G+ Sunset and Mewe Sunrise

As you know g+ is shutting down on April 2. While it is sad news for kindred landscapers like me, good news is that the same set of aficionado has sought refuge under mewe. I too have an account there and slowly adjusting to new arena.

Human emotions cannot overpower corporate strategies and migration is inevitable. G+ has provided great inspiration to me and now it's time to continue that same vigor in mewe. If you are part of mewe please connect with me here. I will be glad to connect you back. However I will still miss those high quality images in g+

My primary inspiration is as always mother nature. The second inspiration is to narrate those feelings of nature via blogger. I have lost that third inspiration which I hope to regain speedily in mewe.

Conclusively my photographic expedition is not seeing sunset and will be seamless . It's only the platform migration. Only reason I did not choose Instagram was lack of desktop upload.

I want to cherish more of new sunrise than the bygone sunset. But eventually both of them need equal reception.

You can cherish the g+ sunset before it perishes here. Of-course the link will be dead in a week:  https://plus.google.com/+Nandakumar/posts

Catch me in Mewe to continue behold those beautiful nature photographs:  https://mewe.com/i/nandakumar1 

ಹಾಗೆ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ - ಪೌಡರ್ ಮ್ಯಾಂಗೋ

ಬೇಸಿಗೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಹಣ್ಣುಗಳ ರಾಜ ಮಾವಿನಹಣ್ಣಿ ನ ತೇರು. ನನಗೂ ಸವಿಯುವ ಕಾತರ. ಕಚೇರಿಯಿಂದ ಬಂದಾಗಲೆಲ್ಲಾ, ಮಾವಿನಹಣ್ಣಿನ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ಕಂಡಾಗಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಾಲಿಗೆಯ ಜೊಲ್ಲು ದುಪ್ಪಟ್ಟಗಾವುದು. ಆದರೂ ಸೋಮಾರಿತನ ಬಿಡೋದಿಲ್ಲ ನೋಡಿ. ಬೈಕಿನಿಂದ ಇಳಿಯುವುದು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಷ್ಟವೇ ಎನ್ನಿ.

ನಿನ್ನೆ ಹಾಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮಾಮೂಲು ಅಂಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿ ನೋಡಿದೆ. ಅವನು ಇದುವರೆಗೆ ಮಾವಿನಕಾಯಿ ಅಥವಾ ತೋತಾಪುರಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ತರಿಸುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಸರಿ ನಿನ್ನೆ ಹಾಗೆ ಕೇಳಿ ನೋಡಿದೆ. ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ ಹೀಗೆ ನಡೆದಿತ್ತು.

"ಏನ್ ಸಾರ್ ಮಾವಿನಹಣ್ಣು ತರಿಸುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲವಾ?"
"ಇಲ್ಲ ಸಾರ್ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಸೀಸನ್ ಶುರು ಆಗಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನೂ ಒಂದುವರೆ ತಿಂಗಳು ಆಗುತ್ತೆ"
"ಹೌದಾ! ಅಲ್ಲಾ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕೆಲವು ಅಂಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗಲೇ ನೋಡಿದ್ದೆನ್ನಲ್ಲಾ?"
"ಅದೆಲ್ಲಾ ಪೌಡರ್ ಹಾಕಿ ಮಾಗಿದ್ದು ಸಾರ್. ಕೆಮಿಕಲ್ ಹಾಕಿ ಅದನ್ನ ಆರ್ಟಿಫಿಶಿಯಲ್ ಆಗಿ ಹಣ್ಣಾಗಿ ಮಾಡ್ತಾರೆ. ದುಡ್ಡು ಮಾಡಕ್ಕೆ ಹಾಗೆ ಮಾಡ್ತಾರೆ ಅಷ್ಟೆ"
"ಓ ಹೌದಾ" ಎಂದು ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿದೆ.

ಹೌದು. ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗೆ ಹಣಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಜನರು ಅಡ್ಡದಾರಿ ಹಿಡಿಯೋದು ಮಾಮೂಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅದು ಜನರ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ಮೇಲಿನ ಪರಿಣಾಮವನ್ನು ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಿಸದೆ ಬೇಕಾಬಿಟ್ಟಿ ಕೆಮಿಕಲ್ ಸೇರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಾಮೂಲಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಸಾಕು ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ನ್ಯಾಯಯುತ!

ಆದರೆ ತರಕಾರಿ ಅಂಗಡಿಯವನ ಮಾತು ನನಗೆ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಯಿತು. ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಅವನು ಸರಿಯಾದ ಮಾಹಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಹಲವು ಬಾರಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಬಾರಿ ನನ್ನ ಕಣ್ತೆರಿಸದ ಕೂಡಾ. ಮಾವು ಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಮುಂಚೆ ನೀವು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಯೋಚಿಸಿ ನೋಡಿ.

ಹಾಗೆ ಅರ್ಧ ಕೆಜಿ ಬಾಳೆಹಣ್ಣು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಮನೆಗೆ ನಡೆದೆವು.

Vagaries of weather

At times nature throws riddles with spontaneous changes in weather pattern, most often inexplicable. The humans are not victims, rather the cause of such riddles. Man constantly over exploits nature with his greed. Consequently, nature loses balance leaving a baffled pattern for mankind to ponder upon.

Today morning as I landed in my village, a thick layer of fog blanketed the fields creating dramatic scene and at same time conceiving capricious weather. Soon after concluding basic morning chores, I was drawn towards the majestic landscape scenes swiftly. My previous blogs were flaunting presence of clouds and increased humidity. As we gear up to embrace the warm weather, the new weather pattern has stumped people. I have never witnessed such a fog formation till date in my village which has near tropical weather. In hindsight, the weather this winter season  is hodgepodge. Never know when it turns the table. The variation is more quirky in Bangalore with intermittent rains resulting in  tri seasons in winter.

Unlike previous visit, The fog activity this time was not humid but rather chilly. It felt like as if winter has just begun despite the fact that it's almost fag end of winter. Indians believe Shivaratri as mark of summer outset. This time festival falls 3 weeks late as per Hindu calendar. Looking at the weather, the belief will not be broken. We still have winter till shivaratri.

During daybreak, I shot those fog layers dancing over the fields. It was stupendous when sun rose over the fields illuminating the carpet of fog. The beauty of landscape accentuated so did the mood of landscape critter. The sun peeking through tall trees enabled me to capture star bursts quite comprehensively. Hope you enjoy pictures. It would have been beautiful time lapse with white fog transiting to golden hue during sunrise. But I forgot. I was totally engrossed in capturing every moment of fog movement. I could have left camera for time lapse and used mobile camera to snap. But there was drama 360 degrees. To capture drama one needs manual handling. Especially during sunrise, to invite less light to sensor, higher aperture is imperative which is not possible with mobile camera. Mobile camera would whitewash the drama due to which DSLR was imperative.

2 hrs later, 9am, we have spotless sky with tinge of chill. It looked as if everything was normal. The spring blossoms are percolating over the village but the weather is still offbeat. 10am, proliferation of bristling heat is outset resulting in profuse perspiration. Weather can be so much eccentric nowadays. As the sun soared from horizon, it looked as if the magical mist was just whitish myth.

Here is short video to enjoy!

The day was not as joyful as foggy dawn. Today I lost considerable money in bus. Someone pilfered money from purse which was kept inside bag. This was premiere segment bus and the theft surprised me to some extent. The vagaries of human behavior! Fortunately the thief stole only money and left everything untouched including mobile. God taught me lesson to be attentive. May be a stranger boarded bus during break and stole money. But that is rear chance. The suspect was clearly aware of the placement purse in bag and for stranger it's not easy to spot in matter of 15 mins.

At the end, a moral saying to pacify myself from the loss. This I read in same day's newspaper to console my soul after money was stolen. It says "Forget yesterday, concentrate on the residual journey!"

Sunset - Beautiful life

I like this title a lot. This title was inspired from uplifting trance music "Sunset - Beautiful Life". Even though "Sunset" is tag associated with the producer, I often term it holistically. The following pictures are shot at Someshwara Beach near Kundapura. In my short visit to the beach where Souparnika river meets the Arabian sea, I cherished those dazzling moments of sunset while enjoying spring breeze. As my conclusion neared, these guys caught my attention playing heterogenous games with a football (may be), diving on sea catching the ball. While I don't enjoy dabbling in sea water (I am scared to be honest), I love to shoot these moments. Yes the life seems beautiful playing under the tropical sun with gentle sea tides caressing the body. Moreover, both the elements of nature are too good for health (sea water and evening sunlight). For a moment, even I yearned for playing along with those youngsters but restricted shooting playful scenes against the golden sun backdrop.

Honestly, penta pictures above are unedited. Such was the natural vibe at Someshwara beach. The nature blessed us with powerful beauty requiring no edits! Even our life becomes calm if we do not edit it and sail in the way it ushers.

There are many reasons why landscape photographers love isolation and shy away from crowd. For instance, when I was at Someshwara beach, a group of youngsters requested me to capture their group picture with my DSLR. Each individual in the group had glossy smartphones. They could have picked any onlooker to snap their memories. The bulky DSLR seemed to have attracted them. When inquired about mode of sharing the captured pictures, they had no answers. I smiled and moved away and they also understood. Later on, using their smartphones, the selfie photoshoot was in full flow. Never saw them snapping a group photo.

I do not assume that their intention was to scoff at my hanging DSLR but there are many incidents where derision rules. It fizzles out for a moment but I converge slowly. The nature restores the enthusiasm with enchanting views. They are many instances when people gawk at the landscape  photoshoot and sometime obstruct our activity despite keeping distance. When the lens hangs down from the strap wrapped around neck, DSLR critter is cynosure of beach visitors. The inquisitiveness is two fold when accompanied with tripod and other ancillaries. The only action we can take is to move away from crowd. Sometimes it is not possible to part away from crowd due to alluring perceptions for ex. near lighthouse of kaup beach. The solution is to wait for the right moment and be patient. It is worth to refrain from bickering which otherwise, would dissolve our enthusiasm. There is no shyness, fear or anxiety. We just want zero distractions. The purity of nature can only be absorbed with silence. And that is what landscape shooters also crave for.

Beauty lies in eyes of beholder is an old adage. Landscape shooters do not need exotic locations to fuel their passion. Even the below picture was snapped out of simple element backed by ardent sunset. The life with such tiny elements of moments can be made beautiful without needing for illusive grandeur. The playful boys were just an example.

Wish, even your life blossomed beholding the photographic joy

Winding up, here is my 6 year old favorite "Sunset - Beautiful Life". I love the Vol-Deeman remix most followed by original mix and finally Innes Erthser remix

Awaiting summer

The colors of spring have blossomed. The trees are shrouded with fresh vegetation, the flowers are colorful, the shadows of trees are dark all set to relieve sweltering summer. Ironically, where is summer?! Since two weeks, strong chill winds are buffeting city. The skins are drying up, the fans are not in full throttle, the sweat is not trickling down, basking under sun is still pleasurable, mango business is yet to gain momentum, there isn't yearning for watermelons, the tender coconut prices have declined and flowers are fast withering due to lack of humidity. Overall, summer is yet to pick up pace. One way or another, the oscillating weather pattern this year is inexplicable, portending anomalies in season. The summer is most important season in India which sets up stage for monsoon rains. No pain, no gain. Bearing heat of summer is must for rains to shower. Hopefully in coming days, the weather gets back to track.

Here are pictures from jakkur lake yesterday. It was unusually chill post evening hours. Lack of clouds are boon to cold weather but insipid for kindred landscaper.

This was lucky shot. While capturing the beautiful sunset, the bird intervened, culminating in exotic landscape frame. I noticed this capture after reaching home and felt euphoric.

Seductive palms

These array of coconut trees lie close to in laws house. Yes their upright position is seductive for any landscape cult. Even I was no different. Somehow the curvy palms near the water front lured me more than these may be because I did not heed much attention. A day in December eventually gravitated me towards these palms and I rushed for short shoot when sun was away from palms. Yes the trajectory of sun has shifted to southern hemisphere which means  azure background in frame. During summer the sunlight would wash out the scene rendering the picture bland.

Here are few pictures with those palms in frame. It was fun walking down the fields and gazing at grazing cattle. The bucolic charm is everlasting.

While the southern hemisphere pictures wash out the northern part have provided colorful frames. This is the time I can photograph palms because in summer the sun would disallow such clean composition

Alternate route from Kaup to Uppinangadi

I wrote a post on inordinate toll collected nearby Mangalore here. On our current iteration from Kaup to Bangalore, we decided to follow different chart via Karkala. The distance is farther by 4kms but can avoid Rs.110 toll. Moreover the traffic heck is minimal.

So how did journey go. Except for curvy roads the drive was smoother and as expected , paltry traffic. No heavy trucks, no signals, no town traffic, no toll. Karkala has bypass which saves maximum time. My intention was not to eschew toll fee but to avoid the traffic mayhem from Suratkal to Mani. Despite Mangalore city having bypass, the traffic on city outskirts also hamper the smooth journey. There are couple of signals which hinder the expressway traffic. Also the toll road is poorly maintained to pay such a high fee. The drive from Bantwal to Uppinangadi is most dreaded with heavy trucks impeding smooth flow. The snaky paths add more misery obstructing smooth overtake. Owing to aforementioned obstacles, I chose new path to Uppinangadi. Even Google maps suggested me to choose this new path (the picture is for illustration only and does not reflect the actual route suggested by map)

The journey was smooth barring few skepticism near Naravi where I felt like losing path. The apprehension warded off when maps affirmed rightness of the path. I covered uppinangadi in 2hrs same as tolled road. I was glad to make this decision which saved me from city traffic and toll road.

The disadvantage of the new route as mentioned is too many curvy paths. Sometimes, the roads are narrow and jagged. But this barely caused concern for us. Despite curves, it was possible to consistently maintain 60kmph.

How about fuel consumption?

One would assume due to curves, the breaking may be frequent and may lead to higher fuel consumption. But that was not the case. It requires 1500 worth of petrol from Kaup to Bangalore and the new route did not add overhead. In fact, it was marginally cheap. This may be attributed to the subdued traffic in this route. The Mangalore route is infested high volume of truck traffic which entails consistent braking and gear shifts. Despite being four laned, the density of traffic dwarfs the advantage of wide roads.

When highways are expanded, they are equally abuzz with vehicular movement. Good roads lead to prosperity provided we have signal free, strictly patrolled, disciplined lane driving and towns with bypass. That is not the case with NH-66. The city traffic extends to outskirts. The roads are ill maintained. The construction of railway underpass surpassed 10 years without completion. Untidy management of port traffic, reckless truck drivers, the wrong siders, inflate commute time. More than that, the peace of mind gets disturbed far early.

The cons of interior route

During monsoon season, this interior road may be trampled soon due to lack of maintenance. Also the interior places face heavy rains than those near coast. During rains, the curves may pose threat to drive due to absence of guard rails. Nevertheless, watchful drive can easily supersede these cons.

Dreary skies

As mentioned in previous posts, we have record dip in mercury levels owing to spontaneous changes in weather. The weather also inviting prolonged viral infection on the people. That is not topic of discussion here. So let's cut to chase.

The clouds are nowhere to be seen during one month. The lousy skies are keeping my DSLR switched off consequently. We have downright demotivating sky everyday with clear atmosphere. Fortunately, the haze is zero which can inspire you to capture golden hour silhouettes. But that needs visit to rural part of Bangalore which was away from my reach owing to illness of toddlers. Now I can content only with whatever opportunity city provided. These dreary skies is what I captured on a sunny chilly day. The azure sky reflected beautifully off the lake water which  bloomed the photography soul a tad. Here are those pictures inclusive of cityscape

I am afraid that soon the contour of lake would be engulfed with concrete pinnacles overshadowing green landscape.

With arid vegetation, deep haze and naught clouds, winter marks one of the most boring scenes here in Bangalore. The exception is during the early morning hours when fog breaks out for couple of hours. Otherwise there is no drama to brag.

Since there was nothing to accentuate, the pictures are also left unedited. Hence they look dreary as well