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Brigade Cholun – Bengali Grafitti!

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Jaywalking on the streets of Kolkata was one of my favourite pastimes during the weekends. I purposely used to travel long distances, cus it gave me an oppurtunity to explore the city, the real Kolkata. As far as politics in Kolkata goes, its all Left dominated. The party has been in power for over 30 years now. Its no wonder then that one comes across many such grafittis all across Kolkata. Flyers are common, and stick on paper posters are very popular but Kolkata is a land of artists. So hand painted political announcements are dime a dozen here.

I was glad to have learnt a few Bengali alphabets. Well thanks to the liberal use of Bengali all around, i used to relate the Bengali script with its Hindi/English names that were written above it. And i learnt a whole stock of Bengali alphabets. Whilst walking towards Sovabazaar Metro stn one day, i came across this Grafitti and i tried reading it. I could. I cant read the whole thing now as i have lost touch with the script. But i still can read the main message.

The red word written below read, “Sammelan” and the bigger sized font reads “Brigade” followed by the black “Cholun” below it. I know there is no “O” ki matra there but that is how it is pronounced. The script is very artistic indeed. I hope to learn more alphabets. i think i should get the Ananda Bazaar Patrika, to sharpen my Bengali.

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Leaning Elphinstone?!

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Kala Ghoda Art District is an art lovers paradise. I particularly love the whole arty feel to the place. With so many Art Galleries around and the street art gallery with artists in their element, is a sight to behold. With so much art happening around, one really gets the nitro boost as far as creativity is concerned. It was probably this boost of creativity that prompted me to see the Royal Elphinstone college, the architechtural marvel, from a different perspective.

Clicking the facade of the structure head on would be very cliche, i thought. Plus clicking so ordinary a shot would not really do justice to the creative, artistic vibes in the air. So while walking under the arch of the college thinking of ideas to capture a unique photograph, i came across the reflection of the massive structure on the rear glass of this parked car. The entire structure was visible, but not in high detail. Still i thought, this is a unique moment, and no one would capture another similiar kinda photograph as there is a slim chance of the car being parked in the similiar place with similiar light conditions and as clear a sky.

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The Ladder!

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One of my attempts at Abstract Photography. I was bored on the hot summer afternoon and was just roaming around my ancestral home, where a lot of construction work was going on. There wasnt much of an oppurtunity to do photography around the house. I noticed this ladder placed along one of the walls, the workers had gone to take their afternoon siesta. Yeah, in the villages, an afternoon siesta is a must. There was nothing out of the world in the ladder, but when i saw it through this angle i noticed a definite shadow. Offlate i have become very sensitive to the angle of light and all that and try as much as i can to capture images that showcase the role of shadows. This shot gave me an idea to shoot a series of photographs with a Shadow Theme. Strange how one thing leads to another.

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Butter-Fly!

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I have never satisfactorily captured butterflies. Their constant flapping of wings till they are steady, can really test one’s patience. I was doing some landscape photography in the farms near my ancestral home, when from out of nowhere came a flying insect colored Noir et Blanc. Amidst all the greenery of the plants and the blue of the sky, the butterfly looked out-standing. I followed it, with no hopes of course, but still i do try to test my patience.

Luckily, the butterfly didn’t go far and decided to settle on a leaf nearby. I stealthily went close to it , taking care not to stamp on too many dry leaves, lest it scare the butterfly (for that instant i had forgotten that butterflies dont have ears:P) and clicked. The fact that i was wearing a green colored t shirt helped. (Actually attending the seminar on Macro Photography helped me:P where i had learnt that butterflies arent easily scared if we wear green/brown colored clothes. Red is a definite no-no).

I am not happy with the result though, cos there is a definite shadow on the right wing, which i could have avoided had i been a little more attentive towards light. Also the leaf behind the butterfly is completely burnt out. Thats a rookie mistake btw. Had i changed my angle of shooting, i would have got a better image. By the time i realised all this, the winged fellow was gone. So this is my attempt at capturing one of natures most fascinating insect. I guess i can only improve from here:D

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Catch Me If You Can!

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Walking atop the Sidhudurg Fort sometime in October of 2007, i heard some rustle in the leaves. There was definite movement and wind surely wasnt a cause for it. I decided to look into the bush, and i saw a Chameleon. I am not pretty sure if it was a chameleon, cus i didnt see it change colors, but its camouflage was excellent. It was holding onto the twig with its oh-so-tiny feet. It wasnt moving. Damn! It was posing!

I knew i could just not miss out on this opportunity. Its not everyday that wild lizards pose for you. I particularly loved the sharp features of the lizard, those pricky formations on the skin. My maiden attempt at the genre of “wildlife photography”. But seriously, one really needs to be very very patient for that kinda photography. With the rains having started, i am for sure gonna try this genre:D

PS: Someone please tell me if it is indeed the chameleon.

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Deux Gouttes!!

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Ah! The rains have finally Arrived in aamchi Mumbai. Rains are magical. They just add a new dimension to my creative thinking every year. How else would i explain to myself a sudden shine (on how to end a fiction piece i had started two years back) just when the rains started to pound the city. Anyways ill not get into that. Right now, let us enjoy the rains.

It was a lazy Sunday today. Woke up to the music of the rains and the howling wind. The atmosphere was perfect for reading a book. Satyajit Ray’s Indigo came to the rescue. A collection of mysterious short stories. So by the window, it was just me, Ray, steaming hot coffee and the rains!

I noticed these drops of water that had collected under the bars of the grill of my window. The drops if observed from up close were reflecting the building on the other side. Needless to say i quickly fetched my camera which had been lying unused since the last couple of weeks, thanks to my unearthly schedule. I got it in the Super Macro mode, but i noticed that capturing the reflection was outta the question as the drop was being constantly filled with water, from the sides and the film around the water was in constant rotation. And i wanted to capture that drop before it gathered enough weight to finally form into a sphere and release itself from the bar. The other drop was just about starting to form.

So finally i have kickstarted this years quota of Rain themed photographs. Many more to follow. till then.

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Brother Hood!

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Gangtok is the fabulous capital city of the state of Sikkim. The people there are very hospitable and the kids are just too cute. The life lead by the people there isnt an easy one. Most of the kids do their schooling in the Buddhist Monasteries. Some of the students even come from places like Bhutan, Nepal at ages as young as four or five.

One interesting aspect of Gangtok is the plane of the roads. Roads in Gangtok always have this tendency of going uphill. One can hardly find a straight plane road of more than 100mts length.

I clicked the above photograph when i was returning from Rumtek Monsatery. I saw this kid carrying his little brother on his back (like i carried my school bag). The elder brother’s age was five and his younger brother was just about two and a half. Yet the elder brother carried his younger bro, uphill. It was really humbling to see him have absolutely no trace of irritation or pain on his face, inspite of carrying the younger one around for over half an hour. I dont remember carrying my brother like that ever:D I wanted to interact more with this young Hercules, but i couldnt for obvious reasons. He did give me this memorable photograph, as a parting gift though.

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L – Shaped!

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The stretch from CST upto Flora Fountain is great if one is fond of Architechture Photography. As most of the buildings face east, one gets enough light falling on each buildings to go about shooting in the mornings. After i got my S5 IS, i took it out for a test ride one fine weekday. One comes across many such arched pathways, with artistic pillars supporting them. In the above photograph my main idea was to capture the light and shadows of those pillars. It formed a right angle, well almost.

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Speed = MUMBAI!!

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Bombay, Mumbai – means different things to different people. But for me Mumbai is equivalent to speed. Life here is all about speed. Those who keep up with it, survive, as for those who are slow, get left behind. I mean look around you, someones running to catch the train, someones running to catch his bus, others are rushing to get to their places of work, children are rushing so that they dont get late, the works.

Clicked this atop the Marine drive flyover. Just wanted to capture the trailing lights, so shot on slow shutter speed. I am not completely satisfied with the result as i feel there is lot of noise in the image. Plus there has been a lot of fringing. So yeah, this isnt a perfect photograph, but i really love the motion in it.

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Spiral!

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Bassein Fort at Vasai is a photographers paradise. Its got this whole Portuguese ruins still intact and has a dense jungle around, enough fodder for shutterbugs and wildlife enthusiasts. Initially on a friends insistence i entered the spiral staircase just out of pure curiosity to see the view from the top. Whilst returning, i happened to look down and I just had to make use of my camera. It seemed like the trunk of an elephant to me.

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