Thursday, September 26, 2013

He Bugs Me, Bugs Me Not!

This time its all about tiny creatures. They're tiny, they're beautiful. Yes, they do scare most of us despite their size! So, size really doesn't matter, does it?

I managed to capture most of them, alive - while they flap their wings, move around and never stay steady for a second. Except for the lovely Dragon Fly & the Flower bee (don't know its scientific name, have always seen it buzzing furiously around flowers...). I found the Dragon Fly today, half an hour back, lying at the steps near our lift. I love Dragon Flies. I had a beautiful dragon fly brooch. Love their colors, intricate wings and their gorgeous structure. Equally adore butterflies...to me, they are sort of actual flying fairies...specially the blue ones. I have begun to like other critters too. Love the lady bug. How beautiful! Like the grasshoppers too... Their essence lies in their microscopic yet meticulous details. Look at their dot eyes or their fragile feet. Not to miss, their gorgeous wings... 

Just thought of peeping into their tiny world filled with form, colors and shapes... I could go crazy with so much detailing... But that's Nature - pretty, detailed and impeccable!

Best things surely come in small sizes... including happiness!
























Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Silhouettes against the Skies!

I love capturing tall trees trying to touch the sky. The dark silhouette they form reflects their grand yet silent magnificence. They exhibit desire... desire to touch the sky, to reach high, to sway along with the clouds and to live a dream. I love the way tender new stems at the top of the trees sway back and forth...just as a devout follower worships the Divine! The sharp edges of the leaves at the top looks like a razor tearing into the sky, raring to reach as high as it can...This is one of my favorite subject in photography & I never tire of capturing silhouette formed trees against the beautiful canvas of sky. The essence of a silhouette lies in the unspoken grandeur it depicts, the royal charm it possesses and the dignified silence you hear!














 











Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Bazaarein - Life in Markets

Bazaarein or the Markets, are so vivid and colorful. Not all of them though. I always feel that the arrangement and decor of a shop determines how many customers it can attract. No matter how big or small the shop is, if it displays a rainbow of its products, it is sure to find its customers hopping in happily. 
The first thing I am attracted to, in a shop, is definitely color. But color in order. You can have color in chaos too. But that's not what turns me on. As a person who loves discipline, I love order in everything. Neat stacks and piles of gorgeous spices, eatables, fruits, bags, clothes, baskets etc can drive me wild enough to enter a shop and start filling my bags (and emptying my purse if its a basket's shop!) I have been fortunate to see many a markets across countries. Love the dash of color, order, zest and life around a market. No matter which place I've been to, the feeling of being in a local market is the same. You get to capture the essence of that city, the vibrance of that country, the likings of the people who live there and the flavor of things you get in that place. And just in case the shopkeeper is a friendly kind, well, we splurge happily!

Would like to end on a poetic note... one of my poems on Bazaarein from my poetry blog...

Hai zindagi ki ek baazaar ye duniya
Milte hain kitne aise huzoor yahan
Dhoondte hain har kuch zindagi bhar
Bas pyaar nahi dhoond paate hain wahan

Har ek ka dil aa jata hai kisi par
khwayishon pe hai ye bazaar tikkta ... 
Bikk to jaate hain log pyaar mein
bas pyaar hi hai jo bazaar mein nahi bikta

Mil jaata hai yahaan har wo saamaan
katt jaati hai zindagi jiske sahaarey 
Jeeney ke liye to sirf pyaar hai zaruri
Milte hain jahan sabhi ke kinaarey

Hai zindagi ki ek bazaar ye duniya
Dhoond le tu bhi wo ik dukaan
Mil jaaye tujhe jeeney ki hasrat
Banaa le tu bhi khushiyon ka karwaan

A Shop in Market of Mekedatu, Bangalore

General Shop in Mekedatu, Bangalore

Jade Market, Hong Kong

Incense Shop, Macau

Cafe n Shops in Achol, Jakarta (Indonesia)

Local Shops in Jakarta (Indonesia)

A spice shop in Bogor, Jakarta(Indonesia)

Fish n Meat at a Chinese Shop in Chinatown, Singapore

The Chinese New Year Market, Chinatown, Singapore

Chinese New Year, Chinatown, Singapore

Basket Shop in Kampong Glam, Singapore
Chinatown Market, Singapore

Basket Shop in Kampong Glam, Singapore


Monday, August 19, 2013

Rustic Rumblings - Ruralscapes

There is something so soothing about the village life. A pace which we city (loving and living) people can never get used to, but a pace which we crave for. Serenity, which is unheard of in a city bustling with anxious people rushing amidst standstill traffic. Solitude, that we search for, within ourself and yet scale miles to achieve it.

The raw, rustic beauty of a village is like that of an adolescent - innocent yet eager, crude yet organized, aloof yet so together. I really like simplicity. It reflects in what I eat, wear, think or do. Village life is all about simplicity. If I happen to see any commercial hoarding of a popular brand in or around the village, it stifles me. It worries me to know that soon many more commercial brands will try and encroach the rural virginity, spoiling the rustic charm that spells innocence. 

I have tried tweaking these village pictures (I clicked around various places) by editing them. That's just to enhance the rustic character which is very well captured by a human eye but rarely by a camera. My editing has just enhanced the basic essence of what I intended to capture - The Rawness.

First four clicks are from my FujiFilm camera. The next four were, unbelievably, by my BlackBerry! Well, the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, not the camera! :)