Road Trip to Mayapur

On 27th Dec, 2009 we embarked on a road trip to Mayapur. We started the journey from our residence at 6:30 AM in the morning, took VIP road to Dum Dum, then took Jessore Road to Barasat, and finally reached National Highway 34 which would take us to Mayapur. As usual, I enjoyed the ride, there was a nip in the air, and it was mist all over. My chauffer took care of the driving, while I relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of rural West Bengal. My wife and son chose to sleep.

First stop I made was after Ranaghat, to have a smoke. I took some snaps of the countryside. One of them is given below:

From mayapur

I also took a snap of busy NH34 in the morning, with my car parked in the side. You can also see my shadow, while taking the snap.

From mayapur

After a few more kilometers, after passing Krishnanagar, I stopped at the bridge over Jalangi river. The view was breathtaking, the morning mist still present and I am afraid I could not do justice to the view.

From mayapur

From mayapur

I also saw an industrial chimney polluting the serene countryside. Decided that it should be one of my subjects.

From mayapur

After a few more kilometers, we took a sharp left turn (Almost an U) towards Mayapur. Suddenly the road started to get crowded as we reached the temple village. I asked my driver to drive straight on towards the launch jetty, as I wanted to picture the point where river Jalangi meets river Ganga. The photography session was not that great though, as it was very misty and I was not getting clear views at high zoom.

From mayapur

The following picture is taken from Mayapur side of river Ganges, while women were bathing on the other side, a typical scene along the holy river in India

From mayapur

The following two pictures also show the rivers in various moods

From mayapur

From mayapur

Mayapur is a village of temples, and the following are two temple pictures I shot from a distance.

From mayapur

From mayapur

Then we went to the ISCON temple complex. Camera was not allowed in the temple and I did not want to leave my costly camera in the hands of others, so I stayed outside while my wife and son went inside and had a view of the museum. I loitered outside and took a couple of shots of the museum.
The following picture captures the whole museum (a little bit dark) as it was very sunny outside.

From mayapur

The following two pictures show statues in various poses of sankirtana.

From mayapur

From mayapur

After my wife and son came out of the museum, we spend some time basking in the afternoon sun. It was lunchtime for my kid, so we quickly bought a jar of ghee from the temple goshala (cow shed) and went back to our car which was parked almost half kilometer away. After my son's lunch was over, we went back to Krishnanagar to have our lunch at a road-side dhaba. We also bought sor-bhaja and sor-puria which are local speciality sweets. After our lunch, we took NH 34 again to come back home.

Slow Shutter Speed

I have not got the time to do any photography for the last few days, and hence my blog was dry for more than a month. I still do not have any new photos to show, so I decided to do a new article with some of my earlier shots.

Slow shutter speed can really make stunning effects on a photo. For example in the following shot, the slow shutter speed makes the lighted parts of the picture very fluid. Of course I used a tripod, to avoid camera shake.


Camera: Sony DSLR-A300 Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6) Aperture: f/4.5Focal Length: 75 mm ISO Speed: 800

The next photo also, on the similar lines, taken with my Olympus SP510UZ, with a very long exposure of 15 seconds. I had to choose 1/6 second in the previous one as there was some motion in the car which I did not want to get blurred, but in this one, since everything is very static, I had the luxury of a very long exposure.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 15.0 sec Aperture: 8.0 Focal Length: 10.9mm

The third example is a waterfall. Shooting a water fall with a slow shutter speed, will blur the movement of the water, creating a nice visual effect.



Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6) Aperture: f/8 Focal Length: 17.5 mm ISO Speed: 200

The fourth shot is the same waterfall. I handheld both shots as I was not carrying a tripod.

From Blog

ISO: 200 Exposure: 1/6 sec Aperture: 8.0 Focal Length: 6.3mm

One equipment that would have made the fourth shot better, but unfortunately I do not possess, is a graduated neutral density filter. You can see that the sky has blown out highlights. A graduated neutral density filter will have a gradient from gery to white, thus evening out the exposure where there is a zone with intense light while another is muted light.
Do try out taking long exposure shots. Let me know how it goes.

Kolkata Part 2: Street Photography on a hot Sunday Afternoon

Sunday afternoon, I was on a small trip to a relatives house. I decided to take my camera with me, to capture some of the street scenes of Kolkata. Since I was in a moving car, composition was a big challenge, and most of the images came with a motion blur. Most of the photographs are technically not that great, but I have posted some of the images which I liked a lot personally. I will post them chronologically, to give an idea of my route.

The first shot ... taken near my house. A cyclist is being followed by a bus near the red shiva temple, Central Avenue , near Sovabazzar Metro.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/250 sec Aperture: 8.0 Focal Length: 20mm

The second shot. taken near Dunlop bridge crossing, on BT Road. Grafitti on a city bus. This is one of my favorites from this session.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/50 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 18mm

The third shot. A parked truck on BT Road, while a man urinating in front of it.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/125 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 20mm

The fourth shot. A young couple on a bicycle near Sodepur.

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ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/100 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 70mm

The fifth shot. A couple of middle-aged men on their way back from the vegetable market. Shot at Sodepur, BT Road Junction

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/160 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 40mm

The sixth shot. I feel the story is very symbolic. A cigarette, pan and guthka store, youth on motor-cycle, and political graffiti.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/40 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 70mm

The seventh shot. I wanted to capture this for a long time. However my driver never stopped, so I got shots with motion blur. Weekly make-shift clothes market at Titagarh, BT Road. I love the subject, so I will do a better job on it the next time.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/80 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 18mm

The last shot. Three stories unfold on station road, Barrackpore.

From Blog

ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/100 sec Aperture: 11.0 Focal Length: 70mm

Do let me what do you think, and what you would have done to make the shots better.