Uploads from Viga Versa Photography, with geodata

Happiness

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:35:05 -0700

This part of my life, this little part, is called happiness.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Rambling Through This Meadow

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Wed, 01 May 2013 06:42:23 -0700

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

Now I’m rambling through this meadow, happy as a man can be. Think I’ll just lay me down under this old tree. And when I feel them chilly winds, where the weather goes I’ll follow. Pack up my traveling things, go with the swallows. You might get lucky every now and then…

This song, sigh, innumerous numbers of my artworks have been based on the beauty of this composition playing out in the background. And this one adds to that tally, this couldn’t have fit the bill better, being in sync with those beautifully penned down lyrics by Mark Knopfler. The song is called ‘Get Lucky’ from the album of the same name and the shot was taken somewhere near Jaipur during the soaring month of June last year.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

These Crooked Paths Of Life

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:54:59 -0700

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

May this winding field of greens harmonize with the vibrancy of the ones you dreamt of last night. May your trails be devious, winding, lonesome, enthralling, leading to the most amazing views. May the mountains you tread upon, rise into and above the clouds. May these crooked paths of life, lead to the horizon you always envisioned as a kid.

If you want to catch a star then walk my way,
I will take you where the night is always day.
You can follow me if you really try,
Maybe we will find a rainbow, teach it to fly.

This shot was taken somewhere in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, India. And I guess I’ve been able to seize the essence of this small little town quite well here with this composition.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Reaching Out Into The Sky

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 05:21:02 -0700

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

The rivers swept me off of my feet, green pastured lands rooted me to the legacy that goes down deep. Skies that remind me our earth’s still blue, the breeze reassuring me that this is just a preview. Mountains reaching out into the sky, and was that a sunset I saw, burning the sky and saying goodbye?

And I must, I just have to enter these few lines here from the Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin, “We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow. Such a field, so green, can whisper tales of gore, of howling calmed and tides of war. We are your overlords”. Yeah I’m done now for the day guys, that just summed up everything. This 8 shot panorama is of the town Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India that I clicked enroute to Bijli Mahadev during my last year’s summer excursion.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

The Heart Of Life

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:59:09 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

Pain throws your heart to the ground, love turns the whole thing around. No, it won’t all go the way it should, but I know the heart of life is good. Just keep walking…

Ye mahaan drishya hai,
Chal raha manushya hai,
Ashru, swed, rakta se,
Lathpath lathpath lathpath..
Agneepath, agneepath, agneepath.

I’ve always loved these lines penned down by Harivansh Rai Bachchan and surprisingly I happened to read his poetry when I was 6 years old. It was one of the first poems that I had locked in my mind, frozen forever. Oh, and that song above the poem is called, ‘The heart Of Life’ by John Mayer. As always you should give it a listen if the picture right beside it makes you smile and you feel invigorated. And the shot was taken somewhere in Himachal Pradesh, India last year during my summer excursion.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Child Of Darkness And Light

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:44:27 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

In a profound sense every man has two halves to his being. He is not one person so much as two persons trying to act in unison. I believe that in the heart of each human being there is something which I can only describe as a “child of darkness” who is equal and complementary to the more obvious “child of light.”

I see a ninja, an assassin, guarding the castle, alert, with a dagger in his hand. One would imagine darkness, overcast skies, seas of gray, blue and oblivion associated with that description, but no, you see I’ve always been quite different in that aspect. Even if I’m trying to think something really dark, I end up doodling blue skies, bed of greens and some sunlight to go along. And that mash up leads up to something what you see right now. This was done with Hauz Khas Complex in New Delhi, India as a reference.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Read Between The Lines

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:18:55 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

People do wrong ‘cause they don’t understand. There’s a book of truths, and a book of lies. Think with your heart, read between the lines…

The pendulum of our human psyche, ticking in a never ending loop between the measure of right and wrong, alternating between sense and nonsense. Standing at the crossroads, departing from our past, and leaping through the chasms of our convoluted mind. I have to say this was very different from what I usually click, a sort of an experiment, exploring some new genres, inclining towards macabre and surrealism. And please do me a favor, do listen to this song called Between The lines by Bonobo, it is nothing short of awesome in my opinion, you don’t get to hear this kind of music all too often these days. This shot was taken at the Hauz Khas Complex, New Delhi, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Little Mountain Of Mine

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:03:44 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

‘Cause the sun set down on me, you turn your head and slowly start to breathe. Like the common bonds on carbon buried deep, I’m the shadow of the long forgotten dream. But I, I will watch over you, I know your heart is true, little mountain of mine…

I was lucky enough to click this cheerful fella or pahari manush as the himchalis are referred to affectionately, on my last trip to Himachal Pradesh, India. We were making up the climb to the summit of Bijli Mahadev near Kullu in our car, and stopped by for lunch at a very small dhaba built around a little waterfall with freezing cold water trickling down rigorously. This guy happened to be the owner of the same and served us with a very nice home cooked meal. The thing that made me click him was that joyous and peppy nature, the smile didn’t want to leave his face and I guess I was able to catch the expressions and freeze that moment okayishly well with this shot. Oh and those beautiful lyrics belong to the song called Lullaby by The Acorn. How I absolutely love that piece of art right there!

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

Death And All His Friends

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:21:20 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

In this world of change, nothing which comes stays, and nothing which goes is lost. It’s over now little one. Let’s breathe deep, close our eyes, let our ears hear, there’s no other sound, just our breath, and our heartbeats, and our spirits. Can you see that sun shining again, feel that warmth run through your skin, they've lowered their weapons, once again we've cheated death and all his friends.

I’d listen to the words he’d say, but in his voice I heard decay. The plastic face forced to portray, all the insides left cold and gray. There is a place that still remains, it eats the fear it eats the pain. The sweetest price he’ll have to pay, the day the whole world went away. This song was made a decade ago, just for this occasion I guess, fits the moment and the situation perfectly. Live and long and prosper, while you still can people. Let me get some popcorn, it’s doomsday time!

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

What’s The Meaning Of Life

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:30:46 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

Once, a little girl asked me what’s the meaning of life, I just held her hand, walked inconspicuously to a neighborhood garden, letting her hands go near a flowerbed, and whispered to her softly, “Do you see these butterflies?”, she replied “Yes?”, “And those squirrels?”, “Yeah I can”, “These colorful bunch of flowers?”, “Yes”, “That blue sky above us?”, “Yeah”, “The swirl of white clouds too?”, “Yup”, “Well this is called life…”.

Grab your coat, and get your hat, Leave your worry on the doorstep, just direct your feet, to the sunny side of the street. This picture, well you may have heard this many times before, was pretty randomly clicked. I was just talking a casual walk in the garden when I spotted this little creature playing around the trees, and I don’t know if you can spot it or not, she gave me a smirk just at the right moment. I say, the prefect, ‘smile for the camera’ moment! Clicked in New Delhi, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

When I Woke Up, The World Was New

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:29:07 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

I fell asleep beneath you, in the tall blades of grass, when I woke up, the world was new.

I fell asleep above you, in that gush of the wind, when I woke up, the world was new.

It’s a brand new day, the sun is shining. It’s a brand new day, for the first time, in such a long long time, I know I’ll be okay…

I stood there for over ten minutes, just kept on saying to myself, you don’t get to see this every day, feast your eyes! Now my only hope is that what I saw could be interpreted and can be felt, explored by you guys. It was a euphoric sight, one that isn’t getting lost in my convoluted head for quite some while. This one was clicked at the summit of Bijli Mahadev Temple, somewhere near Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

The Suspicious Mind

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 05:25:58 -0700

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

There was about him a suggestion of lurking ferocity, as though the wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept. The suspicious mind believes more than it doubts. It believes in a formidable and ineradicable evil lurking in every person, every direction. The dreams of beautiful landscapes and everything magnificent in your subconscious can be corrupted and engulfed by evil. It only takes a thought in your fragile mind to do so.

This one did take quite a while, as I ended up creating quite a few versions of this over a period of few weeks. Working on and off, this one resulted in various mood swings acting upon the final composition, making it an amalgamation of some sorts. It’s dark, yet very cheerful and vibrant in a way. Well I hope you guys like it.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Through The Wrong End Of A Telescope

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 04:51:07 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

If one looks willingly one can find smiling faces in everything, wherever you go, whatever the situation, you just need to visualize and nurture your fragile thoughts. When you’re building those hefty little castles in the air, you can even make a completely inanimate object like a tractor to smile back at you. You can never change the past nor control the future, but you can change the mood of the day by touching someone’s heart with your smile.

As Dr. Seuss has put it, “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.” So, everyone would’ve guessed it by now , Bob the Builder, anyone? If you’re a kid from the 90’s and had a thing for cartoons, you would know what I did right there, and it’s coming from a person who didn’t really like this series. I was more of a Aladdin or a Ducktales guy. I don’t know how this idea sprang up in my mind, but it just did once I saw this shot in my library. I took this one last year in Amritsar, Punjab, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

What’s The Meaning Of Happiness?

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:43:00 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

“A clear horizon, nothing to worry about on your plate. Only things that are creative and not destructive. That’s within yourself, within me I can’t bare quarreling I can’t bare feelings between people. I think hatred is wasted energy. It’s all nonproductive. I’m very sensitive. A sharp word said by say a person who has a temper if they’re close to me hurts me for days. I know we’re only human, we do go in for these various emotions, call them negative emotions, but when all these are removed and you can look forward and the road is clear ahead and now you’re going to create something. I think that’s as happy as I would ever want to be.”

This man who goes by the name of Mr. Alfred Hitchcock has not only inspired me by his groundbreaking innovations in the world of cinema, but also by what he is as a human being. And there couldn’t be a much better place than this to stick it in. This was a 6-shot panorama, a composition with Humayun Tomb standing tall in all its glory, with those reds and blues of the sky cheering everyone up. Oh and if anyone’s interested those ant like creatures on the bottom-right corner are some fellow human beings. Happy republic day guys, I hope you’re going to have an amazing year ahead. Clicked in New Delhi, India. — at Humayun's Tomb.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-13. All Rights Reserved..

Coming Ere The Springtime

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 06:01:52 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for. I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way. I think I can make it now, the pain is gone, and all of the bad feelings have disappeared. It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sun-shiny day. Buttercups and daisies, oh, the pretty flowers. Coming ere the springtime, to tell of sunny hours. Who cares about the clouds when we’re together? Just sing a song and savor the sunny weather.

Happy new year guys! I hope you’re gonna get a wee bit closer to your resolutions this time around, spread some cheer, some happiness and have an amazing 2013. This photograph was clicked at Qutub Minar Complex, New Delhi, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

Riders On The Storm

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 04:22:10 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

There’s a killer on the road, his brain is squirmin’ like a toad. Take a long holiday, let your children play. If ya give this man a ride, sweet memory will die. Killer on the road, yeah. Into this house we’re born, into this world we’re thrown. Like a dog without a bone, an actor out alone. Riders on the storm….

This one goes out to all the fanatics of automobiles and the doors for this legendary composition that has been stuck in my head since I first heard it, years ago. It took me about 3 hours to get this one over and done with. I was torn as to whether I should go with the monotones or the colored version of it, well I’ve uploaded both of them, leaving it to your liking and personal choices. This was done primarily in Photoshop with some help from 3ds Max for some elements.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

Like Some Passing Afternoon

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:06:21 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

There are times that walk from you, like some passing afternoon. You walk to make a mark, ending up leaving footmarks in the snow, forgotten, vanishing into thin air.

There are things we can’t recall, blind as night that finds us all. We recall to realize, completely unaware of what we came to do, what lies beyond that mist.

There are names across the sea, only now I do believe. There was a lighthouse I thought I saw and only now do I believe, it was just another star among the hundreds I usually draw.

This is a shot, a frame, which has sprung up many thoughts in my mind. Some of them have been penned above, some of them still brewing up to come forth as words. It’s amazing how utter randomness of our lives can be so significantly mind-boggling. This shot was taken somewhere in Rajasthan, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

Let There Be Light

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 04:19:44 -0800

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

Light can be gentle, dreamlike, bare, lucid, misty, clear, hot, enigmatic, falling, straight, calm and soft but what it can never be is gloomy. We can laugh as much as we want by glancing at those naïve flies homing in on our light bulbs, but the irony of it all being that nobody loves those colorful, twinkling lights as much as our species does.

It has so aptly been quoted that people are indeed like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within. Just a little something to lighten up this festive season a wee bit more. My good wishes are always with you. Live long and prosper, while you still can. Happy Diwali!

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

Over To A New Morning

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 05:16:37 -0700

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

Those piled up building blocks, those endless castles I built in my dreams, a song by John Lennon that just wouldn’t stop humming in the background and a frame that had everything one man could ask for. A place where I could just lie down, close my eyes, feel those yellow rays of light seeping in through my eyelids, keeping my skin warm and cozy, birds singing me a lullaby, a world where I was alone with all my thoughts and my dreams. Sleep, sugar, let your dreams flood in, like waves of sweet fire, you’re safe within. Sleep, sweetie, let your floods come rushing in, and carry you over to a new morning.

I’ve been working on this frame, in and out, since past few months now. Somehow I was never really satisfied with it, I don’t know why but something about it always irked me, well, I finally made up my mind to leave as it is, and just let you guys decide on how it has turned out in its current state. This was clicked over a year ago at one of my neighborhood parks, New Delhi, India.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..

When You Find Yourself

nobody@flickr.com (Viga Versa Photography) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 05:37:22 -0700

Viga Versa Photography posted a photo:

When we go through life, so sure of where we’re headin’, and we wind up lost and it’s the best thing that could have happened. ‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it’s really just as well, because you find yourself, yeah that’s when you find yourself.

When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light. When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some. When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best. It really isn’t that difficult to be the person you want yourself to be, just that little push at the onset and you’re good to go on the path you always laid out for yourself in your dreams. This totally random shot was clicked at Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India. Oh yeah, your homework for this week is to listen to the song called Find yourself by Brad Paisley.

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© Ratul Upadhyay 2009-12. All Rights Reserved..