Aliyar dam is one of the popular picnic spots en route Valparai and just before the ghat section begins. The place offers a good view of the dam cachement and the hills of Valparai:

I am back here after a 3 month break and I have a backlog of pictures! This surely is the first of them:

 Thanks a lot for people who asked if things are alright at my end - all is well :) Lets say I got a bit caught up with a few things! Its good to be back here now :)

Waking up at the top of a mountain, miles away from the civilization is one of the best experiences in life :) During our trek to Amedikallu, we experienced exactly the same!

When we woke up in the morning, sun had already cast its reddish hue at the horizon and clouds had all the surrounding hills covered. Only the tallest of the peaks jutted out of the clouds. In the first pic, the tallest of the peaks is Minchukallu Betta - one of the closest meighbours of Amedikallu.

The pic comes with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM wide angle zoom len, which was the only lens I was carrying for the trek. There was no tripod and the shot comes handheldin Av mode, with a -1.3 steps exposure compensation. I used the exposure compensation - one because of the lack of light itself and the other because, a darker exposure would do more justice to the misty hills. Even with the exposure compensation, I had to go for a ISO-400 settings with a f/4, for a 1/25s exposure.

The most prominent peak in this shot - which resembles the hump of a bull is the Ettina Bhuja. One could spot many peaks from here. Just outside of this frame (to the right side) was Ombattu Gudda. Further right, at a considerable distance even the silhouette of Kumaraparvatha was visible. Talk about view from the top and having a clear day :)

We were on a trek to Amedikallu, passing through a Shola forest right under the peak. Sun was at its peak, when we came out of the Shola forest for a magnificient view of the valley. We climbed up on top of a rock for a better view of the hills on the other side of the valley. While Chennappa, our guide, was taking a look at the peak, I took this shot of him, set against the vertical face of Amedikallu and the sun:

I was carrying only the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM wide angle zoom lens for this trek. I used the lens at its widest focal length and a manual mode exposure of f/8, 1/2500s and ISO-100, to get this silhouette shot.

We reached the peak in another hour and was enjoying the sunset a little later. After the sunset, the sky had some beautiful cloud formation. Watching Chennappa walking on top of the peak, I composed the above shot, with the sky as the background.

This is also shot with the 16-35mm, once again at 16mm, manual mode, f/8 and ISO-100. But, the light was much lower than the earlier shot, so I used a 1/60s exposure.

It was a beautiful sunset at the Besant Nagar beach, Chennai and as usual I looked around for something to frame around the sun :) This time I ended up at a Chilly 'Bhajji' stall, where the chillies were kept as a garland hanging from the top of the stall:

The pic is taken with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM telephoto lens, handheld in manual mode, f/6.3 and 1/640s, ISO-100.

I was in Kannur last week for Rajesh's wedding (see 'Birthday Bash') and headed to Parassinikkadavu snake park as soon as we reached Kannur. It was almost 5.30 by then and the shadows were lengthening. Snakes and animals kept in the cages were almost impossible to shoot at that light and I quickly headed to the center of the park, which has a well where a lot of snakes (mainly rat snakes) are kept:

Even though the top portion of the well was open, the light inside was very low. Also, I needed atleast a medium telephoto to take a close shot - so I settled for the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L (macro) lens. Even at ISO-800 I was getting a very high exposure time and had to go for an under-exposed shot. I used manual mode, f/3.5, 1/50s and ISO-800. With the camera supported by the wall around the well, I was able to take this shot.

There was another corner of the well, where the sunlight was falling through a gap. And this fellow was right there, away from the crowd, enjoying the last few minutes of sunshine. I used the same 180mm lens and clicked - this time the light was a lot better. In Av mode, f/3.5, ISO-800, with a -1 exposure compensation, the camera reported a 1/500s exposure.

Spotted these two at the construction site opposite our office building. We visited them as part of an initiative from Lakshmi - our HR manager - to distribute cloths and food items to them. Ofcourse, I was the official photographer ;-)

The pic is shot with the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L (macro) les, handheld in Av mode, f/3.5 and ISO-200 for a 1/200s exposure.

Nowadays half of my clicks are of the same subject :) For people who could not guess what the subject is - go here. Only reason, why I dont post more pics of Abhimaan aka Manu (after 'Happy Onam from the little one', 'Mom and Son' and 'Welcome 2010!') is fear of repetition! Anyways, yesterday I realized that I have not posted any of his pics for some time now. So, here I go:

This pic is taken on the new year day and a framed version of this picture adorns our living room now :) It is clicked using the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L (macro) lens, handheld in manual mode, f/5.6, 1/250s and ISO-400. I had a Vivitar 285 HV bouncing off the ceiling as is common with most of my recent indoor portrait pics :) I am glad I bought that strobe.

The 2nd pic is clicked a week ago, when he completed 6 months. The time is really flying by and the tiny baby is now a naughty toddler :) This shot is now my desktop wallpaper and makes me smile during the tiring work hours :) The pic is again clicked with the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L (macro) lens, aided with the Vivitar 285HV bounced from the ceiling. The camera was set in manual mode, f/3.5, 1/250s and ISO-800. In comparison to the earlier picture, I was looking for a fuller frame and was further away from him. The flash being on-camera, the light output was lesser due to the distance and I needed a higher ISO and wider shutter (also to blur the background better).

Needless to say, I am enjoying these clicks and I hope you all would like it too!

One of the mandatory things for a birthday bash is a cake facial - preferably a very creamy chocolate cake :) What do you say?

Here is my friend Rajesh, all excited after his birthday bash and ready to welcome a new year! Rajesh is getting married next week and let me also wish him and Nithya a wonderful married life.

The pic is taken using a Canon EF-s 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens, handheld in manual mode, f/4, ISO-100 and 1/60s exposure. Thanks to Tiju for lending this lens to me for trying out. I quite liked its focal range and a more than useful IS. For the relatively lower price, this lens is more than handy.

Rajesh was at his balcony when I took this shot and the clean black background comes from the dark surroundings - as it was quite late in the night. I used a Vivitar 285HV strobe on camera, bounced from the roof to make up for the lack of light. The pic is unedited, except for the resizing and addition of the watermark.

Rooster's crowing at the break of dawn is a romantic idea that was used by many poets. The experts say that they crow as much during any other time of the day!

We were on our way to Siddarabetta, just past Dobbaspet, when we saw the sun rising to our right side. I kept driving for some more time looking for something to frame the sun with and spottedthis handsome bird perched at the top of a haystack. The pic is taken with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L tele photo lens, handheld, in Av mode, f/6.3, ISO-100 for a 1/1000s exposure.