CAMERA CHRONICLES

 Being sick is a feeling that is never welcome and one of the prerequisites of having an enjoyable, stress free vacation is to be sickness free. I have been down with a severe form of indigestion and it took me back to this trip. Why? Well I honestly don't know.  This was back in 2017 when I travelled to Kaziranga National Park to spot the famous one horned rhino. The food I remember wasn't top notch. Having said that I did not fall ill. 

Indian Rhinoceros

The Indian Rhinoceros is found along the Indo-Gangetic plane and is the second largest Rhinoceros species. They are characterised as a vulnerable species and are very commonly exposed to poaching. When I went, there was a lot of awareness about it and the park officials had taken stringent measures to try and prevent the poaching from becoming rampant. This photograph could be deceiving as they are only second in size to the Asian elephant. 

A morning in Kaziranga.

The Kaziranga National Park is beautiful and serene in the mornings and a definite must visit. Everyone talks about Tadoba, Bandipur or Jim Corbett National Parks for their Tiger population, but the Rhinos are no less impressive when you see them in all their glory. 

Unlike other national parks I couldn't live inside the park, but this view en-route the morning safari was worth the travel. Everyone should visit, enjoy the atmosphere and have no fear, cause the food is definitely safe. 

Until we meet again. 💚

CAMERA CHRONICLES

It’s been a while since I have posted any camera chronicles. This particular one isn’t a DSLR chronicle but a phone camera chronicle. Although the DSLR has its advantages, it is impossible to carry everywhere in anticipation that an opportunity to click a photograph will reveal itself. What do you do then ? Simple, turn to the most handy and ever evolving (the only thing bettering itself) device our generation has seen. 

The phone came about in 1876 and has now become an indispensable part of our lives. From phones that were rejected to rotary dial to push button to now smart phones that are smarter than us. Sorry!! I digress… coming back to photographs, an opportunity presented itself when I got the chance to visit the holy place Puri. A town in the state of Odisha in India. 

It is one of the Dhamas, because of the temple of Lord Jagannatha..... 

WHY do you ask is this incomplete? simply because, these thoughts came to me back in 2022, almost 3 years ago and 10 years from the time I got the DSLR.  I am revisiting this post because I had the same thought again last night. Does that not show the psychology, complexity and rigidity of the human mind? But thats for us to discuss another time, for now let's delve into what this is actually about, photographs. 

Technology has surpassed us. It has changed photo taking for us. By us I mean the common homosapien. Phone photography has become a thing especially with social media taking over life. Here are a couple of pictures that truly make having the convenience of a phone worth it. 

Mt. Fuji 

Riding the shinkansen is truly an experience. You know the speed at which the train travels, but does your brain do the required math as quickly as it should? Definitely not. I got lucky that I was able to make full use of the seats that we had so specifically requested for, just so that we could get this view. I say I got lucky because my math failed me in my time of need. I was keeping track of how far Mt. Fuji was on google maps. What I did not account for was the scale of Mt. Fuji. Right at this point this volcano is more than 11 kms from us and the train is travelling at almost 300km/hr.  Right now would a dslr have been my saviour? Hell no.

Gion, Kyoto

I personally love this photograph. Everything came together perfectly and the idea in my head was translated to photo. The sun is the main model here, highlighting the architecture, with the tree, cobbled path and angles playing the supporting actors perfectly. Can a seasoned professional photographer find mistakes in this photo, cent per cent, but for me this photograph is near perfect. 

I am not averse to using the DSLR for clicking some photographs, it's just that I haven't quite mastered the art yet. Do I give up? or start afresh?

Until we meet again. 💚

Camera Chronicles..

The Dastakari Exhibition which showcases handicrafts from all over India was in town. I have a few friends for whom I had to buy birthday gifts. Usually, I put off buying gifts till a day before I'm going to gift it to them but this time I found so ,many pretty things at the exhibition...It was beautiful.. crafts that were made with such care and so much variety ... from footwear to bags... ceramics.. fabrics... bird baths .. wind chimes...

It is a file and an address book with these cute dolls on the cover... There were beads on them and they looked very youthful and different...

Camera Chronicles ...

I have always been fascinated by balloons. My earliest memory of a balloon is buying them at the beach. Not those heart shaped balloons but regular coloured ones. Later came the shape balloons... you know those balloons which are shaped mostly as animals ... I think dogs or snakes or dragons? I would always bring home the balloons I bought and then they would just float around in my room until my brother burst it or the air just escaped.

Birthday parties were never complete without balloons... Balloon games, colour balloons depending on the favourite colour of the month. balloons just to burst... Balloons will definitely remain one of my favourite things....
 I clicked this picture at a school function. I edited it a little bit in terms of brightness and added a border.

Camera Chronicles...

I have always wanted a DSLR, to take mindblowing pictures just like the ones in lonely planet? where all the colours are vivid and everything looks just so beautiful. Begged, cried, used all my convincing powers but to no avail, I still had to use a samsung and later the nikon coolpix. They weren't bad and the pictures were close to mindblowing but no, I had it in my head that I had to have a DSLR . I eventually gave up and resolved to buy one with my own hard earned money.

That didn't happen because my father gave me one after all the crying, my mother believing that good professional pictures can be taken with the coolpix, he did get me one. My 22nd birthday, I woke up in the morning to my dad placing something on my bed and trying to sneak out before I realized what was happening. Lo behold, it was a dslr, the Cannon 600D.
I was thrilled, beyond happy. Felt the camera, played with the settings a little and took my first photo.

Was I thrilled or what ! Never had I been able to take such a picture with the coolpix. My mother had to agree with me after seeing this.( In retrospect ... there was never a problem with the coolpix .. I just didn't know how to take pictures!)  Ha! we took some family pictures, because we now had a GOOD camera. But after that day the camera was put in its cover, and kept safely in the cupboard. taken out during weddings, festivals, and of course birthdays !

It's been more than a year since I have taken  a good  any  picture with the camera, used the manual setting or generally just used it. So this new year one of my resolutions is to use the manual setting of my camera, just the manual setting and explore my camera more.

So, begin the Camera Chronicles.