White Tiger

Av:F/3.5, Tv:1/200s; f:72mm (35mm-equiv: 454mm)

This photo was shot from the tiny gap in the caged window of a Safari bus at Bannerghatta National Park. There’s nothing much that I want to say about the photo. I only wish I had got a tiger when he was awake – the eyes!

I want to question the sense of having such national parks though. What’s the point of bringing animals from all over the country and putting them in a restricted place? (I admit it is better than a zoo, but it is not good enough). These animals belong in the wild and that is where they should be!

At Butterfly Park, Bannerghatta, Bangalore

Tv: 1/250s; Av: F/3.5; f: 72mm(35mm-equiv: 624mm)

I took this photo at the Butterfly Park at Bannerghatta Biological park near Bangalore. I was surprised I even got this shot in the first place, since I never expected the butterfly to stay still for so long (I took quite some time adjusting the aperture, shutter-speed and most importantly, zooming in). But I’m glad this little insect did give me this pose since I loved the outcome – especially the largish eyes.

One thing I would improve in this snap is the background. The antennae of this butterfly are not clearly visible because of the dark background. Had I managed to get some lighter color in the back instead (maybe a leafy green), the antennae would have been more prominently visible. The other shortcoming is the focus. Some areas seem out of focus. Probably manual focus might have helped – but I did not bother with that since with so much zoom, it is difficult to adjust the manual focus.

On this visit, I also learned the difference between a butterfly and a moth (and I used to think they’re the same!!)

• Moths are nocturnal; butterflies are normally active during the day
• Moths have a bulbous tip to their antennae whereas butterflies have feathery or thin ones
• Moths spread out their wings when at rest. On the other hand, butterflies fold theirs.

So I can be pretty sure this insect that I captured is indeed a butterfly.

Floral Windows

Tv: 1/100; Av: F/3.5; f: 13.5mm(35mm-equiv: 86mm)

This photo was taken at the Salzburg Castle. It was on a sunny winter morning. I just loved the “cheerful” mood of the flower pots arranged right at the window. I also think the reflection of the scenery in the open windows adds a nice touch. The “bubble” like object that you see in the window at your right hand side completes the picture. I don’t even know what it is – probably a lantern similar to the skylamps that we use for Diwali.

There are certain things I learned while editing this photo. The foremost is how cropping can be used to negate “crookedness” of some photos. The original snap is much larger and covers quite a bit of the roof and the ground. However, it is a bit slanted. I first thought I’d straighten the snap using tools like GIMP/Picasa. I finally decided to crop the photo instead.

I think the border that I added around this snap could have been better. Particularly, the color I chose for the border should have been something other than the boring black.

Av:F/3.5; Tv:1/400s; f:72mm(35mm-equiv:454mm)

I took this snap on 1st Jan this year, which was widely touted as a real “once-in-a-blue-moon” day. This photo was taken from my terrace, with me lying flat on my back. My camera was stretched to the full 12X zoom, and yet I’m not happy with the clarity. Of course, what you see is a cropped version; but even the original was a bit fuzzy. I did some editing (sharpening and stuff), but it could’ve been better.

How do you photograph the moon? Apart from zoom, how do you work the exposure and most importantly, how do you get it sharp?

Av: F/2.7; Tv:1/100s; f:6mm(35mm-equiv: 38mm)

This photograph was shot at Rheinfalls, an hour north of Zurich in Switzerland. This wheel was probably used in pre-industrial era to fetch water from a well or river.

I liked the mood of this one; and also the angle, the framing and the background. The white board in the top-left corner does seem out of place but it was a great spot to put my signature!

I shot this snap in Sepia. The reason I put up this snap on the blog is to get feedback or any pointers on when to use Sepia and when not to. Almost any snap that I take in Sepia; it always looks better when I desturate it and turn in into B&W. It was no different with this one – I post-processed the photo and made it B&W – and that looked better than the one you are seeing here.

Any links to Sepia-flavored snaps which you have taken are greatly appreciated!

Salzburg At Night

Av:F/2.7; Tv:1/4s; f:6mm(35mm-equiv: 38mm)

I shot this snap just past dusk when I was strolling along the Salzch river in Salzburg. The scenery was too good to miss – the shops along the riverfront, the reflection of lights in the river, the not-so-dark sky.

I liked the coverage and framing of this photograph – right from the castle overlooking the city, down to the bridges crossing the river – it’s all well-positioned.

What I do not like about this particular shot is the absence of sharpness. A quarter second shutter speed was a mistake – I should have gone for at least a tenth of a second and used ISO 200. I don’t think the ISO noise would be pronounced in this photo because of the reflections in the water (which would have hidden the noise).

Av: F/2.7; Tv:1/160s; f:7.2mm(35mm-equiv:46mm)

This was shot in a park in Salzburg, Austria. The sun was out but it was really cold. I liked the geometry of the scene (parallel lines of trees and the parallel shadows being cast).

I think however that this snap could have done with some cropping to remove the irrelevant portions to the extreme left; I did try it once but then decided to stick to the original. Secondly, I reproduced the original picture here; although in hindsight I think some post-processing might have helped in beautifying it up a little.

I did try desaturating this snap and the results were good; but again, I wanted to showcase the vibrant greens of the lawn and hence decided to put up this one instead.

Glow of Hope

Tv: 1/250s; Av:F/2.7; f:6mm (35mm-equiv:134mm); Post-processing: GIMP2

The main intention of this post was to try and capture the spirit of Diwali and the “Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya” concept. I think I was somewhat successful in portraying this soul – the photo shows a gradual increase in luminosity from as one progresses from the lower right to the upper left.

Of course, there are several things I’d want to keep in mind the next time I attempt such a shot:

• The flame itself is very fuzzy. I think even a faster shutter speed would not have been able to sharpen the flame. I should have taken proper care while setting the diya itself.
• You observe the lower left side of the lamp itself is much sharper and in better focus then the upper right. This is because I used Super-Macro mode and Manual Focus. I did consider setting this right by increasing the DOF. But that would have meant closing the aperture. I decided against this because I wanted to capture this one with the lights off – and that wouldn’t allow me the luxury of a narrow aperture opening.
• Maybe I should’ve tried this on table-top instead of the floor? Or does the floor design pattern add some variety to this snap? Well – I can’t decide!

Av: F/5.6; Tv: 0.02s (1/50); f: 47 mm; ISO: 200

I shot this photo during a “Mosaru Kudike” (Dahi Handi) parade during Krishna Janmashtami this year in Mangalore. This was a show put up on one of the tableau – the famous “Hulivesha” (Tiger Dance). The troop here was playing with the fire. It made for some wonderful photographs & photogenic moments.
The night parades are both a boon and a bane for taking photos. On one hand, the whole setting looks wonderful at night, with the main show catching our attention. But, there is the problem of inadequate light making it tough to capture the moment, especially so when there is a lot of movement happening on the scene. On many occasions, you can’t use the flash as the subject is far away and the flash-light won’t reach it. Hence, it becomes important to use higher ISOs like 400 or 800. Of course, if it is very dark, you’ll end up getting a lot grains on the image.
In this photo, I love the towering and menacing fire and the stunt put up by the tiger dancers. I always wanted to catch the Tiger Dacers in action; with this photo, I have just started at that job.
I would have loved to get a closer shot of the person in action with more of his face showing as the source of the fire.
I would also have loved to make away with the disturbing ad boards in the background.

Tv: 1/160s; Av: F/3.2; f:8.1mm (35m-equiv:52mm)

I took this pic at my native village. What you see here are trunks of betelnut trees stacked up. These trunks are used in the betelnut “harvesting” season to build temporary one-storey high structures on which the betel-nuts are dried after coloring them. These structures are called “atta” in Kannada, and are a common sight in rural Karnataka during the season.

• I liked the 45-degree angle as it gives the photo its character.
• This photo was shot in B&W (as against shooting in color and then converting to B&W later). I liked the fact that the B&W effect has come out much better than my other attempts!
• There has been minimal post-processing in this snap (just minor adjustments for brightness and contrast)

How this snap could have been improved?

• It would have been nice if I could get some other aspect of village life into the frame – the house itself was right next to this shed – and I could have tried to include it as well.
• The time of say when this snap was taken was not optimal. Had I taken it during brighter daylight – the effect might have been drastically better!

Well, whats your opinion?