"Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them" - Elliot Erwitt
I totally agree with Erwitt. Photography is a creative and beautiful form of art. The joy that you get when you make a good photo can only be experienced.
I had fallen in love with it long back but the seeds of interest were sown only a few years ago while on a vacation and trying to capture nature through my lenses. It had to take a back seat due to lack of time.
Last year spent some time in nurturing it to understand the basics and my camera better. There I was, taking some baby steps in photography. Till then I was doing what most of us would do.. buy a feature rich DSLR camera and just use the auto mode..giving all the control to the camera and rely on it to make good photographs for you! The seeds then started sprouting and this left me asking for more. I was craving to take my skills to the next level by getting a good hold on the techniques.
To quench the thirst, decided to join a group of folks who had similar interests and headed towards Ranganathittu, a bird sanctuary in Srirangapattana near Mysore, this January. The year got kick started with light, camera and action! :)
It was an eventful trip as it helped me understand the importance of a lot things including
- focusing
- metering
- composition
- attention to detail
- exposure and to some extent,
- post processing.
I have always wanted to make some 'wow!' pictures, nail the winged beauties in flight, capture nature in all its splendour and this tour helped me leapfrog closer to those.
For those who are not familiar with the place, Ranganathittu is the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka consisting of six islets on the banks of river Kaveri. It is a famous nesting site for variety of birds including painted storks, egrets, river terns, common spoon bill and many more. It is called the 'pakshi kashi' of Karnataka.
This is a pictorial blog of some of the moments that I captured at Ranganathittu. Camera used is Nikon D-60, Nikkor 300 f4 prime lens. The body is quite primitive for such photo shoots and for the first time, I strongly felt the need to upgrade it. All the shots are handheld and clicked from a row boat - this is the reason if you notice that some frames are not very sharp.
"You don't take a photograph. You make it" - Ansel Adams
Take a look at the the photographs that I have made.
Crocodiles are a plenty over here and for the first time, I was watching them from such a close distance!
This river tern was quite cooperative. It sat on a rock for more than 5 minutes as if posing for us.
It was the pelicans who stole the lime light. As it was the breeding season, they were all busy building their nests. We stationed ourselves in a boat for more than an hour and watched in awe the gracefulness with which these birds skimmed the water either to drink it or to collect the twigs floating on it for their nests.
Observe these pelicans below... love seems to be in the air ;)
I enjoyed freezing the water droplets in all these shots :)
I totally agree with Erwitt. Photography is a creative and beautiful form of art. The joy that you get when you make a good photo can only be experienced.
I had fallen in love with it long back but the seeds of interest were sown only a few years ago while on a vacation and trying to capture nature through my lenses. It had to take a back seat due to lack of time.
Last year spent some time in nurturing it to understand the basics and my camera better. There I was, taking some baby steps in photography. Till then I was doing what most of us would do.. buy a feature rich DSLR camera and just use the auto mode..giving all the control to the camera and rely on it to make good photographs for you! The seeds then started sprouting and this left me asking for more. I was craving to take my skills to the next level by getting a good hold on the techniques.
To quench the thirst, decided to join a group of folks who had similar interests and headed towards Ranganathittu, a bird sanctuary in Srirangapattana near Mysore, this January. The year got kick started with light, camera and action! :)
It was an eventful trip as it helped me understand the importance of a lot things including
- focusing
- metering
- composition
- attention to detail
- exposure and to some extent,
- post processing.
I have always wanted to make some 'wow!' pictures, nail the winged beauties in flight, capture nature in all its splendour and this tour helped me leapfrog closer to those.
For those who are not familiar with the place, Ranganathittu is the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka consisting of six islets on the banks of river Kaveri. It is a famous nesting site for variety of birds including painted storks, egrets, river terns, common spoon bill and many more. It is called the 'pakshi kashi' of Karnataka.
 |
| Birds' Paradise |
This is a pictorial blog of some of the moments that I captured at Ranganathittu. Camera used is Nikon D-60, Nikkor 300 f4 prime lens. The body is quite primitive for such photo shoots and for the first time, I strongly felt the need to upgrade it. All the shots are handheld and clicked from a row boat - this is the reason if you notice that some frames are not very sharp.
"You don't take a photograph. You make it" - Ansel Adams
Take a look at the the photographs that I have made.
Crocodiles are a plenty over here and for the first time, I was watching them from such a close distance!
 |
| Happily sun bathing |
 |
| Look, I don't brush my teeth..still no cavities! |
 |
| 1 shade whiter teeth in 1 week - Colgate Visible White :) |
This river tern was quite cooperative. It sat on a rock for more than 5 minutes as if posing for us.
 |
| Ruffling the feathers |
It was the pelicans who stole the lime light. As it was the breeding season, they were all busy building their nests. We stationed ourselves in a boat for more than an hour and watched in awe the gracefulness with which these birds skimmed the water either to drink it or to collect the twigs floating on it for their nests.
 |
| Chilling out |
Observe these pelicans below... love seems to be in the air ;)
And this yelling pelican...
 |
| "Why are you so late?" |
 |
| Pied Kingfisher |
 |
| The balancing act |
 |
| Asian openbill stork |
 |
| Painted storks |
 |
| Grey Hornbill |
 |
| Ekaangi |
 |
| Swallow birds in their mud nests built on the rocks |
 |
| MaraLi gudige - back to the nest in the evening anticipating a brighter tomorrow |
 |
| Visitors enjoying boat ride |
