Nascent

Pune! Pune! Pune!

I've finally moved here which is why I haven't been active online in a while. I haven't really had much time to shoot and edit either; add to that a horrible internet connection and you're left with virtually no internet access on your laptop.

But let's not focus on the negative. This is quite the experience. I've seen, heard, felt so many things in such a short span of time that it's quite difficult to even process everything. I'm still trying to get used to things here.

Which is why visiting this place was even more special. It made me miss home so, so, so very much. The hills reminded me of the hills I used to climb back home and the birds combined with the amazing sunset almost made me tear up. But I'm glad I didn't get stuck in the past and could enjoy the moment for what it was. Stuff like these are reminders to me of God's amazing grace and His love that never leaves and that's one of the reasons they never get old.

In case you're wondering, this is Pashan Lake. It's quite beautiful.

Also this was shot on my phone, the OnePlus 2. I use an app called Camera FV-5 that allows you to bracket shots like you would on a dSLR. I then combined the exposures in Photoshop and played with the light a bit. Just goes to show how advanced the tiny sensors in phone cameras are.

Concealing Glow

Exams are always a pain, especially when you're give the timetable just one week ahead and then you scramble for your books and barely manage to finish the syllabus the night before.

Sometimes in life nothing seems to be work out no matter what you try or how hard you work. I know this is something I've said before but it's exactly how I've felt for the past few weeks/months. However, ever so often I'm reminded of God's love and grace. Ever so often there are little things that remind me of how beautiful life is and keep me carrying on.

Someone called me a tree-hugger before as a joke but I think that might be true to a certain extent. The world around me fascinates me and God's creation is just amazing! Today's picture is another reminder of that. We were returning home after a rather not-so-exciting trip to the hills and the driver suggested we make one last stop before the final leg of the journey.

After much deliberation we agreed and I'm so glad that we made this stop to take in the view. The sunset did look amazing as we were travelling but I'd never seen this view before. The previous times I'd been here had been really cloudy and you could barely see a few meters ahead of you so this view was stunning to say the least and I hope the picture does it justice.

Things might not always be going the way you want to go or how you want them to be but you've always got to remember that clouds move and eventually they part enough to let the sun shine through and when it does you realise that it's going to be OK because at the end of the day you have a God who loves you and cares about you and only wants what's best for you.

Now I should start studying to tomorrow's paper and stop boring the few of you who actually take time to read my blog. Thank you guys! :)

Gleam

It's been far too long since I was last online. Getting caught up with all the emails, messages and comments might just be the hardest part.

Anyway, it's Valentine's Day and since I realised that too late to create a picture specifically for today I decided to process one of my pictures to mean something for today.

So, how about some much needed warmth and glow that generally comes with the feeling of being loved?

How do I know this? Easy! God's love really warms you up and I know those of you in relationships can attest to that fact but let me tell you that the love of God supersedes anything you've ever know before.

I hope you're having a great day and I hope you have a great week ahead. I shall not keep you any further :D

Aglow

Looks like I should transition into taking portraits and not landscapes since I've been doing a lot of that lately and people tend to enjoy that a lot more.

Anyway here's another picture that I experimented on with the tones and colour grading. Also I tried out this new technique which I used to add light to the top right of the picture. If you want to know how it's done let me know and I'll get back to you :)

My friend was taking pictures of some of my other friends and the light just looked amazing behind her so I asked her to hold her pose and grabbed this shot.

Hitch

Wow! It's been quite a while since I uploaded anything and I kind feel guilty because this is what I've always wanted to do and I haven't been spending much time with my camera or even editing.

A few days back a friend of mine got in touch and asked me whether I wanted to go to take pictures. How could I decline that offer? So we spent the better part of 4 hours on a bike and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures too.

We missed the sunset but I did get some pictures of the trees among other things.

Anyway, I promised him a picture of him and his bike so this is really for him.

The editing on this one is something completely different. I don't know why but I just felt like taking this route although I've never done it before. What do you think?

Query

What a week this has been! Busy yet so so so very fun!

My apologies for not posting regularly. I have a huge backlog of files that need editing and with the photoshoots and videos that need to be done soon that's just going to increase. I need to get on top of it and hopefully will succeed doing that in the next few weeks or so.

Now for the picture since that's what you're here for. I had planned to shoot the sunset from the new spot I discovered recently and set out as soon as I got back from my exam because it looked like the sky was about to explode with amazing colours. Unfortunately dark clouds began rolling in and it looked gloomy but I kept walking towards the spot. This particular bull seemed rather interested in what I was doing and decided to follow me. It stopped when I stopped and I saw the sun just beginning to peak from behind the clouds, giving out this magnificent glow that really lit up everything. The bull was still staring right at me which made for an interesting shot.

I decided against removing the annoying and highly distracting power lines and houses because this is Salbari. Or at least what it's becoming. I remember when we first moved here with no houses around us. There were just animals and rice fields. All that's rapidly changed in the last decade and it's sad to see nature being destroyed like this. Part of the picture is what Salbari once was while the background shows you what it's becoming. This isn't even the part with the most houses. It's so difficult finding a good spot for pictures nowadays when once all you had to do for a good view was step outside your house.

Mnemonic

We finally witnessed a really beautiful sunset yesterday which was something I was really looking forward to. It's things like these that really cheer me up and I needed cheering up. One of the best teachers I've ever had left our college yesterday. We were all sad to see her go and gave her a farewell. So it was not a really good day for us but then I watched the sunset on my way home and that put a smile on my face.

I thought I would shoot a timelapse of the sunset but the sun dipped behind some really low clouds on the horizon and didn't come out until it was too late. So I walked around the fields for a bit looking for some good photo opportunities. I came across the tree in today's picture. I don't know how I hadn't seen it before but it just might be my new favourite spot to take pictures. I'm just waiting for the next good sunset to get some really good pictures.

About the post-processing. I took three bracketed shot (-2,0,+2) in order to get the entire range of light. I ended up using just the normally exposed photography at the end. I used a few luminosity masks on this one. They work great!

Luminosity masks are still a new technique for me so I do require a lot of practice but they're great for digital blending. I've also created a handy GIF that shows you the various stages in the creation of this image - hope that helps. It's a rather large file so it might take a while to load. You'll find it after the picture.

And now for the GIF (let's hope this works)

If Hope Dies

Earlier this month I wrote about a fest we went to where we met with the members of "If Hope Dies". Turns out the lead singer used to teach one of my friends when she was in school.

They were really good and ended up winning the competition.
This was taken just after the sun had dipped below the horizon. The crowd went wild and almost everyone was on their feet and dancing while they were performing.

Although there were a few major disappointments and problems the fest itself was fun but only because of my friends.

The Drive

I am pleased to be able to finally share our latest short film with you all. I worked on the videography/cinematography, editing and mixing. It was a really fun experience and we all learnt a lot.

Today's picture is one of the frames from the film. This is probably my favourite shot in the entire film. This was the first time I was visiting a lot of these locations and it's really made me want to just go out and explore new places.

The theme we were given was "Hidden Scenic Beauty of North Bengal" A pretty good theme because we were able to show places that people usually overlook on their way to more poplar and clichéd destinations. I believe God's creation really is amazing and sometimes you just have to look closer to be able to find something absolutely stunning in something you might have otherwise considered mundane. So this was a really great project for me because I was able to combine my photographic knowledge and love for nature as a whole into creating something new.

It's titled The Drive (click through to watch it). Drive in this case doesn't refer to actually driving around. Rather it refers to passion and commitment. We wanted a story that people could relate to but at the same time not be distracted from our main focus - scenic beauty. Hope you enjoy it. We would really appreciate honest feedback and creative criticism.

The Connection

I'm really running out of ideas for picture captions (also my blog post titles).

Anyway my friends wanted me to take a few pictures of them so we met up and got a few good ones. This is probably one of my favourites from the entire lot.

Final Blossom

These flowers blossomed a few days ago and I just happened to pass by this place at sunset. I noticed the light hitting these flowers and they looked amazing.

So, I decided to revisit this place again and got a good shot. My main purpose was to shoot a timelapse or the setting sun because it just looked gorgeous. The entire scene was bathed in this warm light that had an amazing reddish glow. It was beautiful!

I'm working on a timelapse film of this place that I plan to finish before I leave here.

The Burning Clouds

We really haven't seen the sun in a while. We've only been given brief glimpses of the sun. Today evening was different as the rain stopped and the clouds began to clear. One particular cloud at sunset reminded me of this picture.

The colours you see at sunset are just amazing!

Towards The Fading Light

This was one of the last photographs I got that evening. I waited a long time for some birds to come into the frame but they all seemed to be avoiding the frame almost perfectly so I had to resort to Photoshop.

The bird was shot as it was flying towards the west on the same evening - about a few minutes after I shot the background.

Those trees are actually quite a far away.

The Fading Light

The sun itself was blocked by clouds but this particular portion of the sky was just beautiful as the sun went down.
I decided to shoot a timelapse of the clouds which I'll try and put together soon. Having a slow computer does not help with timelapses especially when it crashes.

Last Light

It didn't look like the sunset would be spectacular but then again that's how quite a few of my posts in the past year have started so you know where this is going.

The clouds looks spectacular so I thought I'd go up to the roof and watch them and see if I could get a few good photographs.
Just before it got dark this particular part of the sky burst with colour. It was just amazing! The colour seemed to make one final peek before it went dark.

Ravishing

Rainbows always fascinate me and I know that holds true for most, if not all people. They're just super beautiful and always brighten up your day.

I noticed the clouds looked absolutely stunning today and so I decided to go up to the roof and watch them while the sun set behind me. It was beautiful. I did have my camera and so took a few pictures from time to time.

However, I did not expect to get this picture. These colours didn't last for more than a few seconds but it just added to the beauty and grandeur of the evening sky and remind me of Genesis 9:13 which says "I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth."

The Fire Above

Thank to my friend who told me to look out at the sky today evening, I was able to get this shot.

It looked like the sky wouldn't put on a show today but it did, and a great one at that. Definitely some of the best late-evening light we've had in a while.

Beginning Of The Night

I though I would timelapse this entire sunset. It turned out ok but I don't think I'll release it.

This was one of the last of these sunsets that we had.

Before Dark

I shot my first wedding last week. It was amazing. Here is a link the pictures if you're interested - Click Here

I should really start shooting more people (with a camera).

Anyway here is one from the archives.

Under The Beautiful Sky

There are so many pictures I haven't processed so far. This is one I recently processed.

This was a really stunning sunset. One of best we had last year.