Angle matters!

My previous attempt was to show how the same subject looks different and gives different feel if we look at that from different angles. The one thing that we sometimes forget as photographers is to spend some time around the subject and looking at that from different angles. I have missed many such opportunities where I realised after I saw the image on the computer screen. 'Oh! I should have tried that angle!' ...'Ah! That other angle IF I had tried might have given better impact!'... Such expression I have got many times when I saw some of my images once I come back to home!
So last weekend I tried to capture an interesting subject in all possible angles that I felt interesting! I spent almost an hour around this shell, trying to capture it in different angles. Below are some of those results.



I particularly liked the distractions around. But the twig on the upper right corner is a bit disturbing.... but still a keepable image!

Now, next I tried a very slightly different angle where I got rid of those twigs and went for a clean shot. Below is the result:


And then went around this guy [The guy was still inside! Having his weekend sleep...happily!]
and the other part of his shell was having a very interesting pattern on it.


As this was bit flat, I decided to shift my tripod slightly to my right to get some high light in the frame. My idea was to keep this subject in the high light area and having the slight dark area in the right space of the frame in order to balance it. This view of mine resulted in the below image:


Then I thought of using 50mm lens and get some view of the scape around. Smaller focal lengths sometime yield some different perspectives. Below is the result of that experiment:




By this time [still if you are reading!! :)] you will come to know how different angles give different perspectives. Some angles may look good to some people. Ofcourse the taste and the liking differs. But we need to explore different possibilities to get the image which really satisfies our inner vision.



At the end of the day its the satisfaction that we get from the image is what matters!


Cheers,
Ash

Some attempts for something different!

Past couple of weeks I spent trying something different! Went to Ramanagaram twice but not for vultures! They were flying happily above my head as usual but I was not with my tele lens there. My eyes were searching some patterns or some unique angles or some experimentations or some adventure! I tried to produce something different!



In the below image I was waiting for Indian Robin at the place of Agama. I spent a good 45 min waiting for that bird to arrive with 50mm lens on my camera. All the time when I went slightly away from there the bird landed at that spot! Finally made this image thinking that something is better than ...... !



The below pair is the antennae of a dragonfly!! I swear I never knew dragonflies possess such beautiful antennae!



Then spent some time in my aunt's garden and tried some macros and abstracts.










Not totally successful! But I have the satisfaction of learning some skills and how to control the frustration! :) Creative photography is really challenging!

I am enjoying it!

The game is on!

Cheers,
Ash

Amidst the clouds - A trek to Kodachadri !!

The mountains always fascinated me! So are the clouds! The joy mounts when both these combine together and produce a visual spectacle! Monsoon is THE time to enjoy this. As the monsoon was on its way we decided to conquer Kodachadri!! For the weekend warriors like us these treks bring such an adrenaline that it takes months together to get out of that mood!
Needless to say that the trek was fantastic! We hit by the monsoon showers(or the pre monsoon showers??) while we were climbing through the grasslands. The leeches were everywhere and were looking very well built!! We literally ran in some places inspite of having 12 kg backpack!! But every trouble melts away when you see the huge dense clouds hitting right at the high peaks of the Sahyadris! The eyes start to think if its a reality or any kind of dream or illusion!!



This time I had decided to carry my photography gears to the top and after lot of calculations and assumptions I had finally decided to carry everything!! :) So my backpack was my Lowepro CompuTrekker with all the lenses and was happily weighing 12 kgs!! Naga, KG and Manu also had their backpacks which weighed definitely not less than mine!


All the pain that one undergoes in carrying such heavy stuffs through the mountains start disappearing when you start enjoying the nature over there. For us at the first it was White Bellied Blueflycatcher which gave tremendous pleasure! It was a lifer for me as well!(Uff!! A lifer after a loooooong time!) Then it was followed by the Blue Oak Leaf butterfly and what seemed like a mixed hunting group of White Bellied Treepie, Racket Tailed Drongo and Barbets. [It may not be a mixed hunting group as the barbets dont hunt insects].


After a small pit stop at the famous Mallu's place and having some lemon juice and banana we set out further. It was then that the play of leeches and the shower started! After enjoying all these (!!!) we were at the top at around 3:30 in the afternoon. After taking some rest and negotiating about the staying place in the local Inspection Bunglow we started ascending the peak and we were there at around 5:30!


The nature is pristine over there! Boy, what a wonderful sight it is! Even though it is not first time for me but still I get the same joy every time as if it is the first time that I am coming there!

The distant mountains were blue and the clouds were passing by beneath our feat! The forest beneath was echoing with the whistles of the Malabar Whistling Thrushes! The grass was green and so were the deciduos forest patches! All in all the feeling was fantastic!
After witnessing the sunset it was time to come back to the bunglow.

The night was cold and calm and I slept as if I haven't slept for years!! It was very calm indeed.



The next day morning when I opened my eyes it was 5:15 and we should be at the top again by 5:45! As the clouds hid the sun behind them, the sunrise was not much evident except for some golden rays amidst the clouds. The air was pure and cold. Everyone of us enjoyed to the fullest.
Started descending at around 10:30 and we were back at the bottom by afternoon.



The flight of the White Bellied Treepie, the whistle of the Malabar Whistling Thrush ,the call of White Bellied Blue Flycatcher and the sudden shower when we were in the grassland.... all these will remain green in my memories in the time to come.


I have already started planning my next trip to Kodachadri!! :)

Cheers,
Ash