Incredible India thru my Lens

Glimpses To The Glorious Past – Gangaikonda Cholapuram (Jul ’12)

This place was on my list since my first visit to Kumbakonam during my Navagraha temples visit in the year 2010. Back then I didn’t have any idea about the location and hence had to skip without knowing it’s just 30 odd kms from the place I stayed. Fast forward, last week we planned for a spiritual tour to Thiruvidaimaruthur, Trichy and Madurai. While plotting my driving direction on google map, saw this beauty lying on my way to the destination. So, decided to visit this place for sure this time. It was a magnificent structure and require a full day to explore. We reached GKC by 4 PM and the Sun on its full glory. With the scorching heat and the travel we did till then, we decided to have a break for couple of hours and planned to visit the temple by 6 PM.

But when I reached the place again by 6 PM, I found it very difficult to shoot against the fading light :(. Add to that the constant stare I got from the ‘authorities’. Never faced such a situation in any of the heritage sites before. Does anyone know why they don’t allow Tripod inside the heritage sites?

To know more about the place visit this link : Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Below are the pictures I managed, already dreaming of visiting this place again in Monsoon later this year.

People Photography @ The 46th Chennai Photo Walk (Nov ’11)

It’s been quite a while I was thinking about joining one of the photo walks organized by ‘The Chennai Photo Walk’. Time came for me to join them for the latest one organized today from Dare House to Clive Battery. The turn out was good and almost 25 people joined the walk. Started from Dare House around 6.45 AM. There were few first timers like me and we all stuck together for sometime. Later divided into groups and people walking at their own pace, taking photographs at will. There were few hindrances too as people started questioning about our intentions of taking photographs. But we continued our walk wading through lanes around Mannady. Overall it’s a good experience and love to do it again.

Now let me share some photographs taken during the walk, concentrating on peoples.

Varun Photogaphs – Krishna Jayanthi (Aug ’11)

My brother’s kid was in town for Krishna Jayanthi celebration and we had fun dressing him as Krishna. He was thoroughly enjoying the attention he got and it was fun clicking him. Got an opportunity to test newly acquired 50mm and I am happy about the outcome.

Hope you all like it.

Quick Visit to Hampi Ruins – Part II (Jul’ 11)

Travel Information to Hampi

Travel-By Bus: You can take an overnight bus from Bangalore to Hampi. The bus starts from Bangalore at 11:00 PM and reaches Hampi at 07:00 AM. The bus is well maintained and a semi-sleeper. Ticket cost is around Rs. 375 per person. You can book your tickets from KSRTC Website itself. If you are looking for more luxury then you can take one of the volvo’s passing through Hospet. From Hospet there are frequent buses to Hampi.

Stay: There are some good staying options in Hampi itself. Most of them are located just opposite to the Bus Stand and the price range starts from 400. If you are comfortable staying a bit away from the crowd then you can head to Virupapur Gaddi / Hampi Island / Hippie Island. The staying options are good and the price range starts as low as Rs. 150/- per day. But the only problem is that after 6 or 6.30, the place looks deserted and it’s not recommended to roam around alone. Apart from that you have some good restaurants which provides some excellent dining ambience with drink :).

Food: We had food in few restaurants in couple of days and all seem to be ok. But if you wanna satisfy your taste buds then you must head to ‘Mango Tree’ restaurant. It’s located just behind the Virupaksha Temple. Ten minutes walk along the river side road will lead you to the restaurant. Order anything and you won’t be disappointed. This is the BEST restaurant in Hampi with river facing.

Getting Around: There are numerous options to getting around Hampi. Best would be to buy a guide book and rent a bicyle/motor bike as per your convenience. You can cover most of the places in a day’s time and can cover the remaining on the next day. Else, there will be auto rickshaws who are more than happy to take your around the important places. I rented a bike from Hippi Island for Rs. 250/- but without proper brake. So, do check the essentials before you rent a bike. You have to put petrol on your own as they will give the bike with just enough petrol to reach the petrol bunk. 1 or 2 litre max is enough for you get around the ruins in Hampi. The best part is that you can ferry your bike across the river in a motor boat for Rs. 30/-.

Quick Visit to Hampi Ruins – Part I (Jul’ 11)

This was rather a quick visit to the ruins of Hampi. I am presenting here some initial pictures of Hampi, kind of overview of the places I visited. The place requires at least a week to explore every nook and corner. More detailed report will follow.

Nikon D7000 Test Shots (Jul ’11)

Finally laid my hands on the most awaited gear ‘Nikon D7000’. A special thanks to my wife who has gifted this… It’s a big leap from D60 and it has got umpteen controls to use and I started loving my new gear. I got this set with 18-105mm lens & 50mm 1.8 lens for some portrait photography. I didn’t get a good sleep last night and on the road around 4 AM itself. Roamed around Marina and took some test shots.