Lazy Photos

2007-10-15T22:10:00.000+05:30

This is another handicrafts stall. It is very difficult to resist shopping.....in the end I got a Tussar silk sari with Kantha work on it...from the SHG federation....thats as close to the producer I can could get.

2007-10-15T22:04:00.000+05:30

This is a small handicrafts stall along the road in Shantiniketan. Picture not taken by me but using my camera

West Bengal

2007-10-15T21:35:00.000+05:30

West Bengal is an amazing place. You go to Kolkatta and everything looks run down. Then you go to the villages and you see lush green paddy fields and curving lanes lined with ponds...and the village looks so different from what one is used to. Many of the photos on this trip were not taken by me for the simple reason that my colleague's camera went kaput and she wanted to take pictures so I allowed her to use mine. A very rare gesture I must say as I am not a person who will lend my camera in general.

Therefore unfortunately I do not have the picture I would have loved to have but I know I will have more opportunities to go to West Bengal and will take pictures to my heart's content. Of Kolkatta I have very few pictures and none of them great.

We went to Bolpur which has the famous Shantiniketan there (the arts university set up by Rabindranath Tagore). They have fantastic handicrafts there...the leather bags, batik work and kantha embroidery.....

For some strange reason I cannot upload my photos...so photos will come when I figure out what is wrong.

2006-06-28T15:42:00.000+05:30

The last of my Germany photos and my favourite...I was just lazing in bed when I looked up and saw this shadow the window was creating on the wall....then suddenly I noticed that there was also a tree....which I had never seen outside the window....

2006-06-28T15:40:00.000+05:30

Now this reminded me more of Obelix that Italy!

2006-06-28T15:37:00.000+05:30

It was Italian market day and wandering around the stalls I came across this roasted boar (pig?) head....with wine

2006-06-28T15:32:00.000+05:30

This is a jazz band playing in an open square in Mannheim. They were absolutely fantastic! In fact we sat their listening to them even though it was cold and rainy. I don't generally listen to jazz but I could have sat there listening to them as long as they were playing...

2006-06-14T23:04:00.000+05:30

This is some water area where the kids can play...though it was hot the water was icy cold but there were kids running around naked playing in the water. There was one little girl who had a small container. She would take some water and then neatly clean the square stones one by one in a row. There was also some mechanism on top which the kids could turn and water would be pumped and flow down through small sluice gates and then ultimately into the river. Though many of the kids were only interested in the water, there were kids who were facinated by the contraptions (for a lack of a better word) and tried them all out. It was fun....and educative...if you wanted it to be!

2006-06-14T23:02:00.000+05:30

And this is what it looks like on a sunny day......it was even more crowded behind me....The afternoon this picture was taken it touched 30 Degrees C.

2006-06-14T22:59:00.000+05:30

A closer view of the grassy bank....quite empty as it was a cloudy day...

2006-06-14T22:54:00.000+05:30

This is the Neckar...the river on the banks of which lie the city of Heidelberg. On the right in the far distance the castle is just about visible. Between this bridge and the next (in the background) on the right hand side is a grassy bank, which gets very crowded once the sun shines.

2006-06-14T22:49:00.000+05:30

I normally do not like steel and glass buildings but this one always facinates me. This is the Print Media Academy opposite the main railway station in Heidelberg. I have walked many times passed this building trying to figure out where the rooms are inside! The creature in front too facinates me. Its legs keep moving. I think the neck and head move too.

2006-06-13T20:40:00.000+05:30

In the background one can see the castle of Heidelberg, the place I stayed. I know it is a little far off to see clearly but it gives an idea of where the castle is situated, the new bridge, the river and the bank of the river where everyone comes to sun bathe (when the sun actually shines that is). Well, it was one of those rare sunny days when everyone was out...more of those later....

2006-06-13T20:24:00.000+05:30

I spent three weeks in Germany and I cannot begin to share pictures of Germany without first talking about football. Everything is about football! The coffee has a round football chocolate on it...the cakes have football on it...everywhere you look it is about football. We had gone to an electronics store and there they had washing machines stacked up. The door to one machine in the second row was open and we were given a soft football to kick. If you manage to get the ball into the washing machnie then you get that machine. When it came to my turn the guy there opened all the doors after my first try becasue he was so sure I would not be able to get the ball in...and yes he was right!

2006-05-16T22:42:00.000+05:30

Now, this is my favourite photo! There I was wandering around the harbour trying to figure out the fish chain (there are an amazing number of middlemen between the ish in the sea and the fish on your table) and not throw up with the stink when I see this woman who had made herself so comfortable...this best part was the wicked look in her eyes! She knew she had done something cute! the bustling habour is the perfect backdrop...with man with the mobile phone in the front....

2006-05-15T21:39:00.000+05:30

A pile of waste fish..topped by a bottle! luckily these creatures did not die without a purpose...the waste fish is pounded into feed for poultry. So the next time you eat a chicken...you have probably also eaten one of these....

2006-05-15T21:32:00.000+05:30

This was the first time I have seen a shell with the animal still in it! I was also fasinated by the way the animal seemed to follow the curve of the shell and it seemed to match the colours of its shell!

Comments

2006-05-15T19:52:00.000+05:30

If you would like to...there is a provision to leave comments [only good ones :-) ].....or if you prefer to send me emails than that is fine to!

Themes....

2006-05-15T19:49:00.000+05:30

Hey...I know there are a lot of work related photos here but it wont always be work related....my favourite topic is nature...and specifically trees! So, it will be a misture of everything that catches my eye!

Cameras....

2006-05-15T19:39:00.000+05:30

ok..will be a little more clear about my cameras. All the photos you have seen below were taken on my digital. It is a casio 4 megapixel. Of course, the credit has to go to my sister whose camera it was and she gave it to me on my last birthday! So I have been very trigger happy after that!

My photos taken on the SLR are all prints and I have to scan them in before I can upload them.

As for the roliflex...my father let me take it only once! My most favourite and precious photo was taken on that camera.....will scan it in and share it only when I am ready...:-) I had once blown up that picture to about 3x3 feet. It was mela (fair) time in school and we had used 9 10x12 sheets....placed the enlarger in such a way that we could blow it up in the small confines of the darkroom..neatly arranged the sheets...then had to develop each one of them....and then stick them all together. It was displyed during the mela and then I gave it to my Japanese classmate who was leaving school...I hope she still has it.

2006-05-13T22:19:00.000+05:30

Another view of the harbour......

2006-05-13T22:14:00.000+05:30

The photo below was a village landing site. This is of the Nagapattinam harbour. How many times we were told in school that the class was making too much noise and we sounded like a fish market? Now I know what a fish market sounds like! I also know what a fish market smells like....

2006-05-13T22:09:00.000+05:30

Two middlemen checking out the catch for the day! The men bring in the fish and the women auction it.

2006-05-13T22:04:00.000+05:30

Here...(between the trawlers and the people sorting waste fish) is the traditional boat...the kattamaran.....or popularly known as the catamaran. Two members of a family take one of these and venture out in the sea.....but here we have a crow trying to figure out how to get it out to the sea.

2006-05-13T22:01:00.000+05:30

This is what the average fisherman would have...a fiber reinforced boat. These are the type of boats that where given after the tsunami.

2006-05-13T21:59:00.000+05:30

A closer view of one trawler

2006-05-13T21:57:00.000+05:30

When you think of fishermen...you also think boats. These are the trawlers...the big guys!

2006-05-12T23:04:00.000+05:30

Or it could look this...of course I have to admit that this is the catch of five boats!

2006-05-12T23:02:00.000+05:30

One thing we were told was that the catch has reduced after the tusnami....so a catch could look like this...

2006-05-12T22:57:00.000+05:30

When you think of the coast..what is the first things that comes to your mind? FISH!....where do the fish come from?...the sea! and who brings them ashore? The firshermen! Yeah! now we have the basics.....so here are fishermen coming ashore with their daily catch....

2006-05-12T22:36:00.000+05:30

Having visited Orissa...I move down south to Tamil Nadu. Again on work I had visited the tsunami affected areas...and no I don't have pictures of the devestation....I went there more than a year after the tsunami hit. Everyone has seen the devestation..now see life come back....most of the pictures are from Nagapattinam district.

2006-05-10T22:14:00.000+05:30

A close up of a stall selling sweets along the highway! Our dirver is checking to make sure we are given sweets that were not exposed to the dust and flies! These sweets were absolutely delicious and surprisingly not very sweet.

2006-05-10T22:10:00.000+05:30

One Self Help Group I met. They are wearing their sarees the oriya way but none of them are wearing the traditional Oriya weave saree!

2006-05-10T22:06:00.000+05:30

Weaving a saree.......

2006-05-10T22:04:00.000+05:30

Spinning yarn to be woven into sarees

The first two photos

2006-05-09T21:55:00.000+05:30

The first two photos were taken when I was in Orissa on work. The first one was on our way back to Bubaneshwar. The second was taken In Bubaneshwar on our way to the airport. I had my camera ready and was lucky that we got to stop at the red light. I was in the back seat and had to lean in front over the driver's shoulder to get this shot. The driver was very amused! Being in Bubaneshwar makes one feel as though one had traveled back in time....like what Bangalore used to be...a sleepy town with big bunglows

Cameras...settings...

2006-05-09T21:42:00.000+05:30

If any serious photographer stumbles across this blog....they are sure to think...ok...here are some photos but important information is missing! What camera was used? What was the shutter speed? what was the apeture setting?

Most of my photos have been taken on a beautiful East German SLR which I have had since I was 13. I know it is not manufactured anymore but I think another company has taken over the old company...will find out and let you know! On a rare occasion...when I have been allowed to use it I have used my father's twin lens roliflex. Only recently (about 6 months ago), after being gifted a 4 megapixel digital automatic have I started using the digital camera. Friends who saw me using this camera were shocked! The digital has many advantages...every one knows them now...

As for shutter speed and aperture settings...I tired very hard to record them once and failed miserably! So those details will never be available..sorry!

2006-05-08T22:28:00.000+05:30

Again in Orissa....a trafic policeman and a trafic signal merge to become one! The policeman is holding up a green signal which says 'GO' in three languages...English, Hindi and Oriya....just in case you did not realise what the green board was for......

2006-05-06T20:57:00.000+05:30

This is a National Highway in Orissa. Photo taken while traveling on work

Why this blog

2006-05-06T20:43:00.000+05:30

Photography for me is a very personal passion. I take photos that appeal to me. It is the process of taking the photo which gives me more joy than the end product. But, at the same time, I wanted to share my photos....which i hopefully can do with this blog

I called it lazy photos...because I take photos of oppotunities that come to me...I don't go seeking them.