John Immanual

CTC Photography Trip - Yelagiri

2009-07-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Its been more than 6 months joining CTC on a trek/trip. Thanks to Viki who was the master planner for this trip and to Samyak/Ravi for executing it well.

I am not documenting the photography trip report here. check the trip-log at The Chennai Trekking Club , and what you would see here is just a few of my clicks during the trip.

Misson Long-Wait

2009-01-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

Its been a long wait that i wanted to climb a small hill ( Skandagiri ) which is 70 kms from Blore. Its around a year since i know a photographer friend of Blore - Sandeep Unnimadhavan. Even thought we met only once on a CTC trek, I felt like as if i know him for years together. Most of the times its all about discussing things thru mails and gtalk.

Finally the day arrived and i headed to blore on 9th Jan 2009 with lots of excitement. I was picked up from the station by Sandeep and Preetha and was meeting them both after 6 months. Went to a near by restuarant for dinner and was narating to Preetha about how me and Sandeep know each other. Reached home at 10 and went to sleep and as usual had a long sleep with the blore chill climate favoured my laziness. Had a good breakfast and went to the terrace to look at the eagles thru Sandeep's 400 mm lens. Preethas amme and acha arrived and was glad to see them. An hour or 2 passed talking with acha and by the time amme finished some delicious kerala dishes. Our actual plan was to leave home by 3 in the afternoon. But the delicious Palak which aunty prepared for lunch made me eat a little more than my actual intake and was a little drowsy and Sandeep was facing trouble in making me get ready.

By 3.30pm or so, we started from home. On our way we had grapes, cucumber and i had to ask Sandeep to stop his car very frequently to try some shots with his 400mm lens. We were able to click Eagles, River terns, a flock of parrots on our way towards skandagiri.

We reached a school where we parked our cars and by that time the sun has almost started to set. We were surrounded by lots of young boys asking for money to accompany us as guides. We refused their offer and in 10 min after starting our trek with a country dog accompanying us. The doggie always made sure it stays either at the front or at the middle leaving me at the last position. We walked a little faster and once we reached the base of the hill, it became completely dark with the moon rising behind us. We were so concerned in clicking atleast the horlzon of sunset, that we missed the way that takes us uphill and took a small divertion to click the sunset. By the time we finished clicking, it was almost completely dark. We started taking a small path and in 20 min the way became more narrow and thorny. We headed the same way and we were actually heading to the other side of the hill. We noticed that we were going round the hill without taking any elevation in our trek.

The adventure part is Sandeeps torch was not that bright and i forgot to take mine along. Ultimately Sandeep was leading the way with a dim pentorch, and me following him with the light from the cell phone display. Within the next half an hour, i slipped 2, 3 times and was about to tumble into the bushes. in a few minutes time, we met a huge rock and that was a dead end.
We decided to call someone and ask whether the way to Skandagiri will be too thorny and dense. We called Sheetal ( The LITTLE-most Organiser ) of Chennai trekkiing club. From the way she explained the way to Skandagiri, We made sure that we took a wrong direction and headed back and by 7.30pm we reached the place from where we clicked the sunset and it was very windy and cold. We were laughing at each other for miss such a broad and clear way that was taking us uphill.

We headed uphill with frequent rests on the way. We reached the peak to see that we were the first ppl to be on top except a few local boys. There was a small hut with a lantern burning inside. When we peaped inside, we were amazed to see that the local ppl has setup a small petty restuarant on the peak serving Bread-omlet for 10 rs. It was very cold and the omlets tasted very delicious. After finishing the dinner, we took our cameras and tripod to an edge to experiment on long exposures. The wind was very heavy that we had to hold the tripod for support from not flying away. After some clickings, we entered the mamtapam and opened our sleeping bags and started to sleep. It was around 2 am that we woke up to realise that many ppl were around and could hear ppl enjoying themselves shouting and singing to counteract the chill weather.
It was very windy which gave me a sign that the heavy breeze would not allow the mist to form clouds. But still was expecting a good sunrise. Sandeep went out of the mantapam at 5.30 and took a place from where he can expect a good sunrise without any disturbances. But the cold weather kept me inside till 6.30 watching thru the entrance for any signs of sunrise. Finally headed outside to see atleast 500+ trekkers have flooded the place. I waited for sometime but somehow made up my mind we cannot see a sunrise

with clouds. Some how we kept us engaged clicking around and by the time the sun was out, We found that a good amount of dew formed on the grasses. We spent around half an hour clicking the dew drops and that came to the end of our skandagiri excitement.

When we packed all our things, we realised tat Sandeeps tripod has been robbed and the food material that was kept in Sandeeps bag at the mantabam is also being robbed. We headed downhill empty stomach and was very thankful to Sandeep for carrying my backpack when my shoulder pain tookover. We reached the base of the hills and had tender-coconut to end our morning fast.
Got into the car and headed towards blore and even now also we stopped the car now and them clicking pictures of everything that came across. Reached home and had a tasty lunch and which made me drowsy and i went to sleep. By the time i woke up, Amme and acha has alreadt left home. but the taste of the Palak tat i had still remains in my taste buds. Awaitng for another opportunity to meet San-pree for the sake of tasting the delicious Palak again.

I am sure the memories of my stay at San-pree's home will remain for long.
I wont thank San-Pree for this [ reason - I want to thank then in person, dont think i am taking this as an opportunity to taste Palak again ;-) ]

As i always say, Its neither the camera nor the lenses are the only deciding factors for your good images, It all lies in the eyes through which you see the world around.

Some more clicks @ http://picasaweb.google.co.in/johnimmanual
Sandeeps blog @ http://usandeep.com/trekking/skandagiri.html

Mission Gamble

2008-12-21T23:53:00.000-08:00

The day started with a good sign. The first baby flutter-by came out from its pupa incubation after a period of 10 days. It was very comfortable to post for my clicks as i know it right from its childhood days :-) . I rescued it from my neighbors garden as an egg of the size of a mustard seed and was taking care of it by providing food and water for more than 25 days. I believe I would be the God-father of 30+ little slimy caterpillars. That’s another story... might be a series of those flutter-by from start to end.

This incidend was like a a positive sign for a gooday start. Having experienced very bad days especially on the Mahabs trip with Samyak , Snake walk, Nanmangalam photograhy trip... where my Camera battery would die even before noon by the time I click my 60th or 70th photo. I was desparately in need of a spare battery as it would back me up during future CTC treks, I was expecting to have one atleast before the long trip/trek that happens during the season of during May-June.

Coming to the story, I needed 2 photos to be submitted to the contest, Where my final selection and consolidation was 3. I was breaking my head looking at all angles on which 2 to select. Being more addicted to Wildlife photography. My preference was in the order mentioned below.

Golden Rat Snake
Thanks to Prabhu Ramakrishnan – for Camera & lens Courtest when my battery went off during the middle of the snake walk.

Hoopie Sharing food
Thanks to Samyak –For taking me along for the Mahabs trip

Father & Son in Sea shore

Thanks to Rithwik – for taking me along with him to Seashore on a Sunday

5 min before the submission time, I decided to go on with the 2 photos which has got some kind of message of LOVE & CARING that would suite the Christmas season. Finally submitted the last 2 photos and finally the Father_Son Photo fetched me a first Prize.

It all happened like what Samyak said at the end of day like "God was so merciful that I got the prize of The battery pack exactly the time when i wanted it desperately“ In all the above 3 shots, I had someone or the others contribution for clicking them. Thanks you all for the support and encouragement.

Mahabs Escapade !!!

2008-11-12T04:05:00.000-08:00

A trip that was planned at the neck of a moment. A Personal trip indeed.

1) Me 2) Samyak & 3) Harini_Samyak started a little late after lots of hurdles,
Another 1 hr was stolen by Harini even before crossing Chennai border. This is the first time i see harini a little fussy. Might be she needed some extra attention!!! Samyak would be the right person to answer it :-(

When we headed out of Chennai, the sun was burning right on our faces. It was indeed a bad sign that it was already 11 AM that we reached Mahabalipuram Shore temple.

But still we were lucky to click a few birds and it was this trip i was craving for a sharp lens.

For a change , Clicked some photographs with people to give a finishing touch.

On our way back, we visited the Crocodile bank and were able to click some more photos. I am sure we would be planning for yet another trip to the Croc bank where we would like to stay there for a night amongst 100's of crocodiles in the Croc bank!

We were happy that Samyak's Harini didnt create any problem except that she had a flat tyre in the begining of our trip.

It was Pramod who initiated this trip was not able to join us at the last moment. This post is dedicated to "Pramod - A volunteer of the Crocodile Bank of Chennai"

More photos

Cousins wedding - A family get-together

2008-11-11T04:12:00.000-08:00

Its been years that i stopped clicking people and turned my interest to wildlife and landscape.

Reasons:
1) I can take my own time to process the photos and post online (neither the landscape or the wildlife would ask you when the photos would come online :-)
2) Neither of the both would come and say that I clicked it when it was showing its teeth, when the eyes were closed. ( a few bad experiences in the past )
3) neither of the both would ask for prints of the photos that were clicked.

I know the above mentioned reasons might be because of the expectations that they have on my clicks, but the problem i face is "Neither" do i have a laptop or an internet connection to transfer my images to and upload online "nor" am i rich enough to both invest on the equipment and also for the prints that i should give to the people whom i click :-) , Wont it be great if the person whom i click sponsors me in terms of equipment or atleast the trips that i undertake for photography or atleast pay for my service and make me happy as well!!! Am i sounding that i am planning to do things commercially. Might be :-)

Let me come back to the story, It was after a very long time that we met all our relatives and friends on the ocassion of my Cousins wedding. So thought that i would use the opportunity to click a few photographs of people - (not wild people).

All the photos were clicked candid except the above 2.

I believe these birds even thought were not human, adds to the mood of the marriage ceremony !!!!

Nanmangalam Forest Walk

2008-10-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

It was yet another initiative by CTC-Photographers. The first Photography trip was to Pondicherry which was a great time for all of the participants. This one was planned as a trip to Nanmangalam. Our main idea was to head towards Nanmangalam for photography. Nanmangalam was not the destination, but Photography was our vision.

We had 5 seats vacant for this trip and we got 4 registrations ( Rithwik, Shubhra, Aditya & John ). Since it was raining very bad on the previous day, Shubhra and Aditya had a little of making up this trip. With more energy we were able to convince them that what ever be the case, we would head towards Nanmangalam, and if it rains, we would go elsewhere and do some rain photography in the busy streets of chennai.

With all set, John and Aditya reached Koyambedu busstop to meet Rithwik at 6.20am. Parked their bike and boarded into Rithwiks car and headed towards Velachery and picked Shubhra on the way at Vadapalani.

The climate appeared to change and it favoured the team a lot. We headed to Velachery and took the Tambaram highway and reached Quagid-e-Millat college canteen and started our trip/trek into the Nanmangalam reserve forest.

We started the day with Rithwik clicking a few shots of the local village boys, and it became a menace for the team in the later part. The kids were actually alerting the birds with their shouting and talking, ans so we somehow left them behind before entering into the forest.

We started climbing the small hillock and were able to click some butterflies on the top of the hill. We climbed down through the other side of hill throught the dense bushy forest. Within half an hour we reached the stagnant water reservoir and clicked more pictures. Those who participated in this trip, made use of all the opportunities and clicked more pictures and added more life to the pictures with their different styles.

We were able to learn and explore a lot from each other. At the end of the day, we had the satisfaction that we have learned some basic lessons Practically, which we would not forget for our life time.

Stay tuned for a more detailed writeup by Shubhra.

" Rithwik taking a small nap in front of the quary after a long photo session "

" The Nanmangalam abandonded Quary "

" The Big Bug "

" The Little Flutter-by "

" A Catterpillar "

" A well cameflauged Spider "

" Photographers lost in the forest "

" The hunter and the Hunted "

" A well cameflauged Spider-2 "

" Water Reflections "

" Dragonfly in flight "

" A Test shot with back-light "

" The stagnant water in front of the Quary "

" The Butterfly " ( Actually it is called Flutter-by, and as time passed by, people started calling it butterfly - funny is it.. )

" People in action "

" The morning dew on the grass "

" Rithwik in action "

" Adams ladder "

" The little Rock agama "

" Colourful Spiders "

" Gloriosa Superba "

" The Little Flutter-by "

Photography trip to Pondy

2008-08-25T00:40:00.000-07:00

This was not a trek, But a simple enjoyable trip.

Since it was not a trek, we didn't follow any plans or guidelines to carry forward. The initial spark came from Yaseen, which ignited the spirit in the photographers who were interested to travel till pondy to visit the Photo exhibition of Rajib Ghose on his Himalayan expedition. We didnt have a fixed itinerary for this trip, We started the planning on Friday eveving and executed on Saturday.

Since i was joining CTC on their trip after a very long gap after Ombattu Gudda, It was totally a new crowd for me. A few were known by mails and chats and not by face.
Viki picked me up from Guindy and we reached Tidel park at 6. Samyak and Yaseen joined us after 15 minutes, and then Kaushik and then Rithwik.

We parked our extra bikes in the parking lot and 4 got into Rithwik's car and 2 in Samyaks bike, So 6 CTC-ians started our trip from Tidel park at 6.30+ am. It was then we realised that the exhibition is opened only at 4pm to 7 pm. The next halt was at Mahabalipuram, It was a little cloudy and the lighting was so cool. I believe we were one among the first entrants into the Mahabalipuram shore temple. It was then high time that we took all our weapons and were ready for the planned battle. In no time, each one went in different directions to click and which showed our diversity in photography. Each one had a different taste to click and this showed our "Unity in Diversity" as a CTC-ian.

After many clicks, we headed towards the restaurant where we filled our bowels till the brim. After which we had some rest at the premises of the near by temple pond. After some time we went to the butter rock temple. We saw a young girl posing as if she was holding the butter rock without rolling. But our instincts showed us something that was very near to us. It was none other than the Green vine snake. It was so camouflaged that we couldn't identify it when seen through the camera. When we saw the snake, the entire crew took turns to fire many rounds.On our way, we were invited by a CTC member and we visited the house of Tarannum and Tabassum where we were served with ginger lime juice by their mother. After which we moved towards the ruined fort suggested by Viki. It was really hot by that time of the day, but came across some cool views from top of the fort.Then we moved towards Pondicherry to look at Rajib's exhibit. On looking at the invitation of the Photography exhibition, We made a wrong decision that we should spend only 10 minutes inside to look at all the photos and rust out to go for the Crocodile Night Safari. We were lucky to have Rajib in that place to tell us his experience of his 30+ days trek in Himalayas and his experience in his landscape photography sessions in Himalayas. It was a great learning experience to me as well as the others. We saw all the splendid photos and stepped out of the exhibition to realise that we spend around 2 hours inside and also wanted to go for another round to look at his photos, but time was not sufficient for us as we need to return to Chennai the same day itself. With all the experience shared by Rajib, we felt like that we were actually in Himalayas with him during those clicks. When we stepped out of the exhibition hall, we were literally tired due to the virtual travel to Himalayas through Rajib photos. and Rajib was very much excited to have members from a trekking club who travelled all the way from Chennai to Pondy to visit his exhibition.We headed towards chennai and settled our expenses the same day itself before the split up of the group. For the money that was spend ( 300 Rs each ) the cost efficiency factor was more than 500%. Yet another rememberable trip along with CTC.

COLOURS of CAPTIVITY

2008-07-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

Its been a couple of weeks since the Physiotherapy started and bored of following the doctors advise to take complete rest. I fealt like a patient for staying lazy at home and spending the weekends in front of the TV watching movies and the Mega serials :-)

So decided to take up an unplanned trip to my native on the night of July 25th. It was really fresh to see the early morning activities that happen in the towns and villages. Actually the previous sunrise that i saw was during my trek to Ombattu Gudda along with Chennai trekkers. After which my next sunrise was on July 26th.

While crossing a tea shop, I saw a cycle with lots of Baskets hanging on all its sides. Since no one was around, I just went near to have a peak at what is inside. To my surprise, it was nothng but the small chicks that was making some peculiar noise.

It had been dreaming for years to click those colourful chicks and that too when they are kept in the road sides in closed cardboard fencings. But what i saw was a little different. They are in the baskets and it would take atleast an hour or two for the seller to put them in the way i expected.

Being very tired and also didnt want to miss the chance of clicking them. So just made my mind to click what ever is present in front than dreaming about what might come after 2 hours. !

Might be they look very colourful to see, But it is

“ COLOURS of CAPTIVITY ”

And also added some photos that i was able to click around my house.

Yet again, I would like to close it with the same phrase, The pictures that you click doesnt depends on the place where you are nor the equipment that you have, Its just your eyes which makes better pictures. Happy clicking.

Ombattu Gudda

2008-06-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

View Album

Get your own

For more details about the trek, Please go thru chennaitrekkers.org to read the whole writeup about the trip experience.

Pichavaram - Worlds 2nd Largest Mangroove Forest

2008-06-03T02:06:00.000-07:00

After doing some research on the internet and especially after refering this place by one of the Chennaitrekkers club member, we thought of going there for a visit.

On looking at the work "Forest",and reading some blogs and writeups in the internet about water-snakes in the back waters, I had much expectations on this place. But there was not much to my interest rather than meeting new friends and riding all the way from Chennai to Pichavaram.

I think the place might be a little better in the post monsoon seasons.

View Album

Get your own

For more details about the trek, Please go thru ChennaiTrekkers.org to read the whole writeup about the trip experience.

Mission Occult

2008-04-14T00:52:00.000-07:00

This was my second trip to Tada, and it was hot sunny day.

On the way, there were lots of fields on both sides and at one field there were lots of ergets.

This was a nice time and season to see a variety of flora and fauna in the tada region. Since this being the Spring season, we were able to see flowers in every tree and plant, both small and big.

The good news is that the AP goverment have worked on the roads to tada that helps us to reach tada even with the TVS-50. Te bad news is that, they find every silly reason to make you pay for.

The first stream that we crossed didnt have much water, The level was not even knee high. The second crossing had some places which were shallow at some places and a maximum of 6 feet deep. Most of them who visit tada, return back after taking a dip in the second stream crossing. When we reached the third crossing, it was a feast to the eyes,where you can see the giant BLUE MORMON ( Papilio polymnestor) butterfly. I saw this butterfly 10 years back, and it was now that i am seeing it again.

Then it is all the normal things what we do in the falls till we reached the main falls, we tried to climb further beyond, and we landed in the big shallow ridge between the 2 vertical cliffs.
Thanks to stamina that Peter had, with which he was able to take everyone on a swimming ride as a pillion.

This place has got no big wild creatures around, except the common monkeys. I heard that this place is also famous to another kind of creature. But i have not seen it alive, but i was able to see its skeletal parts. That creature will be a suspense until i see one alive and click a picture.

On our way return, we had enough time to rest ourselves in the stream and give some feast to the doctor fish (Garra rufa).

This tada trek came to a close with the photo of the moon.

I understood one great truth which my friend always used to say. -

"Wildlife Photography and trekking can never go hand in hand".

And that was true this time, I had to go along with the team and didnt want to delay the schedule of the whole group because of my Ph0tography sessions.

I am planning for a revisit to tada during this weekend and it is especially for Photographing the butterflies. And that would be the real
" MISSION OCCULT "

For more details about the trek, Please go thru ChennaiTrekkers.org to read the whole writeup about the trip experience.

Trek To Venkatagiri

2008-04-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

It was my first trip with Chennai Trekkers, and it was a great experience and a rememberable one..

To read about the trek experience, follow the link mentioed below.

Chennaitrekkers.org

Thadiyendamol - The Highest Peak of Coorg District.

2007-12-17T04:48:00.000-08:00

Google Earth Locator. - Thadiyendamol

Elevation - 5025 Ft above MSL

12degree 12' 58.89 N

75degree 36' 34.77 E

This trek was very much rejected by me right from the begining, and I should thank the Aahoyzz team( Balaj, Nirmal, and Karthik), for motivating and haunting me with pictures of Thadiyendamol. Its the pictures that they showed, made me change my mind, and join the Aahoyzz team for the trek.

It was on 20th Dec, I Left late from office and reached the railway station a few minutes before the train departed, to know that Balaj and Nirmal was not joining the trip. So it was Karthik who is known to me at that time, and all others who joined the trek were very new to me.

A jeep that took us to Honey Valley

A Honey Valley hut house

Chingara Falls ( A tiny Falls near Honey Valley )

minutes before sunset

tea estates of Honey Valley covered with Mist

A Honey Valley Cottage where we stayed

Folwers seen in the Honey valley Garden

Karthik and Pravin taking the Lead towards Thadiyendamol

On the Way to Thadiyendamol

After reaching the peak, we realised the luch pack was left behind in the Qualis

The Team that reached the Peak

Found these creatures near the lake where We fixed our tents.

Chandan lighting up the Camp fire.

Dudes enjoying the camp fire

Mist rising up the hills
( Photo taken at 8 pm in the night with 30 sec shuttter speed. You can even see some stars at the top left corner )

Sunrise at 5.15am, as seen from the the camp site.

The Wild Male buffalo that chased me when i went near for taking a photo

Hills surrounding Thadiyendamol covered with mist

Enjoying the warmth of the sun after a chill night

I clicked this one, while climbing down the small hill. The 2 white spots on the left corner of the pic is our 2 tents, and the Hill top on the right corner is the Thadiyendamol peak.

REALITY ALWAYS BITES

2007-10-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

That was my first encounter with a wild snake.. fortunately it was just a rat snake..

After watching many programs about handling snakes in Animal planet and Discovery.. My interest branched towards handling snakes.. I was lucky enough, that i dont have to go in search of snakes, but snakes came in search of me.. Residing in a place surrounded by thorny bushes was really very advantageous to spot lot of snakes during the dry seasons..

On an eneving walk back from college, I had my first encounter, and with the knowledge from what i saw from Discovery cannel, i cought hold of the snake's tail, and started to pull it from under the asbestos sheet. I kept on pulling until it came out completely, reached 6 feet to see its head. the length of the snake scared me a lot... I just dragged the snake near to a plant. When it climbed the plant and i left its tail..

That was the first time i handled a snake.. and my mom clicked a snap..
But the rest of the images were taken by me.. I SWARE..

SPARROW & its spotted eggs

2007-10-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

When i was walking after a heavy dinner on sunday (10.45 pm)When i was crossing a tree, i saw a bird flying away, as if it was trying to distract my attention. It didnt fly away, but flew a little distance, and sat on the near by tree. I didnt notice it properly and went back home.

The next day morning , when i was crossing the same place, i saw the same sparrow, flying from that tree. I just saw a nest like structure on that tree, That day night, i took my camera, and went to the tree, and found the sparrow, resting in its fully built new nest.. I just clicked one single shot and the bird flew because of the flash light..

I didnt disturb it for the next 3 days and on the 4th day, i was able to see three little beet-red colour spotted eggs. From that day onwards i started clicking snaps to record its growth cycle........ The rest of the story , my photos will explain you...

LIGTNIING SERIES

2007-10-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

It was a stormy day during the mid of November, I packed my bags with some eatables and juices , to climb the near-by water tank that belongs to the college where i studied. By the time the clock struck 6, was all set and the sky became dark and started to roar.

It was my first expedition for a lightning photo..

Since I was lightly dressed, i started to shiver when it was 7, I was ready with my gear, was all set, but was hardly able to bear the chillness of the breeze, after getting fully wet in the drizzle..

I started to shiver, and rushed back home, with a great disappointment.. - but with a lesson learnt..( next time never concentrate on the snacks and juices, rather concentrate on the outfits.. Coz , its a long dreamt expedition, and not a picnic..)

Fortunately.... I waited for te next 5 months for the next heavy shower. This time, the weather was not chill, rather it was pleasant and dry.

Packed my gear, and reached the same water tank, to find a new obstacle. The security guard was standing exactly right in front of the gate, The good thing was, he didnt recognise me. I waited for the chance to sneak through the gate, when he moves away. Then it started to thunder, thank God, he left that place in a hurry as if he has got a great mission to accomplish. I just laughed at him, and started climbing the 10 storied tall tank.

Once i reached the top, i was in my own little world. Set my gear on time , that it started to tunder with eavy flashes. I just started clicking untill the i reached my last frame. Since the intensity of the lightning was so high, My eyes got flashed off.. and couldnt predict what i have clicked..

The real fun started when i reached down the tank after finishing my expedition, to find the gates locked. It was then i understood the reason why the security guard ran when it was about to rain - to bring the keys to lock the gate.. I just laughed at myself and had to spend the rest of the night on top of the tank , till 8 am, for the guard to come and open the gate..
I had to wait till i got the first set of prints in hand. The prints that i saw made me wonder , whether was it i who clicked those images...

1st PHOTO THAT LEAD ME INTO THE WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY

2007-09-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Being much interested in hunting, i was roaming around the marshy surroundings of my locality with my air gun, searching for something to hunt. Unable to hunt something that was alive, i started hunting only balloons and milk powder tins..

Then by waching Animal Planet and Discovery channel, I learned how to handle wild animals like snakes and scorpions..Later i started to bring home the snake that I came across in the wild.

My Sponsorer ( My dad ) was very much worried about me handling snakes.. He misunderstood that i was handling snakes just to bring it home and show it to all at home.. So He got me a very basic Hot shot camera (Yashica MF2) to divert my interest from hunting and playing with snakes.. After having a camera in hand, i started clicking pictures of what ever i saw. All craps and useless photos...

Once when i was returning home, back from a Kodaikanal trip.. I happened to click a sunset picture. The actual scene that i saw was so marvelous, that I waited to see the print..

When i developed the role and saw the print, it was not even 20% of the beauty of what i saw in real.. Even though everybody who joined me on the Kodaikanal trip admired the photo.. I was a little frustrated on seeing the print...Then with the guidance and ideas of my best friend - KumarRaja, I decided to buy a basic SLR (Nikon FM10).With his guidance, and the encouragement of some PSYCHO friends. I had a real good kick off from the ground... Then with all trial and error methods, I was able to climb my first step in photography....

My Photography journey started like as it is written in the poem by Robert Frost, (Stopping byWoods on a Snowy Evening)

MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP... MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP...

I am also sharing some photos that i took during my early stages in photography..

A Photo taken in the Ooty tea estates

Sunset in Paikara Dam ( nilgris)

Sunset seen from the terrace of my home..

An evening sunset at Coimbatore

The moral behind this bla bla story is very simple... Its neither the camera or the location that makes good images..

It all depends on

1. Our understanding of the camera we have (its features and limitations),

2. Making use the all possible opportunity to click...

3. and Our creativity...

All the very best to Amateurs like me...