Good Morning...

For the last couple of days, I was pre-occupied with some work and was desperately looking for something refreshing. And Saturday night while having a late dinner, one of my friends called me and asked if I could join him for a visit to the Hebbal Lake early morning on Sunday to take some pictures.

My immediate reply, 'Yes'.

We started a bit late, with respect to the time line that we had planned, but guess that’s OK. Especially during weekends, the planned and plotted life takes a different course. It was a bit cloudy, by the time we reached Hebbal Lake.



Hebbal Lake is located in the northern part of Bangalore, along Bellary Road covering nearly 150 acres in area. It is one of the three lakes founded in 1537 by Kempe Gowda and today it is maintained by Sate Forest Department. It has a wide variety of aquatic vegetation and a large number of birds live around it. And that's the reason, there were few other photographers, most of them were professional, ready to capture these creatures through their lenses, by the time we reached the spot.

The Hebbal Lake alone is home to over 70 species of water birds including many migratory birds. But as the city is expanding its concrete jungle orbit, the variety has of birds visiting this lake early morning has reduced but the numbers are fair enough to make a visit.



Lifestyle Habitat, one of the most spectacular projects in Bangalore, modeled after the Malaysian Petronas Towers, graces the background of this scenic space. This is supposedly to be one of the costliest apartments in the city.



Since, I had carried my 18-135mm lens only, I was not able to dabble much to take pictures of birds with impeccable clarity. The area encompassing the lake is like a modest jungle, though not a dense one, and it offers one the freedom to go around anywhere. I was able to capture some flowers that had grown in the wild, and not in well manicured gardens.







I have learnt it over the years that, the driving impulse to nature photography is to catch life in its most natural, virgin and raw format. Now if you want to capture those split second moments of birds and animals in the nature, there is one ingredient that is needed in handsome amounts. And that's nothing but patience, methinks.



Die hard photographers will stand for hours in cold or in the sun, enduring insect bites for the chance to photograph something that has already taken shape in their mind, but has to be framed on the camera film. Trust me, it's altogether some form of inexplicable joy that you get, once you take a shot in which the pelican is just about to collect its feed within the blink of an eye. Check a picture taken by my friend, Sam. (same person as above behind his lenses, who waits for 20 minutes or so, balancing the tripod for a single shot.)

Seeing my friend, I wanted to put my patience on test, and my final output is the snap below. It took me close to ten minutes to take this single exposure because I wanted the fly to rest and offer me a lifelike pose.



Soon time passed by and it was 8:30AM and the sun rays started painting the day through the fragile clouds. Traffic gnarls were audible and we realized that it was time to pack up.

Check out some interesting articles about Hebbal Lake:

1. Hebbal lake: whose space?

2. Lake policy misguided, says forest department.

Keep reading and remain connected.

Wah Kya Freshness Hai...

The last weekend, 26th Jan'08, I ventured out to Lal Bagh early morning. Since there was a flower exhibition going on in the glass house as a part of Republic Day celebrations, I was fortunate to take a few pics. Though I had seen exhibitions of this sort before, so I just wanted to capture, the water drops or the dew drops that ornament, the green environ around as well as the freshness in the air.

Stepping into the morning sun, breathing out freshness, breathing out new life, an assured welcome relief from the regular days, when the eyes are stuck in the traffic jams awaiting the traffic lights to signal to proceed, nostrils fighting against the dust, and noise and commotion all around.

Sometimes morning freshness can be equated to warmth. The mild wind on the face when one runs or walks hastily, air smelling of freshness and change, leaves falling like old hoarded comforts.




This is near the Lal Bagh lake. As few visitors were feeding these fishes, they had all foregathered near one corner of the lake. Too many fish, too little space to shake their fins with each competing for its share of food.






At present, I am reading a book titled Umrao Jan Ada by Mirza Hadi Ruswa and one of the verses from that book by Shaikh Sahib goes like this:
The heart shunned by the beauty's gaze is well:
Those goods no one can buy have quality.




Cornucopia of water droplets aka pearls of nature.





Ni, who accompanied me, also had captured some fascinating moments, that day. Thanks for your company and more pics coming along.

Keep reading and remain connected.

Meri Camera Ki Dastaan...

I am sure that, whether you are in India or abroad in any foreign land, you would have come across advertisement from MasterCard which centers on pricelessness. All the ADs concentrates on few priceless moments and they sell us our own deepest values by softly coupling those to selling commodities. For example, you can't experience the priceless value of having taken the most bright sun rays near North Pole, with your digi-cam. Often, it seems, the 'priceless, moment has a considerable price, something kind of an intangible asset. Why I am talking about a digi-cam here, well that's the crux of this post.

I had got a Canon S2 IS about two and half years back from Singapore, my first investment in the digi-cam series and that's when my love with digi-cam started. Prior to this, I used to dabble with my Nikon F65, the film camera and a Pentax click click one. Often I used the digi-cams, which my friends had. The Canon S2 IS was handy for me during my visit to various places and while traveling. Using this camera, I had captured many moments, but then suddenly when, this camera exhibited some signs of malfunctioning, I felt a bit uneasy.

Well, I agree after all it's a camera, a mechanical gadget and chances are high that it would demonstrate dysfunctional symptoms after regular usage. But then, kya kaare dil nahi manta, as it braced me in the snow, in the rain, in the windy nights, and during the gloomy days too. It was like the magical wand, like the kind that incites one to capture every possible shot, there's no seeing past the end of one's lens. When it lets up, the possibilities are endless. So I made all attempts to make sure that the camera was again back in form. The CCD of the camera used to go blank at regular intervals and the flash never got triggered when the light was dull.

I visited few sites online and was able to track the Canon Care Center, the authorized repairing station or shop where I was sure to get the best service or treatment for my ailed camera. The technicians at the center examined the camera and recommended that since the parts for repair were not available with them, they would send it to Canon's head office in India at Delhi. I had carried the necessary documents provided to me during the time of purchase and also the warranty card. The technician informed me that he would inform me after 2-3 weeks and on his confirmation call, I could come and collect my piece after repair.

Days passed by and suddenly one day when I was busy at my roozi rooti center, I got a call. It went like this.

'This is Mr.XYZ from Canon Care Center. Please refer to the invoice number ABC, I just want to confirm that since the parts are not available in the Canon's head office at Delhi, the company has asked us to replace the misfunction camera with a new model. It's a Canon S5 IS for you. Please come and collect the same from the shop.'

It took me a while to digest this, was I in my dreams or was it stark reality. Was I stargazing because I was offered a brand new camera of an upgraded model, even though I was outside the warranty period?

A couple of days later, after I had got the call I went to the store to collect my camera. I inquired the technician about the details of the case. That gentleman replied me that Canon officials gave instructions to deliver me a brand new camera as the components of Canon S2 IS were not available. I was both charged up and emotional at the same time. Charged up because, I got a new camera of better configuration and features and emotional as I was parting with my Canon S2 IS, as it couldn’t be cured of its ailments.

I am trying to perch my fingers over the buttons of my new camera but feel it would take a while by when my fingerbreadths would flow effortlessly over the new contours.

Keep reading and remain connected.

(If you didn't get the word, 'Dastaan' one of the words in the title of the post. Well 'Dastaan' is an Urdu word that means a tale or a fable. Also in 1972 a Hindi flick by the name 'Dastaan' was made by B. R. Chopra.)