Blog 109 - Photoblog - Lalbagh Flower Show

Glimpses of the Lalbagh Independence Week (Aug' 08) Flower Show. Lalbagh wore such a beautiful look with bright marigolds lined all across the park. I visited the flower show on a cloudy Tuesday morning. Some pictures from the Flower Show.

Blog 097 - A flight of fancy - Birding at Ranganathittu

Painted Stork in flight

A flight of fancy on a windswept field

Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
Can I escape this irresistible grasp?
…
There's no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, A state of bliss

Ranganathittu Island

Birding at Ranganathittu

One fine day bored of cubicle life, Rama (a photography enthusiast friend of mine) and I decided to go for a Birding trip. Ranganathittu was the obvious choice.

Painted Stork

We took an early morning 5:30 ksrtc bus from Majestic till Srirangapatna and then a bumpy auto ride till Ranganathittu and reached there around 8:30. Though the official timings are from 9:00 the park official allowed us inside for a regular fee and without tickets :)

Little Egret

Being an early morning on a lazy Saturday, the park was almost empty. The well maintained park, the twitter of birds and the pleasant sunshine made the experience more memorable and the photography a lot easier!

Pair of Spoonbills

Ranganathittu is a series of six islets on bank of Kaveri River and there are guided-boat rides available to watch the birds.

Painted Stork

We took a guided boat trip. (A guided-boat ride costs around 250 bucks and lasts for around half an hour) Murgesh, our guide and boat driver was well versed with the birds in the sanctuary and answered most of our questions patiently. And assured us from time to time that we were visiting the park at the right time of the year.

Marsh Crocodile

Sighting a marsh crocodile is common in the river and we got a few glimpses of crocodiles.

Grey Heron

There is an informative signboard in the park that speaks about bird watching as a hobby, the lack of money and the incomparable happiness in bird watching. This was my first birding trip and it has been such a wonderful experience and memories still linger on mind!

Spoonbill

Some Useful Links:
About Ranganathittu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathittu_Bird_Sanctuary

Birding places near Ranganathittu:
Karanji Lake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karanji_Lake
Kokkare Bellur: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokrebellur

Birding in Bangalore - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bngbirds/

Spoonbill

PS:
Pictures were clicked using Canon S3IS – TV Mode.
The, ‘Learning to Fly’ lyrics in this post does not necessarily relate to this birding trip. It’s just that I have been listening and re-listening to Floyd while writing this post but then that is the magic of Floyd lyrics it helps you relate to many wonderful things!

Blog 047 - What I learnt at photography school

What I learnt at photography school – Composition

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - Ansel Adams

Have you ever wondered why some pictures with same subject generate awe whereas some remain in your personal album, unnoticed? Of many factors that make a good photograph, Composition is one of them.

Anand Sharan sir shared some tips and rules regarding composition. These were collected over time from different resources. I am putting these down for ready reference.

1. Background makes the picture.
2. Keep your picture simple and build it around a central theme.
   
3. Give importance to that which is important.
   
4. If movement is involved it should relate intelligently to the rest of the picture.
   
5. Hold the picture upside-down (If symmetry is involved).
   
6. Learn to shoot with your head and heart.
   
7. Try to have references to indicate size.
   

Blog 043 - Travelogue : Mysore

“… Tiger Tipu.” He had a thick south Indian accent and was pointing his finger to a stone structure. People had their eyes glued to the window. I was half asleep. I had thrown up a couple of times last night and was wondering why I was taking this bumpy ride.

“Tiger Tipu” it took a while for the words to settle in. Flash back was instantaneous – the school history textbooks, patriotism and all the glorious stories. The Mysore trip was 'ON' for me!

Mysore is a beautiful place. And has a story for every tourist’s eye. There are temples for one’s seeking divine intervention, history and stories of patriotism and betrayal for the erudite, Nature for the philanthropists and shopping and all the other stuff that makes a complete holiday package.

But somehow everything seemed so phony. I fidgeted with my cell phone trying to punch numbers to call imaginary people.

Our first place of visit was ‘Tiger Tipu’s’ death place. Srirangapatna – Tipu’s capital, the place where he valiantly fought the British and the place of his martyrdom. We progressed our way through the ruins once destroyed by British and now neglected by the authorities.

Photography has been one of my latest free time activity. Mysore was full of beautiful subjects. I loved to click the various architectures’ - the temples, the church, the palace and feel the different emotions expressed by them.

Our next destination was, ‘Chamundeeswari’ temple beyond the Chamundi hills. The road that leads through the Chamundi hills is scenic and beautiful.

I got a chance to shoot my first real time portrait on the way to Chamundi.

The Mysore palace was next in line. The story of grand riches, betrayal and different styles of architecture.

Overwhelmed would be a small word to describe my state of emotion. The paintings, the carvings the wall, the gold decorations. Maan, I would love to give up everything and be a
travel guide to Mysore palace :)

Our final destination was Brindavan garden and we squeezed amongst the crowd to get a glimpse of the musical fountains.

Being overwhelmed by the architectural beauty, Brindavan gardens was a sort of anti climax. But nonetheless, Nawab & I got some beautiful pictures of water fountains.

It was 31^st December; the bus started its journey back to Bangalore. And when the world was busy saying ‘Happy 2007’ I was half a sleep. Vivek (Nawab) shook me and wished me ‘Happy 2007’ I wished him back. Wondering what being happy means.

2006 ended on a good note for me.

More pictures can be viewed at Mysore Trip photos.

Blog 017 - Mosaic Picture

A mosaic picture created using Fd's Flickr toys. Awesome set of tools for Flickr lovers.