15th February 2016

15th February 2016

It's been a mild winter. Mild winter in Michigan is like very cold winter with fewer snow storms. So, there is no relief from the cold but still the cold is bearable. Is this just a temporary thing or is the climate changing for good , I wonder sometimes. It's good to have a mild winter but that brings in lesser snow and hence lesser water to the Great Lakes which in worst case can turn to drought in the summers.

The image is of a bridge over a creek in the winter in a park. It was quite a day after the storm. Loved the freshly fallen snow on the branches of the trees.
Lens is wide angle at 10mm.
Aperture is F11

ISO 100

Just in the park is a river which looked really beautiful after the fresh snow and the blue sky.
You can see the reflections of the trees in the water which is very still. It was just  heavenly.

Lens is wide angle at 24 mm
Aperture is  F11
ISO is 200

Rest of the days when we do not have snow, we have rains. This picture is of the windscreen f my car on a rainy day.

Aperture F11
ISO 100

6th July 2015 - Visit to the desert.

The best time to visit the desert is spring time. Arizona feels so pleasant and Utah's arid region so cooling.

This is on the way from Arizona to Utah on the road. For this shot I stepped out of the car and took a picture on the main highway. If that is not thrilling what is. The view was magnificent.

The settings for the image are below the image.

The adjacent image is from Zion, Utah. It is a postcard site. The cool breeze, the cool waters and the greenery of Spring is awesome. I had a feeling i would be coming back to this place again. Last time I was there I felt like spending some more time there. There are so many beautiful places to unwind and view the place made just for you.


Here are a few Spring flowers that were growing in my backyard.

9th February 2015 - Waiting for Spring

I have been away for a very long time. I was busy with life. Some highs and some lows. I realized that if you do not get the lows of life, you would never know what the highs are. In the midst of the chaos that life brings us I was not away from my passion and that is photography. I have been clicking every day, almost. Here in this post I have some shots that I clicked recently. As winter has been my companion all through out this time here are a few shots.

This one is of Grand Haven, some forty five minutes away from my place.

A lot of times we get sub zero temps. We've had a few winter storms and few are still on their way. Winter is just not the cold that hinders us from moving but also the load of clothes we have to wear to keep us warm. Just a few more days, I tell myself and then we will step into Spring.

This one shows how the beach has transformed into an icy shore. It was windy and cold.  My hand were numbed by the cold. Being a photographer, I had to use my fingers, though I was wearing gloves that have your fingertips out.

There is one more thing to share. I was given the opportunity to judge a worldwide photography contest sponsored by Pixoto.

Submission Deadline: 2/15/2015
Winners Announced: 2/20/2015

PRIZES:

Judge's Award: One Year of Pixoto Pro (a $95.40 value)
plus 1 Pixoto credit for each image entered (currently 119)
2nd Place Award: 10,000 Pixoto Credits (a $75.00 value)
plus 0.6 Pixoto credits for each image entered (currently 71)
3rd Place Award: 5,000 Pixoto Credits (a $40.00 value)
plus 0.4 Pixoto credits for each image entered (currently 48)

If interested you can visit the link below.

http://www.pixoto.com/challenges/pwc-140-flowers-arrangements

Hope you all will have a great week and a great February.

9th November 2014 - Winter is here.

Winters are here as we have a forecast of snowfall this week. Now you will hear me complaining about the weather for a few months, well, to be precise for six months. At least we have great weather for the rest of the six months. One should always see the half full glass and not the half empty glass.

Click the image to enlarge.

As the weather will not always permit photography outdoors one has to find other avenues for indoor photography. One subject never gets boring or out of date and that is Food . Any weather is good for this kind of photography. This post is dedicated to Food photography.

Who does not love to eat. Well, I do and therefore I cook a lot. Most of the times , I get tired while cooking and therefore there is no time left to take a shot of it and also it is consumed so quickly by my family. So, you will see very few prepared food shots. I will try to take pictures from my proper camera. I use Cellphone for my instant recording of a view of food to share with family and friends on Instagram. So, if you are on Instagram you can follow me there for my food adventures and more.

Click the image to enlarge.

I had bought mushrooms and peppers and thought that they would make a good stir fry. They are still sitting in my fridge waiting to be cooked after being clicked. :)

The mushrooms give a good color and tone to a picture. Vegetables have so much color and they are good for your health too. The more colorful the healthier they are. We all should eat a lot of vegetables to steer away from cancer, the deadliest killer of these times. I really feel we should be aware of the foods that prevent the cancer from forming in our cells. The free radical damage to our cells down to the DNA level results in some cells to mutate into cancer cells. The harmful chemicals and toxins causes the free radicals to form in the cells which is present in all the processed foods. The antioxidants take away the free radicals formed in the cells. Antioxidants are present in these colorful fruits and vegetables. Color is in so much abundance. Lets just indulge in it.

Okay, that was a lot of science for one day. If you are interested to read more on Cancer here is a link to "Why everyone seems to have cancer." Hope that these pictures would bring freshness and joy in your lives. Have a great week.

October 17th 2014 - Welcome Autumn!

It's been a while again since I've penned down my thoughts and displayed painting with light of some fleeting moments of life. At the end of each post I always say to myself that I would write more often but juggling all the balls of life and not letting them fall in the wrong places is what every human being that takes birth on this plane has to accomplish. This is the way life is. That was some serious stuff, but once in a while you have to ponder on such things. Let's take some time to admire the painting that is set before our eyes at the moment. It is that time of the year when it is colorful again like spring, only difference is that the trees and plants are not sprouting leaves but shedding them after they have colored the landscape in the most artistic way.


The above pictures have been taken last week when the Fall had started. The gorgeous fall colors of Michigan are here to stay for some while. The whole place is lighted up with yellow and orange red leaves. I tried slow shutter speed in the creek pictures.

Aperture varying from F8 to F27. Yes, and it was not hand held except for some shots. I did not forget to carry my tripod for once. It was a low light condition and cloudy and the park had tall trees. I am sure you can picture that.

I had fun taking slow shutter speed pictures. I stood in the middle of the creek for some shots. It was fun. My shoes caught some mud as the soil around this time of the year is slushy and mushy.

The train tracks pictures is a bracketed shot. I love my wide angle lens. Just makes you see the world in a different perspective.

  The above pictures were from last week  and in just seven days time you can see the changes that the landscape has made.

The next picture is of a path with leaves fallen on the path. Autumn is so colorful. It has been rightly said by Stanley Horowitz- "Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of all of them." 


Aperture - F 9.5
ISO - 200


Click on the picture to enlarge.

This picture is of a small reservoir of water separated from the main river. The beautiful Maple leaves make it so lively. I was lucky to see a few floating leaves in water near some rocks in the Thornapple River.


Click on the picture to enlarge.

The adjacent picture is of a fire pit in a park.The rocks act like benches people have bonfire in the center.

 I love the view we have here and to tell you the truth this is the most spectacular view I have seen in years here in Michigan.

Hope you all will have a nice weekend. Hope to see you all soon. If you have a beautiful view that you can capture, do it now. Happy shooting!

September 8th 2014 -I am back.

This post comes after a long break. I have been on my toes the past few months. A lot happened during these months. I was out of the country, visiting family and friends, which was fun, then  my kid's vacations started, which is by the way, my full time working period.  I have to keep them busy and a whole lot needs to be done during those times. When my kid's vacations ended in September, mine started. Phew... Even if you work like a dog during their school days, it's nothing compared to having school going kids at home. I think I have done enough of whining. Let's get back to business.

I have been clicking pictures, though they were more of family and friends. Just this week I clicked a few nature pictures. It's been such a nice summer. Even in September we have an extended summer month going on. Just loving the weather out here, but I am too afraid of the winter. In no case do I want an extended winter.

The dew drops have started appearing in the mornings. It's a little chilly, temperatures going down to 50 F, so what, the days a warm and cozy.

Hope these pictures would bring some freshness in your lives. Will be back with some more soon.

May 27th 2014 - Summer is here.

Summer is here finally. It's been a busy month and hence I could not post earlier this month. When you live in a place which has 6-7 months of winter, you welcome the summers even more. There are parts of the world where the summers are too hot . Here at my place the summers are mild. Even, an 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) seems like scorching heat. Anyways, for good or for bad the summers are here and so are the flowers trees, bees and the baby birds. 
The first picture is of a Poppy flower with rain drops.
Aperture-F4
ISO- 100

The next picture is of the Tulip flowers. A few miles from my place is the city, Holland. Few Dutch settlers from the country Holland founded the city and a large percentage of people here follow Dutch traditions and culture even today. Such a cool way to preserve your culture. They even have a Tulip festival. The picture is from the Tulips gardens of Holland Michigan.

Aperture - F9.5
Shutter Speed - 1/60 secs
ISO- 100

This next picture is of the trees in my backyard which were snow capped in the winters and now every branch brimming with life. It's a refreshing site. The breeze has a melody - the melody of the summer and with every whiff of air you can smell the fragrant flowers. Lots of song birds have nests in these trees. It becomes the busiest place. The blue skies, the green rustling leaves, can bring life back into your life. With all the busy birds, I was also busy at home doing all the pending jobs which were back logged during the winters.

This summer I was in no case going to miss taking shots of the baby birds, so one day I went in search of goslings and chicks. I found a few and took lots of shots. Here is a shot of a gosling very close to me. 

Aperture - F11
Shutter speed - 1/500 sec
ISO - 2500

This is all for now from me, but I have taken lots of flower pictures which I will definitely share with you in my coming posts. Hope you all are keeping yourselves safe in the summers by keeping hydrated. Have a great week!