These are a couple of macro pics I took during a trek trip to Edakkal caves and Meenmutty falls. One problem with both the pics is the excessive sunlight and the reflections, as if a flash was used :( All this while, I had found it tough to have enuf DOF to cover life size macro pics, now that I had enuf light to bump up the DOF, there are reflections! When will I learn to do it right :(

The dragon fly was a large black one, spotted hovering around near the base of Meenmutty falls. I waited patiently for about 20 mins for this cutie to sit down and it finally did ... just a few seconds. Light was ample again and I used Av mode f/8 for a 1/125s exposure @ ISO-100. Finally, I guess the pic was slightly blurred and didnt have enuf details I'd have liked.

Pics taken after a strenuous trek to Meenmutty falls :)

I know Sai looks happy coz we just had buttermilk!

Both pics are from EF-L 180mm @ Av mode. Vishal's pic had ample sunlight and I used f/5, but for Sai's there was not enuf light and I had to go to f/3.5 and ISO-800.

The grass stem seen here is taken @ a paddy field near Maddur. I initially wanted sun's rays to come in the pic, but looks like the sun was too bright and I settled with the light @ one corner and the shine around my subject :) Btw .... the sun in this picture is not direct, but reflected from the paddy field!

The pics are taken with the EF-L 180mm macro lens@ almost life size. Av mode @ f/16, with 1/250s and 1/320s.

The first two pics are reflections, in a tank bund after Mysuru in the Nanjangud road. Tank bund had very clear / still water and good reflections. The shot is not near enough for the focus and detail I wud've liked to have, but still liked the frame :) Simple shot @ Av mode, f/3.5 with EF-L 180mm and bright outdoor light.

The 3rd pic is a group of pelicans fishing in another tank bund just ahead. Again, in Av mode f/3.5.

While I was taking the 3rd pic, a black cormorant came out of the water and on seeing us, sprinted in the water and took off. This is the best I could manage.

Did I tell that I have been chasing flying birds ... if no ... u haven't read my blog! So, here is another attempt to capture flying kites and a mynah sitting in a tree. All of them, finally turned out to be highly cropped, sharpened and color saturated using GIMP (what wud I do without GIMP) to get a decent avatar!

I liked the 1st pic, in spite of having shades around the face, coz it gives a decent idea of the bird's plumage. By the way, for all the kite pics, sun was a major factor. Some angles, leaves the plumage bright and in some other, the face! The 2nd pic has enough details of the bird's eye and thats something I always like. Both of them are in manual mode, the first @ f/3.5, 1/640 and ISO-100 and the second @ f/3.5, 1/400 and ISO-400. I had to bump up the ISO since the light started fading!

The Mynah pic,@ f/3.5, 1/400 and ISO-400, is the most heavily cropped and most color saturated pic of the lot. Dunno, why I felt like moving the bird towards the right. May be the 1/3rd rule is getting to me. But, ideally the bird shud've been @ the left and facing the center, rather than facing outside. Isnt it :) Guess, the real reason is a tree trunk on to the right of the bird which I removed with this framing :)

I missed a higher range tele photo lens while trying to capture it using my EF-L 180mm lens (This is mainly a macro lens). Guess, its time for the 400mm!

The final kite pic is in Av mode @ f/3.5, 1/2000 and ISO-400. Again, the face goes in the shade, but the plumage is captured with decent clarity.

These days I carry the camera to office (off MG Road, Bengaluru) almost all days and mostly end up taking it up to the terrace during breaks :) So, here are two pics taken during office breaks!

Pigeons are regular visitors to our office terrace and I'd been trying to get flying pigeons for a while now. Never mind, atleast I cud get a decent portrait :) Manual mode @ f/3.5, 1/400s and ISO-400. Did increase the color saturation using GIMP. I used manual mode and higher ISO only coz I was looking to shoot flying birds (pigeons and kites) and ended up with under/over exposed or motion blurred all the time. Finally, I decided to try manual mode with higher ISO and this pigeon came and sat right next to me! Though, he/she flew off quickly before I cud click, he/she did pose for a few minutes :)

There are a few trees in the apartment complex next to our office and the butterfly in the pic came and sat among the trees. Once again, I was in the middle of taking some other macro pics (which turned out horrible) and I ended up re-using the same settings before the butterfly flew off. ISO-200, f/3.5, Av mode and 1/200s.

I had been trying to take pics of flying birds for a while now and kites are the most difficult ones. They fly fast and high, faster than my focusing and higher than my 180mm can go :( Anyways, after a lot of tries @ the top of Nandi Hills, this is the best I got :( Even this one is cropped in to almost one-third.

The first picture of the monkey is more of an accident shot :) Both pics are @ Av mode, f/3.5 in bright light, using the EF-L 180mm lens.

Pics from a paddy field near Maddur. All pics are from the EF-L 180mm lens in Av mode. The first two pics are f/3.5 and the remaining two are f/8. Also, for the 1st picture, there was a blue tinge, possibly due to a wrong white balancing selected by the camera. I used mud colored (R=150, G=139, B=107) toning for this picture to correct this, as described in the post Blue and Sepia toning using GIMP.

Pics from the Kokkare Bellur village. The village also has Pelicans, Herons and a few other migratory birds apart from the Painted Storks, but none of them is as colorful as the Painted Storks!

All pics are taken with the Canon EF-L 180mm Lens @ f/3.5 in Av mode.

 Posting after a three week hiatus. Pics from my office cafeteria. EF-L 180mm macro lens @ f/3.5 Av mode.