Broken Frames

It's been a year since earthquakes devastated Nepal so I asked a good friend of mine to write a little something to go along with the pictures as a message to and from the people of Nepal.

Article by Upashana Gurung
Pictures by Daniel Raghu

Life was never "normal" after that day, and even if we wanted to we could not forget the unimaginable loss we suffered. It has already been a year since the devastating earthquake hit Nepal. One of the most beautiful countries had been turned into pieces of ruins. As we look back upon that day, there is no way we won't feel the sorrow all over again.

Even though words cannot describe the unbearable agony we had to go through; even after everything we lost, we were still smiling with tears in our eyes and with the hope that one day it would all be alright.

As I'm writing this, I really cannot express the pain and grief of someone who lost everything in the remote villages of Nepal. I really cannot. And if for one second I put myself in their shoes, I could not bear the heaviness of my heart.

The pain and anguish they must have felt is beyond mine or anyone's conception.

But YOU, you are a warrior who survived a great catastrophe.

You are the brave one.
Don't ever forget that.

The hope, the strength, the unity that we all have, let's not let go of that. Because when we look back, these are the only things that kept us going froward. We're fixing the ruins, we're reconstructing buildings, we're helping the ones in need - providing food and shelter and clothes; most of all we're giving away love and hope to the ones who lost it.

Every country, every organisation, every individual from all over the world that has been helping us in these darkest days, we are profoundly grateful for all that you have and are doing for us.

 Because we have each other we have the courage to believe that we can move forward.

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

For you are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. - 2 Samuel 22:29

Wistful

This is part two of last week's post about the animals I saw in the zoo. This monkey (different from the one in last week's post) look incredibly sad and distraught.

He just seemed to stare into the distance without blinking as if reminiscing of good times past or perhaps imagining what it would be like on the other side of the fence.

It didn't even flinch when this group of local boys were being really rude and trying to tease it. I'm not saying zoos are a bad thing - definitely not! I've learnt so much about animals from my visits to zoos. Granted there haven't been many visits but I have learnt a lot.

Sometimes animals are mistreated because they're lesser beings or so we think. Honestly, the only reason I think we are still alive is because God wants us to be. Think about it - we aren't the strongest, nor are we the fastest or even the most agile of creatures and yet we're still thriving on this planet. All because God have given us amazing intelligence and is with us.

Don't ignore animals. Listen to them. Animals have a lot to say. They have a lot to teach us if we only just take a moment to listen and learn.

Control

These past few weeks have been intense! I don't just mean in terms of how busy it's been but also the emotional and physical stress. We were able to spend some time in Nepal and that really taught me so much. I'm working on a series that should be out by the end of the month.

I'm photographing products for a start-up that's launching their own app to sell groceries online. I think it's a great initiative. That's what's keeping me busy along with driving lessons. I can't say I like those pesky animals and some humans that just run wild.

Anyway, now for the image. I've been to zoos numerous times in the past but this last visit to the zoo in Kathmandu, Nepal really made me think about the animals there. Until this visit I'd never actually seen animals in zoos so emotionally active. This time I decided I would capture emotions. It's not easy capturing emotions in humans so doing that with animals was incredibly difficult. We also had a very tight schedule which added to the challenge.

One of the first animals that caught my attention was a langur. He kept baring his teeth and screaming. I don't know who or what he was screaming at but he seemed genuinely angry. Then he stopped and just raised his left hand and held the fence with his head hanging low as if he just wanted to get out but knew that any attempt to do so was futile. This is his hand. If it was a human I'm sure that person just wanted to be held and loved, which I'm guessing holds true for the langur too.

Pray For Nepal

I'm sure you've all heard about the massive earthquake that quite literally shook Nepal and where we live.

We weren't hit quite as bad as Nepal which has been left devastated by the quake. A huge 6.9 magnitude aftershock hit it today afternoon.

I can't help but empathise with the people there and the thousands that have been affected. We live really close and yet feel so helpless during times like these. Really heartbroken after these events.

All we can do now is pray for them and help them any way we can, however small it may seem.

To my friends who still haven't been able to get in touch with their friends and family I really hope you're able to get some information soon.

Praying for everyone!

I hope you find comfort in these verses
‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaian 41:10

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Psalm 46:1-3

The Lord is near to the broken-hearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Day 5 - Singular

The last day of the 5 day black and white photo challenge. This has been fun. I've gone back and processed some photographs that I never though would get to see the light of day and they've looked really good. Today's upload is one such image.

This didn't look particularly interesting in colour but it just popped in black and white.

Day 4 - The Chains That Bind

Day 4 of the black and white photo challenge.
Not sure who started this challenge but it's a good idea.

I'd shot this photograph earlier this year and never looked at it again until the challenge. Once I converted it to black and white it just popped and looked great.

It's back to exams now so I might not be really active but I'll try and reply to messages, comments etc. as soon as I can.

Hope you've had a great weekend.

Black And White Challenge - Day 1

One of my friends on Facebook challenged me to upload one black and white photograph everyday for the next five days. Today is the first.

I don't usually do a lot of black and white photographs so this should be interesting.

Guiding Light

Although I love summer this makes me miss the foggy winter months.

This was taken sometime in January when we had really thick fog. I shared a similar photograph a while back and quite a few of you thought it was the sun - it isn't. It's a simple street lamp.

Ghastly Figure

So this past winter the fog was really thick one night and I decided to shoot a few self-portraits (if you can call it that). I tried a few with torches and other stuff and this is one of those.

It's surprising how many test shots end up turning out to the some of the best.

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.

To The Jump

A friend of mine had a visitor today - a tiny, cute baby sparrow and it reminded me of this shot I'd taken.

This sparrow seemed undecided and it just kept looking at the ground and then back at the next post on the fence. It finally jumped onto that and then to the ground below.

Spreading Forth

Stuck at home with college work means I only get time for stuff that's around me. Like flowers.

Signs Of Life

This tree has been giving us fruit for a long time now and no one planted it. Someone must have just thrown papaya seeds here one must have survived to quickly grown into this tall beauty.

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.

Beauty In Nature

Butterflies and flowers are gorgeous. They just look amazing together. This picture just proves that point.

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.

Pretty Bunch

I found these flowers in a garden that was full of pretty flowers. These really stood out because there was just this one plant with these flowers. It seemed out of place because there were multiple plants of all the other types. This one was quite beautiful. It seemed soft and fluffy. Unfortunately I couldn't touch it because there was a massive sign that said we shouldn't touch the flowers.

Time For Rains

The one thing I miss about the rains are the sunsets. Those are just unbeatable.

People usually water the grounds to keep them moist because we don't get rains this time of the year and it reminded me this picture. This was probably the last time it rained last year.

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.