Photography, I share thee...

Trip to Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro in Autumn 2008

2009-07-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

So... Here's an update after long! Places visited -

Italy: Trieste
Croatia: The seaside drive along the Adriatic Sea, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, etc.
Montenegro: Skadarsko Jezero (Skadar Lake), Durmitor National Park, Biogradska Gora, Tara River Canyon, etc...

Larger and prettier version

Trip to India in Winter 2007 (Coorg, Kerala, and Kanyakumari)

2008-01-27T14:34:00.001-08:00

I'll let the slideshow do the talking... ;-)

(Larger & clearer version)

My collection of spectacular sunrises and sunsets....

2008-01-27T14:21:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to classify my photos for quite long. Once I did that, I have been wanting to be able to put them online without an effort. Looks like, both are easily possible now! So, here is the first of the lot, and after quite long - I admit.

My collection of spectacular sunsets captured in Germany, India, Italy, Portugal and the US:
(Bigger / clearer version!)

The Grand West-European Roadtrip...

2006-10-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

6000 kms of driving through the heavens on earth.

A trip starting in Germany through France, Spain and into Portugal is no small thing. However, composing a BLOG that records the experiences is even more difficult. I have been composing this BLOG for 3 weeks now and it's not done, yet - perhaps, I need to call "stop" somewhere.

For the moment - enjoy the evening in La Corunha below, pardon my laziness and do visit this page again...

Blumen (Flowers) - Roses, Tulips and Wild Ones...

2006-06-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

How many photographers ever manage to avoid the temptation of capturing the colors and textures that flowers present? I for one most certainly fell victim. Here come flowers for all the beautiful people I know.

I was lucky to rent a flat in a quaint little town in a house that had a beautiful garden...
...Maintained by justifiably proud landlord.

He had a fabulous collection of plants and trees fetched from countries around Europe, and had some beautiful flowers too...
At the break of spring, it was time for tulips to bloom...
A few weeks later, roses bloomed aplenty...
...What more could I ask for?

I learnt that some flowers stand out...
And some stand alone... ...In the green slopes around Schloss Neuschwanstein... In stark contrast to the monotonous greenery that surrounded it - yet so much at home.

I'll let go with one last photo of a little flower the size of a 1 cent coin growing on the slopes of Kehlstein, near Königsee...
...Yes, the flower is only as wide as a 1 cent coin. This is a real close close-up!

All the photographs you saw are captured using my Canon S50, and are all taken in manual focus, on close range, with a high shutter speed, a low f-number (wide-aperture) and no flash.

Hockenheimring: The F1 paradise...

2006-05-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

No, F1 does not stand for "help" in this BLOG, it stands for Forumula 1.

Hockenheim Ring is a hop, skip and jump away (I can ever hear the drone when a race is on).

When I took a flight over the course during a Flugtag (translated: "Flight Day!") at Walldorf, I did capture an aerial view for all you Formula 1 Racing fans out there...

Lido, Burano and Murano...

2006-05-21T03:03:00.000-07:00

Sounds like the names of places taken straight out of a comic - right? Well, almost.

These are pretty islands that surround Venice. It is very interesting that in spite of having such a prominent neighbor, these islands have managed to maintain a very unique personality.

Murano is a little island that is very famous for it's glass work. This place is teeming with glass factories, and beautiful shops that sell exquisite glasses. More than once did my eyes pop out to see the price of a wine-glass set marked at 6000 Âs (7200 USD). Reason: apart from the glass being exquisite, the craftsmen integrated fine slivers of real gold into their work.

People like me do a good job at keeping safe distance from such precious stuff - a nudge here, a push there and we could spend a good fraction of our lives paying up for something we wouldn't drink out of!

Burano is a sister island and in sharp contrast has nothing to do with glass. This island characterised by pastel colored homes specializes in fine lace / crochet work. Yes, lace! It even has a lace museum and the women in this island indulge in beautifully fine, thin and detailed laceworks that impress the onlooker.

Last but not the least, Lido is the famous island that has given it's name to a film festival and to at least one Cinema Hall I know of! This island is home to really rich people.

Talking of richness, would you expect this little cutie in such a place?
To sign this blog off, I must leave you with one of the most beautiful sunsets experienced at Lido...
Unforgettable.

Venice... Oh, how romantic!

2006-05-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

I visited Venice in 2005 - a place that's still so fresh in my mind. A city that's created an indelible impression!

Venice is a pretty place. Granted that it's all spruced up to earn as much revenue from Tourism as possible, but one cant but help give this city credit for the fact that it is so different from others and that there are a few places in the world that one can even compare this one with. The first thing that strikes a visitor is the incredibly (or I dare say) delicate balance between water and land. It almost seems like the former is perpetually winning the race in acquiring more area.

Let me just start with the photos...

Here to the top-left is the most famous bridge in Venice... Called the "Realto Bridge".

We felt really lucky to find a reasonable accommodation close to such an important tourist spot, but guess how it looked like... Yes, that photo to the right is the hotel I lived in - Unbelievable, but true!

It looked like a dilapidated hut. Reluctantly, we made our entrance into this so-called "hotel" and were led to our rooms - surprise of surprises - these were one of the cosiest and nicest rooms that I've seen.

For one, they had very attractive paintings on the wall.

Here's one of them -
It was only a matter of time that we realized that the crumbling facade was actually deliberate and intended to keep the city looking "old" as the tourists would like it to be!

The city itself is full of beautiful structures, impressive churches and an amazing grid of water channels, and tiny streets that couldn't even accommodate a car.

For a city fitting the above description, imagine the incredible thrill one experiences when one emerges from one of the tiny gullies to confront this huge open impressive square...

We were awestruck, and decided to simply sit down and savor the lovely sight.

On recovery, we decided to scale that tower (which BTW is the highest point in the city) and see the view around... Scaling that tower didn't happen with ropes and a hook as it sounds - rather a pretty expensive elevator did the job for us.

Here is what Venice looks like from the top -
...The Venetian lagoons bordered by natural Lindbergh have traditionally been to the advantage of this sea city over invading forces.

Here is what St Mark's Square looks like from the Bell Tower...

Can you see those table organized in a neat grid? At night, these is even live music playing in those restaurants and taking a place on that chair costs a good 15 Âs (even before you order a coffee, that is!)

On a funny note, as I was walking around the tower, I saw a pair of cute children (perhaps, twins) solemnly seated on the towers's walls.

Being a photography freak, I couldn't but resist taking a shot... Their proud father was only to happy to oblige.

Photographing strangers is something which is perhaps particularly peculiar to me.

Walking down the narrow alleys, I came across a lady who had an incredibly colorful band attached to her spectacles! I requested her for a photo, and the pleasant friendly local that she was - she agreed.

Crazy - that's me!

Coming back to our main topic... Venice is amazingly beautiful even at night.

One often feels that one's witnessing a new place when actually one has only returned to the same point after sunset!

So, here are some photos of the places you saw above... But, this time - taken at night.

Realto Bridge again...
I spent many hours gazing into the waters, and enjoying the soft reflections.

Every now and then I would capture the moment and fiddle with my camera to make things better. Fortunately, I did have an understanding company.

While a low f-number is often necessary for taking night shots, I have found that a large f-number and a long exposure shot often results in mature colors and intense photographs.

Of course, this necessitates the use of a tripod - a constraint that I often circumvent by placing my camera on a steady surface and using the timer to effect a delayed snap (else, the vibration of the click damages the photograph).

Here is one of my favorites - taken at night - St Mark's Cathedral.

The cathedral is about 400 feet from where I have taken the photograph, and if you are wondering how I managed to find a time where so few people are on the grounds - the truth is - I didn't.

All I did was to use a very high f-number, and a very high exposure period (say 10 seconds) - this high exposure period automatically erased most people (who were moving) and resulted in a photograph where the stationary background has created a stronger impression on the moving foreground (the people). So, a few hundred people in the way were automatically eliminated.

The same for this photograph taken from the opposite side... It's the view of the square from the Cathedral.

All right... That's enough of me yak-yakking about Venice for now. Hope you enjoyed the views.

Ciao,
Sid!

PS: Here is the culprit behind it all -

Sharing my passion of photography...

2006-05-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of my cherished purchases has been my lovely Canon S50 semi-professional, compact camera. I purchased this in the Spring of 2004, and it's been my faithful friend ever since. My S50 was preceeded by a very likeable Canon Rebel 2000 film SLR (the American equivalent of the Canon EOS 300) that lies idle today - mainly because of it being a film camera. Both cameras are equal in functionality - though, my SLR takes the lead in so far as changing lenses goes.

I've had the privilege in visiting some beautiful places on this planet, and in this page I bring them to you. I hope you enjoy watching the photos as much as I did in capturing the moments.

A sneak preview into subjects that interest me...