for that trip? The high point of the trip was, aside from the snorkeling and the watersports that we did, handing out a tip of about 70,000 bucks to our taxi driver (a tout who hung onto us from the moment we left the ferry terminal actually) after about half-a-day of sight seeing. In case you didn't get it it, you will have to head over to this Wikipedia article.

As usual, this trip was put together at the last minute - in about 24 hours actually. I wanted to take the not so beaten path into the country and so instead of heading over to the Singapore-centric Bintan Resorts area (which according to internet sources seem to be a colony of Singapore for all practical purposes), we headed over to Batham and take the road less traveled.

After a day of navigating blindfolded through what looked like a hegde maze albeit with a lot of resources, we reached our resort - Yasin Bungalows, a beach front property at the Trigora Beach, about 40 KM from the main port of Tanjung Pinang in Bintan. After a few minutes of resting, we headed over to check out the backwaters of the South China Sea.

The Scene:

As I said on the opening line of this blog post, Trigora beach is at the eastern shore of Bintan and here I have a sunset shot from there. Ironical, ain't it?

This is one of the biggest take-aways that I got from this trip. When the sun goes down, don't forget to look away. When we arrived at this beach, I wasn't planning to shoot landscapes. In fact, the idea was to shoot a few portraits for my friends who I had traveled with. However as the sun was quickly setting behind us, the sky towards the North threw up some amazing oranges. I scrambled to put together my typical WideAngle setup and got a few shots to register that moment. Some wise man once said "Always have a backup plan when you go out to shoot something". I think that we should add that we should be prepared to shoot that unexpected moment that mother nature can throw at us anytime, especially if you are a landscape photographer.

The Shot:

ISO 100 | f/16 | 1 sec | Canon 10-22 @ 10mm | Canon Rebel XSi

The Malaysia Journals #6 - Beyond the Horizon

2011-11-12T15:39:00.001+08:00

In case you are new to following our Malaysian Journals, head over to these posts to catch some shots and background information from the first leg of our tour at the Perhentian Islands.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

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For the second leg, we switched on the "classic tourist" mode and headed over to Langkawi. After a customary visit to the Sky Bridge which is built on top of a 800m high peak on one edge of the island, we checked into our hotel. We were pleasantly surprised since the backpackers hotel that we chose turned out to be on a prime location with a lot of activity. Joseph and I decided to do some Jet Skiing and by the time we made up our minds and got into the water, it was already sun down.

It was a huge dilemma for me. One one hand, my heart craved for the extra bit of adventure in riding a Jet Ski into the sunset, something that I haven't done so far. The other half of me wanted to stay back on the shores and capture what would turn out to be the perfect sunset in the whole of our trip. The adventurous part won over and I'm actually quite pleased that I did it.

We returned a few minutes past sunset and as we entered the "blue hour". Suresh, the model pictured here had already brought my gear onto the shore and I setup my tripod and hurried away to make a few shots. I had time to shoot exactly 2 shots before darkness engulfed the beach and here is one of them.

This isn't one of my perfect attempts - especially the part where Suresh's head turned out blurry could well have been avoided if only I had not been in such a hurry. It is a lesson well learnt.

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When I downloaded this shot onto my computer, I got into thinking what could I possibly write with this shot and the first thing that came to my mind was this situation song from Bob Dylan.

Beyond the horizon, behind the sun
At the end of the rainbow life has only begun
In the long hours of twilight 'neath the stardust above
Beyond the horizon it is easy to love

I'm touched with desire
What don't I do?
Through flame and through fire
I'll build my world around you

Beyond the horizon, in the Springtime or Fall
Love waits forever, for one and for all

Beyond the horizon, across the divide
'Round about midnight, we'll be on the same side
Down in the valley the water runs cold
Beyond the horizon someone prayed for your soul

My wretched heart is pounding
I felt an angel's kiss
My memories are drowning
In mortal bliss

Beyond the horizon, at the end of the game
Every step that you take, I'm walking the same

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EXIF Information:

f/14 | 8 seconds | Canon 10-22 @ 15 mm on the Canon Rebel XSi

The Malaysia Journals #5 - Waiting for Dawn

2011-11-04T10:33:00.003+08:00

The background:

On Day One, We landed on a Virgin tropical island replete with beaches full of White Sand, emerald green waters, deep blue skies and a lot of serenity. Joseph and I got out onto the beach early in the morning to catch what wasn't supposed to be a glorious sunrise. What more? Read on..

The Anticipation:

They say that pictures tell a thousand words. Or somewhere close. But what happens when the person in the picture sets the tone. You tend to set up an unexpected mood and associate a story around the scene. Here's something for you. A beautiful poem - Waiting for dawn by Joseph Samraj (Pictured) to go with my shot. Thanks Soosai for this!

A thousand miles I travelled to see you

Seeking to forget myself in you

Guided by hope, and a bit of madness

I knew you were stormy, yet I took my chances

The moment I saw you, you took my breath away

The closer I got to you, the more you toyed with me

Moody one moment, bright the next

I didn’t know what to expect from you

I reached your heart and slept dreaming of a bright sunrise

I woke up to see my hopes in tatters

So close yet so far, I couldn’t give up on you

I’ll wait - for the winds of time to blow away your clouds

I’ll wait - as long as it takes for you to smile at me.

The Shot:

ISO 200 | f/14 | 1/5 sec | 10mm on the Canon 10-22 | Run of the mill post processing.

The Malaysia Journals #4 - The Sunrise that wasn't

2011-11-03T00:38:00.003+08:00

The Series so far:

I went to a Virgin tropical island replete with beaches full of White Sand, emerald green waters, deep blue skies and a lot of serenity. And that was just Day One.

The plan to catch the Sun rise:

I do this in every one of my trips. The plan that is, not the actual execution. This time, since it was just the beginning of the trip and the fact that we lived in close proximity to the location of the sunrise shoot, I quickly jumped off the bed, (Ok - after snoozing the alarm 3 different times, alright!) and headed over to the location that I had identified the night before. Soosai was a sport and decided to accompany me.

As we stepped out, it instantly dawned upon us that the Sunrise wasn't meant to be what we had imagined. With dark clouds looming over the horizon, the only thing imminent was a thunderstorm, not glorious shades or purple and orange. However, without losing hope, we trekked our way downhill to the shores and set shop. A few minutes later, a tint of Orange appeared near the mainland far far away and that was all.

However, the stormy weather did provide some interesting drama to this shot. I must admit.

The Shot:

This is a Pseudo-HDR - a single exposure that's processed in Photoshop to add some punch to the sky. I'm usually too lazy to do anything in PS, however I think that this situation warranted something. I hope that I haven't gone overboard on it.

+ 1s . f/14.0 . ISO 400 . 10 mm on the Canon 10-22

The Malaysia Journals #3 - The Fallen Filter

2011-11-02T10:03:00.002+08:00

The Background:

So I went to a Virgin tropical island replete with beaches full of White Sand, emerald green waters, deep blue skies and a lot of serenity. Very alluring sight, ain’t it? Photography must have been a cake walk here, you must think by now. Read on.

The Story:

A few hours after getting out of the beach and making the shots that I posted before, we took a stroll across the length of the beach. A local hawker then sold us tender coconuts straight from shores on the trees. I'm sure that was trespassing on someone's property and just making a quick buck. But hey, that is Malaysia for you!

A bit later, we embarked on a short trek across the island to check out the Coral Beach, the other area on the small island where there are resorts. Apparently, you could just walk into the beach here and start snorkeling directly due to the proximity of the corals. This However, we didn’t dare to venture into the water yet again for the long beach was much better as the Coral beach was actually backwaters of the South China Sea lacking the aggression that one might expect out of an ocean. We gave the sunset a miss due to the furious thunderstorm that was building up and hurried back to the east coast.

It was still a few more minutes before they would turn on electricity in our resort and hence we decided to hang out at the beach a little longer. It started drizzling and the sea was starting to become a little more violent. As always, I wanted to get a few blue hour shots - seascapes this time. We ended up on a few wet rocks and I made a few shots. It was an eventful and very uninteresting hour as my complete setup - Camera, tripod, wide-angle lens and the circular polarizer - took a fall, straight onto the slippery rocks on the beach.

I lost my trusted Nikon thin Circular Polarizer on the way, but I’m grateful that it stopped at it as we all know that it could have been worse. Moments later, I got over the grief and made this shot. The irony about this whole episode is that my lens was totally drenched before the fall and hence I don't have any usable shots from the composition that I took pains to setup amidst the rocks.

We then retreated back to our hotel, had a nice beach side dinner and played catch-up with each other’s life since college. Overall, a very nice first day of vacation, with just that one blemish.

Rethinking filters:

I've always been a vigorous proponent of not using filters - especially the UV ones, but I think that this incident might have just made me change that stance. While having another piece of glass, however optically superior in front of your lens does amount for a certain trade off on image quality, I'm now certainly convinced of the insurance that it provides. At least, in smaller falls like the one that I had.

In the near future I'm definitely buying an UV filter and of course, the replacement Circular polarizer. I already have my eyes on a couple of B+W's. But as I went to check that out, I made a plunge on a Neutral Density Filter kit that has been long overdue. Until then, I think that I will just have to stay low and play safe.

1.6s . f/18.0 . ISO 100 . 10 mm on the Canon 10-22. No filters used. Read above to find out why if you had skipped it.

The Malaysia Journals : #2 - Tropical Bliss

2011-11-01T00:09:00.000+08:00

The View at Long Beach

Transportation in Pulau Perhentian

The Background:

You saw the teaser that was shot in Pulau Perhentian. Pulau what? That certainly is not the name that comes to mind when you say Malaysia.

When we started planning for this trip, we wanted something that was a little off the beaten track, at least for the first few days of our trip. The idea of a Virgin tropical island replete with White Sand beaches, emerald green waters and deep blue skies is very alluring, ain’t it? That is precisely what Pulau Perhentian is. At least, according to Mr. Google.

The Story:

Unfortunately, 2 days before the trip things looked gloomy. The monsoon had already set in and it left us praying for clear skies. We arrived at Kuala Lampur the night before the D-Day and lost all hope seeing the flooded roads. However with just a ray of hope, we hopped on our bus towards Kota Baharu. As we woke up in the North Eastern border of Malaysia, the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds. Not bad, considering what we saw the night before, we consoled ourselves. After an hour’s taxi ride to Kuala Besut Jetty from where we had to take another 45 minute Speed boat ride to cross the 10 odd nautical miles on the South China Sea to reach Pulau Perhentian, we received another not so welcome piece of news - the last boat back from the island is at 12 PM as it has been raining every afternoon and the boats cannot navigate the rough seas. That meant that we effectively had only about 24 hours on the island with a very high possibility of rain.

After a drizzle induced 1 hour delay, we set off to Pulau Perhentian on the bumpy Speed Boat which was an adventure in itself. 5 minutes into the sea, the emerald green waters seemed enticing. A few more minutes later, the sun peeked through the clouds. As we jumped boats midway and taxied to the docking stations, things looked far better. We were finally there at Long Beach, Perhentian Kecil, the same tropical paradise that Google had showed us.

The next job in question was to book our accommodation. In this part of the world, even the more developed, touristy places don’t have an online presence. What can you expect out of Perhentian? We took our guides books and online research material out and scoured for backpacking options. Our needs were simple - someplace where we could get a roof over the head, a private bathroom and of course, air conditioning to escape the mosquitoes. After pacing along the length of the beach, we narrowed down onto Moshin Chalet which is located on a hillock on the end of the Long Beach away from the jetty. Once we struck a deal with the receptionist to arrange for an early snorkeling trip the next day so that we could leave the island on the next day, it was almost mission accomplished. We had the rest of the day to laze around and enjoy the weather which had cleared up considerably. Minutes later, we were on the pristine beach riding up the tides and bringing out the child within. The clear water and the blue skies was definitely one of the high points of the trip.

After some casual talk with the locals and we got to know that that June - August is the peak season here when tourists, mostly Europeans, throng here. But this is not the sort of place where you want a huge crowd, do you?

The Malaysian Journals - #1 - The Teaser!

2011-10-31T12:03:00.000+08:00

For those who have been following me on Facebook / Twitter, this might not be news - I took a short time off and went backpacking to Malaysia over the Diwali Weekend. 5 Days of fun, frolic and adventure.

I had a great time with my College buddies Soosai and Suna. And of course, we shot a ton of pictures as well. I've finally managed to download everything onto my computer over the weeekend and here's a teaser of what is to come.

If you have ever dreamed of setting foot on a tropical paradise replete with White Sand, Emerald green waters and deep blue sky, look no further than Perhentian Island. Stay tuned for a detailed report!

The Marina Bay Sands

2011-10-10T00:32:00.001+08:00

The Story:

Hello and welcome to the third installment of my posts on the Marina Bay Sands Integrated resort. My first one was a very typical blue hour shot that I made whilst waiting for nightfall during one of the National Day Parade rehearsal fireworks. The next was from this past weekend where I shared a seemingly surreal shot of the helix bridge leading into the Marina Bay Sands casino. While the shot did turn out pretty good, I have my own ideas on how to tweak it both compositionally and otherwise. So stay tuned to this space for more updates.

This time, I present to you a toned down version of the same scene - The Helix bridge leading to the Sands Integrated resort at my favorite time of the day to shoot. There is not a lot going on this shot and it is very pleasing to the eye, as opposed to the other one wherein there were a lot of stuff competing for the viewers attention. At least, I think so.

The Scene:

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort (Conservative talk for Casino) fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion, including cost of the prime land. This place is HUGE. With the casino complete, the resort features a 2,561-room hotel, a 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m2) convention-exhibition centre, the 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2) The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, an iconic ArtScience museum, two large theatres, seven "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, an ice skating rink, and the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The three towers are 55 stories (storeys?) each. The complex is topped by a 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150m infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 67m. The 20-hectare resort was designed by Moshe Safdie Architects.

I must admit that in my 2 trips to the Sands so far, I have only covered about 1/4th of what is mentioned above. One of these days, I will definitely go back again and get some decent shots from the interiors.

The ArtScience Museum is next to the three blocks and has the shape of a lotus. Its roof is retractable, providing a waterfall through the roof of collected rainwater when closed in the day and with laser shows when opened at night. I deliberately gave that a miss since that structure was at least about 2 stops brighter than anything else in the scene. Also, from where I was at, I could see about 3 of the "petals" of the lotus. I'm going to assume that the structure is beautiful from the inside and not pass any quick judgments yet, but let us just say that I'm not convinced by the beauty of that structure from what I have seen from the outside.

The Shot:

f/11 | ISO 100 | 11 mm on the Canon 10-22 | 30 sec

Credits:
Some text from Wikipedia

The Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sands

2011-10-09T02:37:00.003+08:00

The Scene:

The Helix Bridge, previously known as the Double Helix Bridge , is a pedestrian bridge linking Marina Centre with Marina South in the Marina Bay area in Singapore. The bridge complements other major development projects to spruce up the Marina Bay including the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (That is how they call the Casinos in Conservative states!), Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the bay (upcoming, 101 hectares of greenery right in the heart of the city!) and an yet to be named business and financial center. It never ceases to amaze me how there is so much development going on here all the time especially when you think that there is not even another square inch of land left for construction.

The bridge was designed by a consortium comprising Australian architects the Cox Group and engineers Arup, and Singapore based Architects 61. The 280m long Helix is fabricated from approximately 650 tonnes of Duplex Stainless Steel. Canopies (made of fritted-glass and perforated steel mesh) are incorporated along parts of the inner spiral to provide shade for pedestrians.

The bridge leads you onto the Marina Bay Sands. This is not my first picture of the Sands, an amazing structure in itself. In case you missed it, have a look here. I know that I didn't do justice to this structure by talking about in that post as well. So, I'll follow up this post with another one to make amends.

Every night, there is an approximately 10 minute laser show replete with water screens and pyro-technics on the Sands and the adjoining ArtScience Museum, which is another very interesting (?) structure. The laser beams on the top of the Sands building are part of this show. (Note to self: Get to the show sometime)

The Story:

This is one scene that I have been wanting to photograph ever since I moved to Singapore back in July. I used to work less than a kilometer from the Marina Bay but I have just been very lazy to actually get here and make this shot. This time, against all odds, I broke the laziness of my Saturday and headed out to make these shots. There is a very nice access area underneath the bridge and all I had to do was to wait until the time was right and try out interesting compositions.

The Shot:

Canon 10-22 @ 15mm | f/11 | ISO 100 | 42 seconds in BULB mode

Credits: Some text from Wikipedia

The Twin Pagodas

2011-10-09T00:44:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

Pictured are the Twin Pagodas from the Chinese garden in the Jurong Area of Singapore. The garden was built in 1975. The main characteristic is the integration of splendid architectural features with the natural environment. The Chinese Garden is modeled along the northern Chinese imperial style of architecture and landscaping.

In ancient times, the pagoda, originally a simple tower located beside a temple, was used for the keeping of human bones by Buddhists. Later, with improvements in architectural skills, incorporated with the traditional art of building, the pagoda was developed into a structure of striking architectural beauty.So the structure in itself - as it is with everything else here in Singapore - pretty new. Not a great deal of history behind it.

Here's bit of trivia for you. I had originally thought that the term "pagoda" was actually Chinese or Malay. Forgive me as I don't really have an insight into the South Asian cultures, let alone the nuances of their language, yet. I was surprised to find that the word is actually English!! Here is some explanation:

A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist, and were often located in or near temples. This term may refer to other religious structures in some countries. In Vietnam, pagoda is a more generic term referring to a place of worship, although pagoda is not an accurate word to describe a Buddhist temple. The modern pagoda is an evolution of the Ancient Nepal stupa, a tomb-like structure where sacred relics could be kept safe and venerated.

The word is first attested for in English in the period c. 1625~35; introduced from the Portuguese pagode, temple, from the Persian butkada (but idol + kada temple, dwelling.). Another etymology, found in many English language dictionaries, is modern English pagoda from Portuguese (via Dravidian), from Sanskrit bhagavati, feminine of bhagavatt "blessed" < bhaga "good fortune.". The second one is very interesting as I can relate to it. Also, it has nothing do do with South Asia!!

The story:

This was a photowalk that was meant to be a month ago - on the starting day of the Lantern Festival. And I'm now thankful that I didn't go on that day. It was a dull and rainy day. Thunderstorms threatened to play spoilsport today as well. But much to my rejoice they cleared away giving us a couple of hours of sunshine and some awesome orange hues in the sky. We reached there well in advance to scout around and plan for the best location to shoot the Pagodas.

I'm sure that I will return to the Chinese Garden sometime very soon. Even with the lanterns gone, there is no dearth of interesting subject around here.

The Shot:

Canon 10-22 @ 12 mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | 30 sec | Nikon thin Circular polarizer | Lightroom Editing, not a true HDR

Some text adapted from Wikipedia.

Spectacle lumière à la Tour Eiffel

2011-09-18T13:33:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

Of course, the Eiffel Tower needs no introduction. It has become the symbol of both Paris and France.

This is also not the first shot of this majestic monument that I’ve published from my visit there. On my previous post, I shared trivia about how the French elite called this an eyesore (What a dramatic transformation it’s been – it is now an architectural marvel!), it’s original purpose, on how they feared if the city would rip it apart and how the take care of it’s exterior by giving it a paint job every few years! If you missed that post, I would suggest to read it at my blog or my flickr photostream.

As is customary with any landmark around the world, the Eiffel Tower has a light show as well. The Eiffel Tower played host to Paris' Millennium Celebration. On this occasion, flashing lights and four high-power searchlights were installed on the tower, and fireworks were set off all over it. An exhibition above a cafeteria on the first floor commemorates this event. Since then, the light show has become a nightly event. The searchlights on top of the tower make it a beacon in Paris' night sky, and the 20,000 flash bulbs give the tower a sparkly appearance every hour on the hour.

The Story:

This happened 3 months ago, but this night is still etched in my memory. After a really long day – literally, as we left our hotel room at half past seven and had already spent every drop of energy that we had in our body by that time – we reached the Eiffel tower at half past nine in the night. The scheduled sunset was at 10:05 PM and that meant that we had only about 35 minutes to kill before they highly hyped light show. I took position at quarter to ten and was already busy shooting the sunset. A few minutes later, I had the perfect blues and got that previous shot that I had published.

A customary glance at my phone told me that it was already 5 minutes past 10. The tower was already lit, but there was no “light show”. This meant that I had to wait there for one more hour. It was a really tough decision for 2 things. Although it was summer, it was a cold and windy day with gloomy sky and scattered thunderstorms. We were not prepared for the cold weather. All I had was a lowly fleece on a T-shirt and the weather was already taking its toll. A friend of mine was totally out and badly wanted some food. However, we didn’t want to miss that opportunity as we had to take an early train out of Paris to Zurich. That one hour that followed easily felt like two. No, make it three. While the other two friends that I was travelling with went back to the stairs and rested, I didn’t want to risk losing the spot that I had secured a few minutes earlier and had to stay put. Thankfully, there was a nice chap from New York who was standing next to me engaged in small talk and we discussed everything under the sun to kill time.

Btw, The show was a dud. It was not that super great thing that I had envisioned. However, I still like this picture.

The Shot:

Epilog:

When I put up my previous picture, there was an interesting discussion around the copyrights issue surrounding the tower at night. Here is an excerpt from the official Website.

Q: Is the publishing of a photo of the Eiffel Tower permitted?
A: There are no restrictions on publishing a picture of the Tower by day. Photos taken at night when the lights are aglow are subjected to copyright laws, and fees for the right to publish must be paid to the SNTE.

Here is Wikipedia has to say about this:

"The imposition of copyright has been controversial. The Director of Documentation for what was then the Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SNTE), Stéphane Dieu, commented in January 2005, "It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn't used in ways we don't approve." However, it also potentially has the effect of prohibiting tourist photographs of the tower at night from being published, as well as hindering non-profit and semi-commercial publication of images of the tower. Besides, French doctrine and jurisprudence traditionally allow pictures incorporating a copyrighted work as long as their presence is incidental or accessory to the main represented subject,a reasoning akin to the De minimis rule. Thus, SETE could not claim copyright on photographs of panoramas of Paris incorporating the lit tower."

While I don't intend to sell this picture, I do wish that it be known that the sole purpose of the copyright symbols is to make sure that the image doesn't get used commercially. Let me know if you wish to use it for non-commercial purposes and I'll be happy to share.

Jet d'Eau

2011-09-18T13:31:00.001+08:00

Hello World! I'm back posting after a brief hiatus.

The Scene:

The Jet d'Eau (French: Water-Jet) is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland, and is one of the city's most famous landmarks. It is also one of the largest fountains in the world. Situated at the point where Lake Geneva empties into the Rhone River, it is visible throughout the city and from the air, even when flying over Geneva at an altitude of 10 km (33,000 ft).
Five hundred litres (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres (459 feet) by two 500 kW pumps, operating at 2,400 V, consuming over one megawatt of electricity. The water leaves the nozzle at a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). When it is in operation, at any given moment there are about 7,000 litres (1849 gallons) of water in the air. Unsuspecting visitors to the fountain which can be reached via a stone jetty from the left bank of the lake may be surprised to find themselves drenched after a slight change in wind direction.

I loved the story of how the fountain was first conceived. It was apparently first installed in 1896 as a safety valve for a hydraulic power network. However, the people of Geneva liked it so much that they made it a permanent installation.

The Story:

I shot this many months ago during a week-end trip to Geneva. A macro and a couple of shots from the Palais de Nations made it to my photostream whilst this was left on the queue - not because I didn't like this shot, but mostly due to the fact that this is not what I wanted from the shoot. After a long day roaming the streets of the city, we finally arrived at the fountain. After a short stroll around scouting for locations to shoot and I made up my mind to shoot the fountain from the far end of the platform (in the middle fo the waters) from a low angle. While the fountain was definitely high, my 10mm did allow me to get the entire fountain into the frame. I did account for the perspective distortion in the shot, but it was a little too much to my liking when I downloaded it onto my computer. So it will stay there and will probably never see the light of the day.

This is my insurance shot. We took a ferry across the lake and I shot this from the pier where we alighted. From this of the bank, I like the way that this scene is laid out with the housing blocks and the French Alps in the background.

The Shot:

ISO 100 | 20mm on Canon 10-22 | f/14 | 1/60 sec

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Rialto - Una veduta di Venezia, appena dopo il tramonto

2011-08-22T00:43:00.000+08:00

Trivia:

Venice, (Or Venezia as they call it in Italian, is an experience.

It is one of the most interesting and lovely places in the world. This sanctuary on a lagoon is virtually the same as it was six hundred years ago, which adds to the fascinating character. Oh, well. If you had thought that it would be an immensely serene and pleasurable vacation when you get there, you have mistaken. It is heavily touristed (there are slightly more tourists than residents), and you will find scores and scores of people everywhere. But Venice is unparalleled to any other city mankind has ever built - let alone comparing it with any other Italian or an European city: hence, the romantic charm remains.

In this digital age, this translates to an overwhelming wealth of information all around the internet from all sorts of sources including the authorities, tour companies, bloggers, wikis and what not; replete with hour by hour itineraries. So planning a trip to Venice cannot be hard and you certainly wouldn’t need any suggestions from me. However, there is one important bit that I would like to share. There is a school of thought that summer is the worst time to visit Venice as it can get unusually hot and often humid. Adding to the woes are the fly infestations in the canals, more tourists who have planned their vacation to Italy to enjoy the tropical climate and the foul smell emanating from the algae. Spring and fall are supposedly the best time to be in Venice. However, if you have never been in venice and can make a visit only during the summer (just like my predicament was), make that trip and you would most likely not regret it.

I plan to do a few more posts from Venice. So I will not make this section top heavy in the first post itself and hence, I plan on making this section a little series in itself, that will extend itself logically, as I publish more photos from this trip.

The Scene:

The Rialto is and has been for many centuries the financial and commercial centre of Venice. It is an area of the San Polo sestiere of Venice, Italy, also known for its markets and for the Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal. The area was settled by the ninth century, when a small area in the middle of the Realtine Islands either side of the Rio Businiacus was known as the Rivoaltus, the "high bank". Soon, the Businiacus became known as the Grand Canal, and the district became the Rialto, referring only to the area on the left bank.

Most of the buildings in the Rialto were destroyed in a fire in 1514, the sole survivor being the church San Giacomo di Rialto, while the rest of the area was gradually rebuilt. The Fabriche Vechie dates from this period, while the Fabbriche Nuove is only slightly more recent, dating from 1553. The statue Il Gobbo di Rialto was also sculpted in the sixteenth century. The area is still a busy retail quarter, with the daily Erberia greengrocery market, and the fish market on the Campo della Pescheria.

The Story:

As it is with every city trip, I plan to shoot that one spot which would distinctively identify that city when you raise its name. And I time this shot at dusk to get the best colors and make it publish worthy. So when I did my research for the Venice trip, I narrowed it down to the “Rialto Bridge”. But as you can see, there is no Bridge in the frame. That makes the story all more interesting, isn’t it?

After our tryst with the touristy destinations on Day 1, we decided to put our tired legs to rest. But who would want to get back to a hotel and sleep through when there is about 3-4 hours left to the next big thing.

One of the things that I also decided whilst planning for Vencie was not to ride the Gondola and take trips on the Vaporetto instead. A couple of websites suggested to make this trip on the slow moving #1 vaporetto. It covers the entire length of the Grand Canal and more and stops at every designated stop in each of the six sestiere (or neighborhoods). So we started with a leisurely cruise from the starting point and settled down on the best seats in the boat. All according to the plan.

What we didn’t account for was the fact that nothing sticks to the time in Venice. Everything is pretty laid back. By the time we ended up on the last stop, it was quarter to nine and there was no way that I’m getting back to Rialto to get that shot that I had in mind as the sunset was only about 30 minutes away. To top it, I’m going to be on a shaky boat and getting crappy, touristy pictures. I tried to hide my disappointment and carry on with the return journey. You must have seen my face during that time. I assume that it was very close to, as my grandmother would say, a monkey that ate ginger. My friends did all they could to console me.

What ought to be a slow, pleasure ride turned into agony. The boatmen were in no hurry and they took their own time in pulling into and out of the vaporetto stands. There was no race against time. It was just me cribbing that I would lose that opportunity to shoot the sunset.

We finally arrived at the Rialto about 20 minutes past Sunset. The intense blue hour already past. The tourist mobs were continuing to throng to the main attraction in the city to check it off their lists and savor on some fine Italian cousine. As I descended the boat, I ran amuck trying to get a decent shot of the bridge - until that last bit of light lasts. Unfortunately, every perceivable viewpoint was already taken – not by pedestrians or tourists – but by establishments and permanent hawking stations. More disappointment. I continued to walk towards the bridge, set shop at the foot and half-heartedly started shooting the other bank.

No real composition or thoughts. It was exactly the result of not doing enough research and more importantly not scouting the location well in advance. Having passed through the bridge a couple of times that day, I had assumed that I could sneak into some vantage point and get that shot that I had wanted. That was the perfect recipe for disaster. This shot that you see is the one that wasn’t meant to be.

A few seconds after I started my long exposure, I heard someone calling out my name. From a distance. It was my buddy Binish who was calling me from the top of the bridge. I wasn’t prepared to move as getting up there, finding a spot amidst the flock and setting shop would translate to more losing more time and would ensure that I don’t even get whatever I was getting at that time. The voice grew louder. I couldn’t ignore him anymore. I picked up my fully set tripod as is and ran to the top of the bridge. There he was, trying to hold a spot for me right next to someone who seemed to be a serious photographer who had set shop and was already making pictures of this dramatic scene that had just begun to drape the closing screens in front of us. I heaved a sigh of relief, for this spot was far better than anything that I could have imagined and offered compositional prospects. I’m not sure if I had thanked Binish enough for helping me get this: If I haven’t, I do it here: Thank you sire!

This, by no means, is a perfect shot. Ask me to point the pitfalls, I can go ranting for quite sometime. But it is a lot better than nothing that looks like Venice, right? It is one of those instances in life, when you have to settle down on Plan B in life.

The Shot:

ISO 100 | Canon 10-22 @ 10mm | f/14 | 15 sec

Credits:

Wikipedia, Wikitravel and all those tour guides over the internet.

Minimalism

2011-08-21T14:50:00.000+08:00

I saw a similar picture in a fellow photographer's collection and I wanted to make sure that I did something similar to that.

However, as is always with most of these things that inspire me, I wanted to add my own perspective to it. First up, I wanted only one of these weeds to be in the picture standing up alone against a completely green, blurred background. Sort of standing up against all odds. I also wanted these to be straight, in case you have seen these things in the wild, they are normally curved. That, I felt, would add an inner meaning to the already minimalist nature.

So last week at Pulau Ubin, I was in the look out for one of these opportunities and eventually ended up shooting this.

The big question however was to flash or not to flash - to put some fill light on the long piece of stem. Without the flash, it kind of looked too dark and dull. So I ended up adding the flash.

For those of you who are always curious about the EXIF, it is

ISO 100 | Canon 100mm macro USM | f/2.8 | 1/640 sec | Flash fired at High Speed Burst mode, ETTL -1.

Arania Exumai

2011-08-16T10:58:00.001+08:00

Pronunciation: ah-rahn-ee-a eks-su-may
Description: The Spider-killing Curse is a spell used to kill or, at least, blast back Acromantulas or other large spider species.
Seen/Mentioned: Harry uses this in the Forbidden Forest against the attacking Acromantulas in the film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He learned this from Tom Marvolo Riddle, who attempted to use it against Aragog in the memory Harry visits.
Etymology: From the Latin aranea, meaning "spider", and exuo, meaning "I lay aside".

I had to Google back to find out what the exact spell was, but I actually did a Ron Weasley the moment when my fellow photographers, who were a few feet ahead of me, spotted this giant spider first. Indeed, he was the same size as Aragog. Just kidding.

-=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=-

Another Google search, and I think that this could be Nephila pilipes which is a species of the golden orb-web spider. Wikipedia tells me that the Females are large and grow to a body size of 30-50mm, with males growing to 5–6 mm; but I’m sure that this one looked a little longer than 5cm.

ISO 400 | f/9 | 1/10 sec | Flash Fired, 85mm @ –1 EV, ETTL for fill | Canon 100 mm USM |

-=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=-

On a lighter note, I was curious about what is the largest spider in the world and stumbled upon this.

Pulau Ubin, Singapore

2011-08-15T23:19:00.001+08:00

In the middle of this concrete jungle, Pulau Ubin is in essence, the last 'kampung' (village) in Singapore. A stroll through Ubin takes you back to Singapore in the 1960's with the simpler pleasures of life. The slow lane starts as soon as you join the queue for the bumboat at Changi. As you arrive, all cares are left behind. Ubin is a great day trip spent walking or pedaling through rustic roads under swaying coconut palms, exploring shady trails in overgrown rubber plantations, checking out secluded beaches and flourishing mangroves. On Ubin, the food tastes better, air is fresher and sights and sounds so soothing to the soul.

-=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=-

ISO 100 | 10mm | f/13 | 13 sec

-=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=- -=o0o=-

I thoroughly enjoyed this meetup with fellow photographers from Work - Chris C, Edward W and Jay S

Leisee on Mt. Sunegga | The Swiss Alps | Zermatt

2011-08-07T00:33:00.001+08:00

It is not always that you can get what you plan for. At first shot. This is applicable for life, in general and more in Photography.

Here is a classic case.

When I visited the Zermatt during my Swiss days, the location that I had narrowed down for a short hike was Riffelsee – One look at the images all over the internet and I’m sure that you would be as captivated as I was on the reflections of the Matterhorn on the waters of this lake. However at 3800 feet, late may was too early in the year to head there. In fact, as I asked the girl over the tourist counter a second time if she was sure that I couldn’t hike my way to the lake, she was actually offended and said that I could if wanted to die a painful death. So that out of the question, I had to do my research with whatever information was available around and figure out a plan B. Searching for blue patches on the map, I zeroed on Leisee.

The official information booklet proclaimed thus: “The Leisee lake, just below the Sunnegga, has plenty of space for relaxation, resting, sunbathing, cooling down, playing games, and barbecuing for both young and old. The lake, from which there is a wonderful view of the Matterhorn, is an ideal destination for families”. But located at about 2232 m above the sea level, the lake is, as you can comprehend from the picture, only a teeny tiny pool of water. It did have some reflections of the Matterhorn but unfortunately it was too windy get a still reflection even for a moment. After spending quite a bit of time around banks scouring all possible vantage points to get some reflections out, I eventually climbed up the hill and got a birds eye view of the entire scenery.

It is a nice landscape alright. But it is not what I wanted. But after all, you cannot get everything in life they want you want it. Can you?

Canon 10-22 at 16 mm | f/10 | 1/60 sec | ISO 100

Bachalpsee on First - Alpine Reflections–Revisited

2011-08-04T00:12:00.001+08:00

From the Archives. This is a different part of the same lake that I posted sometime ago here. So a different composition.

Pseudo HDR. Tried to bring out some detail in the green mountains in photoshop.

Canon 10-22 @ 10mm | f/22 | 1/8 sec | ISO 100

MBS and Merlion, Singapore

2011-08-04T00:09:00.001+08:00

The newly opened Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (3 towers of hotels, a HUGE shopping mall and a casino) with the singapapore signature Merlion in the foreground. Shot whilst waiting for the fireworks on the 3rd National day rehearsals.

Canon 10-22 @ 17mm | f/20 | 15 sec | ISO 100

I owe you a write up on this. Apparently, there is a light show that happens on top of this building every night. So one of these days I will camp out with my gear and get that shot and I promise, that it will be accompanied with some fun facts about this building.

Marina Centre and the Marina Bay

2011-07-22T11:06:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

Marina Centre is a zone of reclaimed land within the Downtown Core in the southern part of Singapore. Together with the Marina South area, it encloses the sheltered Marina Bay.

Shopping malls such as Suntec City Mall, Marina Square, Millenia Walk, a suite of hi profile hotels such as Swissotel, Mandarain Oriental and the Singapore Flyer are located within the Marina Centre.

Land reclamation:

So how does Singapore manage the ever increasing population explosion? Well, landlocked cities can simply extend their borders, but what about Singapore, secluded island. And that too, being a City-State!

The answer lies in Land reclamation - the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. 20% of the original size or 135 km2 is actually reclaimed land. Despite the fact that disputes persist with Malaysia over Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, the Government is doing its best to extend to whatever land it can get its hands on. Much of Singapore's land reclamation apparently happened with Sands from the Hills from the interior parts of the island such as Tampines, Bedok etc., which has made Singapore virtually flat now. And today, it is heavily relying on importing sand from neighboring countries such as Indonesia and beach sand for the refill.

The Story:

Not much, I shot this as I watched the blue hour pass by while waiting for the fireworks display at last week's National Day rehearsals.

The Shot:

Canon 24-105 L to give that tight frame, f/16 | 25 sec | ISO 100

Text Credits:

Wikipedia and this page

Hello Singapura!–Fireworks in the Marina Bay

2011-07-19T10:46:00.001+08:00

The Story:

As some of you might have known, I moved to Singapore last week. It has really been a tough two weeks – Packing up everything from Zurich, a week’s stopover back home and then moving here to Singapore - Owing to which I didn’t even touch my camera equipment over this time.

I also have a humongous backlog of photos to process. So if you are that friend of mine who is expecting a few photos from me, please be patient. You will be rewarded soon!

However, to break the ice and start shooting something, I headed over to the Marina bay to capture the National Day Fireworks. Well, the Singapore National day is not until the 9th of August. But why the fireworks now? They apparently have 3 full fledged rehearsals and a preview show before the actual national day festivities. Photobuffs rejoice, Ain’t it?

In addition, I’m told by that nice guy who was camping out alongside me that during these rehearsals they fire about 50% of the total firepower and on the preview it is 75%. Things can’t be better for the serious photographer as this means that the show is less messy and that I don’t have to worry about the wind direction and where will the smoke accumulate during the course of the show. Just pick the spot where you need to fire from and voila, you are all set!

Being new in Singapore, I studied the map had narrowed in on at least 3 different spots to shoot this from. Here is the first. I shot this from the Marina Bay on the pier (?) leading to the Marina Bay Sands (that new integrated resort) looking towards the Central Area (City Hall). I moved into position around 5:30 PM and thus began a long wait until 8PM when they eventually fired up the shots.

The Scene:

Panning from Left to Right on the shot, we have the Fullerton Hotel, the Esplanade and a portion of the city’s skyline near the City Hall area leading to the Singapore Flyer and the Space Museum. Nothing much to add, all fancy high rise buildings. Singapore has over 4,300 completed high-rises, the majority of which are located in the Downtown Core. In the city, there are 49 skyscrapers that rise higher than 140 metres (459 ft).There is a height restriction of 280 metres (919 ft) for structures in the central business district of Singapore because of the proximity of Paya Lebar Airbase; which is why you don't find one of the tallest buildings in the World here in Singapore.

The Shot:

Canon 10-22 @ 10mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | BULB mode @ 24 sec

La Tour Eiffel

2011-07-17T11:12:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

Of course, the Eiffel Tower needs no introduction. It has become the symbol of both Paris and France. So I will stick to giving some trivia rather than just dwelling into the mundane statistics.

The tower was much criticized by the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. One is quoted extensively in William Watson's US Government Printing Office publication of 1892 Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture: "And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates." Signers of this letter included Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Charles Gounod, Charles Garnier, Jean-Léon Gérôme, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Alexandre Dumas.

Contrary to popular belief, this was not originally built as a transmission tower. The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only a very few of the taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne.

In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colours of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. The tower needs repainting every seven years, and it hasn’t always been brown / bronze. The tower is currently painted a shade of bronze. For a brief spell in 1899, the tower was painted ochre yellow. And from 1954 to 1961, it was brownish red, a bit like the Golden Gate Bridge. On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting.

The Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world for 41 years until the construction of the Chrysler Building in 1930.

The Story:

If you could spend only one night in Paris around the blue hour and you want to photograph something that best describes the city to you what would you do? No brainer, right?

But the tougher decision was where do I go to look at the tower as I have only one shot at it. Actually many “shots” but at one go. There were quite a few options that I was thinking about. The first was Tour Montparnasse, the 56 floor office building which claims to offer incredible views. But I assumed with the unjustifiable amount of advertising all around Paris for it, it should be extremely crowded or should be crappy in what they offer. (It turns out I was right, from the reviews online, their open terrace is invariably closed and one floor down has glass windows). The second option was to go to the green gardens of Champ de Mars. But then, I was a little concerned, if I could get the tower in its entirety from ground level without tilting and creating weird distortions. So I needed a platform at an altitude.

Cometh Palais de chaillot. Located on a hill right across the Seine from the Eifell Tower, this is – as Ravi Shastri would say – just what the doctor ordered!

The foreground of the picture, the marvelous fountains and the main pool is the Jardins du Trocadéro. The main feature, called the Fountain of Warsaw, is a long basin, or water mirror, with twelve fountain creating columns of water 12 meters high; twenty four smaller fountains four meters high; and ten arches of water. At one end, facing the Seine, were twenty powerful water cannon, able to project a jet of water fifty meters. Above the long basin were two smaller basins, linked with the lower basin by cascades flanked by 32 sprays of water four meters high.

Once I zeroed on a standing space enough to put my tripod in, all I had to do was wait for about 30 minutes or so for the sun to go down and get what I wanted.

The Shot:

ISO 100 | Canon 10-22 mm @ 18mm | f/16 | 13 sec

Amphitheatrum Flavium

2011-06-23T05:24:00.001+08:00

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign. The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators,the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests (as you would have seen in the Hollywood Movie "The Gladiator") and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era.

The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby (the statue of Nero itself being named after one of the original ancient wonders, the Colossus of Rhodes).

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

The Story:

As a part of my "Explore Europe" trips over the weekends, I went to Rome on the 11th and 12th of June. It has become customary for me to do a little research with a squint eye looking at the blue hour photography opportunity - this time, day 1 was a no brainer. Although, I decided that I want a shot of the Colosseum, I avoided looking at shots online so that I could get a fresh perspective through my lens. And as it has been over the past few pictures on this I chose the Canon 10-22 to capture this mammoth beauty onto a single frame. That decision kind of backfired a bit as the structure was too big to photograph from close quarters - I was able to get it into the frame alright, but there was too much barrel distortion on a few shots.

Eventually, I settled for this composistion from across the road - where they will find the Colloseo Metro station when they dig up about 2000 years from now.

The Shot:

ISO 100 | f/10 | 10 sec | f/16

Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) - Vierzylinder and Welt

2011-06-23T03:32:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

The BMW Headquarters (German: BMW-Vierzylinder "BMW four-cylinder"; also BMW Tower) is a Munich landmark, which has been serving as world headquarters for the Bavarian automaker for over 30 years. The Tower was built between 1968 and 1972 and was ready just in time for 1972 Summer Olympics. Its inauguration followed on 18 May 1973. The building stands 101 m (roughly 331 feet) tall, is located in direct proximity of the Olympic Village and is often mentioned as one of the most notable examples of architecture in Munich. The large cathedral exterior is supposed to mimic the shape of a tire in a race car, with the garage representing the cylinder head. Both buildings were designed by the Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer.

The main tower consists of four vertical cylinders standing next to and across from each other. Each cylinder is divided horizontally in its center by a mold in the facade. Notably, these cylinders do not stand on the ground, they are suspended on a central support tower. During the construction, individual floors were assembled on the ground and then elevated. The tower has a diameter of 52.30 meters (roughly 171 feet). The building has 22 occupied floors, two of which are basements and 18 serve as office space. Millions of dollars have been spent on the facility due to high demand in progression.

The BMW Museum is located right next to the tower, while BMW Welt which presents the current cars of BMW and acts as a distribution centre, opened on the opposite side of the road on October 17, 2007.

Welt is a multi-functional customer experience and exhibition facility.

Designed by architects Coop Himmelb(l)au for BMW Group, the facility was constructed from August 2003 through summer 2007. Originally conceived to be open and ready for World Cup 2006, it eventually opened on October 17, 2007, and deliveries commenced on October 23, 2007. The first customer to take delivery of a new BMW at the Welt was Jonathan Spira.

Designed with an 800 kilowatt solar plant on its roof, "the building does not have the boredom of a hall, it is not only a temple, but also a market place and a communication center and meeting place for knowledge transfer", said architect Prix at the opening ceremony.

The Story:

The BMW Headquarters was one of the top items on my list of items for the München trip and not so surprisingly, it was one of the vantage points that I had in mind for the one “blue hour” evening that I had in Munich. After walking long and hard through the city and a stroll through the Olympia park, we finally arrived at a bridge across the Autobahn from the BMW properties and not surprisingly, I set shop to get these shots.

In my initial compositions, I tried to give importance to the headquarters and tried to cut the Welt off in half. But eventually, the Canon 10-22 USM won over me again and I switched to a “full” view.

The Shot:

Canon 10-22 @ 13mm | f/14 | ISO 100 | 8 sec

Bachalpsee on First - Alpine Reflections

2011-06-04T12:30:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

Bachalpsee or Bachse is a lake with an area of about 20 acres close to the First (which can be reached with a cable car) above Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. The lake, located at an elevation of 2,265 m (7,431 ft), is split by a natural dam, the smaller part of the lake being 6 m (20 ft) lower.

Prominently reflected in it is the Schreckhorn, a peak in the Bernese Alps. At 4,078 m, it is the highest peak located entirely in the canton of Berne. The Schreckhorn is the northernmost Alpine four-thousander.

The Schreckhorn is located 10 km south-east of Grindelwald between the Upper and Lower Grindelwald Glacier. The region is made up of uninhabited glacial valleys, the great Aar Glaciers and the Fiescher Glacier. The summit of the Lauteraarhorn is located very close and reaches almost the same altitude. The highest peak of the Bernese Alps, the Finsteraarhorn lies 10 km to the south.

The Story:

I desperately wanted to get this shot the moment I saw a similar photograph in the brochures that I got during my last visit to Jungfrau. After a bit of research and mapping out an action plan, I finally set out on a quest to get this shot. My bad knee didn’t cooperate during the week leading to this trip and I was a little apprehensive on if I would make it. Eventually, it all came through and I set off to Grindelwald.

We reached Grindelwald around 11 AM. After a little stroll in the main streets around the Banhof and lunch, we took a cable car and reached First. At 2,166 m, First (pronounced Fierst the locals) is still a dwarf when compared to its peers. But then, it was a little too much for my untrained legs to hike about 4 hours to here from Grindelwald. So I took the easy route instead.

Once at First, the trail to Bachalpsee was sign posted. Although it is advertised as 50 min, I took about 1.5 hours to make it to the lake. It was an absolute bliss once we were there. The lower lake instantly caught my eye and I spent half an hour fighting the winds to get a clear reflection. I gave up after that and headed to a calm area in the upper lake – this yielded some pretty decent shots.

Although I got what I wanted by now, my heart was aching for more and so I walked around the lake for some more angles. A few minutes later, I landed on another area shielded by a little hill giving crystal clear reflections of the peak. I wasted no time in setting shop and capturing mother nature’s work of art!

The Shot:

Another shot courtesy of the Canon 10-22 | @10 mm | f/11 | 1/40 sec | ISO 100 | Nikon thin Circular Polariser

Meersburg am Bodensee, Deutschland

2011-05-25T04:38:00.001+08:00

The Shot and Trivia:

I shot this on my trip to Lake Constance (and the city of Konstanz) in Southern Germany. The geography and the polity of this region was as fascinating to my tuned Indian mind where states fight over every single issue under the sun like Water, Electricity and what not! But why does it matter here?

The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps and all the three countries rest claim over it. Specifically, its shorelines lie in the German federal-states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Austrian federal-state of Vorarlberg, and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen. The Rhine flows into it from the south following the Austro-Swiss frontier. However, I was surprised to find out that there hasn’t been any major disputes concerning this no country’s land!

It was also my first experience in crossing International borders on foot. Although I have seen (and fascinated) by seeing Canada on the other side of Niagara Falls and literally being a stone’s throw away from crossing the border in Detroit, I have actually never crossed them by foot. I wanted to experience it this time and so we walked all the way back to the next train station which was on the Swiss side to satisfy that wish!

The day proved to be sunny with just a few patches of clouds and we made the most out of it by taking a ferry towards Meersburg. Interestingly, it was an Austrian ferry that we took towards Meersburg and a German one while on the way back. Add that to the Swiss train that we took to reach the city, we used the transportation of all 3 countries in a single trip!

The Scene and history:

Meersburg is a town of Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany at Lake Constance. It is famous for its charming medieval city. The lower town ("Unterstadt") and uptown ("Oberstadt") are reserved for pedestrians only and connected by two stairways and a steep street ("Steigstrasse"). And needless to point out, there is a wonderful beach on the shores of the Lake.

The name of the town means "Burg on the Lake", the former referring to the castle which, according to a tradition from 1548, it was built here in 630 by the Merovingian king Dagobert I. The commune obtained the status of free city in 1299, though nominally still under the Bishop of Constance. In 1803 it was annexed to the Land of Baden.After World War II, Meersburg remained in the French military occupation area in Germany.

Meersburg is the northern terminus of a car ferry to Constance. Meersburg is also connected by pleasure boats on Lake Constance to Ueberlingen (westwards), to Lindau, Bregenz (eastwards) and to Constance opposite.

EXIF Information:

ISO 100 | f/10 | Canon 10-22 USM @ 16mm | 1/200 sec

St. Alban's Church, København, Danmark

2011-05-23T01:13:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

St. Alban's Church, locally often referred to simply as the English Church, is an Anglican church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built from 1885 to 1887 for the growing English congregation in the city. Designed by Arthur Blomfield as a traditional English parish church in the Gothic Revival style, it is located in a peaceful park setting at the end of Amaliegade in the northern part of the city centre, next to the citadel Kastellet and the Gefion Fountain and Langelinie.

The church is part of Church of England's Diocese in Europe. It is dedicated to Saint Alban, the first martyr of Great Britain.

The Shot:

Shot this during a lightning fast business trip to Copenhagen this week. I reached there and came back to Zurich in about 28 hours, travel included. Take away 2 hours of sleep and the rest on business meetings, I had about 4 hours to roam around the city and just wanted to utilize it to the maximum.

This was shot en route to the Little Mermaid statue from the City Centre just minutes before I had to hop onto a taxi so that I could catch the flight back in another hour and a half!

EXIF Information

Canon 24-105 (the only lens I packed up for this trip) @ 24mm | f/11 | 1/125 sec

Münsterhof und Münsterbrücke (Zürich)

2011-05-23T01:11:00.001+08:00

Münsterhof is a town square situated in the Lindenhof quarter, the historical center of Zürich, Switzerland.It is located in front of the Fraumünster church, to the south of the Lindenhof hill, and is surrounded by medieval buildings, among them the guild houses "zur Waag", the former "Kämbel" guild house and, as of today, the art museum Zunfthaus zur Meisen.

Being the biggest town square within the former medieval town walls in the Altstadt of Zürich, situated on the left shore of the Limmat river, the square is accessibly by Stadthausquai, Poststrasse, Storchengasse and Waaggasse, and by the Münsterbrücke crossing the Limmat river to Limmatquai.

Prominently seen in this picture is the Fraumünster Abbey which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. The townsquare is is infact named after this abbey.Just to the right of the Fraumunster is the guild house of the Zunft zur Meisen. It houses the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National Museum. The guild house was built in 1757 as a representative Baroque city palace of the Zunft zur Meisen. Also visible is the Münsterbrücke between Grossmünster and Fraumünster.

I went to redo my Altstadt shot in the blue hour and ended up getting this one in between by walk from Bellevue to Central a few feet away from Limmatquai.

Again shot with the Canon 10-22 @ 13mm | f/16 | ISO 100 | 13 sec

Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfraubahn, the Alps.

2011-05-14T23:09:00.001+08:00

The Story:

I shot this on my way back from Jungfraujoch, the tallest point in Europe. It was so cloudy, windy and snowy that we could't get a good view of the ranges from the top. So we started our climb downhill earlier than we anticipated allowing us to take a break and take a stroll along the pass. This was shot a few hundred metres from the railway station at Kleine Scheidegg overlooking the majestic Jungfrau and Mt. Eiger. You can also see the Jungfraubahn making its way to the highest railway station in Europe.

The Scene:

The Kleine Scheidegg (elevation 2061 m) is a high mountain pass below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. It connects Grindelwald with Lauterbrunnen. The name means "minor watershed", even though it is actually higher than the neighbouring Grosse Scheidegg. Possibly this is because Kleine Scheidegg is a watershed between the two arms of the Lütschinen river, while Grosse Scheidegg divides the Lütschinen valleys from the Reichenbach.

On the Kleine Scheidegg are hotels, as well as the station which serves the two rack railways, the Wengernalpbahn (since 1893) and the Jungfraubahn (since 1896). The Wengernalpbahn has two branches: one begins at Grindelwald; the other commences at Lauterbrunnen and climbs to the pass via Wengen. The Jungfraubahn climbs steeply through tunnels inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains up to its terminal at the Jungfraujoch.

The advantage of the position of the pass, which has made it celebrated beyond almost any other in the Swiss Alps, arises from the fact that it stands just north of the point where the Bernese range makes a salient angle, whose apex is the Eiger. From thence a series of high peaks rise in line towards the north-east, ever on the left hand of the traveller who follows a direct route from Meiringen, south-west across the Grosse Scheidegg, to this point.

The Shot:

Another shot with the unparalleled Canon 10-22 @ 19mm ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/60 sec.

The One Tree Hill

2011-05-06T05:17:00.001+08:00

No, not the one in Auckland though. This one, as you might expect is from Switzerland. In case you didn't get the pun, "One Tree Hill" is a song by rock band U2.

Spotted on the hike from Uetliberg to Felsenegg in Zurich, Schweiz.

f/10 | 10mm | 1/160 sec

Hallo from Swiss series – Mythenquai auf Zürichsee

2011-05-01T16:21:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

Lake Zurich (Swiss German/Alemannic: Zürisee; German: Zürichsee) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the town of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. Zürichsee is strictly the name of the part of the lake downstream of the dam at Rapperswil, mostly located within the canton of Zurich. The part upstream of the Rapperswil dam is called Obersee, and is shared between the cantons of St. Gallen and Schwyz.

Lake Zurich's water is very clean and reaches, during summer, temperatures well beyond 20 °C. Swimming in the public baths and beaches is very popular. The lake's water is purified and fed into Zurich's water system; it is potable.

Pictured here is the west end of the Lake as viewed from Zurich. The Mythenquai is a large lakeside swimming area with a 5-meter diving tower and a 250-meter-long, narrow sandy beach. And yeah, beaches are a rare commodity in the landlocked country of Switzerland. The iconic water fountain and Swiss Re corporate headquarters to the right of it can be identified prominently.

The shot:

I had actually gone back to the city to redo my Old City shot again, there was a veil of cloud around that area that I couldn't get the blues that I wanted in the sky. So I hung around the lake and tried to get some other compositions. The other end of the lake looked mesmerizing and I ended up making this picture.

ISO 100 | Canon 24-105 L @ 55 mm | f/11 | 25 sec

Salve Helvetiae! - Curia Confoederationis Helveticae

2011-04-29T02:26:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

The Federal Palace of Switzerland (German: Bundeshaus, French: Palais fédéral, Italian: Palazzo federale; Latin: Curia Confoederationis Helveticae) is the name of the building in Bern in which the Swiss Federal Assembly (federal parliament) and the Federal Council are housed.

The building was designed by the architect Hans Auer and its inauguration took place on 1 April 1902. The total cost, at the time, was 7,198,000 Swiss Francs.

The two chambers where the National Council and the Council of States meet are separated by the Hall of the Dome. The dome itself has an external height of 64 m, and an internal height of 33 m. The mosaic in the center represents the Federal coat of arms along with the Latin motto Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (One for all, and all for one), surrounded by the coat of arms of the 22 cantons that existed in 1902. The coat of arms of the Canton of Jura, created in 1979, was placed outside of the mosaic.

The name in German means "federal house", whereas the French and Italian names both translate to "Federal Palace".

In case you didn't know, the Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state.While the entire council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland, each Councillor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. While the Federal council does have a President (who is elected by the Federal Assembly for a term of 1 year), the President has no powers above the other Councillors and continues to head their department. Traditionally the duty rotates among the members in order of seniority and the previous year's Vice President becomes President.As first among equals, the Federal Council member serving as President of the Confederation is not considered the Swiss head of State. Rather, the entire Federal Council is considered a collective Head of State.

The Story:

We reached from Jungfrau a little early, thanks to the fiery clouds that engulfed the peaks eating up the blue sky. As there wasnt much to shoot around in Latterbrunnen, I initially thought of taking a stroll around Interlaken and admire nature. It then occured that if I was to catch the next IC towards Bern, I could well be in the city for the blue hour. I had read about the teeny tiny old city of Bern - in all, it takes only about 40 minutes to cover the whole thing. 20 minutes in, I stumbled upon the federal palace. There was no more moving back - kids playing around the fountain and the lighting on the building made me admire the architecture (not to mention that the toll that Jungfrau took on my body :P), sit and wait for that right time to make this shot.

The Shot:

Again, the magic of the Canon 10-22. ISO 100 | 13mm | f/18 | 20 sec

Hallo from Schweiz – Finsteraarhorn, Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe

2011-04-26T14:14:00.001+08:00

Today we present to you one of Nature's marvels - right from the Bernese Alps here in Switzerland!

The Scene and Trivia:

The Jungfraujoch is a col or saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps. Strictly, the Jungfraujoch is the lowest point on the mountain ridge between Mönch and Jungfrau, at 3,471 meters (11,388 ft). It is just above this location that the mountain station of Jungfraubahn is located. The station, at an elevation of 3,454 meters (11,332 ft) is the highest railway station in Europe. The Jungfraujoch is often called the "Top of Europe" in tourist literature.

The Jungfraubahn (JB) is an 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3/8 in) gauge rack railway electrified at 3-phase 1,125 volts 50 Hertz, which runs 9 kilometres from Kleine Scheidegg to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch. The railway runs almost entirely within a tunnel built into the Eiger and Mönch mountains and contains two stations in the middle of the tunnel, where passengers can disembark to observe the neighboring mountains through windows built into the mountainside. The construction of this line began in 1896 and after many a hiccup, was successfully completed and opened to the public in 1912. Cometh 2012, the Jungfraubahn would be celebrating its centennial year!

Pictured here is the fascinating view from view over the famous north wall of the Eiger and the glaciers of the Eismeer. In the middle is the Finsteraarhorn (4,274 m (14,022 ft)) is the highest mountain in the Bernese Alps. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth highest and third most prominent peak in the Alps.

To its west lies the Fiescher Glacier, the third largest in the Alps, and to the east lie the Great Aar Glaciers. The smaller Lower Grindelwald Glacier lies north of the massif. The Finsteraarhorn is surrounded by the summits of the Schreckhorn and Lauteraarhorn to the north, the Gross Fiescherhorn, Grünhorn and Gross Wannenhorn to the west and the Oberaarhorn to the east.

The summit lies on the border between the canton of Valais and Berne, which is also the watershed between the Rhone (Mediterranean Sea) and Rhine (North Sea) rivers. The Finsteraarhorn is the culminating point of the Rhine drainage basin.

The Story:

Having done this as a day trip from Zurich, I wouldn't recommend doing this to anyone. You need to spend a couple of days if not more in the region for the eternal beauty to sink into your system.

We took the IC towards Bern around 7AM, caught the connection towards Interlaken and then to Latterbrunnen making our entry into the Jungfrau area around 9:30 AM. To reach the top of Jungfrau, there are 2 options - go towards Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg or towards Grindelwald and then coming towards Kleine Scheidegg.We took the former and from what I hear the second has more "active" possibilities with a hiking trail and all.I also hear that there is another way of reaching Interlaken through Luzern and it is much more sceneic, albeit an hour longer.

Also, on our return jounrney clouds engulfed the ranges eating away the blue skies. So I will have to return back again to this area - this time hopefully on a clear blue sky day and check out both the Luzern route, Grindelwald First and hopefully get a great 360 degree view from the top of Europe.

The Shot:

This was shot from the view point at the Eigerwand railway station. Thanks to the Canon 10-22 (again) for allowing me to capture the complete glory in one frame. If there is only one lens that you could buy for a Swiss trip, I would recommend that you get this lens.

ISO 100 | 10mm | f/11 | 1/500 sec

Hallo from Suisse - Kapellbrücke, Luzern

2011-04-26T02:52:00.001+08:00

The Scene:

The Chapel Bridge ("Kapellbrücke" in German) is a 204 m (670 ft) long bridge crossing the Reuss River in the city of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, and one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions.

The covered bridge, constructed in 1333, was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century, depicting events from Luzerne's history. Much of the bridge, and the majority of these paintings, were destroyed in a 1993 fire, though it was quickly rebuilt. Some of the blackened structure of the bridge still remains today, evident from the newly rebuilt parts of the bridge.

Adjoining the bridge is the 140 feet (43 m) tall Wasserturm (Water Tower), an octagonal tower made from brick, which has served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury. Today the tower, which is part of the city wall, is used as the guild hall of the artillery association. The tower and the bridge are Lucerne's trademark and form the most photographed monument in the country.

Fellow Tamilians (and perhaps Telugu speakers) might recognize this bridge from the song "New York Nagaram Urangum Neram" from Sillunu Oru Kadhal. (Thanks to Vinod V for the hat tip!). I went over the song again and could relate to all frames in that song after the initial sequence that appears to be shot in New York (or perhaps against a backdrop).

The Story:

Our trip to Mt. Pilatus culminated in the beautiful city of Luzern. Pilatus was fun itself - It has the steepest cogway rail in the world! Although it doesnt boast views worthy of the Swiss Alps, the proximity to Zurich makes it a tourist hotspot. I had immense fun riding a sledge on a 1.4 km downhill course from the mountain.

At sundown we were in Luzern. After a quick stroll through a couple of streets, I bid adieu to my friends who went around for shopping and started scouting for angles around the bridge. I eventually settled upon this as it gives a good veiw of the curvature of the bridge and the restaurants / pubs along the river front. After a few minutes of waiting for the blue hour, I eventually got this!

The Shot:

My UWA 10-22mm has been of the utmost use here in Switzerland. I have come to admire this lens.

ISO 100 | Canon 10-22 USM @ 12mm | f/14 | 10 sec | Canon Rebel XSI

Hallo from Switzerland - The Ferris Wheel on Sechseläutenplatz, Zurich

2011-04-26T02:46:00.001+08:00

Sechseläutenplatz is the south end of Bahnhofstrasse, the main street in Downtown Zurich, leading the compulsive shopaholics to a little bit of serenity. The fact that there is a little carnival atmosphere here - replete with a Ferris wheel and a ton of other little games for the kids to enjoy after they had patiently waited for the moms indulged themselves in Prada, Tiffany, H&M and what not!

Heading east from here takes you to the magnificent Altstadt view that I had posted earlier.

EXIF Information:

Canon 10-22 @ 22mm | ISO 100 | f/22 | 10 sec

Hallo from Switzerland! – Altstadt (Zurich)

2011-04-26T02:42:00.001+08:00

So here is the first installment of the many many pictures to come from Switzerland.

First things first. In case you didn't know, My work has taken me across the seas again and I moved to Zurich, Switzerland over the weekend. I spent the last couple of days scouting the city, getting acclimitized to the land and culture and making myself familiar with the local transporation system.

The city is so darn beautiful. This area - called the Altstadt caught my eye instantly. It is very Eurpoean - old meticulously preserved to retain its old glory.

The word Altstadt, I gather, means old town in German. And rightly so. This area encompasses the area of the entire historical city before 1893, before the incorporation of what are now districts 2 to 12 into the municipality, over the period 1893 to 1934.

On this picture - I will try to identify the the two main structures - St. Peter church and Grossmünster.

On your right, The Grossmünster ("great minster") is a Romanesque-style church that played an important role in the history of the Protestant Reformation. It is one of the three major churches of Zürich. The construction of this stucture commenced around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220.

The twin towers of the Grossmünster are regarded as perhaps the most recognized landmark in Zurich. Architecturally, the church is considered Romanesque in style and thus a part of the first pan-European architectural trend since Imperial Roman architecture. In keeping with the Romanesque architectural style, Grossmünster offers a great carved portal featuring medieval columns with grotesques adorning the capitals. Note to self: I will have to find time to go in here and make some pictures of the architectural details.

On your left is Fraumunster. Another romanesque structure, the current building was consecrated in 1706 as the first church built under Protestant rule.

Thanks to Wikipedia for most of the information.

Exif: Long Exposure, Canon 10-22 USM @ 21mm, f/11, 20 sec, ISO 100

The Mahabalipuram Series – Pancha Rathas

2011-04-04T13:14:00.000+08:00

Time to kick off a new series! This time from we come from Mahabalipuram. The obscenely popular tourist spot near Chennai needs no introduction to most Indians and any one else who has visited Chennai. In case you are totally unaware, please head over to the Wikipedia article here.

The Trip:

This was again one of those Pongal-Vadai trips with the nice folks at Wide Angle facebook group where we go out to shoot on a Sunday morning and end up talking photography and what not over Pongal Vadai. Only this time, we had to settle for Kichadi and Dosa – but that did not hamper our spirits.

The group had 6 people – KP Krishnan, Madan, Rekha, Steve Anish, his friend (I’m so very sorry, I forgot your name) and I. We were a little late in reaching Mahabs, a 40Km ride from Chennai and by the time we were at our first spot to choose, the sun was already at its fiery best causing flares and what not! Being the sucker for good light, it was not a good sign. And If you had thought for a moment that the Sun was the only problem, then you are entirely mistaken. Shooting at tourist spots poses another major problem – People, and just not people who go with the environment. But people posing for pictures. So I had to work my angles and focal lengths to make sure that I didn’t get a lot of them intruding into my pictures.

The Pancha Rathas:

The Rathas were the first spot that we visited. As is with everything in Mahabs, the Pancha Rathas monolithic. Meaning that each of them are made from a single piece of rock outcropping of pink granite. The architecture dates back to the 7th century has rightly been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Pancha Rathas shrines were carved during the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. The five pyramidal structured shrines are named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi. It is likely their original design traces back to wood constructions.

The Shot:

We were one of the very first people to arrive at the Pancha Rathas that day and this was the first shot that I made. Handheld, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/100 sec. Almost the who cares shot that I make before getting into the groove. But I like this the best because it had the minimal human intervention.

Processed in lightroom for shadows (Fake HDR).

As usual, Comments and criticism welcome.

Who is Mike Horn?

2011-04-03T17:41:00.001+08:00

Amidst all the frenzy and the emotions that was running around post the ICC Cricket world cup victory, almost all of the Men in blue dedicated the cups to the Little Master and their friends and families. But who does the Master blaster thank? One name that he mentioned in that little post match chat caught me thinking.

Here is what he said:

Special thanks to Gary, Paddy and the whole support staff, especially Mike Horn, who joined us before the World Cup started and also for the last few games. He worked on our mental side, on the expectations and about dealing the pressure. The team stuck together through ups and downs. There were rough phases in between but we stuck together and proved most of the people who were doubting our ability wrong.

I knew that the Indian Team had a mental conditioning coach in Paddy Upton. He comes from the Gary Kirsten stable; having previously had a similar role to play in Gary’s Cricket academy. But Mike Horn? Who was he? It caught me thinking (and slightly embarrassed) and I made a mental note to myself to look him up on the Internet when the hangover finally goes away.

And obviously, I did look him up and as it turns out – I’m in AWE of the man himself.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So, how much are the videos worth? If you have a few extra minutes to spare when you read this – do watch this six part video titled “Fearless”. It will most likely be the best 45 minutes of your day today.

Wow! What a man.

This feature was shot quite some time ago. After this he has done a Arctic expedition to the north pole at Night in 2006. In 2007, he scaled two 8000m Himalayan peaks without additional Oxygen. His current adventure is called the Pangaea Expedition which literally means “hypothetical super-continent that included all the landmasses of the earth before the Triassic Period”. He says that he named the the four year expedition (2008-2012) so because it represents “the untouched world as it once was”.

I’m sure that you would be as impressed / motivated / inspired as me on learning about Mike’s Adventures!

He has a widespread presence over the Internet. You can find him on Twitter at @PangaeaMikeHorn and on his Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/PangaeaMikeHorn. His website is http://www.mikehorn.com/.

He has written 4 books; all French best sellers. A quick search didn’t lead me to an English version of Latitude Zero. I hope that I will be able to find one soon.

Until then – Mike Horn. The Man. Respect. \m/

The Supermoon Buzz

2011-03-26T22:40:00.001+08:00

So over the last weekend everyone was bitten by the supermoon bug. Before I share my experience, let us, as usual, indulge into a bit of science and history about this so called celestial phenomenon called the Supermoon!

If you had thought that the term Supermoon is a media creation, this might surprise you! It was actually coined by an astrologer, (yes you read that right!) Richard Nolle in 1979 and is defined as “...a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit (perigee). In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth”. The term supermoon is not widely accepted or used within the astronomy or scientific community, who prefer the term “perigee-syzygy”.

Perigee is the point at which the Moon is closest in its orbit to the Earth, and syzygy is a full or new moon, when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are aligned. Hence, a supermoon can be regarded as a combination of the two, although they do not perfectly coincide each time. Syzygy may occur within a maximum of 12 hours from perigee during a supermoon, and 1 hour from perigee during an extreme supermoon.

As a photographer (and someone who has an engineering degree), I was particularly curious to find out how bigger and brighter the moon shone around this time. Light, as we know, follows the inverse square law. So if we consider the reduced distance, during last weekend, the moon was about 14% brighter and larger.

So not an out of the moon, experience – you could argue. But then, who cares?

And oh, BTW – There is a lot of chatter around this phenomenon being viewed apocalyptic. While it is true that there is increased tidal activity around this (as during every other Full / New moon day), there isn’t any concrete scientific evidence that points out to any link between the Supermoon and say, the Japanese earthquake for that matter.

The Shot:

If you had followed my last couple of posts, you might have known where this one is coming from. With fellow members from the Wide Angle Facebook group, we gathered in St. Thomas Mount, a hillock in the middle of Chennai City for this shot. I resorted to shooting with my lowly 55-250 for the most part and then moved on to make a couple of pictures with fellow PhotoG Raghu L’s 50D + Canon 100-400 L. When we were about to wrap up, I borrowed that “awesome” piece of glass as I wanted to check how it performs on my XSi. It would be an understatement to say that the quality just blew me away. Thanks Raghu! No wonder why this picture made it to the queue to be published to the rest of the world to see!

EXIF:

ISO 400 | Canon 100-400 L @ 400mm | f/11 | 1/320 sec | Tripod

When the sun goes down…

2011-03-23T00:36:00.001+08:00

Ah, well… I’m not referring to this single by the Arctic Monkeys or this album from Kenny Chesney but to this scene when the Sun went down quite literally.

Living in the East coast (or in close proximity to one), I have never been fortunate to get the best sunsets – except my Tampa days. Not that I haven’t seen pretty fiery skies, but I have always missed out on this big orange ball fading into the horizon all through. Every day, as I take a stroll in the office parking lot or travel through the dusty IT Corridor after work at the “golden hour” so to speak, I always end up just staring at the orange hues up in the sky: not having the gear at my disposal.

Eventually, when I learnt that the hillock at St. Thomas mount offered one of the best views for watching this spectacle, I told myself that I dare not miss it. So last Saturday, on the occasion of the Lunar Perigee, I went on a photowalk to this spot along with fellow photogs from the Wide Angle Facebook Community and it was quite an experience.

While waiting for the Supermoon to rise up over the city, I headed westwards and managed to get a few shots of Mr. Sun before he bid goodbye to the city. I couldn’t enjoy the twilight that ensued as I had to run towards the other side of the hillock and set shop to get the lunar extravaganza!

EXIF:

ISO 100 | Canon 24-105 L @ 105mm | f/7.1 | 1/80 sec | Handheld

Attitude!

2011-03-20T18:23:00.001+08:00

Went on a photowalk with folks from Wide-Angle, a chennai based bunch of photogs who meet every weekend for making a few pictures and then discuss photography over Pongal-Vadai.

The occasion was the Lunar Perigee - Tonight the moon appears 14% larger than any other full moon day. We chose St. Thomas Mount, a hillock amidst the concrete Jungle in (the heart of?) Chennai.

While waiting for the moon to rise over the city, I caught this cute little kid with an attitude. From quite a distance, he somehow figured out that my lens was aimed at him and he gave me this look - this one was totally filled with attitude, I think.

I went in to show it to his parents and I have promised them to send it across if they email. I hope they do.

And oh, I dare not miss this part - This picture was made from the SUPERB Canon 300mm f/4 L IS lens courtesy of fellow WA Member (and Flickrite) KP Krishnan. Thanks KP for sharing it!

EXIF:

300mm @ f/4 | ISO 100 | 1/200 sec | Handheld

The Kumbakonam Series – Airavatheeshwarar Temple Gopuram, Darasuram

2011-03-13T02:10:00.001+08:00

Over the past week, I presented to you an image of the East Gopuram of the Kumbeshwarar Temple and the sun rising over the Arasalaru river on the way to this very temple in Darasuram. And now it is time to get to see the actual temple itself!

A little history:

The description of any Hindu temple is incomplete without the majestic Raja Gopuram (the main tower). The vimana (tower) is 24 m (80 ft) high. The south side of the front mandapam is in the form of a huge chariot with large stone wheels drawn by horses. From the looks of it it seems to be very similar to the ones that were built by Raja Raja II’s predecessors in Thanjavur (Brahadeeshwarar Temple) and Gangaikondacholapuram. But then, it is more exquisite in detail. This is because this temple is said to have been built with nitya-vinoda, "perpetual entertainment", in mind. Every where you turn, there are magnificent stone carvings with intricate detail. In fact, the picture of a Yazhi, an 850 year old optical illusion from within the confines of this magnificent temple that I had posted earlier is only a small drop from the ocean!

Legend:

The Airavatesvara temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shiva is here known as Airavateshvara, because he was worshipped at this temple by Airavata, the white elephant of the king of the gods, Indra. Legend has it that Airavata, while suffering from a change of colour curse from Sage Durvasa, had its colours restored by bathing in the sacred waters of this temple. This legend is commemorated by an image of Airavata with Indra seated in an inner shrine. The temple and the presiding deity derive its name from this incident.

The Shot:

ISO 200 | f/6.3 | 1/125 sec | Canon 24-105 L at 24 mm | Exposure fusion to get some detail in the sky

The Kumbakonam Series - Yazhi, a 850 year old optical illusion

2011-03-10T11:50:00.001+08:00

The Shot and the Art:

This one comes to you directly from the outer praharams of the Airavatheswhwarar Temple at Darasuram. Dubbed "Yazhi" in Tamizh, this is a intricate stone carving of a Cow and an Elephant.

If you see the Cow first, Concentrate on the rest of the picture by placing your palms over thereby covering the rest of the cow's body down from the withers: and voila, there is the Elephant replete with a tusk and a coiled trunk.If you see the Elephant first, cover it from neck down and a pretty ornate cow appears! I love the way how the eyes and the little hump on the cow's withers double up on both the figures.

A little history:

The main attraction in the town of Darasuram is the Airavatheshwarar Temple. Well, the other attraction is a smaller temple for the first lady, Periya Nayaki Amman.

Built in the 12th century AD by Raja Raja II (the grandson of Raja Raja I who built the Tanjore temple), this temple is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Monument. At the risj of repetition, I say this again: this temple has some exquisite stone carvings. The Brahadeeshwarar temple of Tanjore, Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and the Darasuram temple have a very similar architecture. Although this temple is no match to its Tanjore counterpart in terms of its size,it beats it pants down in terms of the sophisticated architecture. Pictures don't do any justice to this art - you have to see it to appreciate it!

One of my earliest memories of this temple actually revolves around something that is not actually inside the temple. It is actually a set of stairs, made out of 3 rocks, just outside the main entrance. When tapped, it gives out the different swaras - all 7 of them! I was surprised to find this gated and locked! A closer look revealed why - the stairs were almost in a dilapidated condition. It is a pity that the locals (and the tourists alike) do not recognize the cultural value and the heritage associated with monuments like this and treat it the way that they do.

Surely, all those who toiled in making these masterpieces deserve better!

Exif Information:

ISO 200 | Canon 24-105 L at 32 mm | f/6.3 | 1/80 sec |

I can take no credit whatsoever for this beauty, other than the fact that I had to hunt it down on the praharam amidst a zillion other brilliant sculptures! Copyright: Raja Raja II and that explains why there is no watermark! :P

The fact that someone could think of such an optical illusion about 850 years ago just blows me away. What do you think?

The Kumbakonam Series - River Arasalaru at Sunrise

2011-03-09T03:20:00.001+08:00

The Shot:

After stopping around and shooting the Eastern praharam of the Adi Kumbeshwarar temple, I embarked on a journey to the village of Darasuram, home to an exquisite temple built during the Chola period, situated about 3-4 km from the town of Kumbakonam. The River Arasalaru serves as a virtual boundary around here.

A little history:

The Arasalaru is one of those 5 tributaries that River Cauvery (Kaveri) splits into in the Thanjavur District, thus forming the Cauvery Delta area. The separation actually happens in the town of Thiruvaiyaru (literally, 5 rivers) and this region leading up to the eastern coast where these rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal has historically been one of the most fertile pieces of land mass in the whole of the Indian Subcontinent. This region has served as the Rice bowl of India during its heydays and was predominantly irrigated by the channels dug from these rivers.

Unfortunately, too much intervention by humanity (or the lack thereof) and some silly political battle between neighboring states has made the waters here too shallow, muddy and almost incapable of being used for irrigation. Farmers are forced to resort to mechanical bore wells and what not; and the aura surrounding these “perennial” sources is slowly fading away.

Pictured here is the view from the Old Darasuram bridge. It is very dis-heartening to note that in just a couple of months after the rainy season has passed by, the river doesn't even have flowing water! :(

Exif Information:

ISO 100 | Canon 10-22 USM @ 10mm | f/13 | 1/30 sec | Not a true HDR, played a little with graduated filters in Lightroom

Adi Kumbeswarar : East Tower, Kumbakonam

2011-03-04T22:06:00.001+08:00

No point complaining or swearing to restart my blog, but here again, I’m starting a new series with a few shots from Kumbakonam, the city where I grew up. Located in Southern Tamilnadu, this place is famous for expansive temples built about 7 to 10 centuries ago during the Chola Empire.

The History

Kumbeswarar temple is a famous Hindu temple with presiding deity of Kumbakonam and the Lord’s consort Manthrapeeteswari Mangalambika. The famous Hindu festival of Mahamaham is associated with this temple.

This temple was built more than 1300 years ago with an area of 30181 Sq ft, a length and breadth of 750 feet and 252 feet respectively. It comprises of three Praharas (hallways) and three Gopurams (towers) in the eastern, northern and western directions. Pictured here is the The East Gopuram, which is the tallest and it consists of 9 stories with a height of 128 ft.

There is a fun story associated with how the temple and in turn the city itself got its name.

According to the puranas, a pot (kumbam) containing nectar and the seed of creation, was decorated by Lord Brahma (the Lord of Creation) with the sacred thread with coconut and mango leaves on the top and was kept on the peak of Mount Meru. At the time of deluge, the sacred pot was carried by the currents and reached Kumbakonam where it got tilted. Now Lord Shiva disguising as a hunter and aimed an arrow at the pot and all materials inside the pot fell at different places, where we find today shrines dedicated to Siva (konam means corners). The nectar settled at two places one of which became the famous Mahamaham Tank. Out of the pieces of the broken pot Lord Siva made out a Sivalingam and entered into it. This now enshrined in the temple, and hence the name Adi Kumbeswarar, meaning one who entered the Kumba or vessel long long ago.

The Shot

The Shot was made in the wee hours of last sunday. I was actually en route to a different temple in the outskirts of Kumbakonam (so, there you go: More shots to come!), but I couldn't resist this majestic sun lit up by the sun rising behind it. So I immediately set shop from a decent vantage point and made this shot.

EXIF Info
Canon 24-105 L at 95mm | ISO 100 | f/20 | 1/4 sec | No HDR, just a little lightroom tweaking

Fiori di Como

2010-10-08T14:42:00.001+08:00

Completed in 1998, "Fiori di Como" is still the largest glass sculpture ever made. It is housed in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was created by the artist Dale Chihuly.

The art-piece, which took about 10,000 pounds of steel for the armature and some 40,000 pounds (about 2,000 pieces) of hand-blown glass, covers approximately 2,000 square feet of ceiling. It took 2 years form them to complete it.

The name means “Flowers of Como”. Apparently, Bellagio was inspired by the hotel on Lake Como in Italy.

The Bellagio may have become old and lost it’s charm especially with its jaded interiors to some of the modern casino floors, but its lobby is still attractive, thanks to this magnificent work of art.

About the shot:

The shot in itself is nothing great. I just looked up, pointed my camera and shot a few shots with a few different compositions. As I was inside the casino floor, no tripod was used. So I had to bump up the ISO to get a decent shutter speed. Processed in lightroom for some levels and noise reduction.

Exif: 1/30s . f/4.0 . ISO 1600 . 16 mm

Looking North east from Hopi Point after sunset

2010-10-07T17:05:00.001+08:00

Alright! It has been ages since I published something onto my photostream and so here is something. Well, from the archives that is..!

Back in July, my buddies and I went on a tour of the American Southwest! And what would such a tour be without covering the Grand Canyon.

I did quite a bit of research to find out what is the best point for sunset and narrowed it on Hopi point and another spot. As is the case with most research, Hopi turned out to be too crowded and the sun set behind a flat table-like mountain. While it was a pleasing sight for the eye of the beholder, it was an utter disaster with the camera.

However, a few minutes past the sunset, I looked north east and was greeted with this amazing scene. Why I call it amazing is this is that time of the day when everything - the curves, butts, and the depths (no pun intended) - are all visible without the glaring sun and the blackening shadows.

I quickly setup my tripod and shot a series of long exposures. Processed in Photomatix. I would say that this shot is as close to what I saw that day.

EXIF Information:

20s . f/10.0 . ISO 100 . 10 mm. Had to crop a little bit with the fence coming in the way. Well, that happens with the Canon 10-22 most of the time. Doesn't it?

As usual, comments and criticism welcome.

The Bean!

2010-08-16T17:11:00.001+08:00

Another shot of The Bean, a sculpture by the Indian born British artist Anish Kapoor.

For a complete story of the trip and other shots, please visit my blog posts Cloud Gate and Cloud Gate v2.0

There were a few minutes after sunrise when the sky was perfectly clear and there was not a single soul other than my buddy Prasanna and I before low moving stormy clouds engulfed the area and drastically brought down the visibility. It was not long, but I did manage to get some pretty decent shots in that time frame.

My only gripe is that I couldn’t be here late in the night or early enough in the morning when I could have got the city lights and their reflections on the bean. Since I have already dwelled upon the circumstances and the conditions surrounding this picture, let me head straight away head to discuss some interesting information about the sculpture.

Interesting information:

The concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections on the underside of the sculpture is called “omphalos”. It is Greek for “navel”. Critics have described it as a “spoon-like underbelly” [predictably, of a woman!].

In an interview to The Financial Times, Kapoor had this to say:

I hope what I have done is make a serious work, which deals with serious questions about form, public space and an object in space. You can capture the popular imagination and hold other points of interest, but that is not what I set out to do, although there is inevitably a certain spectacular in an object like this.

Some critics argue that Kapoor often relies on tenets of Hinduism in his art, and says that "The experience of opposites allows for the expression of wholeness. Primal dualities that are one, such as the lingam and yoni, are important to Indian culture, and Cloud Gate represents both the male and female in one entity. Thus, it represents the tension between the masculine and the feminine.

Exposure Information:

f/16, ISO 100, 1 second using the Canon 10-22 USM.

Views on News - Daily Digest – 8/14/2010

2010-08-15T19:45:00.007+08:00

Cross Post Warning: This piece was originally written for my new blog at blog.maharajapuram.com but has been cross-posted at arreosambar.com as a shameless plug for driving traffic there.

Here is the fourth installment of this new series even as the first three parts are still sitting unpublished in his drafts folder, the author is beginning to consider the perils of not having Internet connectivity at home and is continuing to depend on antediluvian forms of communication and gathering information.

Prolog: I really don’t want this series to be a rant corner, but unsurprisingly looking back at a few comments over the past few days, I do realize that most of views have a negative connotation. However, it is after all human tendency to get attached to and argue about things that you would normally disagree than to support something and speak volumes about it. After all, I’m not a politician, isn’t it?

Today’s first article in actually an Editorial in The Hindu, Page 12 titled “Not so healthy”. It talks about a recent dispute between general insurance companies and certain categories of healthcare providers. It says that it has snowballed into a “major controversy”, but I must admit that this editorial was in fact “news” to me, so much for such an important issue. The premise is that over a month ago the four public sector general insurance companies, who collectively hold a majority of health insurance policies, decided to withdraw the “cashless” facilities offered by them directly of through third parties. Now, this move could in fact, pose a significant hindrance to the penetration of Health Insurance in the country. I have had first hand hassle-free experience with such “cashless” schemes with hospitals both in the country and abroad, so there is your success story. Given the level of bureaucracy in India and the pain associated with dealing with claims, this move would certainly wither away a major part of the attractiveness of Health Insurance per se.

This comes at a time when the developed countries of the world are raging over a battle on Health Insurance themselves – where in they are trying to make it affordable and mandatory for all. While one can argue that that the healthcare is certainly cheaper in India, the fact that only 10% of our population is only covered with Insurance is pathetic. So such a move would only add insult to injury.

For the second piece, we turn to the next page’s Op-Ed column by the Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman satirically titled “Paralysis at the Fed” which tracks the recent moves of the Federal Reserve and the man at it’s helm – Bill Bernanke. Krugman, in his charismatic way quotes a stinging critique delivered by a top American economist 10 years ago on Bank of Japan titled “Japanese Monitory Policy – A case of self-Induced paralysis?”. Bank of Japan is Japan’s equivalent of the Federal Reserve and the economist was none other than Bill Bernanke himself. Krugman argues that despite a few minor changes in wording, the criticism entirely applies to what Bernanke is doing with the Feds today and that is what interests me more than the content and the economics of what is actually happening out there.

“Practice what you preach” goes the age old adage. But in this highly material world, to most people, saying and doing something, unfortunately, has become two very different things. There could be a zillion reasons attributed to it. In Bernanke's case – populist politics, being answerable or having to convince other Feds, fear of failure and what not! But the crux of the matter is when in the hot seat even the most efficient people are prone to falter and that is not something that the couch potato, like us, could comprehend. It is so easy to comment on someone who misses a 3rd grade mathematics problem on a TV show until you get there yourself and miss it. Seriously.

In other interesting news on Page 3, the Anna Nagar police have cracked the case of a mysterious murder with the clues from a glass of left over tea from the crime scene. While I do appreciate the police department on its swiftness and commonsense in nabbing the suspect, I would like to pass on a special note to Jerry Bruckheimer’s bringing this to his team’s attention – Now there is some serious potential in this for an episode of CSI!

Today’s WTF piece comes straight from the Question hour in the parliament. Predictably. The members of the DMK, a UPA ally stalled the proceedings and called for a suspension of the question hour as the translation system in the parliament was having technical difficulties. While the person answering the question offered to respond in English, it was faced by tough opposition from the BJP that Hindi is the National language and it should be respected causing commotion in the house. Now who said anything about disrespect to the National language?

Views on News - Daily Digest – 8/13/2010

2010-08-15T19:45:00.005+08:00

Cross Post Warning: This piece was originally written for my new blog at blog.maharajapuram.com but has been cross-posted at arreosambar.com as a shameless plug for driving traffic there.

Here is the third installment of this new series even as the first two parts are still sitting idly in my drafts folder waiting to be published for the want of Internet Connectivity at Home. Despite a few bureaucratic hurdles involving the neighbor who refused to let the Airtel folks pull out a wire through his terrace, the author is optimistic that he will get his connection set up and will be able to publish this post today for the benefit of its readers. Pun intended.

Wood’s Downfall as gripping as his fantastic reign (George Vecsey / The Hindu - Sport - Page 17 / Through The New York Times Service)

While the downfall of Tiger Woods is not news anymore, his dismal performance in the PGA tour since his return from rehab earlier this year has certainly raised a few eyebrows and provided fodder for the news mill to munch about something. The so called experts are proclaiming that he cannot read the greens anymore and he needs a total reboot. In this particular piece, the author goes onto list numerous examples of mostly American athletes whose career faltered after incidents involving their personal life or injuries.

Sports Persons like Woods, even though they are playing an individual sport and don’t represent franchisees or countries have themselves become a brand and are expected to keep up its value. Due to this they are under tremendous pressure to perform. And that when combined with the immense trauma and stress coming out of this abrupt revelation nine months ago – that he was a serial philanderer and the ensuing impact on his career and his image – certainly creates a big void on your temperament and the ability to perform, even if you are Tiger Woods.

I, for one, certainly believe that Celebrities (generalizing as it is just not specific to sports persona) should be given their personal space. However, it is easier said than done with the increasing brand equity associated with them – their sponsors expect them to be omnipresent and actually want them to be news makers. Does anyone else sense a conflict of interest here?

All things said, I hope that Tiger bounces back and regains his reigns for it would only mean good to the Sport.

How “rural” is India’s agricultural credit? (Pallavi Chavan / The Hindu / Op-Ed / Page 11)

Another day and another item in the Op-Ed pages that sits out there waiting to be read. While it looks like that the Agriculture Credit in India has grown tremendously over the early 2000’s from the 1990’s due to the major role played by the Commercial Banks and Rural Regional Banks (RRBs), the author dissects the system and brings out three distinct features that is significant to this revival story.

She says that inflated numbers are vastly due to the fact that a very significant portion of these numbers cometh from rewriting the definition of what constitutes the credit – indirect finance to support agricultural production, say to irrigation equipment suppliers, broadening the definition of what constitutes the priority sector and a sharp increase in loans amounting more to than 10 crores. All things that would not even mean a single paisa to the Aam Aadmi farmer. Furthermore, the most disturbing is the fact that about half of this credit is supplied by the financial institutions based out of metropolitan and urban areas. While it may be argued that this money could well be used for development in rural areas, most of it would be lent directly to huge corporations and not the poor peasant who is in dire need of money.

If India, (as the Social Studies text books of my school days proclaim it to be) wants to continue as predominantly an agricultural state, we definitely need to rethink our agricultural credit strategy. Well, wait. Let alone continuing to be one, it needs attention now, at least to prevent farmers who commit suicide unable to make their ends meet so that we don’t come to a grinding halt.

Life without antibiotics (Sarah Bosley / The Hindu, Op-Ed, Page 11 / Guardian Newspapers)

Amidst mudslinging, politics and the usual rhetoric of lack of health and hygiene in our country over the NDM-1 ‘Superbug’, this article throws much needed light on the spate of things to come. The author compares the life ahead of us, in as short as 10 years from now, a world without antibiotics as the bacteria develops resistance to the drugs that man knows today. She compares this to the world as it was in the 65 years ago during the pre-pencillin world – stuff that we take for granted today – when bacterial diseases such as Pneumonia could become lethal again. She advocates, quoting experts from the Industry, for educating kids on the importance of personal hygiene – simple tasks such as washing your hands before and after eating could help keep harmful germs at bay. Quoting one Dr. Livermore from the Health Protection Agency, presumably funded by the government, who says that the emergence of antibiotic resistance is the most eloquent example of Darwin’s theory of evolution that ever was, the author stresses on the need for pharmaceutical companies as well as governments to get their act together. Now that is what the world really wants.

This really echoes what Karthikeyan Kumarasamy, who co-authored the paper in The Lancet with Timothy Walsh which is the center of all the superbug controversy has to say - “I’m certainly going to continue in this area. It is not enough to find something or even, define it. How does research benefit the society? I’m looking at ways to eradicate the gene and developing stronger drugs”. Governments and Bureaucrats – There you have it. Please take a moment off from your petty politics and look towards the hostels of Madras University. Here is a guy who is willing to toil and do some dirty work. Support him and someday there is a very distinct possibility that you can bask in his glory.

Views on News - Daily Digest – 8/12/2010

2010-08-15T19:45:00.003+08:00

Cross Post Warning: This piece was originally written for my new blog at blog.maharajapuram.com but has been cross-posted at arreosambar.com as a shameless plug for driving traffic there.

Here is the second installment of this new series even though the first part of it is still unpublished for the want of Internet Connectivity at Home.

Altruism, Charity and India’s super-billionaires (The Hindu, Science and Technology, Page 13, By D Balasubramanian)

In this extremely well written piece, the author discusses the science behind the the altruistic behavior of the rich and famous people. Kindled by the news that Gates and Buffet, the two of the richest people in the world today and quite possibly those who have donated the most money to charity ever, are going to approach the the wealthy people in India and China to donate for good causes, the author is analytical and searches for answers for such an altruistic behavior everywhere from Genetics to Sociology. Quoting Thiruvalluvar’s famous epithets on what true charity is and how should wealth be handled by wise kings, he tries to establish the clear cause on why people like Gates, Buffet, Hughes and Rockefeller embark on quests like this - pledging their hard earned money into the betterment of the society. Their spirit is captured in the declaration “Aut viam inveniam aut facium” or “I shall either find a way or make one”.

These people, with money as the prime weapon are trying make new ways to make the world a better place to live in. And by the way, it would be interesting to gauge the responses from the Zamindars of Corporate India as the duo makes rounds across the villas of Mumbai.

Politics and the performance of the courts (The Hindu, Op-Ed, Page 9, VR Krishna Iyer)

This is a piece that could create sensationalism and controversy had it been on the Evening regional news or on a NDTVish talk show. Fortunately or unfortunately, it ended up as an Op-Ed column in an English newspaper, which I presume would be read only by a small minority of even the daily’s readership. The author, a retired (?) supreme court justice himself, states that contrary to most claims made these days by Judges themselves, they are in fact political. He argues that Judges have, and should have, their politics as in the case of other professionals. He goes on explaining that the Judges are the third instrumentality of the state and are governed by the politics of the constitution and are not above it. Independence of the Judiciary is not “no politics” but it is the the fearless and impartial philosophy of the Constitution that the Judges have taken an oath to uphold, he adds.

While I must admit first up that I have no clear knowledge of the process of appointment of a Supreme court Justice here in India (I’m assuming that it would be Seniority and/or a Quota system based on a class based roaster – but it is definitely something that I should definitely read upon), I did somewhat follow the recent confirmation hearings of two women Judges to the United States Supreme court – (the now Justice) Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. While that system is not fool proof, I certainly appreciate the pains that the confirmation committee takes in understanding the personal stances of these people on various Judicial, Socio-Economic and Political issues to determine their ability (or the inability thereof) to discharge their duties once they are under the oath of the constitution. It is high time that we develop such a “transparent” process in our country as well.

Miscellaneous:

Perseid Meteor Shower, the annual astronomical fireworks extravaganza is scheduled for tonight. You can observe the rising of the Perseus constellation in the north eastern horizon at around 10:30 PM tonight. If monsoon clouds do not play spoilsport, slow moving meteors with their brilliant colors streaking past the sky will be observed, the report says. I’m definitely planning to hand out in Elliot’s beach tonight, hopefully with my camera and see if I can get a few shots.

In other WTF news of the day, there is a Page 3 article in the Hindu on an Engineer who duped ashrams under the pretext of donating vehicles to them and got hold of money up to a sum 6 lakhs. He then used the money to pay school fees for poor children, treatment of children in orphanages etc., In one case he returned the money to a mutt after finding out that it was doing good service to visually challenged people. A case of cheating has been registered against him and he has been remanded to Judicial custody. So much for a de-glorified RobinHood, eh?

Views on News - Daily Digest – 8/11/2010

2010-08-15T19:45:00.001+08:00

Cross Post Warning: This piece was originally written for my new blog at blog.maharajapuram.com but has been cross-posted at arreosambar.com as a shameless plug for driving traffic there.

So here is another attempt to revive blogging and this time for a change from the Photography theme that my other blog at www.arreosambar.com has, I have chosen to publish a Daily digest of interesting and debatable news items from the morning newspaper. These may not necessarily be headline items as most of those are junk and may not interest most people in anyways. So I’m going to cover a variety of issues ranging from business to sports to politics or even an op-ed column in this series which evokes the most interest in me, at least on that day and as a value add I’m going to be adding my comments and opinions on these. I’m sure that most of these are going to be controversial and would pave a platform for an intense debate. So comments, criticism and debates are welcome as that would help me in keeping this going.

Without any further ado, let us get started. Wish me luck.

To Cut energy use, China closes factories: (The Hindu, Page 15, By Ananth Krishnan)

I have always been in awe of the exponential growth that China has seen over the past few years. Actually, more at the eco-political system in the country and what they have been able to do with a draconian style closed-circuit dictatorship and censorship. The premise for this move is that wants to increase it’s energy intensity (or energy consumption per unit of GDP) by 20% by the end of this year and it is trying to achieve it through closing factories or specific units in them across several industries. The government has listed about 2000 factories across 18 different industries including about 700 odd cement factories, 280 paper mills and 175 steel mills.

Now think of such a thing happening in India or any other democracy for that matter – especially keeping in mind the Communists et al. While I agree that this move could create social instability as it would lead to unemployment and also create a void in the supply – demand equation, I don’t think that there is a better way to bring radical change in the society. Coupled with the right incentives and financing options for the Industrialists, this move will certainly work out in China’s quest to become a economic super power of the 21st century. I’m definitely going to have an eye open for any follow up’s to this piece.

US Visa Law discriminatory, Says India: (The Hindu, Page 12, By Sujay Mehdudia)

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma conveyed his strong dissent to the proposed Law to almost double the visa fee for L1 and H1B types. Being highly opinionated, this is another news item that I could go about talking on and on but let me save you from the rant and concentrate only on the subjects that the piece touches upon. First up, I welcome this sane move coming out of an Indian minister through proper channels.

The article talks about 2 very important points – the rise in Visa fee adversely amounting to about $200 million that would impact the competitiveness of the outsourcing industry. The second even more substantial point -both for the Industry and Visa holding expats – is about the $ 1 billion that is paid by the companies alone to the US Government in the form of Social Security with no benefit or prospect of a refund. This, and the fact that the H1B’s and the L1’s are actually law abiding taxpayers paying their respects to Uncle Sam with due diligence is something that the American media and the Senators carefully choose to omit when talking about the issue. After all, democracies and media frenzy is not so different in different parts of the world, ain’t it?

Miscellaneous:

There is also an interesting Op-Ed column in The Hindu about the Success of the Public Delivery system in the State of Tamil Nadu. I’m actually surprised and proud to learn how Tech-Savvy that system has become. The pros and cons of is though is a vastly debatable and I would certainly want to cover that separately, but this piece is a must read!

In other WTF news, there is this another item on how a JetBlue flight attendant threw tantrums on board an Embraer 190 at New York’s JFK International after a heated argument with a passenger and made a dramatic exit from the plane by using the emergency chute when the aircraft was still in the tarmac heading towards the gates. Talk of mounting stress in this dramatically fast paced world!

Cloud Gate v 2.0

2010-08-04T14:25:00.002+08:00

After I posted this previous shot of the Cloud Gate in Chicago, I wasn’t all that satisfied with how it played out. It looked dull and gray and somehow lacked the zest and life that it is supposed to have.

So, I started playing around with a single Raw file in Post Processing to bring out the colors since the sky wasn't that great to begin with anyway.

I think that this color version works better than the B&W version that I posted earlier.What do you think?

Cloud Gate!

2010-08-04T09:50:00.001+08:00

About the shot:

The Cloud Gate, a sculpture by Indian Born Brit Anish Kapoor, has become a iconic part of Downtown, Chicago since it’s inception in 2006. Affectionately called “The Bean”, the sculpture has become an instant hit, especially amongst tourists. Time magazine describes the piece as an essential photo opportunity, and more of a destination than a work of art and I would certainly agree.

During my first visit to the Windy city over a labor day weekend, we reached the AT&T Millennium Park where the sculpture is housed about 6’o clock in the evening. The park was, as usual, packed with the hustle and bustle of people who were approaching it from all possible directions trying to get the customary “I was here” shot. So I vowed to myself that I would return early the next morning when I would be able to get the sculpture all to myself and make pictures with interesting reflections.

Needless to mention, I overslept the next day and I returned from that trip without even a single picture of the structure. Now that was what made me determined to go again to the city. Almost a year passed by with me making about half a dozen flopped plans to go back. Last week, my Buddy Prasanna brought up the subject of going to Chicago and I made sure that we got this included in the plan if at all we were going. So we started off from Indianapolis at about 2:45 AM Eastern to be in Chicago right in time for the 5:30 AM CST sunrise. Man, I love crossing time zones on road, especially when the destination is an hour behind! :P

So far so good, huh. How could that ever happen to me?

We were in for a shock when we reached Millennium park. The guards at the park told us that the park opens in about an hour and denied us entry. To say that I was pissed off would be an understatement. Although I must admit that I didn’t check the official park hours, to my defense I did scourge through flickr and saw quite a few photos taken well before sunrise. I stood there for a few minutes with an innocent face hoping that the guard would take pity on me but it all seemed to go in vain. But when I was almost about to leave, there was another guard who came in announcing that the park was open! Now, you had to be there to see the relief on my face.

The conditions that day was not so perfect for photography. I wanted the early morning sun to rise behind the bean with a perfect blue sky. The weatherman predicted clear skies as well. But I was greeted really really fast moving low grey clouds which surrounded the place almost like smog.

I played around with B&W tones in Post Processing since the sky colors weren’t that great anyway.

Trivia about Cloud Gate:

Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections.

While the sculpture was being constructed, public and media outlets nicknamed it "The Bean" because of its leguminous shape, a name that Kapoor described as "completely stupid".

Although Kapoor does not draw with computers, a computer model was later created since it was essential to the process of analyzing the complex form, which created numerous issues. A lot of people believed that it was virtually impossible to create this work considering various issues like a single seamless exterior shell that was required, concerns of heat conduction, extreme temperature variations, graffiti, bird droppings and fingerprints. Kapoor's contract states that the constructed piece should be expected to survive for 1,000 years.

Exposure Information:

f/16, ISO 100, 1.6 seconds using the Canon 10-22 USM.

‘40 Dodge

2010-07-29T07:31:00.001+08:00

Trivia about Dodge:

Did you know that Dodge was actually founded as the Dodge Brother’s company in 1900 by Horace and John Dodge? The brand was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1928, passed through the short-lived DaimlerChrysler merger of 1998-2007 as part of the Chrysler Group, was a part of Chrysler LLC owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity investment firm, and is now a part of the Chrysler Group LLC which has an alliance with Fiat. Fiat has plans to evolve many Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep existing platforms and products into Fiat-Chrysler co-developed vehicles.

The Dodge line, along with most of the corporation’s output, was restyled in the so-called “Wind Stream” look for 1935. This was a mild form of streamlining. It might be common place these days, it was back then when they realized that any vehicle that incorporates a shape that is streamlined produces less resistance to air.

Another major restyle arrived for the 25th anniversary 1939 models, which Dodge dubbed the Luxury Liner series. These were once again completely redesigned with new bodies for 1940. But what is interesting is that, I went around the car and didn’t actually find a model name on it. Maybe it was not a practice then to etch model names in the car. Or maybe they had only one “model”. However, I did find that they had different variants of the same car though. There had a 6 cylinder and a 8 cylinder. And a coupe and a sedan as well. Hmm, is this the root of all vista-esqueness? :D

About the shot:

It is actually a 1940 Dodge. How do I know that? It is what the plates read. :) Cool, ain’t it? I envy those guys who own vintage cars. So much history goes into it and their designs are beautiful.

After getting the previous sunrise shot at the White River state park, I headed towards the Monument circle. Actually, to Starbucks for getting the daily dosage of caffeine.

So this old little guy was parked right outside Starbucks. Ravi and I sat outside the store and admired it for a good half an hour before we decided to get a few pictures. So I put my wide angle 10-22mm on and headed to make a few crazy looking shots. Before I could settle down to make a few, the owner walked by to pull it over. My bad.

Not wanting to disturb him, I backed off and quickly put my camera into Shutter speed priority and 1/20th of a second and fired off a Panning shots when he started driving.

Processed in Lightroom to get the Vintage look. I think that it goes in with the subject, what do you think?

Exposure Information:

Shutter Speed priority Mode, 1/20th of a sec, ISO 100, EV –1 Stops.

Good Morning Indianapolis!

2010-07-27T12:45:00.002+08:00

About the shot:

I like taking pictures of Urban Skylines at Night. Done the right way, they give you a postcard perfect moment that you will cherish. I have been fortunate enough to get pretty decent pictures of of quite a few cities so far but although I have lived in Indianapolis for the past one year, I haven’t managed to get one. Well, that was until this weekend.

Being the lazy bum that I’m, I haven’t done many sunrise shoots either. In fact, most of those early morning pics are from those night outs when I go to bed after getting these shots. But for a change I planned on getting out early this time. And, **drumroll** did that as well.

To prepare for this shot, I tried to study the map of Indianapolis and identify a vantage point where I could get the reflections of the city’s skyline onto the water body. To those of you not familiar with the city, there are two main water bodies in the city, the manmade Indy Canal which runs across Downtown and the White river. I decided to check out the later that morning and decided on going to the White river state park area. From the river looking east was the Cityscape but sadly the part of it wasn’t visible from where I was shooting. The plan was to get a pretty silhouette with the beautiful early morning twilight tones. So I think that I got pretty much what I was looking for albeit I would have loved to get more of the city’s buildings in the frame.

Trivia:

It is Indiana's largest city and is the 14th largest city in the U.S., the third largest city in the Midwest (behind Chicago and Detroit), the second most populous state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona), and the most populous state capital east of the Mississippi River.

High rise construction in Indianapolis started in 1888 with the 256-foot (78 m) high Indiana Statehouse, followed by the 284-foot (87 m) Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in 1898. However, because of a special ordinance disallowing building higher than the structure, the monument remained the highest structure until the completion of the City Hall in 1962.

The tallest building in the city is the 48-story Chase Tower, which rises 830 feet (253 m) and was completed in 1990. The structure is the 37th-tallest building in the U.S. In addition, it is the tallest building in the Midwest outside of Chicago and Cleveland. This is the building with the two spires in the photograph.

Indianapolis was the site of very little high-rise construction from the end of the boom in 1990 until the mid-2000s; the city has since entered into a third period of high-rise construction, with two skyscrapers that rank in city's 20 tallest buildings being completed after 2000.

The largest high-rise under construction in Indianapolis is the JW Marriott Indianapolis, which is expected to be 37 stories and 376 feet (115 m) high. It is expected to have over 1,000 rooms and will have 3 underground parking garages. This is the wide building that you see in the right.

The One America tower, which is the second tallest in Indy is also visible in the pic. It is the one with the flag pole on top of it. And btw, the bridge in the left of the frame is the Old Washington Street bridge. The street itself is now diverted around the White River state park and the bridge is now a pedestrian mall lined with prominent lights down each side.

Numbers:

ISO 100, f/20 at 1/15th of a second. –1EV.

Yellowjacketed Hoverfly in flight

2010-07-25T07:19:00.003+08:00

True to its name it was hovering over the pink flower below, looking for some nectar when I shot it during an early morning shoot today.

Here is some trivia about Hoverflies, Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae.Aphids alone cause tens of millions of dollars of damage to crops worldwide every year; because of this, aphid-feeding hoverflies are being recognized as important natural enemies of pests, and potential agents for use in biological control. Some adult syrphid flies are important pollinators.

Hoverflies are common throughout the world and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are harmless to most other animals despite their mimicry of the black and yellow stripes of wasps, which serves to ward off predators.

A little background about the shot:

Initially, I wanted to capture it when it was actually on the flower. In fact I did, but the DoF was deep enough to get part of the flower in focus and the shot didn't appeal me. So I went for this in-flight composition.

These flies hover over the same area for a few seconds, so it is easier to get your camera to position, focus and shoot. However, I must admit that this is not the best shot in terms of composition. I would have loved to get the wings in its entirety into the frame. There is always a next time.

Shot with the Canon 100mm macro with 12mm of tubes, f/8 at 1/200 of a second. Canon 430 EX Flash fired.

And as usual, Comments and criticism welcome.

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-07-13T09:09:00.001+08:00

Right after the exuberating trip to Canyon Country in the Great American Southwest, we headed into this man made wonder in the middle of nowhere. Flashy neon lights heat up the air (literally) when you are miles away from Sin City and you once you enter the city you are gripped by the all the hysteria. It is nothing less than frenzied hell. Believe me when I say that it was a handful to digest when you are heading from the serenity of the South West, more so when you had to pass through places like the Zion to reach here. Driving through the pathways of heaven to reach hell and commit your sins! (That is the last piece of philosophy in this post, I swear!).

But once we got it into our system, the partying was mostly enjoyable. As the saying goes, What happens in Vegas stays there. So I’m not going into the details here. We reached there on the night of 3rd July and that Being one of the busiest weekends of the year in Vegas there were flocks of people everywhere. While I have been cussing the crowd in the Upper Antelope Canyon over the past few posts, for a change it was actually welcome in here.

Without any further ado, let us take a peek at the shot. Pictured is the famous Water fountains of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino as seen in the Ocean’s series of Movies. But for a change, I shot it from the Hotel’s premises itself overlooking the Strip. So you see a part of Planet Hollywood, Bally’s, Flamingo and the unmistakable Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. I am always in awe of how much money flows in this City and the Eiffel tower replica are a standing proof of that. Apparently, when the scale model of the Eiffel Tower was built, it was planned to be full scale, but the airport was too close and the tower had to be shrunk. The scale is approximately 1:2.

And incase you didn’t know, The Fountains of Bellagio is a vast, choreographed water feature with performances set to light and music. The fountains are put up in a 9-acre manmade lake in front of the hotel. They incorporate a network of pipes with more than 1,200 nozzles that make it possible to stage fountain displays coordinated with more than 4,500 lights. It is estimated that the fountains cost just about $75 million to build. Loose change in here, I say. Make sure that you are sober for at least about an hour and don’t miss the show. It definitely brings out the child in you and keeps you wonder struck.

This was the 8:15 PM show right after sunset, so the deep blue post-dusk sky definitely helped in bringing out the colors. Of course, I wasn’t carrying a tripod and it was too crowded for one anyway. Thankfully, I was able to find a pillar to rest my camera on and fired this one away. I think that it turned out good. What do you think?

1/10 sec | f/6.3 | 10mm | ISO 400 | -2/3 EV

Sand Falls

2010-07-12T07:41:00.001+08:00

Continuing our American Southwest Series with this popular shot of the Sand Falls, again in the Upper Antelope Canyon at Page, AZ. Incase you didn't know, this park is run by the Natives and is considered the most visited and most photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. I would recommend reading Part 1 and Part 2.

A little more about the Town of Page. Sitting amidst the grandeur of the Glen Canyon National Park, the town of Page would not have existed if not for Lake Powell. It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing 24,322,000 acre feet (30 km³) of water when full. The lake in itself is a beautiful sight, with deep blue waters around orange sandstones, a sight that is unparalleled. The town was created in 1957 to house workers and their families during the construction of the dam and has ever since developed it’s infrastructure to cater tourists to the Lake and the Antelope Canyon. Contrary to my initial inhibitions, our stay in Page was similar to most other American small town with Corporate America (read Chains and Franchises) stamping their presence in this little town. Well, 3 million visitors a year is a pretty good market in itself, ain’t it?

I added Page onto the itinerary onto what started as a tour to Vegas and Grand Canyon for just the Antelope Canyon and the Horse Shoe bend. In the end I must admit that it was pretty satisfactory, at least from a photography point of view.

One of the first things that came up on my online research was the fact that the entry into the Antelope Canyon is restricted to guided tours led by authorized agents and there is a cap of the Photography policy. The normal tours which are one hour to hour and a half each cost about 32 bucks per person this season (a six dollar entry fee to the Canyon itself and the rest is for the tour guide). It includes a bumpy 15 minute one way ride through dirt road and desert sand from Downtown, Page where these tour companies are located into the Navajo Nation. These tours are crowded as well. The other one is the extended tour (also called the Photographer’s tour) where you are given an extra hour inside the canyon for 50 bucks. These tours are also scheduled in the prime “Sun Beam” hours – between 11 AM and 12:30 PM. Also there are only about 3 or 4 companies authorized to give these tours.

Once I got these information, I started searching for open slots on the Photographer’s tour. Unfortunately, the first few companies that I called - Chief Tsosie and Roger Ekis dropped in a bomb shell saying that they don’t have any open slots on the Photographer’s tour. Finally, I got some solace when I figured out that Overland Canyon tours had open slots on the tour for all 4 of us in the group. My friends gracefully agreed to come on the Extended tour even though I was the only “Photographer” in the group. The tour itself was a little more on the Photography side and a little less on the Geology side and that is the overall opinion of most of these tours over the internet as well. Our guide Judy, 3 weeks new at this job, is an enthusiastic photographer who was working with the tour company just for the summer. Much like living a photographer's dream.

Now coming back into the Canyon itself, this is again one of those dirty little tricks that the Camera can play with Long exposures. But, I am not all that happy with this shot for 2 reasons. I couldn’t get the vastness of the canyon at this vantage point since I was close to the action. My 10-22 was zoomed into about 16 mm for this shot, but had I been a few feet away, it would have been better. Our guide, being new had to wait on the other regular guides to throw sand up. Also she wasn’t able to herd the crowd as well as the other guides could do. But then, I can’t blame her for that with she being new and that being an over crowded 4th of July weekend. You could actually see ghosting in the left corner of the frame. I desperately wanted to get back into that spot and get a few more shots. But we were already out of time and couldn’t do it. But then, you can’t get everything that you want in life every time, can you?

Monument Valley at the Anetlope Canyon!

2010-07-09T20:32:00.000+08:00

Continuing from where we left off in the previous post - Incase you did't read it, this shot is from the Upper Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ. This park is run by the Natives and is considered the most visited and most photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.

Antelope Canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways are eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic 'flowing' shapes in the rock.

Flooding in the canyon still occurs, the last one in the Lower Canyon occred in October 2006 and the Upper in 2003.The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse' bighanilini, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." and that pretty much sums up everythig up here.

2 Mangoes in 1 shot, isn't it? The Monument valley, located in eastern Utah is a good 3 hour drive from Page, AZ. But Mother nature was graceful enough to give us a glimpse of that from the Antelope Canyon itself. This seems to be another popular composition in the Canyon and had the Guide not pointed it to us, I would have never got it especially considering the fact that the place was over crowded for the 4th of July weekend.

ISO 100 / Canon 24-105mm @ 45mm / f11 / 0.5 sec

Sun Beams inside Antelope Canyon!!

2010-07-08T12:56:00.004+08:00

Yes, It has been photographed Millions of times by hundreds of photographers. So what? I wanted to be there in person and experience the beauty of what Mother Nature can do when she is in a good mood.

Antelope Canyon, located in the town of Page, AZ is one such marvel. Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. Antelope Canyon includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Lower Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew.

So when we decided on a trip out west, I decided that I was not going to pass up on this and I'm now glad that I didn't.

The Canyons are not a State or a national park. It is owned and operated by the Natives. So you have to play their rules. You are mandated to take a tour guide along with you all the time and the tours are limited to a maximum of 2 hours. That is for the photography tour where each of those 4 companies take about 10 people max into the canyon per trip. We, a group of 4 people, went on the photo tour hoping that it would get us a teeny weeny bit of extra time for the grandeur of the canyon to sink in as I kept on reading all over the internet that the normal tours are rushed upon real quick. That turned out to be a really good decision as well as the place was over crowded since it was the 4th of July weekend.

The guide was co-operative and she gave some important tips to photograph the Canyon. They did a decent job of keeping people out of the way. Although I wasn't completely satisfied, I could understand that certain things were beyond control on a holiday weekend.So if you want to be at peace, you might have to try out going on a weekday, I guess.

Summer is the best time to photograph the Antelope Canyon. This is the time of the year when the ubiquitous sun beams are all round the place. And gladly for lazy bums like me, they are not out there until the middle of the day. 11:30 AM to 12:30AMPM is supposedly the best time to photograph them. Our Photography tour took us in right at 11 AM and we were there until about 12:15.

I think that I have made justice in capturing the beauty! Let me know what do you think!

ISO 100 / Canon 10-22mm @ 10mm / f11 / 0.8 sec.

Nature's U Turn

2010-07-07T13:32:00.004+08:00

Horse Shoe Bend, Page, Az

Just back from an awesome 4 day vacation in the Canyon Country and Sin City. So watch out this space for more pics in the coming days.

Pictured here is the Horse Shoe Bend, a few miles south of the lone town called Page, Az. The town has a couple of other interesting places in itself - Lake Powell and Antelope canyon, but more on those later.

Horse Shoe Bend is another of Mother Nature's little tricks in a whole world of sandstone and slick rock tricks that result in some of the weirdest, and neatest, formations in the west. The Emerald Green (yes, it is not photoshopped) Colorado river takes a 270 degree turn here in the middle of Glen Canyon. The place can be reached with a 3/4 of a mile hike. It appears short, but with a steep gradient and desert sand, it is not as easy as it sounds.

But the effort is absolutely justified once you reach the cliffs. There is no fence and no one to police you. You are on your own. And believe me when I say that the picture does no justice in conveying the depth of this place. It is a good 1200 feet deep and standing in the edges is definitely not for the faint hearted.

Shot with the Canon 10-22mm at 10mm and f/13.0.

Water drop Refraction

2010-03-30T13:26:00.001+08:00

Water drop Refraction, originally uploaded by me_ram.

Trying to perfect the technique.

Diffusing the flash seems to be the biggest challenge.

Rain Drops Refraction

2010-03-30T13:24:00.001+08:00

Rain Drops Refraction #2, originally uploaded by me_ram.

So another weekend when I made up my mind to go out early in the morning and get some shots went in vain as I was enjoying the coziness of my bed.

But then not all the blame is on me.. Spring is here and that means that anything that we do is at Rain God's mercy. Thankfully, by the time I got my lazy bum out and had a late brunch, the rain had stopped a little and I decided to venture out with my 100mm with 68mm of tubes.

Still sleepy I forgot to put my lens at 1:1 and ended up with crappy pictures. It took me 10 whole minutes to figure out that..! I quickly adjusted the settings and put a fallen leaf behind these drops to get this shot.

If only the rain Gods had shown me a little more pity, I would have gotten a few more of these.

Hopefully, I will get a chance to capture a few more of these - with flowers instead of the leaf maybe - in the near future.

I guess I should also think about putting in a diffuser the next time I go out.

On the iPad and the iPhone...

2010-01-28T05:57:00.001+08:00

Steve Jobs was good today. As good as he is on most of the presentations.

I like the device overall although I'm not sure if I will be buying one - mainly due to the reasons that I will be covering later in this post - when it hits the markets in the next 2-3 months. But, I think that they pretty much nailed the price for this device - both for the hardware and for the 3G!

Going back to the first statement, I maintain that he was "good" and not "awesome". If you are one of those people who have been following his keynotes, you would have noticed his uncanny ability to hide the shortcomings during these presentations (Read: Cut/Copy/Paste, Push Notifications etc.,).

So when I started following his keynote live on engadget.com, I was really really hoping to hear about these things...

1. Background apps: This is by far the biggest thing that the iPhone / iPad / iTouch needs. It really sucks not being able to stream from Pandora when playing a game. Or something as mundane as surfing the web when you are on a Skype call.

2. Flash Support - Not the light. Yes, we NEED flash. It is anything bigger than what Apple / Steve Jobs could possibly imagine. You better get that darn thing working on these devices.

3. A camera: Well people are not going to take pictures of mountains with the iPad but what I want is is a front facing camera: A must have on these kind of devices. With a lot of meetings happening over Video Conferencing in this digital era, it is only imperative that anyone who needs the versatility of a tablet would want to have this feature.

4. Use it as a hard drive / File Manager : It is cool that you can get iWork on these, but libraries? Sync it with your Computer? You gotta be kidding me. Give us a way to manage our own files.

5. Usb Port and Card Reader: Again, if these two are included on the iPad, it will open up a totally new world of possibilities for this device. Imaging a photographer taking pictures and quickly sliding the card into his iPad so that his client can review it! It would be awesome, wouldn't it?

6. Other minor things (for me at least) like Revamping the push notifications (will the iPad do push at all?), New OS, etc.,

But then, the first five itself were show stoppers. No thanks, Mr Jobs. I will get mine when you fix these.

Cheers!

Funnel Cakes and The Ferris Wheel

2009-08-19T09:28:00.001+08:00

...Completes the Carnival mood, Ain't it?

So I gave my attendance at the Indiana State Fair at Indianapolis on Saturday and this was one the few keepers from the shoot.

I really missed having a wider lens in the show.

Now that it has been a few months without getting a new “accessory” for my camera, I’m really starting to lose my patience. I think that I will pull the trigger (or should I say, shutter :P) on a 100 mm macro or a Sigma 10-22. But I don’t know if I can justify that purchase… Yet..

Rants apart, as usual – Comments and Criticism welcome…

Must View : On Black

Railroad…

2009-08-17T14:01:00.001+08:00

I have always wanted to take nice pictures of railroads. But I realized how difficult is is to get a few nice pictures once I started out on this mission.

This place is pretty close by from where I used to live (In Reading, Massachusetts). There aren’t many trying plying in this road – so not much of a security concern. But the light was something that gave me a lot of problems… I had to fight hard to keep my tripod’s shadow out of the frame. Once I got this shot, I walked down almost a mile down in this direction in search of a bend to work on… After passing a few broken bottles and a bridge, I got to a spot which was workable. But unfortunately, those shots didn’t turn out as much as I hoped it would. At least, this was a keeper.

What do you think?

Sculptures on the Gopuram

2009-05-08T11:25:00.001+08:00

Pictured is a sculpture of Lord Dathathreya..

There is a story of "Incarnation" behind (almost) every Hindu God.

In The era gone by , the demonic
energies grew enormously in the gross and subtle forms Gods efforts
to vanquish them were unsuccessful. Then under orders for Lord Brahma
and listening to the prayers of Devas, Maha Vishnu took the form
of Datha. Incarnated at various places in different forms for spiritual
revival and destroyed the demons.

Information about the shot:
Camera:     Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Lens:        Canon 55-250mm f/4-5.6 EF-S IS
Exposure:     0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture:     f/5.0
Focal Length:     109 mm
Exposure Bias:     +0.60
ISO Speed:     100
Flash:     Off
Handheld
Centerpoint AF
Evaluative Metering

Stepping out from the house...!

2009-05-06T11:09:00.001+08:00

Shot just outside my apartment in Reading, MA last week. It was Sunny that day and gawd, I miss it..!

No HDR. Just some white balance and minor adjustments in Lightroom. I swear! :-o)

More information about the shot:

Camera:     Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Lens:        Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 EF-S IS
Exposure:     0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture:     f/5.6
Focal Length:     36 mm
ISO Speed:     100
Exposure Bias:     0 EV
Flash:     Off
Shot Handheld
Centerpoint AF / Av Mode

Cutie...

2009-05-05T08:05:00.003+08:00

Cutie..., originally uploaded by me_ram.

I was out this evening trying to do some "serious" closeup photography when I saw this cute little kid playing in the lawns. Couldn't resist but to take a few shots of her while she was in a good mood...!

Unfortunately, the sun was hiding under the clouds (well, it has gone on a vacation for the past couple of days, I suppose :P) and there wasn't enough light. This was the best I could manage at the Highest Possible ISO and the Widest Aperture.

I like how it turned out. What do you think?

Pretty Tulips...!

2009-05-04T12:50:00.001+08:00

It has been another dull and lazy Sunday. Well, the sun chose to hide behind the clouds, but still...

Managed to get out to the nearby Lakeside cemetery in Wakefield, MA to shoot these pretty tulips. It was a bit cold and windy.But since I had a tripod at my disposal, I was able to get some pretty decent shots.

What do you think?

Though I have had this cool tripod with a "ball head" for a couple of months now, I haven't used it as much as I would have liked it to. Setting it up slows down things tremendously. But today, I took that gamble and I think that it paid off eventually. The amount of control that I could get on the composition was tremendous. More over, as things started to slow down, I had to put in more into the shot and took care of small things that I would conveniently neglect on a normal hand held shootout. I definitely struggled a bit to get things straight, but am very happy with how things came out. May be, I will venture out with the tripod more often. Let's see...

As usual, Comments and criticism about the shots are welcome...!

Nageswaran Kovil - South Entrance

2009-05-04T04:55:00.006+08:00

Nageswaran Kovil - South Entrance, originally uploaded by me_ram.

During the vacation, I managed to sneak out to Nagerwaran Kovil, a couple of miles from our house in Kumbakonam. It is one of the very many temples in Kumbakonam that were built by the Chola kings. Thought the cholas started building Huge temples like the Thanjavur Bhrahadeeswararar temple only in the 10th Century, this small (comparatively) temple was build in the Early Chola period (4th -9th Century CE).

Pictured is the South Gopuram of the temple. Typically, these temples have 4 entrances in all the directions.

From Wikipedia:

A Gopuram or gopura, is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a temple, especially in Southern India. This is a prominent feature of Hindu temple architecture.It is topped with the sikhara's amalaka (a bulbous stone finial). They function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex.

The gopuram's origins can be traced back to early structures of the Pallavas and by the twelfth century under the Pandya rulers these gateways became a dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance, eventually overshadowing the inner sanctuary which became obscured from view by the gopuram's colossal size. It also dominated the inner sanctum in amount of ornamentation.

Information about the Shot

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Lens: Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 EF-S IS
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 23 mm
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: Off

Tantalizing Tulips - Part II

2009-05-03T04:38:00.000+08:00

Spring has set in and it is lovely outside.. Lush green lawns and brightly colored flowers are the order of the day and how can the Cameras not point at these real beauties. Had to wait a few days to knock off all those jet lag, but finally managed to get the camera out on Friday to get some shots of these tantalizing tulips just outside my office at Edgewater, Wakefield. They are really beautiful, aren't they?

Information:

Camera: Canon Digital Rebel Xsi
Lens: Canon 50mm f/1.8 EF
Focal Length: 50 mm
Exposure: 1/200
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO: 100
Flash: No
Handheld
AF Mode: Center Point Autofocus

Tantalizing Tulips…

2009-05-02T04:25:00.000+08:00

Spring has set in and it is lovely outside.. Lush green lawns and brightly colored flowers are the order of the day and how can the Cameras not point at these real beauties. Had to wait a few days to knock off all those jet lag, but finally managed to get the camera out on Friday to get some shots of these tantalizing tulips just outside my office at Edgewater, Wakefield. They are really beautiful, aren't they?