On our way back from Wayanadan Mala, we were looking for the stream (assuming that we can follow the stream to reach the village) and finally found it after crawling through thick jungle for almost two hours. It was such a relief when we saw that the stream indeed had some water, as we were already out of water. While resting near the stream, Ramettan picked up something hiding in between the rocks - a crab!

This is actually not the first time we spotted crabs in this trek. We had seen a couple of them near our camping site in the previous site, while digging for water. But, at that time it was already dark and any photography was impossible. This time, while Ramettan expertly picked up the crab, I grabbed the camera for a shot.

I used the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L wide angle zoom lens for this shot at 35mm, handheld in Av mode. The light was quite low and I ended up using a shutter speed of 1/20s even at ISO-800, f/6.3. That should explain the blur!

As a side note, crab is probably the tastiest of all sea foods. Have you tried it yet?

The trek to Wayanadan Mala was one of my best treks and undoubtedly one of the most adventurous! The joy of reaching the peak on day-3 morning and figuring out the topology of the whole of North Kerala was indescribable - especially after two days of tiring trek. One of the easiest way of sharing the joy is to post the pictures here :)

I was able to see many hills from the top of Wayanadan Mala, including the Banasura, Kurichyar Mala, Ambukuthi Mala and the 1850m Chembra peak. But, needless to say, the Vellarimala hill ranges was the most prominent, with Vavul Mala rising above the rest of the peaks.

I was not in a mood for photographs and these are one of the few shots I clicked casually. The pics are taken with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 wide angle zoom lens, handheld in Av mode with a f/8 shutter, ISO-100 for a 1/1000s. I had good amount of light and had the time to play around with the Circular Polarizer or the GND filter, but all this did not occur to me at that point of time :)

This pic gives a more clearer view of the Vellarimala ranges. The tallest peak on the right side is Vavul Mala, while the one on the left side is Vattapara - the tallest portion of Vellarimala ranges in Wayanad district. The settings are almost the same as the first pic, except for a longer exposure of 1/500s.

For people wondering what / where is Wayanadan Mala, it is the tallest peak in the Chembra ranges and the tallest in Wayanad at 2100m. I had the fortune of clicking Wayanadan Mala from the top of Vellarimala ranges (see 'Clouds, Sun and the Valley') and was at that time, confused about the identity of all these hills. This trek to Wayanadan Mala and an earlier trek to Chembra helped me clear all the confusion :)

Its been a while since I did any photography when I am not travelling. A beautiful evening and some free time in the office changed it!

I am guilty of not making good use of my macro lens - Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L. I have used it more for portraits and less for macros. Now, with the rain tree (Samanea Saman) next to our office terrace in full bloom, the lighting just about perfect and a tripod in my possession, it was time to try out the life size macro.

I mounted the macro lens on the Manfrotto 728B Digi tripod and used the manual mode. The best aperture width for this lens is around f/7.1 and it made sense for this shot as well. Even though, I had a tripod, it was slightly breezy and I had to choose a shutter speed of atleast 1/100s to avoid the blur. This meant that the ISO had to be kept at ISO-400.

This is also the time I realized that my camera (EOS 400D) is quite outdated. On trying out Amit's EOS 500D, I saw the benefits of upgrading - better ISO, a very bright display and amazing features like live preview. In his camera, I could go for a 10x zoom on the live preview and focus precisely on what I wanted. Anyways, the pic here is taken with my old EOS 400D after a few attempts to get the focus right. The aim was to get the pollens at the bottom in focus and get some bokeh for the ones at the top. Guess, I somehow managed that :)

I took a stop at Thettekad during the Valparai - Athirapally - Rajamalai trip. Reached there by about 10 in the morning, only to find that the tourist season is not yet started. This means, there will not be any guides to take me around. In spite of that, I decided to check out the bird sanctuary on my own. In hindsight, it turned out to be a good choice!

While, wandering within the sanctuary limits, I spotted something gliding in front of me and landing on the nearby tree. It took me a while to even spot the creature, brilliantly camouflaged by the tree - it was a lizard!

The pics come from the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens. The lens was not ideal in this low light condition. Even in Av mode, ISO-800, f/6.3, I needed a 1/160s exposure. I was not very hopeful to get a sharp picture with the heavy lens handheld at this shutter speed, but was lucky to get one of them reasonably sharp. I was also able to set it against a green background, as the lizard is almost invisible against the tree trunk.

The fliying lizard, belonging to the genus Draco, has folds of skin attached to its rib, with which it can glide consider distances. One distinctive feature of the one I spotted was the yellow throat patch which it keeps flicking. I am not sure of the species, but its either Draco Haematopogon or Draco Dussumieri. Can anybody confirm?

Sholayar dam is about 20kms from Valparai on the way to Athirapally. I was not very enthused to go and see the dam, but decided to check it out while driving from Valparai towards Athirapally. I had to walk up a little and then climb a few steps before reaching the reservoir wall - but the effort was well worth it, with the emerald blue water, lush green shores and the white cotton clouds in a deep blue sky!

The picture was taken using the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L wide angle zoom lens, fitted with a Tiffen 82mm circular polarizer filter. This shot made me convinced that the filter was worth its cost - extremely handy for shooting landscapes when sun is shining bright. This picture is shot handheld in manual mode with ISO-100, f/8 and a 1/80s exposure.

Valparai is one of those beautiful hill stations, still relatively unknown. I managed to visit Valparai, once again as part of a roadtrip touching Valparai, Athirapally, Thattekad, Rajamalai and Bodimettu. While driving from Valparai to Sholayar / Athirapally, the road goes through many tea estates. The endless layers of green carpet and the deep blue sky turned out to be a great combination:

The pics are taken using the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L wide angle zoom lens, fitted with the Tiffen 82mm Circular Polarizer for the first time. Especially when its quite bright, the circular polarizer is quite handy. The pic is taken in Av mode, f/8, ISO-100 for a 1/60s exposure.

A little later, I was near a lake and tried to use the circular polarizer for a good reflection shot. I did not like the drum when I saw the picture for the first time, but later, I felt that the drum made the frame a little different from what I normally do. This pic also comes at a very similar settings, Av mode, f/8, ISO-100 for a 1/50s exposure.

This is my 250th post! Its been more than a decade since I was having my personal site Sandeep 's World, but Thru' the Lens was started only in Oct 2007. To say the least, I thoroughly enjoyed the learning from and sharing with fellow bloggers / photographers. Thanks to everybody who follow this blog.

The 250th post is a sunset from Mt Abu, during our Jaipur - Udaipur - Mt Abu trip. This was indeed one of the best sunsets I have seen, but the scene lacked any interesting foreground and I finally decided to click just the sun for a change! Its a little strange that the edges of the sun is very imperfect and there is a gradual gradation of color as we move down. I guess, this is the effect of clouds.

The pic comes from the Canon EF f/5.6L telephoto lens and I clicked it in Manual mode. Even at the lower end of the horizon, the sun was quite bright and I needed ISO-100, an f/9 aperture and a 1/4000s shutter for this capture.

During our stay at Udaipur, I thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast time, during which we could spot a few birds. If, on day 1, the distinguished guest was a White Wagtail, on day 2, it was Red-wattled Lapwing.

I first spotted these birds at Nagarhole two years back (see 'Red-wattled Lapwing from Nagarhole') and this time, I could identify the bird instantly. The pictures are taken using the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto, handheld in Manual mode.

Lighting was pretty good and I managed an f/8 aperture for both the pictures, which is pretty much the best aperture for this lens. The first picture came at ISO-400 and 1/800s, while the second one came at ISO-200 and 1/500s. Both pictures were cropped (3888 => 1500px) using GIMP.

Also, wishing everybody a nice and propserous Vishu.

One of the highlights of our Jaipur - Udaipur trip was the ropeway connecting the sunset point and Karni Matha temple. We were there at the right time - just when it became dark and the lights at Pichola Lake made it so beautiful.

The one thing I missed was a tripod! But, I somehow managed to place the camera on top of a dilapidated wall and take a few shots. This particular pic was taken from near the Karni Matha temple, using the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L (macro) lens. I used manual mode for this shot and an f/6.3, 1.6s and a ISO-100 exposure.

One of the best experiences during our trip to Jaipur - Udaipur, was the evening we spent around Lake Pichola in Udaipur. This is a beautiful lake right next to the city palace and we took an hour long boat ride around the lake.

We were inside one of the boats and this other boat apparoached us. It was about 4.30 and sun was quite bright - so I opted for a silhouette shot. The pic is taken using the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L wide angle zoom lens, handheld in Manual mode. I used a f/9 aperture, 1/800s shutter and ISO-100.