Ghumakkar's Diary

A good mood can always bring someone back to writing. After a tiring training (working) week at Oxford which happened to overlap with a changing mind, I finally had a day to devour the City of Palaces- London! I spent the hoping on hoping down the London underground/tube trains, visiting and capturing places in HDR and whenever had some idle – thinking about the coming week – what to do what not to do! Anyways, this blog is not about how to travel London, but to share the HDR London I saw… The London Eye I have always wanted to visit this modern wonder, and believe me it was as wonderful as it could have been to a solo traveler... The London Eye Modern Wonder in HDR Few moments at Big Ben and a walk on Westminster Bridge was another wonderful experience for me...

No philosophical interpretation of today's Theme: Signs, just what I love to read and click - Sign boards. Colorful, meaningful and informative Signboards! This first pic was shot at the  NH9, Maharashtra-Karnataka Border while we were riding to Kolkata to attend RM East 2011 . Raaste pe Nahin Jaati Kisi ki Jaan--Mera Bhaarat Mahan! :)  Another Kala Ghoda shot, a click of the world famous Street's sign.

Till a few hours ago, PADE was Picture A Day Experiment, and then it got rain-washed to make me realize that it has always been Photo A Day Experiment. Anyways, Rain has always been my favorite season ( of course after Winters ), and living in Maharashtra it means a lot! Not just for the drought affected areas like Ahmednagar, but also as it paints just every region Green  as soon as it reaches the state. So, for the today's theme I would be posting three different pics.. This first pic was shot while descending from Naneghat by my Olympus mju waterproof camera. Our recent trek was the Best trek ever with waterfalls following the course made for general people :) You should see the rain drops in pic... Trekking down Naneghat On our recent  Lonavala-Karla trip, I found this drenched bottle-brush flower. It's a favorite flower and luckily with the P&S Olympus mju camera, I could capture the droplets! Mission accomplished :) 

Bliss is to have A Life you always wanted to... Blessed are thou If live that... Another mobile-camera shot, somewhere near Belgaum on NH4 almost a year back. This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .  

For today's theme Art , I again went back to my Kaala Ghoda Festival collection. Though, complete collection is about the display of art, I chose the Puppets or Kathaputlis  for the post. Kathputli or Indian puppetry has been native to Rajasthan and is said to be over thousand years' old in history. I have always been fascinated by the puppets and the ones who control them with strings. Somewhere in my heart I believe we are being controlled by someone as skilled as those puppeteers up above in cosmic world regulating us in and out of our dimensions. And, then this thought discourages me to take initiative; and then I think about the  Jonathan Livingston and it encourages to take that first step...and then I  feel lost when realize that he was one of the only of the clan that reached the height to die alone. Well, here are the pics.. The Puppeteer ..and the Puppet...do notice the plate with money in it..

Bokeh, the word that has got its root in Japanese meaning ' blur ' or ' haze ', adds beautiful aesthetic quality to pictures with a little play of lens ( and it's  quality ). Ritu has written a very good article on producing Bokeh , may read here . This pic for today's PADE theme was shot on Indiblogger Nokia Apptasting Event . It's not a perfect Bokeh, but random and coarse one.  It was shot on Nikon D5000 at f6.3 - 1/30 sec exposure. And, then these glasses gave the pic the love I wished :) This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .   

Another very uncoventional theme for Picture A Day Experiment , seems Sfurti and Ritu have spent real good time deciding the themes. Super! This pic was shot by us  in March 2012, when we wanted to do something new ( and not just star trail and moon-moon ) and Abhimanyu suggested this experiment with torch light in a dark night. I didn't want to post my name, but this was the only pic where Abhimanyu was sorta visible ( on right side ) and so were his fingers ( white thick short lines ). This pic was shot with a 15-seconds exposure in complete darkness. Area on wall was marked, and within that region Abhimanyu had to write the word ( here, my name ) using flash light virtually on wall. His fingers tell when he switched on and off the torch. This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .   

No this Theme is not sponsored by Microsoft ( as far as I know ), mighty organizers ( here  and  here ) may have something else to say... Well, today's theme is Window and I am again posting two of my favorite pics. First one is the one I shot in April while taking off from Mumbai (like most of the other mobile camera  savvy travelers). What I love most about this pic is that it appears hell lot like Indian peninsula, isn't it? And, are you able to recognise Bandra Worli Sea Link? Imitating Indian Peninsula (the bridge is Bandra Worli Sea Link) This pic was shot on Mobile Camera (LG OptmiusL9) and edited on PixlrExpress/Instgram.  Another pic is the one I shot few months back for a TruePixer assignment: from your window . Not finding any worth sharing event from my window, finally I found movement of people in my ally worth experimenting. A few shot, and I shot this one. The Ghost of my town This one was shot on Nikon D5000...

I always wished to click a good picture of my tools that I used to click pictures. Today's theme Tool is an apt occasion for the purpose. Though, owing to limited resources with me right now I couldn't click what I would say my favorite , but still it came out pretty good. By and large, Camera is a tool for telling the truth. (modified after By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth ~George Carlin ) Shot this through my mobile camera (LG-OptimusL9) and edited on PixlrExpress, watermarked by PicsArt. That guy on left sits idle on the bookshelf, so happily accepted the offer of modelling I proposed to him. This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .      

Streets have been a favorite topic for almost all those who ever wanted/want to be in to active photography. As I feel, there are two-type of street-photography - one, that needs you on the street with a prime lens (no zoom) to let you go near your subject, talk to him/her, ask his/her permission and take a picture that will tell a story worth thousand words. Firoze saaheb is one of such blogger-photographer I know. Then, there is another type of street-photography, for amateurs like me to indulge in - with zoom lenses that facilitates to shoot whatever you want to without connecting to subject ( and, thus no hesitation ). My today's post is one such pic, that I took a year back while returning from Kaala Ghoda Festival, putting my colleague as a model in an ally. Mood What I love in this photo is not just the colors and composition, but also that the subject it self is not in the focus, for me it gives a mood to this picture. Do share what you would have liked? This p...

 Now this is some really unconventional theme. For today's theme Shoes, I checked - rechecked my collection - and I didn't find much of such pics. Then, I found this pic that I shot at Calgary Tower few years back. This photograph not only reminds me of the pics we generally found in forwarded e-mails , but also a famous song from the movie Khamoshi-The Musical - Aj main upar, aasman neeche :) , certainly not literally ;) Aj main upar, aasman neeche Also, these are my shoes (and yes I am wearing those) and shot through the glass-floor of the Tower. :D And, I would also like to post another photograph shot during the famous Ganapati Visharjan of Mumbai, 2years back. Though, I am a practicing Hindu Atheist, it's not entirely a satire - but something to ponder upon. This shoe-less foot of religiously and emotionally revered Ganapati tells us how much festivals mean to us but not the people - our own people. It also shouts about hurting the ecol...

What else can you expect from a rider - when you shout Sharp !  A sharp turn and an attempt to touch the limits. This one pic is from a series of shots I took for my rider friend near Amby Valley, he's in to performance biking - so I seriously caution not to try this on sharp turns...  Shot using Nikon D500, 18-55 kit lens, f/5.6 1/400, I got a multi-shot series of the event. Once back to home will try to update the post with animated multi shot image. You never know what life has set for you on the very next turn What I learned from riding is that You never know what life has set for you on the very next turn , so try to live the present stretch of Life at its best... This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .  

Rule: Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear... I shot this image using my Mobile camera on rainy day while coming from Lonavala . What I liked in this picture wasn't just the two different perspective of the same lane but also the contrast between the blurred real and sharp reflection ( what is being clicked on the rear view mirror ).  So the Rule is modified as Objects in Mirror aren't just Closer but sometimes Clearer than they Appear... Objects in Mirror aren't just Closer but sometimes Clearer than they Appear... Shot using a mobile camera, and no not on the "professional" camera. Edited it on my favorite PixlrExpress app, not Photoshop. This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .  

First thing first, as I am using limited internet connection of my office, and thankful to them, I am unable to access the Disqus widget so won't be able to answer the comments (though will try via mobile : ) Also, Congratulations and warm thanks to Sfurti, Ritu and the participating guys - we have completed a Week! Kudos, We guys rock! So, this is my entry to PADE Day7 Theme: Light! This was shot reaching Lonavala on Mumbai-Pune Expressway, it was a ride organised by Castrol-xBhp and I preferred to do it as a pillion to click a few shots ( and, dont ask me how it feels to be a pillion - I may kill you!). What I like most about this pic is not just the light at the end of tunnel but the truck disappearing in the light and also reflection of the clicking me in the rear view mirror....  Simply there is generally some light at the end of the tunnel... This pic has always been one of my most favorite, do tell me what you think about it... This picture post is a...

Got a flight tomorrow early morning, am yet to pack. Procrastination has always been a sub-religion for me :D Well, this theme Layers gave me a chance to share something I academically and professionally belong to - Geology!  For us each layer of earth holds a clue to a million years in the Age of Earth, who as such is a Woman - that we Geologist try to decipher. As we get closer to know her, we face a new question unanswered. This shot was taken on my last year's just planned  trip to Zanskar . River at bottom should give an idea of the scale of layers... Each layer is worth a million years - zillion stories... Got to get to the bed soon....by the way I fell in the Love with the Ladakhi sky....it's naturally so blue.... This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .  

Okay, not starting on a negative pitch, but still I honestly  wanted to click a fresh  pic for today's PADE Theme "Fresh", but it didn't work out as wished and I am again posting a pic from the collection. This one is one the Best Monsoon pics I have ever shot from my last year's another just planned ride to Kaas Plateau . It was month of October and though it not heavily - it was still raining moderately. Whatever few shots I could take,  believe me, were one better than the other. I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone ~ Lord Byron I chose this one specially for that drop of water on the leaf, it's so enthralling! Shot it on Nikon D 5000, 18-55 kit lens under an umbrella :D This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long  Photo-blog  event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .  

An old entry for the day's theme: Distance, a favorite one from the collection. This one I took on my February ride to Jaisalmer . We were racing against the time to reach Khuri Dunes before sunset to devour it across the desert. But, finally we had to witness the Sun setting at the far end of an 'up-n-down' road to our destination... It's not just the Distance... It's not just the Distance, but Destination, It's not just the miles, but people we meet... ~ Ghumakkar Shot it on D5000 at 300mm f/5.6 1/400 exposure, no edit - just auto-corrected. This picture post is an Entry to PADE-2013, a month long Photo-blog event. To know more and participate, click  here  or  here . Check themes  here .

Wow! This PADE is getting so challenging - pushing me to try something new everyday ( literally every evening ). For today's theme, I browsed through my old collections, Diwali pics and there was none - many on Diyas  and those electrical lights - but none on candles! So, I started thinking - what to snap ? And, then how to do it? Darkness with candle is the most sought after concept - but then what was new? I thought to do it with Candles inside a glass with some coloured liquid ( ThumsUp ) in it, with a woofer shaking it. Woofer couldn't be arranged, some 20 pics with dwindling and finally collapsing candles in colddrink couldn't end up with something I was looking for. So, something happened and I started blowing off the candles by diverging the blow via my left palm and trying to snap the pics using right hand. Results were series of pics with flickering as well as brightened flames. Discarded brightened ones, a collage of flickers is what I am posting today... ...