My Yuksom (Sikkim) photos in Reader's Digest Magazine

Although the Sikkim Trek is very fresh in my mind (and in my blogs; thanks to my laziness) it happened about six months ago. But just a few days back, I got a mail from an unknown person (via Picasa), asking me to mail my phone number to him. I thought the person wants to know about the Trek and hence wants to contact me.

But that was not to be. This gentleman calls me back and introduces him as (a very senior) Editor for Reader's Digest. I didn't believe him at first and actually googled his name. Only when I found a Wikipedia entry for him I realized whom I was speaking to.

So this guy requested to use some of my of Yuksom snaps which he liked in my Picasa web albums. Reader's Digest supplement - Joy, has an article in the October 2008 issue about the beautiful Yuksom and for that he needed some pics from my album. So I sent him close to thirty odd photographs from which he selected five.

The magazine is in stands now. Here's the scanned article with the photographs.

Having said all this, I must admit (and thank) Jeetu & Raman whose photos (one each) were also selected. Thanks guys. I owe you a treat when you are in Bangalore next!



I have given away my Canon S3 IS now, hoping to get my hands on a DSLR soon and take photography more seriously :-) Wish me luck!

Favorite Tom Hanks Movies

This is the collection of my favorite Tom Hanks' movies. While creating this slide-show I realized there are several others which I have not yet seen. Will keep updating this list once I get my hands on the remaining ones. Till then enjoy these...

Silence before the Storm

Its been really long since I had posted anything here. I heard a lot of complaints, especially from my readers (read - one guy from office and another one from college, who was rather more relieved than concerned) of me not publishing the blogs so frequently! Well, I was neither busy nor was I out of town. It was just that I thought I'd reserve my enthu(siasm) for the days ahead of me.

For those who don't know, my days of being an Indian all throughout these twenty-four years, has been finally compensated. I am traveling to the country of dreams, the US of A, this weekend (27th May 2007) for a business trip. At least my company and the team assumes that its a business trip. I have not allowed this lousy feeling to sink in me yet. I am already in a holiday frame of mind and would love to be there in that mood - throughout!

For all those people who are already wondering where am I going, then let me break the suspense (Frankly, I wonder whether there remains anyone, even in the third-degree node of my friend-tree, whom I have not bugged bragging about this trip). Well, just FYI, I am going to be in Seattle, WA for about 3-4 weeks. I have heard loads about this city; first time, when I saw the movie Sleepless In Seattle and then later from my Amriki ex-roommates.


There's a million places to visit in and around this lovely city and I am hoping to see atleast half of them! But inspite of this hectic schedule, I will be regularly blogging about my experiences with Uncle Sam. So keep looking at this space for more.

This is just the Silence before the Storm...

Picasso - My Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Today, I got the camera that I bought; my Canon PowerShot S3 IS. Its a real beauty, not just cos how it looks, but also the pictures that it takes. I christened it as Picasso cos of the great artistic abilities it possesses. :-)

I played around with a little bit today and I am already impressed about what I can do with it. Here are some of the point-and-shoot pictures that I took. Have a look!

Click on the pic for details.

Embed Slideshow

Most of these pics were clicked in 16:9 wide aspect ratio, which is a very cool feature of this camera. You can even shoot movies this way!

Shoot Pictures like a Pro

I always wondered how much a Digital SLR would cost, which National Geographic guys use. Definitely, Photoshop plays a big role, as much as the high Mega-Pixel Digi-Cams, in these razor-sharp images. But photography, which is a revived art now (thanks to the new digital wave), has brought new challenges along with these new super-cool cameras and SLRs.

I was reading a few articles on how to master this art of digital photography. Here's a compilation of what all I have read. Special thanks to DCMag

The basic concept behind photography is 'Light'. Light (dim) also poses the maximum challenge to a photographer. So how can you overcome this problem? We’re into the realm of low-light photography here. But don’t worry! Your pictures needn’t be blurred and orangey. With a few nifty tricks up your sleeve and a basic understanding of color balance, exposure and creative flash techniques, your low-light shots can be as good as anything taken on a bright and clear day in spring. So let’s take a look at some of the best ways to turn those indoor photos and party pics into images you’ll be really proud of.

Mastering indoor flash
There will be times when the light’s just not bright enough to get the shot you need. Using flash is the answer, but it can be a very harsh form of illumination and often results in bleached-out faces and red eyes. If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated external flashgun for your camera then you can tame this wild and unforgiving light.

If you have a separate flashgun or Speedlight, then bouncing your flash off the ceiling or a wall is a great way of softening the effect of a flash. It basically uses the ceiling as an enormous diffuser to spread the light around the room evenly. If your flash is the fixed type then you could try taping a piece of white paper in front of the flash tube to diffuse the effect.

Find a window
The winter light may be weak but the watery light of a low sun through a window can make the perfect setting for a really great portrait. If you use a reflector or a large sheet to reflect back some of that light you can produce a truly evocative portrait. Use a tripod and a remote release and then talk to your subject without looking through the camera. Set the person at ease and watch the effect of the light as you move the reflector around. Some of the best portraits are shot using this simple Rembrandt lighting technique.

Keep noise down
One way you can capture lifelike pictures in low light is to boost your camera’s ISO setting. Great idea. So why not keep it racked up all the time? Well, turning up the ISO is like winding up the volume on a stereo during a quiet passage of music. You can hear things better but you also get a load of hiss and other noise. A similar thing happens when you amplify the signal from a camera’s CCD. A lot of visual noise can spoil the shot with unattractive artifacts.

Most DSLRs perform at sensitivities up to ISO 400. By the time you get to ISO 800 the noise is starting to show. If you need a higher shutter speed by all means boost the ISO, but don’t overdo it! If you find yourself dialing in too much ISO, switch to a different low-light photo technique.

Use a tripod
Slow shutter speeds are great for really impressive indoor shots but the slower the shutter speed, the greater the risk of camera shake. If you’re shooting without the benefit of fl ash then you really should use a tripod for those low-light shots. Make sure the tripod is a sturdy model and use a remote release if you have one. Some DSLR cameras enable you to lock the mirror up for these types of shots in order to cut down on vibrations.

Shoot a candlelit portrait
A shot illuminated by a candle makes for a very romantic image and is well worth trying. Don’t adjust the white balance, as you probably want a fairly orangey glow in this sort of shot. Use a tripod and an ISO of around 400. Ask your subject to be as still as possible to avoid any blur as your shutter speed is likely to be well below 1/30th second. Underexposing works better too, otherwise the candle flame may be overexposed. Shoot using Aperture Priority (Av) mode and choose your widest aperture (this will be the smallest f-number your lens goes down to, f/3.5 for example). Holding your exposure compensation button, which will be a square divided with + and - icons, twist your camera’s dial until it reads -1.0. This is equal to minus 1-stop of compensation, which should avoid any overexposure of the candle flame.

Blend light
A good way to soften the effect of the flash indoors is to set your camera to Shutter Priority (Tv) and turn the shutter speed down to around 1/30 sec. The flash will still illuminate anything in the foreground, but the slower shutter speed will capture some of the ambient light in the room to soften the effect of the flash tube. This is the way pros shoot and gives satisfying results you can be proud of.

The same effect works even with separate flashguns and bouncing techniques.

Shoot three shots
The action of pressing the shutter on your camera can introduce camera shake and hence result in a blurred photo. Switch your camera to Burst or Continuous mode and keep your finger on the shutter for three shots. You’ll find the shooting mode either in your camera’s menu or as a separate button on the body. The first and last shots may be blurred as you put your finger on the shutter and take it off again, but the one in the middle will often be perfectly sharp. That’s how the pros do it!

Photography - An Emerging Passion

After trying out my hands with various digital cameras of my friends (such as Canon Ixus, Casio Exilim) I have decided to equip myself with one too.

After browsing through hundreds of 'em in Amazon and trying out a few of them in the local mall, I have finalized on Canon S3 IS. Its an SLR-like 6MP digi-cam and has an unbelievable 12x optical zoom. The pics taken from this cam looks amazing. The best feature is definitely its 12x optical zoom and the image-stabilization. It also provides feature to capture images and movies in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Just too eager to get my hands on it.

Amazon.com is charging me some 16 grands for the cam and the 2 GB Ultra SD Memory Card. However the current market price for just the cam in India is 27K. Definitely recommending to all the photography freaks.

I will be getting it on 17th of this month. Will keep the Flickr updated with my latest shots. So keep looking.... :-)

The Opening Lines..

Yeah. Right. I have started blogging. The same way this whole blogger community does, and not just the way I used to.

Its a conscious decision to interact with the world in this way. Here you'll find whats going through in my mind, my heart, my life. You will come to know whether I am sad or happy or in a really notorious mood. I will also share the things I learn, the things I observe and feel. Basically all kinda bull-shit!

So do leave your comments. Keep them pouring. That way even I will know that I have some readers atleast. :-)