The Real Flower

Most people think that the pink petals are part of the flower. That's not really true. Those pink "petals" are just leaves.

The real flower is the tiny white one in the centre. The entire plant is beautiful no doubt but the real flower is tiny.

Above Thorns

This is an interesting plant. The flowers aren't very big and they take a while to bloom but they last a very long time.

Intense

On of the advantages of leaving early from home when you're going to class is you have time to look around you and notice the details.

One of those details is this beautiful Oriental Garden Lizard.

A Small Part

Here is another extreme macro shot. This time of a really tiny flower.

The entire flower itself couldn't have a diameter larger than 2 centimetres and it's stamens (the male part of the flower) is really tiny. So tiny infact that you wouldn't notice it unless you were really really close to the flower.

I had noticed it before when I'd shot it but never really got to get so close. I absolutely love this. It's like a whole new world.

It's Fly Time

Yup. Another extreme macro shot. This is of a common housefly.

It really surprised me. Not the fly but the picture. They are actually quite beautiful. God's creation truly is amazing!

Flies are a nuisance but they sure are pretty. Look at those massive compound eyes!

Macro Beauty

I've just got into shooting extreme macro photographs and it's awesome.

I've been blown away by the beauty that lies in the world - even in things that are so tiny that they are ignored.

This is a tiny part of a larger flower. I don't know the name but it has red petals and yellow part inside.

Mosquitoes Are Beautiful

Before you say I'm crazy just look at today's picture.

So I just got a DSLR - a Canon T4i aka 650D - as a very generous gift from a couple in USA. It has got to be one of the best presents I've ever received.

So I've always wanted to try out taking extreme macro shots and I wasn't disappointed. Sure it's really difficult and you have to shoot a tons of images just to get a handful that you can actually use, it's really rewarding because you get to see the world like never before.

This picture of the mosquito was really surprising. I actually said "Wow!" out loud when I saw it on my camera's LCD screen. It was the first time I've seen a mosquito like that and it blew me away.

I'll still swat at mosquitoes when they irritate me but they are beautiful!

Also a BIG Thank You for the camera :)

Waiting For Water

This is that time of the year when we get very little water from the sky. Tea plants need to be kept hydrated or they die.

That massive pipe you see on the left is for that purpose. They use water pumps to get water from nearby streams and channel it to the tea plantations.

A Pretty Bunch

Another photograph of some pretty flowers. This plant also grows just outside the college building.

I actually got told off for stopping to take pictures but I really couldn't care less. Plus I did get this picture so it was worth it. :D

Flower In The Sun

There is a little garden in front of my college building. It's really tiny but it's got some really pretty flowers. This is one of those flowers.

I've always wanted to take a picture of it but have never been allowed inside. Today no one was guarding it so I managed to sneak in and get this picture.

The Dry Bed

We recently went for a picnic with the other members of the church here. The place was really nice and not crowded since we reached early.

The sun was bright and there were no clouds which was just perfect because it would have been freezing otherwise.

The river was almost completely dry expect for a small stream running through a massive river bed. It was kinda sad to see but come the rains, it'll be full again.

Before The Dip

I decided to test out CHDK (that's Canon Hack Development Kit). It's a hack of sorts for Canon point and shoot cameras that allows you to do things that would otherwise not be possible.

For example shooting timelapses would require extra gear but CHDK enables you to shoot timelapses without extra gear. It's just great. Plus it doesn't make any permanent changes to your camera so you warranty is still valid.

Anyway this is one of the still from a timelapse I shot.

Look The Other Way

This is probably one of the very few times I'm happy when it has rained in winter. The temperature dropped but I'm happy because the rain gave me a way out. I didn't have to go for a boring college program after all :D

Instead, I was able to shoot the sunset. We couldn't really see the sun going down but the clouds cleared towards the west and it was beautiful.

Sometimes u just have to turn around and look the other way.

Hope you had a great weekend. :)

Looking Out

My friends were performing at a gig and I went to watch them but ended up reaching the place early so I just sat and watched them practice and I took pictures of the modern art sculptures around me.

These statues were perfectly positioned because they provided shelter from the rain as well.

Looking Up

I took pictures after a very long time today. Although it wasn't something I'm used to shooting it was fun and pretty good.

It reminded me of this because I always turn to God and His amazing creation for inspiration because that is an infinite source.

This was taken the last time we had a good sunset with clouds.

Sun Burst

This was one massive cloud in the sky. So big in fact that just one picture didn't do it justice and couldn't capture the cloud along with those amazing beams of light emanating from it.

It had to take four pictures of it just to get a something worth posting.

My computer is super slow so it took me more than half an hour just to stitch it. It was worth it though. This reminds me of Psalm 36:9 "For with Thee is the fountain is life: in Thy light shall we see light."

A Brief Stare

This juvenile Oriental Garden Lizard was very difficult to shoot.

It kept hiding. I'm sure if it plays hide-and-seek with it's friends it'll beat them every single time. The fact that they can change their skin colour to a certain extent doesn't help either.

I had to search for quite a while just to find it and get this shot.

The Other Way

I wonder what it would be like to eat or drink when upside down. I'm sure it would be really uncomfortable and probably even dangerous. Butterflies fascinate me because they get into weird angles to suck the nectar out of the flowers.

This particular butterfly was all over the place. To start off the flower points at the ground probably because the plant can't support it so the butterfly just casually landed on it upside down and stayed there for a while before trying new angles.

In Search

This dog looked like it hadn't eaten for days. You could probably count all it's bones just by looking at it.

It didn't move out of this alley and I couldn't understand why because there was no food there.

Side Dish

This is a pretty common sight in the market places here in India. The markets here are open spaces with tons of shops. You can easily get lost.

People buy stuff that's cooked like this out in the open. The flies have a delicious feast as do humans and other stray animals.

Looming Large

I saw this massive cloud just before it rained heavily. It actually looked beautiful.

Usually when it rains the sky is covered by clouds that have no texture and so it's just one colour throughout which is quite boring. I love seeing clouds like this one as they are really uncommon in this area.

Ready For Takeoff

This dragonfly was rather uncooperative. It kept flying around.

For a few seconds it seemed fine and that is when I took this shot. As soon as I took this photograph it took off and landed far away.

I'm going to start doing tutorials for my Youtube channel again. If any of you have any suggestions and/or topics I'd be happy to hear them.

Through The Fields

In India the fields are really tiny. No farmer owns massive amounts of land (not that I know of anyway). It's interesting to watch them plowing the field early in the morning.

It's also really nice to watch the crops grow. I plan to do a timelapse of that this year. Hope that works out. The only problem is that most farmers are really protective of their crops and don't let strangers into their fields.

For this picture I had to sneak in. He did see me there after a while but didn't get mad or anything.


The sunset was beautiful and the crops looked like they were flowing in the sunlight. It was beautiful.

Dry Eyes

I came across this Indian Bullfrog because of my dog. He hates it for some reason but I love it.

The pattern on its body is amazing and beautiful. The day this was taken it was raining heavily. There was a puddle right outside my dog's kennel and that is where this frog decided to hide.

Its entire body was under the water with just its eyes above it.

Red Alert

These birds are honestly amazing. They aren't very big but you can hear them a mile away.

Their beaks are massive. They ram their entire beaks into the ground and somehow manage to find stuff to eat.

Their eyes are lined with red and look like they could pierce through your very soul. But they are beautiful.

Too bad they are also hunted and their numbers are fast reducing :(

Under The Warm Sun

Recently we had to go watch this cricket match and since I'm studying Media science our department had to take interviews and make a video.

It was one of the most boring things I've ever done! But the sun was just great specially since it is winter.

The Block

I miss the fog now that winter is slowly going away. Today morning was a little foggy but not as much as I would like for some pictures.

This picture is from the last thick fog that we had. It was just beautiful. The lights looked amazing!

The Flower In Pink

I am amazed by the number of days some flowers last. They just don't seem to fade.

Which is a really good thing. This is one of those flowers. There are so very many on one single plant and it looks beautiful. You can hardly see any leaves - just flowers.