Project 365: Day 3, Water droplets on a rainy day..

I must admit, it’s just the third day and it’s not easy! Trying to come up with a new photograph everyday. I remember when I first bought my SLR moving from a point and shoot, I was supper excited. Everyday I was up, exploring with it, getting used to the manual mode. Slowly but surely that interest faded and other things took priority like studies and more recently work! But there is always a way to do things what you love doing. So here I am, still sweating it out, trying to balance out my love of reading, watching movies or documentaries, eating, travelling and doing photography!

So today’s image is the reason I skipped breakfast and even got late for work. By the time I was ready to leave the house I realised I had forgotten to brush my teeth! So I went back getting more late. I didn’t think the day would get any worse with the rains suddenly coming in, but I was so wrong! Out of the house and I have no cash! Bless the people who thought of ATMs, I was saved!

Day 3: Creating water droplet sculptures is clearly not an easy task but I a getting there.

This was the first time that I have used my 100mm lens for these. My earlier trials were made using a reverse lens method for the macro.

My setup consisted of the mineral water bottle with a small cut to create the drops and a plastic container with water filled up to the brim. Shots were made handheld with built-in flash, although I tried using a small LED torch, which sadly didn’t workout. No editing except converting the shots to black and white and adjusting the contrast.

Has anyone tried doing this? Would be delighted to get some great ideas. Do share in the comments section!

Cheerio mates!

 

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Once Upon a Time in Polo: The Scorpion King!

Once upon a time in a land far far away lived a King. The King was feared by all. Feared for his swift justice. Known for striking those who crossed his path. Though misunderstood and feared, he himself was fearful of the sun! He hid himself under rock and boulders, tucked into crevices in the day, hiding from the harsh sun that sucked him dry! In the dead of the night the Scorpion King crawled out to hunt. He also had another secret which very few knew. Flashing a U.V light would make him glow!

The Scorpion King was built for the kill. He shed his armour several times, as he grew out of it. To hunt its prey he used his pincers or claws with which he caught and often crushed its prey. The sting it saved for large creatures and difficult prey. The sting was venomous and injected a neurotoxin,  immobilizing its prey. Unable to eat, the Scorpion releases its digestive juices into its prey and sucks the digested in liquid form.

The Polo Forest once part of the kingdom of Vijay wada lies in ruins now, but one creature still survives and rules the night. The Scorpion King lives…..

Scorpion with a kill, Camel spider

Top view: Scorpion

Once upon a time in Polo: Scorpion King

A special thanks to Bike N Hike and Vipul Ramanuj for the wonderful trip to Polo. These images were made during a Macro & Heritage Photography Workshop in Polo Forest. Thanks to Catherene for spotting and Abhishek Chaterjee for his handy tips on photography during the tour. Keep watching this space for more images from the workshop!

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The birth, life and death of a relation…

Jack took a deep breath and dived into the warm clear water. He felt the water gush through his ears and nose as he hit the surface. The instructor was watching near the edge, keeping an eye on the newbies. Jack was not new to swimming, but it was normal procedure at the pool to make sure that those that signed up know swimming well enough. Summer was at it’s end and so were the vacations after which the pool would be emptier, with less kids slashing around.

Single, ambitious, careless are not the only words to describe Jack. He was a hopeless romantic, a passionate artist and a concierge of everything old, rare and beautiful. His love for nature transcended in his art and photographs. Yet he was human and hence allowed to err. Those being his interests, his work was much different and absolutely bland. He waited, bidding his time, to give up work and give full attention to his interests.

Women, however, would see the end of him, thought Jack as he continued sinking slowly through the clear water. Who could know what they were thinking? Jack had his hands full, as one woman left the other arrived, almost always with an agenda. Jack let them in, almost always with open arms. But he had nothing to offer them. What they wanted, put his freedom and love for nature, art, science and knowledge at risk. He felt he could romance a book if he could but then human company still beckoned him to fall in relationships, one after another.

Each one had not ended well, with very few starting as a casual friendship and ending in confusions and allegations. Most of them just faded away without a trace. Some left a scar and all taught Jack to guard himself against the whims and fancies of women. Jack always calm, now was breathing slow yet steadily. His head light now with lack of oxygen, ears ringing with pressure of the 26 meters of water above. Jack had not surfaced for 10 minutes.

The instructor grew alarmed and looked in all corners of the pool to check. He dived to check inside the pool, shouting his name. At that moment Jack had awakened from his daze and started swimming for the edge on the other side. Sputtering and spitting out water, Jack emerged on the other side, much to the bewilderment of the instructor. Another relationship had died.

Life as a colourless blur…

Life as a colorless blur

It’s hard to sometimes concentrate on a single thing. Everything appears to be a blur. Moments go by and you don’t realise what just happened. Life, as we know it, flies by too fast for us to enjoy the little joys.

To add to the confusion we are surrounded by a concrete jungle with identical designs, patterns and colors. What we create often lacks the variety of nature, the diversity of its design. Visually our cities, it seems drain us of our creative capacity,trapping us in a faux heaven. It’s as if a colorless blur…

Nature’s children…

As a child I have always loved the woods. Up until high school I have enjoyed our weekly treks through the forest, lazing around on our favorite lake with close friends. There seemed nothing better, but to listen to soft murmur of leaves and occasional creaking of a dried branch of a tree. We used to skip stones on the lake, always choosing the flattest of the stones to get some 20 skips on the placid water. I remember climbing on to one of the mounts along the lake to find a bronze idol of the tiger god hidden away in thick undergrowth. Discovery of adventure beckoned us

The walk back to civilization was always depressing. As we moved closer to it, the greens disappeared, being replaced by the grey and the white of concrete and cement. I grew up wanting to be a forest guard, much to the displeasure of my parents. By the time I was out of Jr. College, the world seemed different, more confusing than ever. Much to their relief, I didn’t become one, but still I managed to find my way into the forest department! The memories of my precious time with nature, kept getting me back to it, making me more aware of the bond I share with it.

Now as I stand in a mall, I see children coming in for a stroll, with their parents, friends. I wonder how this contrasting experience would shape their lives. Their only connection to nature seems to be through the Discovery Channel or National Geographic Channel or the fluffy bear that sells over sweetened chocolate covered cereal. Technology a product of nature, like everything else, has replaced nature itself. A stroll through the mall, keeps them abreast of the latest brands, and newest things to buy. These malls now seem to be a elaborate stage to promote packaging products that are of no particular significance to become difficult to live without.

Children ave become ideal points of entry for companies to market their products. Now children no more dream of walking in the rain forest. They would instead enjoy, wearing the best watch, driving the costliest car and buying the newest phone.

Nature, it seems to me, is no more a part of their lives the way technology is. Natures children have now been adopted by technology.

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This post is inspired by the book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorders” by Richard Louv

Cover via Amazon