In the name of Rose Day

As I write this, I smile sheepishly to myself, my first thoughts being - "We're already into the 2nd month of 2016 and you've not yet posted anything??? Oh, that's criminal!!!" The next moment, the more benevolent me springs up to say - "Wow!!! It's only February and you already have something to write about??? That's amazing, good going girl!!!" And so I pardon myself of being more laid-back than permitted, lolz!!!

7th February happens to be called as "Rose Day"... well, for that matter. I wish there were special days to celebrate all flowers in the world - an "Orchid" day, a "Rhododendron" day, a "Sunflower" day or a "Tulip" day and so on. The rose gets too much of attention than required!!! :-D

Is it because, over the ages, the rose has been associated with the most beautiful emotion called "Love"? Symbolism aside, wouldn't it would be pretty much reasonable to say that all flowers are symbols of love?

..."Phool she haanshite haanshite jhore, jochhona haanshiya milaaye jaay,
Haanshite haanshite aalok saagore aakashero taara teyaage kaay..." 

- Sokhi bhaabona kaahaare bole, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore

A translation would go something like this :-

..."Flowers wither away smiling, and so fades even the moonlight,
In the vast skies, the stars too lose their shine with a smile..."

When Tagore penned the above lines, I am sure, he was not thinking of just one type of flower :-)

Yes, love is definitely a beautiful emotion, distinct from all other feelings.
More so, because of the happiness within the pain.

Click... by chance

“Every picture tells a story” – such is a popular belief.  But would it be wrong to say that behind the making of every picture, there’s a story? I guess not.  Here I bring you the "behind the scene" stories of a few of my “by chance” pictures.

My new DSLR is exactly 2 months and 3 days old today. In this span, the shutter has been clicked, well… more than a thousand times! Acting as my own critic, I have had few “Wow!!!” moments and mostly “Nah… not good!!!” moments. Averaging to 16-17 shots per day, is not bad for a beginner, watsay!?? I remember the time when I was deciding which camera I should get, and I used to be asked the question - What do you prefer as your subject – landscape, portrait, macro…? Although the questions were aimed only to help me narrow down my options, but in reality they used to stump me out. Well, I am obviously not a pro, but that was definitely not going to limit my choices of subject to capture, not at this moment at least. And thus, the 1000 plus pictures I have today, is an ensemble of everything – objects, animals, flora, birds, scenery, anything that caught my attention. It was more than just the exploring a new hobby, it was about self discovery as well. I went on clicking the same thing again and again, changing the settings, altering few angles, until I got something I liked. And here comes the big question – how prepared was I to get most of the shots right?

Most of the time, I admit, I was not. Especially with birds (no points for guessing why)! There’s some really good foliage around my home, and the highest branch of one of these trees at the backyard, is extremely popular among these feathered, restless creatures. The picture below was one of the first shots taken with the camera. I was totally not prepared for this shot; I wasn’t even carrying the telephoto with me. It was just another early morning on a weekend, when a casual visit to the terrace turned out to give me a scene that I found really amusing. The caption “Three’s company, four is a crowd” was suggested by my Mom; I liked it and stuck with it.

Three's company, four is a crowd!!!

The next image is another “chance” photograph. I named this “A walk on the tightrope”. It was taken on the same day when the 4 birds’ picture was taken. Guess I was really lucky that day, all my “models” were extremely cooperative!!! It seemed that they were all posing for me without even me asking :-D !!!

A walk on the tightrope

Another example is the picture below called “Gone with the wind”. My level of preparedness in this case was nothing more than just a gut feeling that I might get a few good rain shots. These shots just happened. I confess that the dangling branch falling off had left me feeling a tad emotional or should I say – introspective.

"Gone with the wind"

The next 2 pictures are, yet again, a result of chance. The first one I fondly call “Shelter” and the next one is untitled. It had just rained and I was sitting by a window, enjoying the greenery outside. A casual downward glance made me notice these two creatures sitting quietly. Without wasting another minute, I fished out my camera and went click… click… The whitish blur at the top and bottom of the second picture is actually the white colored horizontal grill of the window that came in between. I thought I would have to crop off some of these white portions, but there was something mysterious about the haziness that I felt was going well with the mood, and so, I decided to keep it. Can you think of a suitable title for this picture? Do leave your comment and help me decide.

Shelter

Yet to be titled... am waiting for your suggestions :-)

I had read somewhere that “opportunity comes to those who are prepared”. Undoubtedly true. However, in the context of photography, being prepared is not only about the availability of gear. It is actually about being prepared to take chances, to be caught unawares and still act. After all, we do not always have the time or luxury to prepare or create the scene we want. While I agree that the art of creating and perfecting a shot comes with years of practice and perseverance, nevertheless I’d still continue to believe that, sometimes, instincts need to be trusted. Certain things are best left to chance.

Stay inspired!

First step towards the bigger picture

Last month I purchased my first DSLR Camera. This was the result of months of fervent aspiration and weeks of rigorous research (am really thankful to all those whose advice helped me take a tough call between brands and camera models). Here’s a look at it… Note that I do not endorse any particular brand!!! :-P

I am glad that, it is, in fact, a very humbling experience; to notice and understand things in an entirely different way. The gadget has made me come face to face with the explorer in me, an aspect which was lying dormant all this time.

It’s been over a month now, and trust me, I am totally in love with the equipment. The admiration is not a resultant of owning something which most people would love to possess or already do. Had that been the case, then perhaps the emotion would not have been that overwhelming.  In this context, I remember the lines of a dance reality show judge – “Respect your prop, and the prop shall take good care of you in return.” 

Get the feel of it?