Day 59 | Feb 28 2007 | Orange Sunset

Another sunset, orange one this time.

Ever wondered why sunsets look so colorfully? Well thats because when the sun is directly overhead, the sun light has to pass only through a few kilometers of thick atmosphere. But when the sun is near the horizon (at sunrise or sunset) the light travels a longer distance through the atmosphere. This causes attenuation (loss) of the shorter wavelengths (blue - this is why the sky is blue at other times of the day) leaving only the longer wavelengths like orange and red to reach us. Clouds and other atmospheric effects are also responsible for colors changes. More info here.

Now you know!

Day 58 | Feb 27 2007 | Glass House - Lalbagh

This is the beautiful sight of the Glass House in Lalbagh Botanical Garden. A beautiful garden, Lalbagh has huge and 100's of years of old majestic looking trees. This garden also hosts the annual flower show, which draws huge crowds of plant and flower lovers.

I had to wait for a long time till the crowds cleared in the evening just before closing time (8Pm).

Day 57 | Feb 26 2007 | Fruits of wilderness

Just some wild berries growing on a wilder looking shrub. The golden sun rays make the fruits look so desirable. The depth of field also make the fruits stand out in this picture.

Taken on an evening walk in the park.

Day 56 | Feb 25 2007 | Vegetables galore

Hard days work - Vegetable Shop.

Out shopping for veggies brought me to this roadside shop in Kormangala. Its a farmer society run shop, which promises farm fresh veggies at less than retail prices. Although the veggies were fresh, I was surprised to see the same veggies cheaper by a buck or two in the supermarkets. Lesson learned - compare n buy!

Day 55 | Feb 24 2007 | India Post

India Post, the nations official snail mail delivery service, affordable and reliable.

I had passed this post office on Museum Road, a day earlier. I was delighted to see the three colored post boxes with the office in the background. The next day I was back here with my camera to get a few good pictures of this unique sight. The colors of the boxes indicate destinations; local intercity, interstate and nation wide. Also see this from another angle here.

Day 54 | Feb 23 2007 | Paan wala

Hard days work - Paan wala.
Paan (betel leaf) shops such as these are a very common sight everywhere in India; right from the busy bustling metros like Bangalore to the remotest corners where there is populace.

Items on sale are normally Paan, paan masalas, cigarettes, tobacco, guthka (a highly carcinogenic tobacco). The paan is made of betel leaves and masala, which is a mix of spices such as cardamom, anise and katha with choona (lime paste), grated coconut, different kinds of supari (betel nuts) and small pieces of various candies. A paan can cost from Rs.3, going up to even a 100 bucks.

This was taken at night after a team celebration dinner outside a restaurant.

Day 53 | Feb 22 2007 | Wild Sunset

Wild Sunset - I took this in a park, ducking behind the tree, hidden from the rays of the setting sun. The tree hardly had any leaves, and the camera light-metering/exposure setting gives it this wild silhouette look. Do you notice the waxing moon, a small white dot on the right side of the tree.

Day 52 | Feb 21 2007 | Musical Fountain

The Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain near the Bangalore GPO has a well maintained and perfectly working musical fountain. The evening show features songs in many Indian languages and last more than 30 colorful minutes. Its fun to see many colorful patterns being made by the fountains, in sync with the music. There is also a projector screen displaying images of Indian historical monuments and places. The park also has a Renewable energy park, besides a beautiful rose garden.

This one was taken at ISO 1600, with a high shutter speed, because of which the sky color (not black) is visible.

Day 51 | Feb 20 2007 | Undertaker

Hard days work - Undertaker
I had gone to visit the Old Christian Cemetery on an early Monday morning, with co-photographer Sandip, for one of our photo adventures. Our intension was to capture the rather eeriness of the place in the early morning sun light. But we were taken aback to see the stark reality of the place, of an undertaker or mortician digging up a grave. After we took some snaps of the cemetery, we came back to this person digging.

We were taking photos of his work, the silence of the situation was very disturbing. Maybe it was a job as usual for this person. But the setting was making all of us uneasy; uncomfortable thoughts in our minds! Without a word we exited from the place after a few snaps.

This time I was not scared of the place like at night last time, but I left with a different impression and feelings this time.

Day 50 | Feb 19 2007 | Bangalore Vidhan Soudha

Riding the bike late at night is fun, when the city sleeps, the road are almost empty. The road took me to this impressive structure. The Bangalore Vidhan Soudha, the state goverments main administration hub. The mighty looking neo-Dravidian architecture, well illuminated at night, is a must see tourist spot in the day time.

This pic was a hand held one, long exposure at 1600 ISO.

Day 49 | Feb 18 2007 | Handicrafts

Hard days work - Handicrafts | Artist's at work.
Its every art lovers paradise. A treat for the eyes. The ladies move so slowly when in front of these hand made articles, their gaze fixed to something they desire; but decide to buy another time due to the high prices.

This was taken on the junction of Brigade road and MG road, outside the popular Cauvery Emporium, a must visit when in Bangalore. On some days one can see the artists making these articles made of natural materials, displaying their skills.

Day 48 | Feb 17 2007 | Team work

Hard days work - Information Technology | Team work.
These are my colleagues working hard, helping another colleague who needs help on a case. The best thing is its team work. And it works..

Taken inside my office, I like this picture because it fills the frame with so many people.

Day 47 | Feb 16 2007 | Children of a lesser god - Nomads

Children of a lesser god - Nomads.

As planned earlier, Sandip (my co-photographer) and I went on a photo shoot off the Hosur Road. Our intension was to shoot urban life. But we were surprised and shifted our focus to a rather small make-shift hamlet setup by a large family of Nomads.

It was not surprising to see that the family owned a Tempo Traveler and a well fed, ferocious German Shepherd dog. The men of the hamlet were initially afraid to speak to us, but finally they let us into their tents. The settlement was not looking very old, maybe two or three days. It was dusk, and the women were cooking, preparing dough, baking rotis (Indian bread) for the family. There were these shy children of all ages, and a couple of babies being cared by the older ones. I guess that was a live example of family planning gone for a toss - India Shining - One billion Indians !

They said they were from Maharashtra. Observing their dressing style, mannerisms and language they seem to be from Rajasthan. One fact I noticed was that both the registration plates of their mini-bus were hidden by cloth. My impression of them after we left was that would be involved in some funny business. Sandeep feels otherwise, his post is here.

Day 46 | Feb 15 2007 | Matrix fight scenes

Guys just wanna have fun! Taken in the office, a series of Matrix type jumps and fight cut scenes. The whole set looks so good together, hence this collage. The guys in the pics are Devi, Kshitij and Sandip.

Also see my previous Neo style jump photo here.

Day 45 | Feb 14 2007 | Valentines Day

Valentines Day celebrations are in full swing today. Preparations started a few days back. Shops and joints have put up nice warm decorations. The common thing - red hearts everywhere. Another common sight, people having red roses in their hands. This one was taken inside Forum mall, Bangalore.

There are conflicting views about V-day in India. Some say its a day which has been popularized by commercial interests. Others say that you don't need a specific day to express ones love. There are some political groups who totally and publicly condemn this day. But do lovers care? Looking at the celebrations going on in full swing, it doesn't look like.

Btw, a recent research indicates that the period between Dec and Feb 14th has the highest number of break offs happening...

Day 44 | Feb 13 2007 | Glued to Jerry

This one was taken in the dentist's waiting room. This kid was glued to the TV watching the Tom and Jerry show on Cartoon Network India. All my attempts to distract him went in vain.

Day 43 | Feb 12 2007 | Bangalore bandh - in hiding II

Bangalore bandh (closed), supported by the government, all political parties and private businesses. The bandh was announced in view of the lost Cauvery water dispute verdict. Reports put the losses to more than Rs.600 crores due to lost productivity. Read my previous post and story here.

This is a night shot of the Forum mall. It was 'protected' with these nets, to save the glass panes from potential damage by rioters on this day. Security was very tight on the day, and thankfully there were no incidents in the city.

Day 42 | Feb 11 2007 | Walk in the park

This one was taken while on an evening walk in the park (near Koramangala's Bethany high school) . Its fun to see people go around in circles; some run.. some just walk keeping pace with themselves. Its funnier to see couples cozying up in the darkest corners on the benches, some care for the decorum of the park, some don't and behave inappropriately.

Day 41 | Feb 10 2007 | Madiwala market

Photographed the Photographer.
This is Sandip CANON Debnath, a very talented co-photographer, behind his lens.. capturing some kids on the streets of Madiwala Market, Bangalore. He has good PR skills, putting strangers at ease, which gives him very good photos. I had especially gone with him on this night time photo shoot, so that I could pickup this skill from him.

This was taken around Madiwala market, a very simple but congested market. In the background is Hotel Safa, a sub-standard dingy joint. Read Sandip's story about it here.

Day 40 | Feb 09 2007 | Vegetable Seller | Indian House Wife

Hard days work - Vegetable Seller.
Every morning, sun or rain, vegetable sellers like this aged man take out their hand pushed carts to sell their goods. They are mostly daily wage earners, pushing their carts in their territories, till they are reasonably sold out. The vegetables are mostly fresh, and ya, bargaining does help.

Hard days work - Indian House Wife.
I'm sure terming the wife as a house wife is not only politically incorrect, but I'm also running the risk of a 'morcha' (procession) against '365' by the women rights groups. But I'm taking my chances here, because I feel the picture converys a strong message. It's a picture which can be associated by many with the lady of the house. The mother, the sister, the wife, the daughter. Every day, sun or rain, they work... work hard and make the house our home. I salute to them all...

Behold the girl child !

Day 39 | Feb 08 2007 | (Untitled)

My friend Amit having his daily cup of tea in the afternoon. He is an ideal model to be photographed. I describe him as naturally photo-insensitive. Which means, he will not change his composure even if I get very close to him while photographing him; an ideal requirement of a good model.

The title untitled because I just cannot think of anything (suggestions welcome) which will do justice to this portrait, which I feel is one of the best ones in my collection. This one was taken on Koramangala main road, Bangalore.

Day 38 | Feb 07 2007 | Hello Mr.Dentist

Hard days work - Dentist.

Was at the dentist today. Saw him work closely, and asked a lot of questions about his trade. The man answered tirelessly, and I went home more knowledgeable about things like how ceramic fillings are set by halogen light gun working at a wavelength of 900nm, how local anesthesia works on oral nerves and more such jumbo mambo which were previously a doubt in my mind.

I hope there is one thing you will not forget to do tonight .. brush your teeth.

Day 37 | Feb 06 2007 | Who let the dogs out

Who let the dogs out.. a cool song by the Baha Men. Found on the street outside my home, these canines were lazying in the morning sun. Their motto: Sleep all day and bark all night!

The dog menace has become a big political issue in Bangalore now. You can see such stray dogs almost everywhere Bangalore. They look harmless to me, but you never know... beware!

Day 36 | Feb 05 2007 | Bangalore in hiding..

Bangalore in hiding. It was the day the verdict was announced about the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka state and Tamil Nadu state. The verdict was delivered against Karnataka state, after 17 years of fierce lobbying by both states.

The last time the issue was highlighted, there was rioting in the city. To avoid any mishaps and to maintain law and order in the city there were huge deployments of security personnel in the city and state. Some private parties tried to protect their properties on their own. Seen in the picture is a commercial complex with glass elevation, covered in safety nets. These nets prevent stones hurled by rioters damaging glass panes on the exteriors of the wall. The roads were pretty empty that day... Bangalore in hiding..

Day 35 | Feb 04 2007 | Coconut Sellers

Hard days work - Coconut Sellers.
There is a place called as Bomanhalli off Hosur Road, Bangalore, where coconut distribution takes place. Early morning, trucks loaded with these young/ripe coconuts come here and offload in a nearby storehouse. There is a contractor who deals with these single buyers seen in the picture. These buyers load the coconuts on their bicycles, and go off to the deepest parts of the city to do business. Selling price per coconut is Rs.10. Bargaining may only help if you are a regular customer.

The coconuts come is 2 variety's. One with water, and the other with 'malai' and water. The malai as it is called in Hindi, is the milky white soft kernel/endosperm of the coconut. The water is sweet and the malai is yummy !

Did you know that there is a Coconut Development Board under the Indian Ministry of Agriculture.

Another good picture by co photo buddy Sandip Debnath here.

Day 34 | Feb 03 2007 | DeBate - Indian Politics

This one was taken at my friends Amit and Neeraj's house. Dont ya love the mood, the intensity of the conversation...

The topic: A debate on Indian Politics (a never ending debate)
Conclusion: They going to make me a dictator :D
Real Conclusion: Nothing can be done, time will heal all.

Day 33 | Feb 02 2007 | Hi Way !

Hi Way.. The infamous Housur road at night. Its NH-7 (National Highway 7). The heavy traffic going into Bangalore city makes the road a good sight. As the city nears the speed reduces steadily.

This pic was a medium speed exposure with high aperture.

Day 32 | Feb 01 2007 | Stitch in time saves nine

Hard days work - Cobbler.
Stitch in time saves nine Aka A hard day's work - Cobbler Aka Mochi.
It is very common to find a cobbler in road side shops. They sell local made (unbranded) footwear. Experts in repairing any kind of footwear, they don't charge much.

This snap was taken in Adugodi, Bangalore.

Day 1 to Day 31 - Report and Archive

End of 31 Days. Its been more fun than hectic or stress full keeping up with my promise. Just thinking whats going to be my next snap, whats going to be the next post keeps me occupied a lot. Sometimes there is just nothing good to post, and some times it difficult to choose what to post out of so many good ones.

Here is a slide show of Jan 2007's 31 days... Do keep visiting. Have fun !

Adblock