Beach @ Ocean Drive, West Palm Beach-A photo Story

bogunvillia bloom

With rain playing hide and seek with Bangalore, i just put together some of the pictures from my Bogunvillia collection. Hope it brightens your day.

(NOTE: All the images on this post, can be used on the internet, for any posts or illustrations( but without any retouching). The only condition is that you need to give credits and link back to this post)

Pottery town- A monochrome presentation

I visited pottery town, in the last week of september, with expectation of clicking some durga puja idol making. There was no action happening around it, but i was happy clicking making of diyas and lamps for the diwali approaching. Here is a small presentation of those images. do share your comments. This time, i would let the images do the talking.

Ready to go pots waiting to be picked. I always love to shoot these, for to the play of light they offer.

Glimpses of Durga Puja

So, today, i get some time to put together the images which i clicked over 3 days during durga puja. Where in our punjabi culture, we celebrate navratras in different way, it has always been very special to be part of this cultural extravaganza, celebrated by bengali community.
Here is my view of some time which i spent seeing activities as part of the celebrations. Do tell me what you feel about these.

An idol of Maa durga, at pandal @ Bengali association, Palace grounds, bangalore.

The pandals had a great amount of seating arrangement, with a very comfortable setup. I loved the fact that no one was in hurry. There were some people, who were seated and waiting for the aarti, and there were few who were queued up for the darshans. I loved the arrangement of such a grand event.

The pandal, was not only well managed, but beautifully lit as well. The way the lightening arrangement was done, was adding to the feel of the place. extensive usage of chandeliers was really beautiful.

A family while darshans, snaps away the blessings.

Musicians beat drums as the aarti commenced.

One of the crew members, a musician on the stage, amidst the crowd.

there was no limit to the prasadam, and devotees.

The holy & divine light

aarti of the goddess

A bengali event, would not be complete if you didnt have a bengali -kolkatta pan. a vendor specializing in kolkatta and banarsi pans.

Aarti at its most beautiful point. A musician looks on, while beating the drums.

Devotees, taking the aarti.

The journey begins. at the association at Indiranagar, devotees load up the idols and get ready to take the idols for immersions.

The crew, who helps in immersions, with the police deployed, wait for the idols.

Idols being carried for their journey.

A bengali lady, looks on, while they arrive at ulsoor lake after sindoor khela.

Waving good bye

While the immersions are carried along, a lady looks at the process.

Another bengali lady, in typical dress and after the sindoor khela.

Durga maa arrives at the venue, among the devotees.

Another face, in the crowd,turned up for the immersions.

Durga maa looks on, while the divers crew, shares the money among themselves.

Happy for having celebrated the puja, and hoping to welcome the goddess the same way for years to come.

A happy set of bengali women, while immersions conclude.

Close up of the idol. do pay attention to the craftsmanship and especially, the way the eyes are done.

Bidding adieu.

NOTE: 
1. Please note, where i have clicked pictures of individuals posted here, those are to depict the personalities and the cultural celebrations.
2. None of the photos posted here should be copied, since all the photos are copyrighted, hence permission and written consent should be seeked before any of the photos here can be made use of.

5 tips for taking abstract shots

Welcome to Saurabh Mittal Photography. I am trying to get regular on writing and sharing some of things what i have learnt in photography.
Today, i am going to talk about taking abstracts. As the name implies, anything which can interpreted or be seen at in many different ways, or in a way which is different that usual, qualifies as abstract for me. For ex:- you see images of leaves, flowers etc, but sometimes, the artists, shoots them in abstract format and brings out a different feel from the same subject.
Here are 5 tips on shooting and making abstract photos, as i have been doing.

 1. Shooting from unusual angles:- Angles can play a huge role in the way an image comes out. you can try to shoot the same objects from varied angles, and you would be amazed to see, that some of the angles, actually abstract the view of the object, but reflect on a certain aspect of it.

2. Finding unusual subjects:- you would be surprised, that some of the very unsual subjects make for some of the best abstract images. Try shooting a grungy metal object, or dead leaves floating on water. you may be in for a great surprise.

 3. Shooting at different focal lengths and using depth of field: Filling up the frame sometimes, can bring out a whole new perspective of a subject. Using a macro lens to fill up the frame with the pollen of the flower, can make for a very strong abstract. Also experiment with depth of field, to isolate certain aspects of the subject.

 

4. Find patterns: Patterns, make some of the best abstract shots. shooting for a stair case from the top, or certain patterns on the leaves are amazing contenders for abstract photography.

5. Play with light:- last but not the least, play with light to create different moods. Shadows, light falling through some source, or creating different arrangements in the frame can give different dimension to an abstract image.

Do write back, what do you do you, when you take abstracts.

Nameless

Finally, not been clicking much these days, but picked some shots taken over sometime and put them up together. Where each one of them has a different feel to it, i put them together, sighting that all these shots couldnt speak up a name to me, hence i decided to call them "Nameless".

Ganesha Immersion 2011-Photo essay

 

An organic ganesha, kept by a family, for its worship, before it is handed over to the immersion ground crew for its final journey. Organic ganeshas have been catching up, with lot of awareness of toxic waste and the impact these ganesha's immersed in our lakes make. Organic ganeshas are environmental friendly, so you can be rest assured that your celebration, is doing no harm to anyone down the line.