Ladakh wears a white blanket in winter months. Post October, when the temperatures start dipping below the freezing point, the brown and barren mountain slopes get decorated with powdery snow. Mercury dips quickly in November and December months, often going below -30C in the high Changthang Plateau located in western parts of Ladakh bordering Tibet. The huge high altitude lakes in this region that paint the landscape blue in the summer months freeze and turn white. The weather is unforgiving but the landscapes is dressed in bridal wear. Here is a photograph of Pangong Lake made during the harsh winter of January 2013.
During the winter months, the temperature in most parts of Ladakh fall as low as -25C. The numbing cold freezes the lakes and rivers from November to February. Mountains are crowned with fresh snow till the arrival of summer. This photograph of a frozen Indus River was made on the way from Leh to Tso Moriri Lake in February 2013.
The small town of Munnar and its surroundings are blessed with mountain landscapes that is not easily found elsewhere in South India. However, photographing these landscapes is usually a tough task, as the weather remains hazy or cloudy for much of the year and the drama in front of the eyes is not usually captured effectively by the camera. Perhaps the only way to get it right is to plan well and be at the right place at the right time in the right seasons. Here is an image I made last week, when I was leading a Landscape Photography Workshop to Munnar.
This is the morning view from a mountain pass connecting Suryanelli and Kolukkumalai Tea Estates, located to the east of Munnar Town. To get here, we started at 4.30am and made a backbreaking journey through some remote roads to reach just in time for sunrise. But it was a rewarding effort.