Drama In The Skies

Another one of those rare shots that I just happened to come across.

It had been raining all morning and the sky was just clearing when the sun dipped behind this cloud creating some really interesting light.

Again, I was out shooting dragonflies when I saw this scene that I just had to capture. It was amazing. Believe me when I say that pictures don't do justice to that amazing scene.

The Tower On The Hill

Another one from my ongoing series "The Tower On The Hill".

A few months back I would have never thought that I would be taking so many pictures of this particular tower. I never had and I never thought I would but this has provided so many new opportunities that I actually think I missed out in the past.

Anyway, what's done is done and there is the future to look to.

The Acrobat

With no stunning sunsets lately I've looked at photographing other things. Sadly there are a lot of new buildings coming up and so they've started clearing and digging up the land so that means very little wildlife here. I haven't seen an adult Oriental Garden Lizard in a long time and I miss those beautiful creatures already. I saw a juvenile today and that was pretty cool.

Anyway dragonflies make interesting subjects. They're really great - so many varieties too. Of course photographing them can sometimes be quite the challenge but one good shot more than makes up for it all.

This particular fellow wasn't the patient kind (or maybe it's just me). It kept flying around without sitting for more than a few seconds in one places. That's where the SX50 HS really comes in handy because of it's massive zoom.

Usually I like to get up close but this time it kinda seemed impossible so zooming in was the only option. It worked out well so that's good.

Reaching Out

Clouds fascinate me. Especially when they are so very beautiful.

It was really hot and the sun was directly overhead but I decided to still go and take a few pictures of dragonflies and it paid off. These clouds blocked the sun and the rays just burst forth from behind the clouds making it really pretty.

The blue was still very vibrant and I haven't seen anything like that before. It was amazing!

Silver Lining

"Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining"
That's what I was thinking when I took this shot.

The dark, stormy cloud with the sun behind it creating a nice golden border just looked out of this world.

Would have loved to get a shot of the entire cloud (which was massive) but the buildings blocked the view.

Anyway what I was able to get wasn't half bad so I'm actually quite happy.

Sun Bathing

You'll find a lot of these dragonflies out and about when the sun is shining. That, to me was strange in the beginning because we were always taught in school that dragonflies come out only when it's about to rain.

Of course that proved to be false, like so many other things they tell us and I'm glad that it isn't true.

If it was then I wouldn't have been able to get this particular picture.
This dragonfly stayed pretty still till I took this picture and then it just flew off.

I was amazed by the details in the wings and the entire dragonfly when I zoomed in after I'd copied the pictures to my computer. Just goes to show how amazing God's creation really is :)

The Light Shines

I just love capturing beams of light in my pictures. It's adds a certain dynamic to the picture and makes it stand out.

During a recent visit to a hill station I saw this gigantic beam of light shining on the hill. It looked like God was reaching down to tell us something and if we listened hard enough, we'd be able to hear what He wanted to say.

The sky was overcast (as you can tell) but this particular beam of light was just amazing. It had to be captured :)

Evening Surprise

This sunset was a real surprise.

The colours lasted for a really short time and I was only able to get two shots during that time. So that gives you a vague idea of how long this scene lasted.

It was a pleasant surprise and I wish it had gone on for a really long time but it had been raining all day and just cleared in time for this. It started pouring down about 15 minutes after I took this picture.

Watch Where You Stand

Coming across this Oriental Garden Lizard was a bit of a surprise really because I've never seen one on this lemon plant before.

Plus this plant has thousands of thorns so to me it seemed really difficult (if not impossible) for a lizard to make its way to the top of said plant.

Surprise! Surprise! This particular lizard did manage to do so. It was really shy but I was able to get a good shot before it decided that I'd gotten too close and then promptly running off into the depths of the tree. Yes, it actually ran and didn't just walk. If I were that lizard I'd probably have quite a few holes in my feet!

The Warmth of The Sun

Couldn't really think of a proper caption/title so I just went with a cheesy one.

Anyway this was taken a few days back during a stunning sunset we had here. We haven't had many great sunsets since but these pictures more than make up for that.

Kinda busy today so I'm not going to go on and on.

A Work In Progress

I titled this "a work in progress" because it is part of my ongoing "The Tower On The Hill" series.

This year has provided some amazing picture opportunities and the clouds have been amazing so I decided to take pictures of the clouds and add the tower as a interesting element in the frame.

It's gone great so far and today was really good too because I was able to get this picture. I didn't expect it but it came out pretty good considering the fact that the sun had already set and the light was really low. The Canon SX50 HS doesn't handle noise very well and that created a lot of problems in post production but I was able to get rid of some of the noise (I didn't want to get rid of everything because that would have caused a loss of all detail in the image).

Anyway I'll have a separate page up just for this series.

Btw the tower is called "Eagles Crag" and is in a hill station called Kurseong.

Uncertain

The idea for this was something that just came to me suddenly when one of my friends took this die that was lying around and flicked it in such a way that it kept rotating on one end like a top.

Getting it to do that while taking a picture at the same time is quite the task and it took me a while before I got a picture that I was satisfied with.

I know this isn't going to go viral and most people won't even like it but this is something that I had to work for a long time to get right and I quite like it.

A Carpet Across The Sky

Since it's World Photography Day I thought I'd share one of my favourite pictures from this year.

I love landscapes and clouds and I think this picture is pretty neat. I woke up one morning during a recent vacation so this amazing view.

The clouds spread across the sky like a carpet fit for a king. It was as if there was another entirely mysterious world hidden by the clouds.

Anyway hope you all had a good day.

Throne Of Light

I haven't done a lot of light painting lately so I decided to get back to doing it.

Once I set about painting with light I realised I was out of practice and what would have taken me 5 seconds earlier took me about 15 seconds. I definitely need more practice.

Anyway I really like this particular chair and I've never done any light painting with it before so I thought I'd give it a shot and see how it turns out.

Just creating the streaks around the chair weren't enough and I had to light up the design on the headrest and the two chair legs as well. I used a home made diffuser for that (a piece of folded paper...doesn't get any simpler than that).

I'd forgotten how much fun light painting actually is :)

Btw if you want to get started here is a light painting tutorial for you to check out. (Just click on "light painting tutorial").
Weather permitting I'm going to try creating some orbs today with some torches (not ideal but it's what I have).

The Clouds At Twilight

I just thought it would be nice to share a landscape picture today since I've been sharing pictures of wildlife lately.

This was taken after sunset. To be honest I didn't expect the sunset to be really dramatic that evening so I waited till the sun had dipped below the horizon because the colours in the sky began to change.

The colours were really nice and soothing and it was definitely a sight to behold. It get more beautiful as time passed and quite frankly pictures don't do justice to the really beautiful scene.

Ready To Move

We're back to Oriental Garden Lizards today. I like to mix things up a bit when I share so that I don't share the same subject twice in a row or too many times in a short time period. I'm not always successful but that's not a big deal I think.

Anyway I noticed this particular lizard running along the wall and then it suddenly stopped and stood like this for awhile. I don't know why it stopped but I'm glad that it did because I could get this shot that I'm happy with.

It stood there and allowed me to get quite close before running off again.

Red Dragon

I happened upon this red dragonfly when I wasn't prepared. The camera wasn't with me and I nearly went too close.

Fortunately the dragonfly stayed in the same place long enough for me to go grab my camera and get a good shot of it. These red dragonflies aren't very common here so it's always a treat to see them. They're really beautiful.

I find that these red ones are more easily spooked than the other dragonflies. I wonder why that is.

For all you skeptics out there - The colours are all natural. I haven't added or subtracted any colours. These beautiful creatures do exist. Just the beauty of God's wonderful creation :)

Something Blue

When we went sight seeing during my recent visit to Gangtok we couldn't see much because of the fog and the clouds and the rains so it was a little disappointing but it wasn't too bad.

On the way we saw these really beautiful flowers just growing wild on the hill side and so we stopped to get a few pictures.

It was raining and the light was really low so it was a challenge but since the clouds diffused the sunlight it was kinda easy too.

My Pretty Wings

I  haven't photographed dragonflies in a really long time so I wanted to get back to doing it because they really interest me.

They come in so many variations that it's sometimes difficult to keep track. Anyway this particular dragonfly isn't one of the more common ones in this area. Most people don't even know it exists and when they see pictures of it they think I've swapped colours or something like that.

With dragonflies you have to be slow and patient as they'll fly off at the smallest sign of trouble. The trick is to wait patiently without moving a lot in the same place as the dragonfly will invariably come back to it's old resting spot and then you can get a good picture.

Tail Whip

We get a lot of these Oriental Garden Lizards in this are...or at least we used to until they cleared up the bushes in the plot of land adjacent to ours.

Anyway this particular lizard was on the wall after the rains just as the sun was coming out. In an earlier post I'd said that you shouldn't get too close to these lizards because they'll freak out.

Well I just wanted to see how close I could get. I'd gotten pretty close once before and that was great so I thought I'd do it this time too. Unfortunately there is a big gap between the wall and the place where I was standing and by gap I mean a trench sort of thing as I was on a raised platform. I tired leaning forward and got pretty close but then my foot slipped and the sudden movement spooked the lizard who flicked its tail at me for some reason before running off.

It made a good picture even though I wasn't able to get really close.

Like A Tree Planted By The Rivers Of Water

The day we decided to go out sight-seeing it was raining heavily. When the day began it was bright and sunny so we thought it would be perfect for sight seeing but we were wrong as the weather is so unpredictable.

It started getting cloudy when we left and the rain began pouring down shortly after.

Along the way I noticed this tiny little waterfall and this tree there right at the top. It reminded me of the verse Psalm 1:3 which says "he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,

that brings forth its fruit in its season,

whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

I plan to add this verse to the picture and print it out and put it up on my wall.

Basking In The Light

Sometimes you get great pictures when you least expect it. This was one of those moments.

I'd gone fishing with a few friends and I noticed this kingfisher sitting on these overhead cables. I just loved the silhouette of the bird against the setting sun.

The picture turned out even better than I had expected. I just set the aperture to the smallest on the SX50 HS i.e. f/8 and took the shot.

When I later looked at it on the computer screen it just looked really really good. Usually overhead cables are a mess in photographs but this time they actually helped create a really nice shot - well, at least I like it :)

Oh So Beautiful Clouds

Here is another shot of one of the best sunsets we've had this year. I say "one of the best" because I cannot pick my favourite. They are all just so amazing.

They are all the work of God - who is the most amazing artist, after all :)

To get this shot I had to rush up to the terrace because the sunsets here don't last for very long and change very fast so speed is of the essence.

Btw thanks for the new likes on my Facebook page - Just Image-n. I really appreciate that :)

As The Clouds Leave

For some reason this year I've been shooting a lot of landscapes. One of the main reasons could be that God has given us some amazing sunsets and skies this year. Or maybe I didn't really notice them earlier. Either way I'm sharing another landscape photograph.

I'm told that this "tower on the hill" is at a place called Eagles Crag in a town called Kurseong. I knew the name of the town but didn't know that they had a specific name for the tower or the place where the tower is.

This picture was taken after the sun had set. I had to shoot RAW in order to be able to get enough detail out of it. In this case jpegs just wouldn't work. Unfortunately the SX50 doesn't handle noise very well and I had to remove a lot of noise but couldn't get rid of all of it because I wanted some detail and sharpness remaining.

Btw if any of you are on Facebook you might want to check out my page - Just Image-n.

Pretty In Yellow

Yes, yellow...not pink.

I have been uploading quite a few landscapes over the past few days so I thought it would be nice to take a break. So here is a picture of a yellow dahlia.

This one is from our garden just after winter.

Not much to say here. As for post-processing I toned down the shadows in order to get a dark background which wouldn't distract from the main subject.

Against The Setting Sun

The sunset wasn't really spectacular that evening and neither were the clouds.

The clouds didn't really have definition and weren't dynamic either but they did server one great purpose. Due to the clouds the light in the sky was kinda like a gradient. Mostly saturated around the sun and then gradually changing colours as you moved away.

We have these palm-like trees in our compound and this particular part of the tree actually looked nice silhouetted against the setting sun.

In The Dead Of Night

My trip to Gangtok was just amazing. If you are ever in this part of the country I would highly recommend that you visit this beautiful hill station.

Although I didn't really go around much as that wasn't the reason for my visit, God did provide some amazing picture opportunities that I don't think I would have got anywhere else.

The second night I was there, I just ventured up to the terrace sometime after/during midnight and I saw the fog rolling past. This was something I've never seen before so I was mesmerised by this scene. It was just beautiful...kinda eerie too.

Heaven Is Dearer Now

Last year on this day my grandfather was called home by the Lord. It was a sad moment but we will meet him again soon and we know that he is in a much better place now.

I took this picture the day before yesterday and I thought it would be perfect for this as it kinda reminds me of heaven.

This in itself is so beautiful so I can only imagine how beautiful heaven is going to be.

Two Eyes

I went out to shoot a dragonfly and on the way back I noticed this gigantic moth. It is probably the largest moth I've see in real life.

It was beautiful. I'm still trying to ID it but I'll update this post as soon as I find out.

The design on the wings was just beautiful and just goes to prove that God indeed is the best artist!

The design looked like four eyes (two on each wing) looking and staring at me. It was in a weird position so it was difficult to line up the shot perfectly but this is what I was able to get out of it.

I've also attached a picture of the entire moth just in case you are interested :)

UPDATE: Thanks to +Andrew Hardacre I now know that this is a Tussore Silkmoth Antheraea mylitta.
Thanks Andrew :)

On Strings

I posted a similar picture a while back and quite a few people said that it looked "musical".
Honestly, I hadn't looked at it like that so I have to thank them for a new perspective.

Here is another picture that I'd taken on the same day but a little while apart. No, it isn't the same picture...it is different. Trust me.

We could actually play a "find the difference" game :D

I haven't done tutorials for a while now and I'm thinking of getting back into the game. Any topics you want me to make a video and/or blog post on? Just let me know.

I'm Next

We have a lot of guava trees in our compound and so those attract a lot of birds...and people :D

It's always fun to see all these different birds trying to be the first ones to get to a ripe guava. This also means picture opportunities so that is always an added bonus.

These two bulbuls landed together and one proceeded to eat the guava while the other just watched. It's as if the first on said "Cover Me!" :P

After a while they switched places and then when they were done, they flew away.