Photographica: Jul 16, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Railway crossing-How India moves ?

This sight was just just shocking, the way people were loaded on this local train just like overloaded trucks and tractors plying on the highways. Even luggage is not stacked in such a way! Well this could be a perfect shot for Fevicol's advertisement! Just the thought of people sleeping atop the moving train under the burning sun in the month of June gave me shivers throughout the journey.

My garden ant

Photographing that creature was not an easy task as I was continously loosing focus because of the wind. I was working as hard as the ant itself, trying to lock focus upon this tiny thing.

I venture out to photograph new creatures but finally land up with these "plenty of" black ants, they are swarming around this place, evry tree, plant and evry branch!!

Busy black stingy ants moving in and out of the roots of a mango tree.

If I were a little black ant
I wonder what I'd say
To all of my ant buddies
Who work so hard all day.

"Stop!" I'd yell, in ant talk.
"Let's rest upon this leaf.
Or swing upon this spider's web
He won't mind, if we are brief."

I know the ants would tell me
The secret of their strength;
How they move those boulders
And trees, three times their length.

Down their hole we'd slide
Into their hidden spaces.
We'd talk and eat and crawl around,
Exploring strange new places.

Then home with me they'd come
And play with all my toys.
We'd colonize my room.
We wouldn't make much noise.

I think the ants would want to,
But couldn't really stay,
'Cause they wouldn't like the smell.
The bug man sprayed today!

Monitor Lizard

This deadly reptile entered my garden at noon but was checked by my pet dog. Though the dog kept barking trying to oust the lizard off, the reptile din't move an inch from its place. After half-an-hour of hustle & bustle this monitor lizard found a safe place on the top of a tree

The lizard’s Elizabethan ruff;
His bootlace tongue;
The way he throws his legs

From front-left/back-right
To front-right/back-left,
That stationary trot

As the starved sand
Made insane by the sun
Bites the soles of his feet.

All that tongue work, and nothing to say
Lizard? All that supple dancing
And no mate to impress?

You and I, lizard. You and I.

Tips for great Pictures!!

Look your subject in the eye

Direct eye contact can be as engaging in a picture as it is in real life. When taking a picture of someone, hold the camera at the person's eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles. For children, that means stooping to their level. And your subject need not always stare at the camera. All by itself that eye level angle will create a personal and inviting feeling that pulls you into the picture.

Use a plain background

A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you look through the camera viewfinder, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Make sure no poles grow from the head of your favorite niece and that no cars seem to dangle from her ears.

Use flash outdoors

Bright sun can create unattractive deep facial shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the face. When taking people pictures on sunny days, turn your flash on. You may have a choice of fill-flash mode or full-flash mode. If the person is within five feet, use the fill-flash mode; beyond five feet, the full-power mode may be required. With a digital camera, use the picture display panel to review the results.
The flash will brighten up people's faces and make them stand out. Also take a picture without the flash, because the soft light of overcast days sometimes gives quite pleasing results by itself.

Auto focus problems

Sometimes the object for focus is too small compared to its background, for example you are trying to focus onto a single thin and tiny leaf, the camera may not be able to auto-focus on it. So place fist or any other object nearby the leaf and allow the camera to auto-focus at that position. Thereafter remove the object and click your shot!! I took snapped those red-ants on the orchids in a similar way.