In the last few years, I have been increasingly focusing on photographing landscapes. Although I work on multiple genres of photography which includes a wide range commercial work, interiors and architecture, travel and people, heritage sites and monuments, if I still have to pick one area that fascinates me it has to be landscapes. Even when I go to places that are not exactly known for beautiful landscapes, I always keep an eye on possibility of creating landscape images. I keep looking out for landscape photography opportunities where it may not be obvious and often spend a lot of time moving around the place, walking long distances.
Fortunately or unfortunately, photographing landscapes is not easy (not that photographing anything else well is a simple task). It is complicated by the fact that the quality of light wears down rapidly soon after sunrise or sunset. The window available to landscape photographers is usually a small half-an-hour in the morning and an equal amount of time in the evening. The nature of landscape photography also requires the photographer to carry heavier than usual equipment (read: sturdy tripod) wherever he goes. But it is human tendency to run behind challenges and I am no exception. My baggage weighs more than ten kilos no matter where I go. Sometimes I have come back from short trips without ever getting a chance to use the tripod, but I still make it a point to carry it even if I go back to the same place again. The effort has been rewarding at times and fruitless sometimes, but I make sure never to stop looking for opportunities. Here is a quick collection of some landscape images I have photographed so far this year. And my hope is to make 2011 a year of making many landscape images. I hope you like the images below. Your comments are welcome.
Also visit the collection of landscapes, nature and wildlife images on paintedstork facebook page.
I made two visits to Hampi this year, one in January and another one a week ago. I spent time shooting landscapes in the first visit, while I focused on photographing architecture and birds in the second. Here are some images of the boulder-strewn landscapes Hampi.
Soon after my first visit to Hampi, I spent two weeks walking on the frozen Zanskar River in Ladakh. It was an amazing experience walking sandwiched amidst the mountains, walking along the narrow gorges formed by the river. Being at the bottom of the valley most of the time, it was a tricky situation for photographing landscapes since we did not have the vistas typical of a viewpoint atop a mountain. But the brilliant blue river and some frozen waterfalls made up for the absence of views.
Prints of all the images available. Request for prints
Marshes perhaps make up for more than half the area of Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur. Naturally, the park has a lot of birds that rely on the abundance of this water. Cormorants and darters come here to fish and so do grey herons and egrets. Black Necked Storks and Painted Storks take pleasure in filtering out algae in the water and consuming them for breakfast. The storks are voracious eaters who seem to be always in a hurry to eat more, as if fearing that their neighbours may take away a portion of the food. Grey Herons stand perfectly still until an unsuspecting fish passes next to them. A microsecond later, the fish is struggling between the beaks of the heron and a few second later disappears in its throat.
I once saw a Grey Heron catch a huge fish almost six inches long and about three inches wide. The heron tried hard to consume it, but it turned out too big and eventually had to put it away. As it tried hard to gulp the fish, a greedy pond heron and a night heron walked up to it without daring to get too close, staring at the fish with a hopeful look!
The large birds were too wary of anyone and preferred to sit as far from land as possible. Even the ones that came closer to edge of the marsh kept a careful look and flew away at the first sight of someone approaching. Some pictures here.
Little Cormorant
darter
Black Necked Stork
Grey Heron
Pond Heron
Painted Stork
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
I spent a few days in McLeodganj or Upper Dharamsala in November, walking on its narrow roads and gazing at the mountains, trees, birds and Tibetan Buddhists. Being the home of HH Dalai Lama, you see Buddhist Monks and Buddhist symbols in every corner of McLeodGanj. Before I arrived at Dharamsala, I had made plenty of plans about places to see and things to photograph. I was getting a feeling that my three days would be so packed that I will hardly manage to get the feel of the place. But there was a sudden change the moment I arrived in town. I kept my camera away and spent most of my time in Dharamsala walking in the beautiful hills, often aimlessly and randomly. I did not find the need for a schedule. I did not find the need to go see all things that must be seen. I did not wish to get busy with the camera. I simply let the days pass from moment to moment and spent most of my time walking in the hills. Only on my last day in McLeodganj did I spend a few hours taking pictures. Here are some of the images of the Buddhist world in Dharamsala captures in those few hours.
Prayers wheels on the way to Dalai Lama Temple in Dharamsala
Prayer wheels – handheld ones.
Prayer flags fluttering near Dalai Lama Temple
A stupa or chorten with prayer flags in the background
A Buddhist Monk carving mani stones. Mani stones are tablets bearing the sacred mantra – Om Mani Padmehum
A mani stone
Devout Buddhists prostrating at the Dalailama Temple
A monk on the streets of McLeodganj
Finally.. an elderly lady with rosaries in hand, walking on the circumambulation path around Dalailama Temple
Prints of all the images available. Request for prints.