A Focus on Photographing Landscapes

In the last few years, I have been increasingly focusing on photographing landscapes. Although I work on multiple genres of photography which includes a wide range commercial work, interiors and architecture, travel and people, heritage sites and monuments, if I still have to pick one area that fascinates me it has to be landscapes. Even when I go to places that are not exactly known for beautiful landscapes, I always keep an eye on possibility of creating landscape images. I keep looking out for landscape photography opportunities where it may not be obvious and often spend a lot of time moving around the place, walking long distances.

Fortunately or unfortunately, photographing landscapes is not easy (not that photographing anything else well is a simple task). It is complicated by the fact that the quality of light wears down rapidly soon after sunrise or sunset. The window available to landscape photographers is usually a small half-an-hour in the morning and an equal amount of time in the evening. The nature of landscape photography also requires the photographer to carry heavier than usual equipment (read: sturdy tripod) wherever he goes. But it is human tendency to run behind challenges and I am no exception. My baggage weighs more than ten kilos no matter where I go. Sometimes I have come back from short trips without ever getting a chance to use the tripod, but I still make it a point to carry it even if I go back to the same place again. The effort has been rewarding at times and fruitless sometimes, but I make sure never to stop looking for opportunities. Here is a quick collection of some landscape images I have photographed so far this year. And my hope is to make 2011 a year of making many landscape images. I hope you like the images below. Your comments are welcome.

Also visit the collection of landscapes, nature and wildlife images on paintedstork facebook page.

landscape photography

I made two visits to Hampi this year, one in January and another one a week ago. I spent time shooting landscapes in the first visit, while I focused on photographing architecture and birds in the second. Here are some images of the boulder-strewn landscapes Hampi.

landscape photography

landscape photography

Soon after my first visit to Hampi, I spent two weeks walking on the frozen Zanskar River in Ladakh. It was an amazing experience walking sandwiched amidst the mountains, walking along the narrow gorges formed by the river. Being at the bottom of the valley most of the time, it was a tricky situation for photographing landscapes since we did not have the vistas typical of a viewpoint atop a mountain. But the brilliant blue river and some frozen waterfalls made up for the absence of views.

landscape photography

landscapes photography

landscape photography

Prints of all the images available. Request for prints


Categories: darter

Hampi Tour and Other Updates

A flood of travel opportunities have been knocking my doors lately and I have been more happy to open up to them. I am still in the mood of the incredible expedition in Zanskar and am hardly home, mentally. Even as I am lingering in those moments, I am off to Hampi on our second photography tour with a small bunch of photography enthusiasts. Our last trip was a great success and the participants loved our sessions and field trips. I am hoping to improvise further this trip with our experiences from the last tour and explore more on the immense opportunities to photograph architecture, landscapes and wildlife of Hampi. It is one place where I keep finding new things every time I go and have never been disappointed. This is our last tour of Hampi this season, as summer heat becomes unbearable after March. So if Hampi is in your mind for some time now, do make it a point to join us (See details here for signing up).

hampi hampi

Some images from the last photography tour of Hampi. See more images here. Also checkout photos by participants of last Hampi tour on our facebook page.

Some more assignment will soon be taking me to Kerala’s famed backwaters (which I am yet to explore properly) and into the heart of malnad (which I am familiar with). I am looking forward to those days of giving some work to my camera and to my eyes!


Categories: photos

Quiz: What’s in the Picture?

Here is a short break from the long posting. It’s time for a quick quiz – a not-so-difficult one, especially for the well travelled folks here. What is in this picture below? What place is this?

Let’s have your take on the comments section. I shall update the answer tomorrow.