Gearing up...!

...I decided to work from home today - been a while I worked from home..the whole o last week went by in driving to work everyday - all thanks to my laptop screen that just decided to not show any details than the blackness. For hours altogether. Life does that too sometimes, doesn't it? Shows that 'u- called for' blackness to you...in a blink of a second. You see the black hole. Which doesn't seem to have a exit anywhere.

Whatever is wrong with me, early in the morning, talking about blackness. Let's shift base to some colors in life. Colors - I have aplenty in my kitty these days. I would be a fool if I said my life was a drag, simply going on with no surprises, no happiness and nothing new. I think taking life one day at a time has its own advantages. Every day has something new to look forward to and you splurge in it. No?

Saturday I went to Chandni Chowk..did I tell you I travelled in a Metro for the first time, ran across the streets in a confused state, I felt as if I would get lost...and realized its been a while I went to crowded places..I was in total panick...thanks to friends around, I was safe. I bought a tripod (!!!) - a bigger one this time and a reflector/diffuser too. I was pretty happy with what I bought. Sunday morning, a couple of friends from DFC went to shoot at the Lodhi Gardens. We used speed light, flash, diffuser, reflector etc...to click some portrait shots..also learnt a bit of Macro pictures...they dont interest me that much though but portrait shoot was a great one, everyone posing one by one...

I wish I could also tell you what I had in mind last night but let it be for other times.

My jaipur trip for 11th March is cancelled right now, which puts off my Pushkar plans as well. I will now be going on the 23rd of March..so guess the weekend thereafter is when I will go to Pushkar...it is pretty strong in my mind to visit that place now for last one month...obviosuly for photography. I hope I can materialize it.

:) Good day people....!

Yesterday was in a zombie state and by the time I came back home, I was very irritated...the music player in the car was shouting 'November Rain' which disgusted me further and I just patted it and told it to "shutup'! Well it did. But as soon as I had said that, I felt so guilty. Why the mention here? Because I wanted to apologize. I have been doing that ever since I told it to shutup...coz I really felt bad after I had said that. Imagine, countless songs I would have listened to from the player in last 3 years..(yes, my car is 3 year old now) - and yesterday treated it the way I did. We do that to our people as well, don't we? Do we feel bad later? Sometimes yes, sometimes not at all. We should. It matters.

...colorful surajkund mela

Multi-tasking doesn't work for me all the time. This weekend I went to Surajkund with few other folks, actually two of them. First one 'One unknown face, unknown name' who happened to be a flickr contact and eventually ended up making me wait for almost 32 minutes on the road, telling me will-be-there-in-10-minutes. So much so that after exactly waiting for 32 minutes, I suddenly started the engine and off I went, without intimating him. Sounds mean? Well okay, if you think it is not mean to make someone wait on the roads for 32 minutes, then I am mean and I would always be so. Not to forget the blasting he got from me for making me wait for so long. I would never do that again - agree to pick someone I don't know. Once bitten and twice shy. I value time. Leaving the punctuality bit aside, he has a pretty impressive portfolio when it comes to photography specially on portraits and a decent person to talk to. (Apologies mister..am not as bad as I sound!)

The second one - 'known to me for a few months, seen pictures of him, spoken to him on phone but never met' - was thankfully on time at the place we mutually decided and on second thoughts 'one definitely interesting company to be with' who would crib about not having big lenses, of not giving space to click pictures, and actually blaming you for stealing his frames !!! I hope he doesn't get offended if he gets to know the description of him that I just gave...which am sure he would but that's okay. He is a friend now. Knows how I am. And has already tagged me as being overtly critical. So I can get away with that.

So that now brings me to 'Surajkund' - This mela had been on my mind for last 4-5 years, first 3 years just for funsake to go and check out stuff and then the last year for clicking pictures. This time there was no turning back. I had to go even if it meant going alone. I actually was ready to go alone but for the two dear friends above who decided to give me company at the nTH hour.

It took us almost 2 hours to reach the place...reason? None of us knew the way. Thanks to the directions given by someone who is NOT from Delhi, we managed to reach. Pretty crowded place it is but all but colorful. Oh man, it is just so very colorful from people to stalls to food to fabrics to lights to crafts to cultural show - all COLORFUL. Guess we indulged in photography for almost 4-5 hours...observing, imagining a frame in mind and then SHOOT. Ate Raam Ladoo and Jalebi and met up with 'Shash' there who was so helpful and considerate when it came to giving you space to click picture, lending you lens when you needed one and getting you jalebi when you wre on fire coz of the spicy chutney of ram ladoo. He is a great photographer and someone I really admire for his recent works...one of which is currently on display in an exhibition in Washington.

Click-click - am coming to that...I am okay with what I have got in some of the frames though I could have done much better with some more patience and intelligence at each shoot/click. A lot of my pictures are blurred. Some were random clicks without realizing what the settings were and then the fact that it was bright daylight, giving us not much option but to click on high shutter speed and lessened ISO. I realize there is so bloody much to learn and I feel very good when people critique my pictures. It adds to your learnings - i wish I was technically sound..what the heck, I could have if I had tried spending some time reading and asking people. I hope to increase my level of intelligence soon - its not always click and learn...when you have chance to click a good picture and what you get is a bad one because of lack of intelligence, you are god damn F*****! We hate it, don't we?

So much for photography today...you can see my indulgence - and if that ain't enough, am gonna post some pictures here on this stream...right after this post.

Until then...I remain...editing-ly yours...Mon, the photographer for few days until am exhuasted of my kitty of colorful surajkund pictures. If I get colorblinded, I have friends to take care. ;-) and I hope they hear this!

From Don Graham...

...and I almost had tears in my eyes when I read this email from one the frequent visitors to my screen and now a friend ofcourse on the picture that I posted yesterday "mili and Sarah' (which ofcourse is also the name of the email that he wrote):

TimeCaptured,

You must have an incredibly big heart. Only a passionate and loving person can see shots like this one. To capture it takes talent, which you have, but to see takes heart.

Thank you for sharing your work and your heart.

I appreciate both.

Your friend,

Don

Mesa going to Daman & Diu

4 days in Daman and Diu - well, official offsite it is! Hoping against hope, I get to take the bigger lens that I have in mind (Thanks Omzie for arranging...I still have to go and get it from you Mommy) so that I can make full use of the time that I get to click some shots.

I promise to get something really out of the ordinary and not plain beach and sand. When I say out of the ordinary, I say it with respect to the pictures I have taken so far of the beaches...some thoughts going on in my mind of the kind of pictures I would like to take. I shall also get some images from inside the train since a lot of my time is going to be to and fro in the train - we start from here at 11 tomorrow in a volvo to Jaipur...reach there around 5.30 - relax and then baord the train to Vapi at 8.30 in the night, reach vapi around 11 am in the morning, take a cab and reach Cida-de, which a nice property in Daman. I am excited but nervous at the same time as I have a session (presentation) too the next day. We have planned things such as beach side volleyball, a guitarist is gonna go with us, and also some bit of beach games and dj-dance etc. Sounds fun - will update once I get back.

See you people..enjoy the long weekend that you get here!

Salutations Rajasthan!!

Life never ceases to surprise me – last two days have been full of surprises…there have been times when I have gotten sick of my travels in this role…yet there have been days when I have thanked my lucky stars for getting these opportunities to go around and see places, especially when I have that passion of capturing moments. I don’t have words to explain the tremendous satisfaction I have got in last two days when it comes to photography. I went berserk with my camera and ended up clicking 289 pictures – there is no dearth of frames, everywhere you look, there is a story that speaks. Thank you God for giving me the time and opportunity to look at more creative and beautiful things in my life. Yesterday it was Amer fort, a factory where workers are at their creative best, and of course dinner at Shiv Villas – a 5-star deluxe which is breathtakingly beautiful with Leanne, my friend from Australia – wife of our General Manager at the bank is a wonderful company! In few hours, she has taught me things that maybe I never would have realized in a lifetime. Thank you Leanne for coming into my life and sharing so much.

People, Rajasthan is one helleva place. It is BEAUTIFUL – and what makes it even more beautiful is its people. They are so highly skilled and creative that when you see them doing their bit, you want to buy each and everything that they do out of respect. We think we are the ones slogging our asses and burning midnight oils – you have wait until you see a guy doing block printing on cloth or the one making a carpet or another one making a simple wooden box carved with metal wire. Hats off to them! I did buy some tokens for the fond remembrance of their hard work and I know this place will always have special memories in my heart…when I had the first hand experience of what all people do to earn their livings and how creative and colorful can they get to chisel a things beyond recognition.

Rajasthan – my salutations to you and your people!

Next level...

Why si it that when you write anything which is little different from the usual crap and deeper than the usual thoughts, people think you are in a disturbed state of mind? All that I write here may not always be something that's happening to me...it may just be a thought that I have in mind due to things that I would have heard or spoken to someone.

Anyway, I have to tell you that yesterday evening it almost took me 3.5 hours to reach back home from Gurgaon..it was raining and as usual, the roads were jammed. I was on phone most of the times and it is surprising that while talking to a friend, I did not realize when the mg road that I was driving concluded on a red light that was taking me to chirag delhi. Needless to say more, I lost my way. And this usually happens when it is raining and I have poor visibility to the surroundings. :)

Today I decided to work from home - I don't have the patience to drive again today...my foot is still hurting from yesterday.

Guess what, one of my pictures in facebook..was liked by a good photographer and he actually wants to buy it so that he can frame it and put it up in one of his walls...well, that sure sounds fantastic to me...boosts my ego...and well, I also gotta tell you that I have ordered about 25 prints, of all different sizes for some on my favourite pictures that I have clicked. The ones that are good enough in the printed form shall then be framed and hung on my walls...have been waiting to do this for months now...finally decided it is time.

It is interesting how photography grew in me in these years and today it becomes my most favourite pass time...I definitely think of taking it to the next level and thanks to all my friends out there in the group who help me enhance my work...when I say next level, I mean getting technically sound..i care no more about the aethetics, framing, angles etc...over time, I will hone my skills better there. What I need to get into right now is the technical aspect of photography. Not sure if I am ready for a course yet...but it has been going on in my mind for sometime...won't do any harm...a course that I can do over weekends and that's not really very long...infact a friend Jo did tell me about the photosensitive course which is for 4 weekends and costs only about 8k...but before that I think I should learn the basics.

Yesterday was speaking to friend about this and hence all of it here....:) bear with me please...and yeah, its a thursday - just a day before the weekend begins...so guys..enjoy, work hard and then party harder...

Mesa weekend plan..

as of 9.52 in the morning, I plan to go shopping in the morning, followed by exhibition by Sanjay Nanda in IHC - I believe there are some real nice frames of Jantar-Mantar - am very keen to see his perspective..there is another exhibition on mountain pictures I guess followed by a talk...not sure if I will attend that. Oh yeah, rock on is on my list too...I better watch that movie. Sunday I plan to go with DFC folks to this ganesh visarjan in kalindi kunj that i have heard so much from Nandos and Om. I hope am able to make it to that place...I know it will be all jammed up but am keen. Also, I don't have a wide angle lens for the occassion...but let's see how much justice I can do with my kit lens and 50 mm. I guess its time I bought the other lens. Actually, I have that in mind...24-100 mm...and it probably is for 36-40k approximately. So, I think am gonna' gift myself this lens on my birthday in November...sounds perfect to me..:-)

But people...nuthing beats the 50mm...I recently clicked come pictures in Chandni chowk using only and only 50 mm...and boy, it certainly rocks..will share the pictures here soon...

Gift of a lifetime...

...Like I said before, I still don't know how to react to surprises - good or bad.

But this one filled me with so much of ....don't know what. I get a message 'Check your gmail'. I check it and I have a mail from Flickr which says you have been gifted.

Someone GIFTED me a Flickr Pro account!!! It was such a beautiful gesture in so many years now that it feels me with pleasure that I can never explain. Thanks buddy for your beautiful gesture and the underlying encouragement - I will cherish it forever. And I will live upto your expectations.

Just cannot thank you enough.

It is a gift of a lifetime.

Canon 400D

....and finally, another one down in my wishlist - my latestht possession - a canon 400D with an additional 50 mm lens!!!! Yippppeeeeee.

I love it. Wait until I show you some results - still waiting for that first click. :-)

...And a time to do what you like...

...You can make out that I have finally got the much sought after 'time' to be here! Someone sent me a message yesterday..'No pictures?' and I thought 'Aise kaise'...one should never cease to find time to do what they like doing...days will start and days will end without us realizing they are gone...and in the middle of that 'pardonable ignorance', the least we can do is find time to be ourselves, do things that make us happy, and do things that we actually like doing..which in turn give us the much needed satisfaction. I try to live by this. (Arrre waah, ye tou bahut achcha sa kuch likh diya maine...a pat on my back...)

With this philosphical note on a friday morning...sharing with you some that I also posted on flickr today morning. The better ones are for my collection...here are some preview shots..did a series on white gladulas...and also one in the railway station, which i mentioned before...:D So my dear buddy, no pictures nahi KAAFI pictures hain...Happy Friday Folks.

To Sarah - With Love...

This one was effortless photography - the little one, my niece SARAH, gave me poses on her own and classy ones...I wanted to wait until today to capture her but when she started giving those adorables poses holding the window of one of my bedrooms, I just ran and got hold of my camera.....I will spend some time clicking her pictures today as well outside...until then, here are some of those moments...

the balancing act was perfect...

A Saturday so Red.

Not the post that I wish to write here (it is still in the making and on my desktop) but giving an update on what goes on still remains one of my favourites.

The theme was RED in my mind and ethnic in hers....absolutely different from one another in thoughts...eventually, we got going with red.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that - and together we made a series like never before. What came out was probably not the ethnic look that we wanted but a series of a kind. Guess this was the best of our captures in so many years. Adding a few of them here..not all edited yet...don't kill me for that JLO...I know you don't agree that these are the best shots but trust me, the first two are my best bet.

This Man - That Smile....

.....and we got married 7 year ago....that's Manish - my Gampu.

I like people who look good - you can spend hours doing up their pictures. This guy is never fond of getting clicked. I have to do a lot of 'paapad belna' to get him to be clicked..

BlogIT Collage...

Picasa helps you do a lot with pictures - my collage!

DAWN

Kiddos Rock....

....Papa and kiddo out for fun...Manish and Mishi...but for the chair....did not have the time to take it out of the way....would have missed that moment.

I care a damn - Ananya upset for some reasons....

Am done with thoe newspapers, what' next for me? Aarav - the dude!!!!

Models in the making - Ananya, Yashna, and Choti Mishi...

Virgin RED

Love my dad and Ma for way they have nurtured these flowers at home - about 50 of such flowers. I relate to this one so very much - takes me back to some memories of yesteryears. Someone for sure would relate to it too....i vividly remember my post 'color me red' and the subsequent post on it on another blog...:-)

Virgin Mary - for the first time...so had to click it. It always was bloody mary for me! Lolz...

B&B - Aish

Bold and beautiful - the 'almost' beach babe - Aish!

Part III

The balancing act - pahaadi's do it just perfect. ;-)

Picture Graphy - II

Angeethi - aur phir usme bani chai - was the best thing in the picnic yesterday.

Smart old man - stealing the show...

Growing together....noticed this couple in a ceremony and loved the click. I clicked another couple (a young one) in a similar manner...will go some collage thing with the two later.