My Unlock 1.0 !!

The world is trying come back to normal (by accepting the reality and exercising caution) and here I am, trying to come back to my space where I had shared my thoughts, views and experiences over many years and had gone silent for close to four years! 

Lot has happened in that time. We completed our maiden feature length documentary on the untamed river in the Western Ghats - Aghanashini in 2017 and the subsequent two years had gone in attending various film festivals and screening events at various places. 

During the course of these four years there were few instances when I had thought of coming back to this space to share few thoughts but somehow the drive was not strong enough to make me sit and give words to those thoughts. 

In 2020, when I was thinking to coming back to normalcy, by normalcy I mean continue shooting and expressing through images, the world was struck with an event of the century and everything has come to a literal standstill. 

It has been about five months since I had gone out for shooting. The windows of my home and some vegetation around my apartment have become my canvas and occasionally I try to find some frames in them.

Last year I had spent some time in reading and understanding about vintage lenses. Believe me, it is a fascinating world! More about it on some other day perhaps. In that quest of learning about them, I bought a few very old lenses and started using them in my photography. Their subtle rendering is very different compared to the clinically sharp modern lenses and I was awestruck by their usefulness even in these modern times and by some of their performances on the modern day high resolution cameras. 

I am just waiting desperately for my next shoot in the wild, which as per the current scenario, is nowhere in sight for next several months.

No cheers,

Ash

~ M A H A B A L I P U R A M ~ Under the silent storm!

Tamil Nadu is getting completely soaked by the recent series of deep depressions in the Bay of Bengal. The satellite images showing the swirl of cloud are painting a really horrifying picture of very heavy rains in the east coast of India. As I am writing this blog there is another warning standing in the parts of southern coast of Tamil Nadu for tomorrow and day after!

Me and my family has seen the beginning of these pouring times in Chennai and we missed the fury of the cyclone by a whisker! All hell started to break loose the day after we left Chennai. On the last day of our stay (Nov 8th, 2015) it had given us a hint about the days to come! Oct - Nov being a regular rainy season in Tamil Nadu (due to reverse monsoon) we thought that it would be a regular rain with a bit more duration and slightly heavy clouds! But the story was different! A dangerous storm was silently brewing in the sky above us and we were happily enjoying our city sight-seeing and visits to popular tourist destinations thinking that they are regular cloud movements!

Mahabalipuram was one of the places where we spent our Saturday (Nov 7th, 2015) morning. The sky was cloudy and it was drizzling intermittently at times. The low moving, rain bearing clouds are always a treat for the photographer, which fills the sky nicely with shades while shooting the temple architecture! I was happy because the clouds were hiding the harsh sun behind them and the light was pretty even. It drizzled a bit while we were watching the main shore temple complex and then again a bit of drizzle while we were at the place of "Pancha Ratha" (complex of five chariots). Though the intensity was a bit high we thought that it is just a momentarily shower and did not take it seriously. But when we head back to the car to proceed to Arjuna's Penance then the fury started! It went on to about 20 odd minutes and at the end we had to abandon the idea of going inside the complex of Arjuna's Penance and started to head back to Chennai. What we saw there was a pre-cursor for the days to come!

Here are some of the images which I made that morning at Mahabalipuram.
(Click on the images to see them bigger - recommended!)

While I pray for the safety of all in Tamil Nadu during these tough times you enjoy these images.

Cheers,

Ash

Yosemite - My impressions

If I were to rate a place that I visited during my short stay in the West Coast US then Yosemite would be second on my list, after Death Valley. The sheer diversity of the landscape is so enriching that I bet even the most conservative photographer would come back with a high number of excellent images.

Yosemite was the next one in our plan, after Death Valley, during our stay in Sunnyvale. Having been driven to Death Valley and having been spoiled by the tremendous photo opportunity that Death Valley presented, the expectation from Yosemite was no less. Apart from its grand vistas and beautiful waterfalls it had another unique attraction to us - the Giant Sequoia, largest tree specie on earth. Since Sahana and me are big time tree lovers, seeing this huge mammoth was high on our wish-list. Areas around Mariposa Grove inside the Yosemite National Park have many of these giant trees.

The time that we planned to visit Yosemite was in the third weekend of December 2014. By that time it has already snowed in some parts of the region. The route to Glacier Point, one of the most famous and iconic spots in the Park, was closed. Same was the case with Mariposa Grove. At least that's what their website was telling the previous day of our visit. This made our hopes of seeing Giant Sequoia bleak and needless to say that we were little disappointed.

Our plan was to reach Yosemite Valley by noon and spending some time in the valley and exploring the photographic opportunity at various points. The next day morning was planned at Tunnel View, another famous spot, and then based on the previous day's experience deciding what to do next.

As per the plan we reached Yosemite Valley by noon. We filled petrol (Gas, as it is called in US) to our vehicle in the last point at El Portal, before entering the National Park. The drive along the Merced River was pleasant and enjoyable. As we entered Yosemite Valley we were stunned by the sheer beauty of the place. One side you have huge mammoth-like mountain - El Capitan, and the other side you have series of rocky peaks and to add to the whole view you have huge water falls on either side of the valley. The beauty and the joy was much more than what we had expected!

After spending some time in the first meadow in the valley we went straight to Visitor Center. Visitor Centers are the best places to get accurate information in all the US National Parks. The staff there are normally very well informed and they help you to make your experience better and pleasant. The staff at the Visitor Center told us that due to no snowfall in past few days Mariposa Grove was opened for visitors on the very same day morning. That was a welcome surprise for us and we decided to head straight to Mariposa Grove and then coming back to Tunnel View by sunset.

Mariposa Grove didn't disappoint us at all. We both were bowled over by the sheer size of the Giant Sequoia trees. We walked along one of the smaller trails to see the largest Giant Sequoia in Yosemite - Giant Grizzly! We also saw various other types of pines like Sugar Pine, which has the longest cones of any coniferous trees. The information boards all across the pathways are excellent sources of information about the tree and the region.

Satisfied with the experience of seeing the largest tree specie on earth, we head back to Tunnel View. By the time we reached Tunnel View the sun had already set. We were not disappointed as we planned for visiting the same place again the next day morning. Hence we headed straight to the place where we had booked our stay - Curry Village. It is an excellent place if you are looking for a budget accommodation, where you are given a nice tent with an optional heater facility. Completely tired by the activities during the day we just wanted to rest our heads against the pillow. The next day morning was waiting.

Tunnel View is another iconic point in Yosemite National Park. That is a point where every tourist has a photograph and almost the same photograph :) ! That morning was no less beautiful. The cloud was still hovering in the valley beneath and the distant sky was turning light pink. After some time, the high clouds spoiled the morning glow but the clouds in the valley were still providing plenty of opportunities for every photographer to explore possibilities. We spent about two hours by enjoying image making process and soaking in the atmosphere of the place.

The rest of the day was spent in exploring various other spots and some trails in the Park. The prominent one which we enjoyed was our visit to Mirror Lake. The name was accurate and meaningful to the place. The lake indeed was a mirror, reflecting the high glaciers and the peaks in its water. The ripples were not often and hence the beauty of looking at the neat reflection was a sheer joy for quite some time. We enjoyed making some images at that place.

Post lunch we headed to few other spots to view Yosemite Falls from bottom and stopped at few places to make some images enroute. Our plan was to witness another sunset before we start heading back to Sunnyvale, which was about four hours of drive from the Park. We decided on a place that is beside a river from where you have a clear view of the El Capitan on one side and the other peaks on the opposite side. The river in the foreground was adding nicely to the whole scene. Our decision of spending another sunset paid off as the sky was turing very vibrant. The red glow of setting sun was falling directly on the imposing structure of El Capitan and its vertical side was reflecting the radiant glow. A set of small cloud was giving a nice scale to the whole scene.

After making few images at the spot we suddenly decided to go to Tunnel View once again before the twilight fades away. By the time we started to head towards Tunnel View, which was about 3 - 4kms from the place where we were shooting, the glow was quite at its peak. But we knew that the scene would be much more appealing from the place where we were going now and we were not disappointed! When we reached the place the sky was having post sunset glow and the whole valley in front and the sky above were bathed in pink afterglow of sunset. That light was there for few minutes before it started to fade away by giving place to the evening blues!

By the time we started back from Yosemite it was about 5:30PM and it was already dark! But what we had witnessed that evening was something truly special.

The majestic El-Capitan, beautiful Yosemite Falls, serene Yosemite Valley and those HUGE Giant Sequoias have etched memories of Yosemite experience forever in our lives.

Asking me if I want to go there again?
- Why not? :)


Cheers,
Ash

At times when I looked up...

Clouds are something which give me an array of emotions.

When the clouds are heavy and dark I get scared about their tensed mood and the way in which they give the feel that they will wash away everything beneath them.

Then on a winter day when the sky is lovely blue few small clouds here and there give me a nice feel of some wanders with no idea about their destination.

They make me smile and I keep watching them for quite a long time till either they vanish into the air or move far far away. My heart feels very light after seeing them.

These are some of the images which I had made over past couple of years (the recent ones being today) which depict different moods of the clouds (and mine as well ?!!). 

All images are made from my balcony at home.

 

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 
   
Cheers,
Ash

When The Clouds Play...

Normally on Saturdays I take a small nap after lunch. After a tiring morning my body asks for some rest in the afternoon and I listen to it. Last Saturday thanks to a phone call which woke me up and I didn't get sleep afterwards and decided to prepare a hot cup of Tea...The weather outside was bit cloudy and casually I looked at the sky for a possible rain...and wait...the movement of the clouds was faster than usual and the shades and the pattern were intriguing...

Hurriedly I put my camera into the bag and rushed to the terrace. Looked at the sky again and wow! The play was about to begin... The mood was poised and the Pariah Kites were having tough time gliding in the air...Took out the camera, mounted my 18-135 and sh*#! there was no card in the camera!! Every moment was crucial and the cloud formation was changing fast...Rushed to get the card and my 12-24 along...wasted precious 2 and a half min because of my foolishness and I went onto my toes the moment I reached the terrace back...


The blue sky was still visible and as the Sun was about to finish his duty, the sky on the West was slowly turning yellow...The shades and shapes of the clouds were imparting a poised mood...


I was expecting a war in the sky that evening...was waiting for some more drama...but...disappointed...cease fire was declared and thick heavy clouds headed in to different ways...


It took me some time to recover and when I unloaded my bag back in my room I realised ........that..... my evening Tea was pending... :)

Cheers,
Ash

Network - still unplugged!!

After settling down in the new place there began a new challenge for me - to get the landline and the broadband connections transferred to the new place! It is becoming a greater and greater challenge day by day. At last two days back finally we got the dial tone in the receiver!! But.... with the change of number!! (Oh Nooooo!!!) Now again have to fight with them to regain the same old number to which I had my precious broadband connection! I dont know when this fight is gonna end!! I am sure your wishes are with me!! ;-)



Mean while there are couple of updates from my side to share.
Soon after the launch of Chandrayan, we launched the second version of CNP (Creative Nature Photography). This has better look and feel than the earlier version. Thanks to Pramod and Shiv who took all the technical pain in designing this.
The office work held me down for almost continuous three weeks including the weekends and almost no photography at all !!! (Yes...it is true!!) Finally last Sunday broke this fast and headed to T G Halli with Adkoli and had some good time there.



For the software geeks I have a question here: I tried to use Nikon Capture NX to process my images from D300 and when ever I open a RAW image in NX it opens with beautiful vivid colors and looks great! But the Color Space is Nikon Adobe RGB which eventually have to be converted into sRGB to post on the web or even to print. Now, when I process the image (Levels/Curves etc) and at the end when I convert the color profile to sRGB I see a considerable shift in the colors! I am not able to understand why there is so much of a difference in the color space! When ultimately one has to convert to sRGB(either for web or to print) why on earth they show the image in the Nikon Adobe RGB format which looks so much beautiful, but eventually useless!!!! I am totally puzzled now!! If you have any solution for this - like how to preserve the same colors which appear in the Nikon Adobe RGB profile I would be very obliged to try that out with a bunch of heart filled thanks from my side!


Ok, that was for software geeks!.... Last weekend had some good session with D300 and have to learn a lot! I feel I am still using it as my D80, and not exploring the other possibilities of the body.... time to do some learning....

Deepavali - the festival of light - light is everywhere outside! In the day and now in the night as well. Yesterday evening tried some attempts to capture the festive mood in the sky. May be I will write about that in my next blog... and hopefully from home...after getting connected !!!

Till then... one more battle is left!

Wish me!

Ash