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.

Full Bloom

This is one of the pictures that will probably be in my Best of 2013 video that I'm currently putting together.
It's quite difficult trying to pick favourites from your own pictures.

Anyway this pretty flower was just growing by the wayside and I'm glad I took a picture of it when I did because it had been trampled to the ground when I saw it the next day.

Which reminds me of how the beauty of this place is lost on the people that live here. So I'm going to make it my goal to showcase the best of the beauty of this place. When I get a new camera I'll start timelapses, long exposures and other new things because there are just so many things to be photographed.

White Wonder

I have no idea what these pretty white flowers are called but they are just beautiful.

Gorgeous really. You would easily overlook them because they are quite tiny but when you look closer you can really appreciate their beauty. It's really amazing.

The macro world has so many surprises. There is so much just waiting to be explored and seen but we are too busy to notice these tiny yet truly amazing things.

Living Water

Out one gloomy day we passed by this waterfall.

It wasn't very large or majestic or anything like that but it somehow looked like a good subject for a photograph.

It also reminded me of John 7:38 which says "He who believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water".

The Trap Is Set

When I was little I wasn't really terrified of spiders even though we had some really huge and scary looking ones. Sometimes we'd watch a giant spider weave it's web across our roof as we fell asleep.

My parents told me that if a spider went from one spot to another and then back to the previous spot a few times it was building its web. They were right of course and that always amazed me.

This particular spider had one of the most elaborate webs I have ever seen. It was actually built between three trees that were spread very far apart. I have no idea how it did it but it was actually beautiful.

Watching it weave its web wasn't boring either. Sometimes a strand would break because of the wind and so it would quickly scurry over and fix it before it got worse.

Red Alert

These dragonflies might look like they are just resting and not really paying attention to their surroundings but they are actually quite alert.

I noticed this dragonfly early one morning in this place and it looked like it had spent the night there so I assumed it was sleeping. I think I was wrong because the second I got too close it flew away.

Fortunately it came back and perched on the same stem which is when I was able to get this shot.

A Pretty One

Flowers are just great. So vibrant, pretty and diverse. Plus most of them smell good too :D

They always make for good photo opportunities. Sometimes they can definitely be a challenge but when you get that one picture that is just right it more than makes up for it.

There isn't just one way to photograph flowers and I think as long as you are able to capture it's beauty and you are happy with it, that's the way to go.

Spring is long gone and you won't see a lot of flowers nowadays but this little beauty was in full bloom in the hills. It was pretty amazing too - the hills not far behind and this pretty little thing blooming there.

Out Of Place

Monsoon season means we get rains almost everyday. Actually we do get rains everyday and strong winds too so delicate flowers don't really survive for very long.

One afternoon I noticed this little flower resting on this weed. It just seemed odd because there were so many of these weeds around and so many other flowers that had fallen and yet only one had managed to get itself stuck in this manner.

But it looked nice and I just had to get a picture of it. It was only when I'd copied the pictures to the computer that I noticed there were some really tiny bugs on the weed. They kinda look like mosquitoes but not quite like mosquitoes too.

Candle Horns

Recently I wanted to do something different because sunsets were getting a little monotonous so I grabbed some candles and LEDs and a camera (obviously) and started shooting.

I'd done it once before with the SX30 IS but never with the SX50 HS. Turns out that not being able to control the ISO for slow shutter speeds was a problem but not a very big one.

It was a little difficult and took hours to get one shot but it was definitely worth it.

As The Clouds Rise

Those who have been reading my blog know that I've been working on a series called "The Tower On The Hill" where I photograph this particular tower on the far away hill that is visible from where I stay.

This tower is in a town called Kurseong and is called Eagles' Crag.

I didn't know this had a name until a friend told me. Apparently the view from that tower is stunning so I'll have to visit someday.

Setting Moon

I woke up early one morning and went up to the roof and the run was just rising in the east while the moon was setting in the west.

It was just amazing. That was the first time I'd ever seen the moon setting behind the hills and it was gorgeous.

It was great. Fortunately the cloud had cleared by then and that provided a clean and clear view of the moon as it set and with the rising sun adding colours to the clouds it was beautiful.

The Rays Of Hope

Whenever I see these amazing scenes it always reminds me of hope. I don't know why but it just does for some reason and I'm not complaining.

As I said earlier this scene was also a surprise. There weren't many clouds in the sky that afternoon and out of nowhere this massive clouds covered the sun.

The rays of light just looked really majestic and it was an impressive sight to behold.

Dark Eyes

Coming across this silk moth was a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to find it when I went to shoot some dragonflies that evening.

It was really huge. The first I've seen (I think).

Anyway the antennae really impressed me. Look at those things. They look so fluffy and yet the closer you look the more details you'll fine.

The pitch black eyes just make it better.

Angry Insect

This is one of those times that a DSLR would come in real handy and where the SX50 HS just can't win. I wish I could have got a better macro shot of this insect but this is the best the SX50 could do...plus it's cropped.

Anyway this insect actually looked like it was frowning and like it was very angry. You know when you're really hungry and there is no break in sight you kinda get angry? Yeah? Well, that's the kinda angry it looked.

Below is a low res image of the insect cropped from the original image above. It looks angry, doesn't it?

Pretty Damsel

This is probably the first good picture of a damselfly I've been able to get.

That's probably because I never really gave it a shot but while shooting dragonflies one day I saw this pretty little thing flying around and it landed on a blade of grass very close to me.

That was a really good opportunity and I think it turned out ok given that the Canon SX50 HS isn't a great one for macro. This is the closest you can get on this camera and I must say that the details are actually quite impressive.

Ready To Bloom

I have no idea what these flowers are called but they sure are pretty.

When we were little we would pluck some and then suck the nectar which was really really sweet. Too bad that these flowers are tiny and you don't get much out of them.

Plus I think the bees and butterflies would have hated us then for stealing from them. These flower come in bunches and last pretty long too so that just brightens up any garden.

When Storms Arise

During my recent trip we had a lot of rains. When I say "a lot" I mean it rained most of the time.

In a way that was a good thing because of the clouds. The clouds would be really dramatic and so they would provide some really great photo opportunities that might otherwise be lost.

One example was this temple. Its a temple on a far away hill and you can actually see it in the panorama I uploaded a few weeks back.
The storm clouds were rolling in and I grabbed this picture just before the overhanging clouds completely engulfed this temple.

Focal Point

Photographing flowers is always so rewarding. A pretty flower can make a pretty picture and you do feel good when you get a good picture.

Sometimes we do need to look closer and see the beauty in minute details. Like this flower for example. It's really pretty as a whole but even when you get really close you can see there is much more to it that is waiting to be explored.

So details are important and we need to look closer and appreciate little tiny things :)

Homey

Not a misspelling. I wanted to go with "homely" but then Google told me that it's a British word so I decided against it.

Anyway I took this picture a couple of years ago when I was experimenting with HDR photography.

It was a phase that I soon got over. I mean I still shoot HDR but I don't use it all the time like I used to because sometimes a single RAW file will suffice.

The Comb

I was going to go with "The Comb-Over" but I didn't know how many people would actually get it so I decided against it.

We'd gone fishing and this cock kept following us around and so I decided to take a few pictures of it while we waited for the fish to take the bait.

I quite like this one from the entire bunch because I think it portrays the pride of the cock quite well.