It has been sometime that I have left my job and am now a student. Being back at college is awesome, no doubts, but a little tiny part of me, misses those deadline oriented work at break-neck speeds, pulling 14 hours shifts when needed, looking forward to the Friday and Saturday nights….above all the friends I made 🙂
This post is to some of the best days of my life!
Assignments, tests and presentations have kept me busy pretty much. So I am reduced to the weekly posts and some occasional compilations. Soon though, I intend to make a trip to the nearby locations and come back with some mesmerizing shots.
Have you been to an empty house? The furniture covered, dust settled on them. Only the ticking of the wall clock. The floor creaks as you walk about and you get the feeling that though the place is empty, but you are not alone.
Now, imagine that being an entire village. Had it been thriving, it would have been the biggest village in the vicinity. Almost a hundred houses. All alike, and empty. No roofs remain, doors gone, and the people who called this place their home, have vanished.
This could be the perfect setting for some horror flick too. And this place exists very much on the map. I give you , Kuldhara. Dont be creeped out just yet.
A hamlet on the outskirts of the golden city of Jaisalmer, is this empty, and often referred as haunted village. There are more than a hundred houses and none of them are surviving in proper conditions. Folklore is that one night following decisions by the village elders, the entire village shipped out, with their belongings and also the temple idol, never to be found or traced again. All they left behind were the lores, the empty houses and a curse that no one will be able to stay in the village. True to the word, the village is devoid of any settlement, human or otherwise.
The feeling that you are being watched, is highly felt and a certain sadness fills you up as you see the ruins.
All that remains are just ruins!
This is also an example of double exposure shots. More to follow soon.
We are always asked to look up and aim high, and then only shall we reach our objective. Its true. We should also keep our base strong and firm, keep our feet on solid ground, and then, take the lunge up to our goals. Do take a moment, reflect and have a look at the ground beneath your feet.
A bit of green, and whole lot of concrete! A happy and sound foundation for me!
I have tried out with close up filters and more recently with free lensing. The best close up, macro shots are by the dedicated macro lens, but these techniques get you pretty close too. Check the earlier works here.
Here are some of the reverse lensing shots which have got me close, less than 10 cms close to my subject.
Silica Gel crystalsReflections on water dropletsCigarette!
Have a look at the other entries on macro shots here!
“That long cold black cloud is coming down
I’m feelin’ like I’m knocking on Heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knocking on Heaven’s door”
–Â Bob Dylan
This song has been stuck in my head since time immemorial and even though it has an immensely dark tone to it, somehow, it still feels comforting. Maybe am just a bit weird, but then, that’s just me.
Thanks to Magdalena for nominating me for the Three Days, Three Quotes challenge. The rules are simple:
1. Post 3 of your favorite quotes each per day for 3 recurrent days. The quotes can be of any other people or it may come straight from your own heart. 2. Nominate 3 bloggers with each post to challenge them. 3. Don’t forget to utter a thankful word to the person who nominated you.
It has happened to me before, and I know it shall happen again. The feeling that I have had enough of taking photos and now its time to throw in the towel and give up, but then, my muse keeps me ticking.
Muse, when used as a noun is defined as a person, especially a lady, who inspires creative talent. If I go by that, then this is that lady right here.
But then, extrapolating the definition a bit more, the extraordinary sights during my travel, maybe they make me creative, so, these too are my muse.
Creativity may not always be original, it may be a tiny trick for the eyes. My muse is inspiring awe.
My muses belong from far and wide. I met her again recently at Delhi, and the views followed too at Delhi, Jaisalmer and Shankarpur. And the rest, I found near to home. A proof of concept and a bit of patience, they helped me muse my muse. Have a look at what others muse right here.
Informative, imaginative and above all, soothing. That’s how I describe the books in my tiny library. I know them all, literally back to front, and yet, I would read them many times over. This is my entry for the weekly challenge of ROY G. VIB
From Right to Left…
The complete short stories Hercule Poirot- Agatha Christie
Raaj Kahini (Stories of the kings) – Abanindranath Tagore
The Yard – Alex Grecian
Digital Fortress – Dan Brown
Asura – Anand Neelakantan
Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
Dictionary of Chemistry – John Diantith ( School time nostalgia)
If you are in the northern hemisphere, and near the tropics, you ll know what heat is, during the month of June. And, in this summer heat, I decided to take an Off Season desert trip. This was pretty much my view and trust me, it was oddly satisfying knowing that this big ambling ship of desert will get me home safe, plus, the prices are almost 1/20th  of that of the peak time.
Vivid is the colour of the puppets’ dresses on the wall of the Amer Fort at Jaipur. Check out the other posts for vivid too. More of Rajasthan, coming up shortly on the blog. Stay tuned 🙂
Cheers!!
TRAVELOGUES AND TREASURES 