To success !!

Blog down for a week

I will be busy for the week as I am moving - no, not back to India; not yet, just changing apartments. I am excited about the new place (I always am about anything new), its a nice studio in downtown Ithaca, right at the place called Commons. Most of my candid shots are from this place, remember - Shakka!

After that I am going to Boston for 3 days, on a huge get-together with 12+ friends...we are going camping and then maybe to a beach. Hopefully once I am back on the 4th of July, I should be able to start putting up pictures again!

Apartments - Commons West - Everyone is invited for the house warming party on Saturday, 8th July :-)

Every morning ..

News Update : If you could have seen me today you would have noticed a big :-) ...
Why, you may ask?

• No, I didn't buy another car or motorcycle .. sure that would have been good news as well
• No, I am not getting married .. that would have been a big :-( ..
• you maybe right this time, my picture bagged 2nd place at betterphoto.com for the month :-) (out of 25,600 pictures - its one of the 10, second place winners in its catergory 'Details and Macro') .. I got a premium online gallery as a prize! -> Drop by drop <-
  

Where are you going?

John was dressed up in red jacket, a big winter cap barely showing his eyes, wind was blowing the hard hit snow from 2 days - as he tried smiling for the camera. As the dreary winter months passed by, kids started showing up on the grounds. Every evening as I parked my motorcycle in front of the apartment, I would notice him sitting on the stairs. I would wave at him and say 'hello', he would smile and run inside. It was our routine conversation. One evening, I was working on my motorcycle; John came out running and started talking - in child language or maybe it was Chinese - I nodded and it seemed like I was answering his questions. As time passed, he started returning my greetings with 'hi', 'hello', the sweet smile and run inside.

Another weekend as I cleaned my car, John came up to me

John : What are you doing?
.. surprised to hear him talk - in English,
I answered : I am cleaning my car..
John : Why are you cleaning the car?
me : because its dirty
John : dirty? why dirty?
I said something and he got confused - rather I got confused - someone got confused
me : you should clean your cycle
John : What?
me : you should also clean (moving my hands and pointing) your cycle, use this water
He brings his little beach bucket, takes some water and starts cleaning his cycle ..

Every time he sees me he comes up running "Where are you going?"
It's been such a long time since I had to answer this question - it always puts me to surprise and I struggle with the answer - an answer that this 4/5 year old would understand!

Look there papa ..

Happy Father's Day

A little girl needs Daddy
For many, many things:
Like holding her high off the ground
Where the high spirits sing!

Like being the hypnotic music
That tells her all is right
When she awakens frantic with
The terrors of the night, life.

Like being the bright sun
That rises in her heart
And shows her the way home
When all else falls apart.

Like giving her a shoulder
That is her only strength
Being there by her side always
When she needs him the most.

Like giving her the love
That is her ocean and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
She'll always find him there.

- Saloni Sonpal

News update : Another picture made it as a finalist at betterphoto.com. About the last one - I didn't win but being a finalist was a great feeling by itself :)

Hair Dryer

the experience I have almost every morning driving down to work...

WHAT A ROADSTER IS ALL ABOUT.

Somehow, the miles and the hours have slipped by almost without notice, and now you're in a place you've looked at, but never really seen before. It's something you'll have to get used to. It happens all the time to Miata owners.

Is it the rush of the wind? Or the warmth of the sun? Maybe it's that mellow, almost comforting, sound the Miata makes, or the way this roadster lets you handle a brand new road like you've been driving it all your life. Reasons for loving the Miata are as many and as varied as the conversations that take place in them. But whatever your particular reason is, there's a very good chance that what started out as just a pleasant Sunday drive has put you many miles from home, and forced you to answer a couple of serious questions: "Do we leave the top down?" and "Is there an even longer way home?"

text source : http://www.cse.ucsd.edu/users/paloma/Miata/miata_92.html#PASSION

I was thinking of writing something myself ... but copy + paste was much simple :)

Top Horse in the Stable

Braking the zooom

0-62mph in 3.4 seconds ; 60-0 in 104 feet

Escape...

A new story ...

Finishing an old story to begin a new one...
As she reads through the last pages of her book, there is a new story - new book for her life watching her, waiting for her to begin something new, something wonderful .. I don't know the end but the beginning looks great!

Remember the walk...

It was starting to get dark and I had only one decent shot to take back home. Another 15 minutes – and no luck, I placed the camera on self-timer and ran to the location. These 2 shots would work but I was not happy; I had the perfect picture in mind, and I was forced to return without one after waiting 40 minutes.

As I walked back through the trails I passed a couple, a nod and smile as we continued walking in opposite directions. After about 10 steps I turned around, followed them. They turned into the corner - they might have noticed me, following, but they continued – I wanted them to continue and not notice me. I was 5 yards behind them - perfect – just the perfect distance…I turned into the corner, pointed the camera and took 15 shots in less than 30 sec – turned around and walked back to the car…. Shot was much closer to what I imagined it to be :)

Moments are created ….a photographer strives to capture them …

Journey so far

Celebrating 100 pictures on the blog (actually more than 100) - click on the picture for the bigger version of the collage!!

1. G U A R D E D, 2. S H A K K A, 3. C L O S E D - W I N D O W, 4. L O N E - S T A R, 5. W H I L E - I T S - R A I N I N G, 6. P I N K, 7. S A V E D - B Y - R A I N, 8. C O F F E E - N - F R I E N D, 9. P O W E R - N A P, 10. T R A I N - S T A T I O N, 11. 1 - 2 - C H A - CH A - C H A, 12. C H A I N - n - L O C K, 13. W I T H I N - B O U N D A R I E S, 14. R E A C H I N G - T H E - S K Y, 15. T A K E - T H E - J U M P, 16. S T I L L - S O B E R, 17. R E L A T I V I T Y, 18. M A G N I F Y, 19. Y E L L O W, 20. B A L A N C E, 21. F I R S T - D A T E !, 22. S H A K K A, 23. L E T S - P L A Y !, 24. L A S T - S M O K E !, 25. A N O T H E R - C O F F E E, 26. T R O U B L E S !, 27. F L O W E R M A N, 28. T H O U G H T - M O V E & W I N !, 29. O N - T H E - E D G E !, 30. S I L E N T - N I G H T, 31. S L A S H E S - O F - W I N T E R !, 32. R E N T ! !, 33. B Y - T H E - R E D - W A L L S, 34. L O O K I N G - B A C K, 35. R E A D Y - T O - F L Y ! !, 36. D R O P - B Y - D R O P

Thank you all for the wonderful comments!!

Guarded!

Shakka

He was worth visiting again. My previous - Shakka

Closed Window

Lone Star

I felt like going back to one of my old shots, taken with the Canon G5 some time back

Power-nap

While its Raining

Coffee and a Friend

Saved by Rain!

Pink

Train Station

A shot from the sequence of Time Lapse..