Cochin - ferry ride and Photographs: A trip to Kerala

For Rs 50 / person this ferry ride for about 2 hrs is one of the best ways to see the city scape of Cochin

The best time to go is around 5-6 PM and watch the sunset and the lights appear (a tip from our tourist taxi operator which was very useful)

They play nice music too on the ferry!

They show you the Cochin shipyard too. The ferry begins off MG Road.

Here are some photos (and some tips on taking night city scapes)

To photograph night city scapes - under expose your photos by 2~3 notches (I learnt it at Cochin!)

A Barge that we overtook

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Moments of awareness: Taking photographs of water - especially water falls

Photography tip:
I found that several times its important to give the feeling of flow. This can be achieved by increasing exposure a notch more than whats required giving the "flow" effect to water.Here is running water at three different exposures

One a more pensive note - its the same with life , giving things more time lets you see more things in flow :-)-

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Tiruvarur: Pictures of Kamalalayam and the Temple and the Bustle of the Bus stand

The Kamalalayam (temple tank) is as large as the temple and is very beautiful. I have seen it during different times of the day and this view is during sunset. I just took a few photographs to contrast the busy bus stand in this Thiruvarur (Tiruvarur) town with the calm peaceful temple tank.

From 201104_VaitheeswaranKoil

From 201104_VaitheeswaranKoil

From 201104_VaitheeswaranKoil

From 201104_VaitheeswaranKoil

From 201104_VaitheeswaranKoil

Good places to eat near the Bus Stand - Veg - SRR cafe(ok food - not too great) and Vasan Hotel (Better) - try the podi dosai in vasans [In the Bus stand photo, Vasans is at the end, SRR cafe is in the beginning]

From 201104_VaitheeswaranKoil

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Mylapore Tank Float Festival 2011 - Theppam - Part 2 - Photo essay

Mylapore Tank Float Festival 2011 - Theppam (Kapaleeswar Temple) - Part 2  - Photo essay


Lights of the night - Reflections on the mylapore tank look so beautiful

From 2011_Mylapore_Float_Festival

An ad for a Puncture shop on a tyre - New media

From 2011_Mylapore_Float_Festival

Mylapore analytics - Predictions for every problem

From 2011_Mylapore_Float_Festival

Awe

From

Colors of the night - seen through the centuries

From 2011_Mylapore_Float_Festival

Nikon D5000 Lens : f/1.8 35mm AF-S

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A window thats seen many years and a plant thats seen a few: Photograph

Some photographs are best black and white and this was one of them - This is in old Bombay near Chowpatti

A window that has seen many years
.... and a plant thats seen a few

I had just charcoaled the picture except the window/plant.

For those who want the original pic it is here

Babulnath Mumbai Blog post earlier

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Photography Tip: How to correct if the object is dark and the background too bright using Photoshop

Very often when we take a photograph (typically a closeup) ,the object is underexposed and the background is too bright. A common solution suggested by many is to use a fill flash

I find that the fill flash restricts aperture or shutter speed (if inbuilt) and the pictures turn out over exposed.

I have kind of optimized on taking the shot without the flash and then using the Histogram tool.

Click on Adjustments > Curves > Increase the lower levels (See Picture)

The impact of this transformation on this picture is show below
Before

After using Adobe Photoshop

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Srirangapatna (Mysore) - Part 1 of 2

Srirangapatna was Tipus capital and is a nice place about 20kms from Mysore. There are 2 places to visit - the Ranganathaswamy temple and the palace/tomb of Tipu Sultan. I visited this place during the Mysore Dasara festival 2010.

Part 1 - Ranganathaswamy temple

The ranganathaswamy temple is located on the right when you come on the Mysore Bangalore SH-17 highway from Mysore. You will see a large board welcoming you to Srirangapatna - heritage town. It belongs to Mandya district but is closer to Mysore.

The temple has Vishnu in a reclining pose similar to Srirangam (Trichy). I got a couple of photographs below

Gopuram

From 201010_Bangalore_Mysore_Vacation_Public

Gopuram Inside

From 201010_Bangalore_Mysore_Vacation_Public

Well maintained lawns in the side of the temple

From 201010_Bangalore_Mysore_Vacation_Public

At the entrance - my kids were sitting here riding these stone elephants!

From 201010_Bangalore_Mysore_Vacation_Public

Intricate carvings

From 201010_Bangalore_Mysore_Vacation_Public

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Bangalore and Mysore Photos during Dasara - Places to visit

A quick upload of Mysore Vacation Photos
1. Krishna Raja Sagar - Brindavan Gardens
2. Mysore Palace - with lighting taken from the road during Dasara festival
3. Srirangapatna and Tipus palace
4. Chamundi Hills - Chamundeswari Temple and Bull temple

Detailed travelogue later




To see each pic follow the link
All shot with my Nikon D5000 and mostly Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8G

My new flexible tripod bought in India in ebay

It is chinese but available in India and has performed ok in the last 3~4 days. I bought it on ebay india

From Blogger Pictures

Similar to a Joby  Gorillapod

How to make a portrait stand out against a lousy background using photoshop

1. Use the magic wand tool to select the picture. Invert it to select the background using Ctrl-Shift-I
2. Run filters [I like the gausian blur or glow edges - see pic below]


I use it typically to remove people whom i dont want in kids pics or littered kids rooms. It is better than to fill with a background and run a gradient as it gives it a lot more natural feel to the pic.

After the selection and glow edges filter