Footwa

Shiva statue in Punjab

09 Mar 2010 | no comments » Add a comment

I always wanted to visit Dharamshala, and managed to convince few friends to join me to a trip across Himachal Pradesh. The key places on our list to visit were Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Khajjiar, Manikaran, Kullu Manali. This was the place we stopped for our dinner at night on our way to Dharamshala from Delhi. Next to “Rasoi Dhabba” a huge Shiva statue glittered in the dark. A 2.5 sec exposure with a bus passing through the road during the last 1/2 of a sec.

This image was clicked using a Tokina AT-X Pro SD 12-24mm F4 (IF) DX lens.
Setting: ISO 200, 24mm, f/4, 2.5 sec

Mumbai at night – Worli

19 Jan 2010 | 5 comments » Add a comment

Just loved the way Mumbai looks at night. Was travelling from Bandra to CST when I asked the taxi driver to stop the vehicle at the start of the sea link so that I can capture this view of Worli. 4 second exposure at f/6.3 200mm. You must of-course see the full view to appreciate it. Click on the image on the left to do so.

Count the lamp-posts on the highway

09 Nov 2009 | 2 comments » Add a comment

Yeah yeah.. I admit the title is copied from the line “Count the headlights on the highway” in Elton Johns song “Tiny Dancer“. I first heard the song in the movie “Almost Famous”. Not only was the movie outstanding, but the moment wherein this song was played, was captured beautifully. It has since been one of my favorite movies, and one of my favorite songs.

This image is related to the image on ”Autobiography of a lamp-post and the fart“, as both are from the same spot but opposite directions.

What I like about this snap (other then the clouds), is the way the numerous lamp-posts make a lovely silhouette. The bird, right on top, adds a nice flavor too.

Autobiography of a lamp-post and the fart

07 Nov 2009 | 4 comments » Add a comment

At school, we were once asked to write an autobiography of a lamppost for Hindi exam, I put on my thinking cap and started something like,

“I want to reach for the sky, but have to withhold my desires to give light to others”.

I thought it was a brilliant masterpiece, half expecting my Hindi professor to come to me and pat me on my back. Unfortunately nothing of that sort happened, what did happen was that I almost missed failing. I decided that my talent could not be discovered in this small school, and was still proud of my work, perhaps I thought

Window of Hope or Despair

30 Oct 2009 | 1 comment » Add a comment

The youthful green and the diminished dying leaves both seen from my window remind me of a saying “Two men look out through the same prison bars: One sees the mud, and one the stars”. I guess its meaning is well explained in Bollywood movie Deewar which shows 2 brothers moving in different directions (one becomes an honest cop, the other a smuggler)

Jewellery for sale – Tibetan market – Calangute

25 Oct 2009 | 4 comments » Add a comment

Indian culture now includes Tibetan influence, as after the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Dalia Lama along with his followers were given shelter in India. At Calangute on the road to Baga, one comes across a Tibetan market selling their cultural art forms in many ways, from ornaments, jewellery as seen here, to musical instruments I have never seen before.

Cafe Mondegar

19 Oct 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

As mentioned before, I feel some connection when I sit at Cafe Mondegar. Neelam says perhaps I was a waiter in my previous life at Mondys (as its lovingly known). Waiter… emm perhaps. Whatever the reason might be I can spend hours here without caring for anything in the world. Its my place for peace at Colaba, and no visit to mumbai is complete, without a visit to this place. There is this sudden rush of energy when I sit here, (I cannot express it you have to be here to experience it).

Ahemdabad traffic at night

19 Oct 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

Ahemdabad traffic is like Mumbai, bumper to bumper. Just like how some places have a suicide point, which is usually a cliff, a waterfall etc, I think for Ahemdabad its the roads. People seem willing to bend rules forsaking their safety, and I think under 1 hour of drive almost 3 people just got missed embracing our lord. Its lucky that the guy driving our jeep was an army guy who kept his cool and was careful at every point. I wanted to jump and scream at everyone, but the traffic was to fast to wait for me.

Just for fun I exposed the aperture for 4 second to let it absorb the traffic light from, buildings, vehicles etc and was pleased with the results.

Leopold Cafe

19 Oct 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

Its one of the charms of Colaba, a very popular restaurant, was recently in news after terrorists attacked it in the November 2008 attacks. The fact that its started by an Iranian is very obvious when you look at the paintings, images surrounding the walls. The shot captured above is the large board above the bar, and is just perhaps 1/3rd of the actual width.

Silhouette

12 Sep 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

2 of my friends were deeply engrossed playing fifa on my system. I was trying to get this image right, and clicked around 30-35 shots when finally I got it. I wanted to keep the darkness of the room and its contents intact, while showing the colorfulness of the curtains with the sunlight behind, and the screen alive and rich. This is the only silhouette snap I have ever tried, need to try more when i get a chance.