The Biography of a Flower

The beginnings as a bud



Time to blossom



In full bloom



Arranged in a Bouquet



-----------------------

The photos were taken in a dance programme called "People get connected" on 17 Sept 2006, at the colonial-age Victoria theatre in Singapore.

Being a part of the audience and shooting moving subjects at higher shutter speed, shot hand-held with a telephoto zoom without image stabilisation, in an ambience of choreographed indoor lighting simply meant one setting- exclusive use of ISO1600. The biggest surprise to me, was the low noise in the images than what was expected.

All the photos went thru Photoshop Elements, basic fixes lke crop, levels, contrast and saturation. But the 'Time to bloom' had a bit of shake due to the subjects' rythmic graceful motion(also called dance!), and I amplified it with use of radial blur in photoshop.

Monochromatic Dreams

I was talking to a friend recently about black-n-white photography, and started to give some examples on how they could be interesting. While searching for pics from my own collection, i took my older colour images and desaturated them to present them again. And voila ! I start to see a different world..













Thanks Ajay, I learnt to see my own photos in a new colour.. :)

The Sungei Buloh trail

"Why would I wake early on a Sunday morning, and trudge to Sungei Buloh wetland reserve, walking all alone with my camera and stuff ? What kinda adventure do I expect in a lazy mangrove forest anyway ??" - So I mused standing on the bridge at the parks entrance.



Watching a lazy winding river on a low tide, reflecting on the ways of life, isnt exactly the coolest thing to do on a hot & humid weekend morning.



A casual glance on the banks, and I see these weird footsteps of..of..of..what was that ? A slithery wicked reptile? A croc? A snake with legs ? Im was beginning to feel like the Crocodile hunter - Steve Irwin.




Back on the move, I was looking for tell-tale signs and directions from the other petrified creatures of the forest - crawling, webbing, hopping, fluttering, flying and tree-jumping - All their gazes transfixed towards the Master of the Mangrove.







Not one to leave any subtle clue undiscovered, I even found the dried flowers unambiguously pointing to 'its' direction. (Maybe I am imagining things here, but never mind the build-up)



There he was (or she?), the 2-metre long giant version of what we commonly call a lizard ! The Monitor Lizard is a passive reptile, but with sure and steady movements. It likes to stare intently at photographers, and when fully stretched can fully block the jungle track. For those who are not sure of reptilian behavior like me, it can cause litres of adrenalin tingling thru the arteries, with every move it makes. More so if you are mad enough to try taking close-ups of this jurassic dude !





-------------------------
Less than a week since I posted this one, one of inspiring lovers of nature, the exciting and adventurous God of Reptilian world- Steve Irwin died in a freak accident, attacked by a stingray, during an underwater shoot.
His death uniquely affects the likes of the animal world for his conservation efforts, and the human world for his efforts to educate his own species about the rest on earth.
Hindu belief says advancement in species in rebirth is a sign of good karma. But I imagine the Crocodile hunter would be happier to de-evolve into a majestic King Cobra- to be one with his understanding friends on the planet.

Static Dynamism

Is this what people might refer to as kick-ass photography ??
Having taken a lot of architecture, streets, buildings photos, it was just about time to have some fun.

Navarasa- the nine emotions

I had shared these images by email quite a while ago, but just forgot to put it online somewhere. So here it is! To whom so ever it may concern, I dont look like this anymore :) It all started as a home tutorial and experiments in portrait photography, and ended up as a trial to shoot some themed portraits for fun.

The images are the result of an attempt to bring out the Navarasas – the facial expressions of Nine different moods, emotions or sentiments. Learning to display these appropriately are important steps in learning the classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, and acting in general.

Online references :
http://www.cyberkerala.com/kathakali/navarasam.htm
http://www.nilacharal.com/picture/navarasam/index.html

Cycling past history

I was waiting patiently at a street corner , camera in hand, for some attractive car to appear in front of the oldish orange buildings. But then, the unambitious person in me just settled for a bicycle :)

Staircase hues

  

Just a walk down Waterloo street ,and this building cannot be missed by anybody who is not fully colour-blind. There are some really colourful minds in Singapore !

Soft targets

 

Just a nice shop with cute things. It looked like 'girlie stuff' written all over it, but that doesnt prevent me from capturing it.

1906 @ 2006

  

A few streets in Bugis converted into a modern shopping mall. The best part was the old-fashioned buildings covered by a modern glass structure, and the whole street air-conditioned. I didnt purchase a thing there, but bought a lot of ideas.

Bleu Royale

  

A tinted glass painting inside the former church at Chijmes, City hall. The brilliant blue colour of the robes backlit by the evening sun , looked even better but the poor camera wasnt good enough to capture it well enough. (or maybe it was the photographer who botched up)

Will I ever get tired of capturing flowers.. ?

  

Island life.. Love it !

A time for reflection and self-discovery















Looking cool is the name of the game




















Even 1500mm above mean sea level
is a high peak to be conquered




















Better still, just laze around
in somebody else's boat !

Child's Play

Just how delightfully colourful a child's 'tools at work' are !

Scenes at Pulau Redang

Sunrise at Redang

I still believe its Geo-centric..



Two Blazing Eyes and a Deceptive Grin.



Its really worth waking up early, to witness some artwork thats created and erased everyday.

In His Own Image

Abstracts, flowers, landscapes, patterns, colours and shadows is what used to dominate my picture taking. I seemed to exist in an uninhabited part of the earth, or preferred to turn away from the subjects who invented the very medium I communicated with, and was never comfortable shooting homo sapiens. No more ! Just started to point the Canon towards people I like..



This is my friend Sujan's daughter, who has this strange shyness whenever she sees me. I somehow could not succeed in making her more comfortable, so just decided to shoot her expressions when confronted by me.



The Budding Philosopher Award goes to my cousin Nishanth. He is definitely the most gentlemanly boy in the world, and just sometimes decides to relax. This is one of those moments.



Is that a pensive pose patiently captured, or the mood on a lazy summer afternoon ? Or is it subdued frustration on being bored and bothered by a SLR-wielding enthusiast, who is on the lookout for a nice portrait? I can never be sure whats in the mind of this young lady Sangeetha, who happens to be my other cousin in B'lore.


A friend to share a joke.
A brain to discuss an idea.
A mind charged with passion
A groom in the making :)
A complete man - Manivel