Krishna Potter!

After slogging for most of the week, it was difficult to think of a place to visit on a weekend, for photography. I Spoke to my friend and we both agreed to visit Pottery Town in Bangalore.

Pottery town, is right after Frazer Town, however it would get very tricky to get there if you don't know the exact place. After asking about 10 people we made it to Pottery Town. Being a Sunday we were not lucky enough to find a potter, since they too were in a holiday mood.

Luckily we happened to meet one potter who had some unfinished business to take care of. Krishna, one of the potters at Pottery Town, was born and bought up in the same house where he worked. He didn't even remember from what generation his ancestors were into pottery, thus he concluded, we were into pottery from a long time.

Krishna, very cool person, didn't mind we disturbing him while he worked and we clicked. But it was a great joy talking to him. He explained me the entire process how the mud is filtered and prepared and what are the complications involved and promised me to teach making pots in 10 days. It was a delight watching him carve out pots for about half an hour. His hands worked like magic with his crocked fingers shaped up over the years carving out beautiful pots.

Krishna continues to make more and more pots and says business is good now a days, and promises to educate his both sons. Well Krishna Potter (as i call him), I would definitely get back to him next week and give him a few of his prints as promised. One thing Krishna told me, that it was so important to take interest in what you do and definitely your work wont bore you!

For more Pictures from Pottery Town, check my photostream on flickr.

Talakad & Shivanasamudra

A quick plan and we were on our way to Siva Samudaram on a bright but soon to be overcast Saturday! Started from Bangalore at 6 AM and were soon on the Bangalore Mysore State Highway 17. This is one stretch with a lot of places to explore and capture. The day started well with capturing a good sunrise on the way from Bidadi.

After Maddur a left turn leads to Siva Samudaram and Talkadu. With Karnataka Tourism acting a bit seriously, you can find road signs all over the road.

The road to Siva Samudaram is average as per the drive is concerned, however on both sides of the roads you would have lovely fields; some harvested, some being ploughed and some lush green paddy fields. With monsoon hitting hard on Karnataka, there was water and green in abundance.

On our way to Talakad we came across a lake, completely dried up and where Sunil managed to get inside the mud till knee height. Completely dried and the soil cracked, I came across ramdas who was completely in shambles. All he did was sit in the lake waiting for the waters to come which could water his fields.

Talakad(also known as Talakadu) is a town on the left bank of the Kaveri river at a spot where the river makes a sharp bend. It is 45 kms from Mysore and 100 kms from Bangalore. A historic site, Talakad once had over 30 temples that today are buried in sand. Now it is a scenic and spiritual pilgrimage center. Here the eastward flowing Kaveri river changes course and seems magnificiently vast as here the sand on its banks spreads over a wide area.

After having a nice lunch at Talakad we set on our way to Shivanasamudra. Shivanasamudra Falls (formerly known as the Cauvery Falls) is the second biggest waterfall in India and the sixteenth largest in the world. Surprising! It is located 27 km from Somanathapura, 80 km from Mysore, and 120 km from Bangalore in Mysore district. After being hit by heavy rains, we managed our way to Shivasamudra and to our delight witnessed beautiful waterfalls. The time was right, with the rains just stopped, and the sun beaming down from the clounds it was a great scene to witness the second biggest waterfall in India.

For more Pictures from Talakad & Shivanasamudra, check my photostream on flickr.

Shooting at a Graveyard...!

Sounds creepy right?

Well not really, some graveyards in Bangalore are pretty good and really old, however getting permission with a camera there is really difficult. St. Peter's Cemetery is one of the oldest graveyards in Bangalore and when it comes to permission, well you are absolutely welcomed with your camera.

I found graveyards really interesting when you try to photograph them. Well everything looks the same, they are just graves, crosses and tombstones everywhere.

Graveyards get very dramatic at early morning with the sun rays hitting the graves at low angles and the bright yellow light coming through the trees, its a wonderful sight to the eyes.

Well I was there to take some snaps and I really wanted to take some good ones. Yes since it was my first time, I did a lot of mistakes and with an 18-55mm Canon Lens, was not so easy. Could have selected a better day, however with gray dark skies and no sun at all, I knew what was in store for that day.

I tried taking snaps with some life around the dead, specially with flowers growing around the grave. It really adds a lot of character to the picture, life along with the dead.

It was surprising that there were a few families living in the graveyard, and i happened to meet a little girl out there filling water and she was so perplexed looking at me with a camera.

One thing that was really annoying was dogs at the cemetery. There were like 10 dongs and they kept barking at each other looking at us. They definitely freak you out when the bark specially in a graveyard.

The next time I have a chance to visit one I would love to try some pictures with low exposure. Definitely cover more tomb stones and the greatest characteristics of a graveyard is to find very few symmetry and if any would love to capture it.

Devanahalli - Birth place of Tipu Sultan

Sunday morning and nothing to do, it was a quick trip to nearby village Devanahalli, the birth place of the Great Tipu Sultan. Devanahalli comes on the National Highway 7 on the way to the very beautiful Nandi hills. Beautiful landscapes all over the way with Nandi hills as the backdrop it was a wonderful morning to spend at Devanahalli.

Tipu Sultan was born in Devanahalli in 1750. As one reaches the town from Bangalore, one finds a scant signboard and a stone tablet surrounded by fields proclaiming the birthplace of Tipu.

Also present is the Devanahalli fort, built in 1501 by Mallabairegowda (before Tipu's time), which remained in the hands of his descendants until the mid seventeenth century. In 1749, the then Dalwai of Mysore - Nanjarajaiah, attacked the fort and occupied it. Later, the fort passed into the hands of Hyder Ali and subsequently Tipu Sultan. In 1791, Lord Cornwallis laid siege to the fort and took possession during the Mysore War.

When Tipu came to power, he renamed the settlement "Yusufabad", which did not prove to be popular

Although Devanahalli is just an hour's drive from Bangalore, there is very little tourist traffic as the authorities have failed to realise the potential of the area. This should hopefully change with the impetus on the Bangalore International Airport.

Devanahalli is the site of the new Bangalore International Airport (BIAL), which is scheduled to open in April 2008.

For more Pictures from Devanahalli, check my photostream on flickr.

Champakulum Boat Race, Kerala

Clear Skies, Hot blazing sun, the splashes in the Champakulum River and a lot of colors; the Champakulum boat race was going to be a memorable moment.

Champakulum a.k.a. Chambakullum is a small town about 26 kms by Road and 13 kms by Boat from Alleppey a.k.a Allapuza. Apart from boat race, Allapuza is also famous for its Backwaters and the amazing and very beautiful boat houses.

The trip at Allapuza was basically to cover the Chambakullum boat race and the beautiful locations at Allapuza. Started at 5.45pm on Friday to Alappuzha, after 16 hours of journey, reached the Venice of the East. After getting fresh, boarded a bus to Champakulam. 45 minutes of Journey with 30 more bumper to bumper stops, we reached Champakulam. Snake boats with men and women (few boats with only women) were roaring on the river (time for rehearsal). After finishing our lunch, we tasted the streets of Champakulam. An old Church (around 200 yrs old), a Statuary (founded in 1921, doing business with Canada, run by third generation artisans) and few hotels and banks was a delight. The race started at 3.30 with all boats and results were withheld first time in the 400 years history of the race.

After the race it was time for some sunset shots at the beach. Boarded an Autorickshaw and reached the beach in about half an hour with 7.5 Rs per Km.

I completely enjoyed the Aapams and the Egg roast through the 2 days and the very famous Kerala's very own Un-polished bullet rice and the warm Jeera Water. Aaah...! what a delight it was.

Day two started with boating in the backwaters crossing Nehru Boat race venue, couple of lakes, villages, amazing boathouses and many shooting locations.

Two complete days at Allapuza would mean a lot of Boating, Aapams and the very special Kerala Parota's. Filled with Greenery, water and lot of colors all around Allapuza is a very special place in Kerala.

Important infomration from the Trip:

Destination: Allapuza (Alleppey)

Locations and Events: Chambakullum26 kms by Road and 13kms by Boat.

You can cover Chambakullum by Boat and thus also cover the beautiful villages in the backwaters or a road trip of aobut half an hour directly to chambakullum. A private boat would cost you about 200 Rs per hour and this would mean about 5 hours of boating to and fro Chambakullum.

A local bus ride would cost you about 10 Rs per head, however if you are in for the crushing and pushing local people at Allapuza. (conclusion both are adventerous)

Allapuza Beach: A beautiful beach visit at the end of day would mean a lot of stress relieveing, a few portraits in the perfect sunlight and a broken Jetty captured being hit by the strong arabian sea waves.

A perfect spot to capure the sun set, however the earth never moved for me ;-)

The best way to reach the beach is an Auto rickshaw. Cost would be about 7-10 Rs per KM, depending where you are boarding the auto from.

Backwaters at Allapuza: As said above you can hire a boat to champakullum or take a round trip through 8 villages of Allapuza in the boat. A beautiful journey through the backwaters of Allapuza, kerala, you can witness, colorful people living all across strip of land along the backwaters.

Total cost of the trip per head: 2245.00 INR (including travel, stay and food)

Means of Travel: KSRTC Bus or Train (Ernakulum Express)

Places of Stay:Arcadia Regency, Hotel Raiban and Brothers Hotel

Time to Go: August will be hosting Nehru Trophy the biggest Boat race Event.

For more Pictures from Champakullum, Allapuza, Kerala, check my photostream on flickr.

Bangalore to Mysore via State Highway 17

What a beautiful day it was on Saturday 16th June. The clouds, the whether, perfect sunlight (to a certain extent) and a beautiful evening. All the way along SH 17, beautiful landscapes, beautifully formed clouds and the shadowed Hills and fields were the most beautiful thing I have witnessed in sometime.

Started the trip a bit late but it turned out to be the perfect time. Stopping at almost every 20 minutes, we got a chance to capture almost everything, nature, mountains, landscapes, people, etc.

A good time to start would be early morning at about 7 AM from Bangalore. The first place to stop would be definitely near Bidadi, where you have beautiful hills on both sides of the road and railway track and the state highway running between them.

Breakfast at Kamat Loka Ruchi is without a doubt you dont want to miss. The Idli's wrapped in coconut leaves are a delight to eat.

You can than carry on towards Chanpattna's very famous wooden toy factory, Maddur's coconut market, Srirangpatna and Ranganthittu bird scantury. Stop for a meal at Srirangpatna and you can get your hands to a decent dish of chicken biryani. The evening time would be best captured from the Srirangpatna bridge. Beautiful landscapes, water and loads of White Breasted King fhisher to capture in flight and resting on wires and branches.

On the way back to Bangalore you can stop at about 1 KM before Kamat Loka Ruchi. The highway is elevated and thus an extremely good location to take some exposure shots.

The best part of the trip was the interactions we have had with people whom we captured and the coconut factory at Maddur. Aaah fresh coconut water was definitely a good deal for no money.

For more Pictures from Bangalore - Mysore , SH 17, check my photostream on flickr.

Moonlight Trekking at Skanda Giri!

What an experience it was?

Started from Hebbal at 10:30 and we soon reached skanda Giri by 1 AM in the morning. The hill looked pretty small and looked like a piece of cake to trek.

We started trek at 1:30 AM with complete energy laughing our way and flashing torch lights. What a beautiful night it was. Full moon and a trek under it, was brilliant and beautiful. The beautifully lit up sky with the moon light and the huge stones on the hill were amazing to look at.

4 hours of bone breaking trek to the top with as many number of pit stops, everyone made it. With almost all the part of the body paining, shutter bugs spirits were high enough to take a few snaps on top, of the ruins. The chill breeze started to pick up and it was too cold to withstand.

Later on we retired to wait for the sunrise and found a nice cozy place to sleep on the rocks near a bonfire. Pretty soon it was about day break and it was beautiful to see the city lights and in the backdrop the western ghats covered with fog and the skyes in blue and red colors.

All in all it was a very nice experience, a very different one. Hope to go back in the winter once again.

For more Pictures from Skanda Giri, check my Photostream on flickr.

Understanding Photography

The Biligiriranga Hills, commonly called B R Hills, is a hill range situated in south-eastern Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu in South India. The area is called Biligiriranga Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1973. Being at the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, the sanctuary is home to eco-systems that are unique to both the mountain ranges. This makes it a very critical habitat. Well within days of getting my D-SLR, I was all set to a 2 day trip to the very beautiful B.R. Hills.

Indeed a beautiful place, and when I was back, I was all excited to see my photographs. Well to my astonishment all my snaps were NOT so great! Well finally I did realize that its not the camera that really matters but its the way you take a picture. I tried a lot but absolutely no use.

I decided to join some photography workshop to understand the basics of photography. Well finally I found one and joined Anand Sharan's weekend workshop at BSoAP (http://www.bsoap.com/). This is when I realized the true use of a D-SLR and thanks to the point and shoot cameras I never knew the beautiful world of D-SLR's.

Well thanks to Anand Sharan, I understood one of the most important concepts of Photography. Composition! Composition is definately important and I could see the difference after the workshop on my images. When doing photography its important to see the world not what your eye's see but what the eye piece of your camera would see.

The other homework you can do is see as many photographs as possible. Be it on the internet or the magazines. A few suggestions from my side would be NationalGeographic.com, BetterPhoto.com and DPchallenge.com. These are some beautiful websites with great photographs.

Photography by Passion

Photography was a long time dream come true when I got my hands on my Canon 350D. Finally I was rolling all over the place with my camera trying to capture whatever I could.

I have been waiting for this for years now and I could really see my small little dream come true (just one of the many).

Canon 350D is a beautiful D-SLR camera's if you are just starting your photography hobby. I saw a lot of review and being a Nikon lover it was difficult for me to convince myself to buy a Canon 350D. The major reason was the cost and the second was the range of lenses in Canon is way more than any other D-SLR camera. So Canon 350D it was and a good review for the camera can be found at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/ (Short, Simple and Sweet).

For a start the Canon kit lens 18-55mm f/3.5 - 5.6 is a decent enough wide angle lens and also can be used for taking portraits. For landscapes the lense works beautifully, however if you are not satisfied with the quality of your portraits since this lens tends to give you a bit softer image, the Canon 50mm f/1.8 is a sure buy.

Also if you want the zoom lenses and you dont know which one to go for and you are definately not into wild life or the cost is a problem the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro is a definite buy. Its cost effect with amazing DoF results.