Uploads from sharad_2007, with geodata

Time Travel!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:53:48 -0700

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

A a two hour journey to Chor Bazaar in Mumbai last weekend was nothing short of traveling several decades back in time.

Old gramophones, movie posters from the 50's and 60's, vinyl records from that time, picture frames, artefacts, furniture, etc, etc. Add to that the classic beauty of model and actor Rima Das and your time travel is complete.

Presenting here a high key shot of Rima from that trip

Shail I Say It?

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:05:10 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Shailendra is an excellent photographer from Rewari, Haryana.

Where most of us look for better equipment in lenses and cameras, he looks for good frames. I have seen a few photographers who produce as good a work as him with an EF-S 18-55 lens.

He has an eye for good frames to shoot and a tremendous will to learn. I would look out for a lot of good frames to come from this brilliant photographer.

Well, I said it, Shail!

Sun Become Day!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:59:15 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

This burst forth of the sun from behind Mt. Nanda Devi peak reminded me of Neil Diamond song "Soolaimon".

Beautiful words:

God of my want, want, want
Lord of my need, need, need
Leading me on, on, on
On to the woman, she dance for the sun
God of my day, day, day
Lord of my night, night, night
Seek for the way, way, way
Taking me home...

Shot that magical first morning at Auli on Jan 28, 2012.

Unprocessed, except some cropping.

You Have to watch This delightful video of Neil Diamond singing this song

A Distant Dream!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:27:46 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Still a shot from the archive of the second day of our Skiing and Shooting trip to Auli.

A dramatic sky and beckoning snow peaks from afar.

Met a Picture Post Card on the Way!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:09:20 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

A view of the meandering Alaknanda river Just a little before Srinagar (Chamoli Dist, Garhwal) city

Making up the Make Up Artist

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:23:28 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Presenting to you the third beautiful girl of the Go-Goa Glamour Shoot - Simmi jagga, the make up artist (MUA)

Couldn't stop from chuckling to myself at the thought of doiing a make up using PS4 on this pretty and fun-to-have-around make-up-artist.

She did a fantastic job with the models.

Golden Dreams!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:33:05 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Rocks of Gold; net of gold and a golden age!

These boys spend their Sunday morning trying to net some fish and to live out a dream at an age where all dreams are golden.

The Butterfly Effect!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:45:55 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Call it the butterfly effect or whatever, twice haveI gone to Sanjay Gandhi National Park to shoot some butterflies. But call it my luck or my lack of speed that by the time I would get them into focus, they would flitter away.

I got plenty of moths though. Moths dress themselves up as butterflies but are either much less agile or bolder than butterflies for they hold far longer than a butterfly while a shot is being taken. Butterflies on the other hand are the ultimate tease. Many almost flew into my lens hood but never gave me enough time to shoot them.

This is one of the rare shots I got of a butterfly from these two shoots.

Diwali 2012

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:19:40 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

A few early shots from the Diwali 2012

Join fabulous Diwali Photo Contest on www.voteoye.com/event/1. First prize Rs. 10,000. 53 more prizes to be won. Last date 18th November 2012.

Shades of 70's!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:20:43 -0700

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Shot just last weekend, this shot transported me back to Sexy 70's!

A shot that reminded me of the bollywood cult classic "Hare' Rama, Hare' Krishna". Do not know why. May be beautiful Rima Das and her shades reminded me of beautiful Zeenat Amaan, who burst forth on the Indian cinema screens with that movie, just as I was entering my teens. Or perhaps it is the door frame, we used as a prop, that reminded me of Nepal's Durbar Square.

Whatever! Here it is, beautiful Rima Das during our weekend shoot at Chor Bazaar (Thieves' Market - So named because it is a second hand curios market and what you get here is a steal). We used curios borrowed from the market for some interesting shots. Will be sharing with you soon.

Till then listen to some fantastic songs from the path breaking movie Hare Rama, Hare Krishna

youtu.be/GUqEPS6Mq8I

youtu.be/LBiFov4OW-Y

Timeless Beauty!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:15:25 -0700

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Shot just last weekend, this shot transported me back to the Sexy 70's!

A shot that reminded me of the bollywood cult classic "Hare' Rama, Hare' Krishna". Do not know why. May be the beautiful model Rima Das and her shades reminded me of the beautiful Zeenat Amaan, who burst forth on the Indian cinema screens with that movie, just as I was entering my teens. Or it is the door frame, we used as a prop, that reminded me of Nepal's Durbar Square.

Whatever, here it is, the beautiful Rima Das during our weekend shoot at Chor Bazaar (Thieves' Market - So named because it is a second hand curios market and what you get here is a steal). The curios in the market helped us create some interesting concepts. Will be sharing with you soon.

Till then listen to some fantastic songs from the path breaking movie Hare Rama, Hare Krishna

youtu.be/GUqEPS6Mq8I

youtu.be/LBiFov4OW-Y

A Background Check!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:29:14 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

This was one busy background on this outdoor shoot. It had so many elements. Plastic chairs and tables. Beach chairs. Umbrellas. Balcony rails. Plants and flowers.

So many colors too.

Yellow, green, red, magenta, white, brown.

A tough shot therefore. But I think I did well. I liked the slice of the background with these stairs and doorway, giving the picture a nice continental look.

A second shot of Ms. Marina, from St. Petersberg, Russia.

Shot at Goa Glamour shoot.

Paradise, up ahead!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:32:01 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Just a little further! How far are you willing to go?

Presenting here the beautiful tattoos on Ms. Anita Shanti's shapely legs.

Press L on your keyboard to see the tattoos better.

The Kraken!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:06:12 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

He appeared from the sea that evening at Goa!

A fun shot the evening before the Canon Go-Goa Shoot last weekend.

A Flash of Brilliance!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:02:12 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

This weekend I attended a Master Class on Glamour shoot at Goa.

I submitted this photo for the, rather lucrative, post shoot contest.

A brand new HTC Sensation XE as the first prize!

However, this entry got the boot because I had used my external flash. The master photographer, beautiful Olya Milentis, felt use of a reflector would have produced a better result.

In this shot, I used flash directly from the camera, for fill-in, while I used the setting sun at the back of the model as the back-light.

Well, the disappointment on the rejection apart, I am extremely happy with the result. In the free-for-all melee of a dozen photographers shooting, I managed to think and plan this frame. I think the geometry in the picture has come out quite right.

Presenting the first picture of beautiful Marina. Lots more to come.

Then it Dawned on Me!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:33:12 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

I am on most days a late riser.

A hiatus from photography for a year, part due to my fracture and then gall bladder surgery, and part due to my disenchantment with my Canon 40D, did not help either. No exercise and no photography for the good part of this year, left me a dull boy.

Having regained a bit of my health and majorly because of my new 5D Mk II, I have been getting up in the mornings on sundays to go out and shoot. But so far I missed the dawn.

Last Sunday, my friends and I made it finally to Haji Ali Dargah and before the crack of the dawn.

And thus it dawned on me! What a beautiful dawn it was!

May Peace Reign!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:45:15 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Three years ago, same day, foreign terrorists struck this beautiful heritage hotel among some other high profile targets.

In this picture, The Gateway of India and The Taj Mahal Hotel. The targets of the most audacious attacks on Independent India ever. In audacity equal to 9/11, thankfully not in magnitude. The hotel was nearly burnt down in the attack. It is a tribute to the Tata group that the hotel got back on its feet within a year and is now ever more a symbol of India, standing proud at the Gateway to India.

3 years have passed and a lot has changed. But what is important to remember today is what is not changed.

1. We have not forgotten. We never will.

2. We haven't learnt. Hope some day we will

A bit late to post this picture today. 26/11 is already over. Not late to learn our lessons from this insulting attack. Time we developed a stronger urban and low grade warfare strategy. For that is how modern warfare is being fought. Time for conventional conflict is over.

About this Photo: It is a composite of two pictures. One containing the Buildings and the other containing the boy and the pigeons. The superimposed boy and pigeons gave the picture a somewhat surreal effect, as if the boy is watching from outside the picture frame and the pigeons are borne out of his yearning for peace.

That Evening!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:22:12 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

Finally, after the day's frustration, the evening presented a reward.

In the form of a beautiful sunset and dusk over the Bandra Worli Sealink.

I still wonder what made me so mad that first day of the workshop. Perhaps not getting to use the camera was getting my goat. Like being in the midst of a war and not being allowed to use your rifle. I can now empathize with UN Peace Keeping forces in Angola or Somalia. :D

I shot this picture handheld with ISO at 3200. Tonight, I spent an hour removing noise from the picture - giving the sky a beautiful smooth gradient. I do not know what made me experiment with adding the Noise back thru PS filter. Guess what, I liked that result better. Gives it a foggy, misty late night effect. You can see it in the picture above.

Shot from Koliwada at Mahim creek. A location whose vantage position and beauty of the sunset view is equally marred by the stink and dirt of this slum.

I wonder what could happen if the government were to develop the sandy beach here as a tourist spot, giving the fishermen additional sources of tourist income. I am sure it will be rivalling Victoria harbour bridge viewing spots.

Can it be done? Well that's another story.

Press "L" to really appreciate this picture. Looks pretty ordinary against white background.

Donate Generously! :))

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:02:03 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

I wonder who maintains this rusted but freshly painted donation box. And I wonder what kind of donations it attracts in this up-market garden at Mumbai Land's-End.

In any case, I found something attractive and something funny about it, so here it is for you.

Press "L" and drop a few coins please!

Dawn has broken in the city!

nobody@flickr.com (sharad_2007) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:04:41 -0800

sharad_2007 posted a photo:

This sunday we tried to get the Bandra Worli Sealink between our camera and the sunrise. Being in the west coast of India, we get beautiful sunsets on the horizon but sun rises from behind the buildings.

However the land ends much before the sealink curves, therefore we could not shoot the sealink silhouette with sunrise.

This was one of my early pictures of the sunrise this sunday. The right or west side of the bridge is still dark while the buildings on the east side have already got early morning red and yellow light.