Hampi with a phone-camera

Hampi Photography

About three years ago, when I was last in Hampi, I made a few images of the place with a cell-phone camera. I thought they aren’t bad, although they were technically inferior. (See earlier post on Hampi with cell-phone camera).

I was back in Hampi last week, leading our photography tour with a bunch of high-energy folks. I continued to shoot with phone-camera. The technical quality of images have improved, but continues to be a long way from DSLR-like image quality. But they are now perhaps reasonably good for small-screen viewing, and you may not find evident technical issues in a small screen.

Here is a collection of images I made. The important trick shooting with a phone-camera, I realize, is to not go after challenging situations, avoid tricky lighting, keep it simple and pay more attention to composition. For those who can’t stop asking ‘what camera?’, this is a new not-yet-in-the-market phone-camera devised through cutting edge research on a project conceived by a consortium of phone makers and camera companies to create unparalleled next-generation high fidelity mobile imaging solutions, provided to me on early access. For those who have feet on the ground (which is pretty much everyone who is reading this, including you, I am sure): the last set of images in 2014 were shot with a Samsung S3 and the ones below are made using a Xiaomi MI 5.

This tour was fun. It was open exclusively to people who had attended our tours and workshops in the past. Interacting with all the regular travellers, three days flew-by in no time!

Hampi Photography

Among all the places that I photographed in Hampi, Hemakuta Hill was probably the most photogenic and yielded well for photography with a fixed focal-length lens. Above image of one of the much-photographed two-storey Mantapa was made at Hemakuta.


Categories: photos

A Kalyani in Hampi

Many Stone Mantapa (pavilions) and kalyani (tank) are found in every corner of the ancient city of Hampi, Karnataka. Here is an attempt to juxtapose them together. The monsoon clouds helped decorate the sky as well.

 Hampi

 


Snap Stories – With the elephant god

Snap Stories is a monthly column I write for a travel magazine. ‘With the elephant god’ was published in April 2014.

I frequently visit the historical town of Hampi on work. It is a large area filled with monuments—temples, mantapa and palaces. Most of the temples are in some degree of ruin today and have no deities to worship. But Virupaksha Temple, now the heart of the town, has remained intact and is the only place that sees a daily puja.

Travel Photography

This story is about Lakshmi, the resident elephant at the Virupaksha Temple. From my very first visit, I was charmed by this gentle giant and have spent considerable time watching and photographing her interaction with people. In most occasions, she is seen standing patiently at her stable at a corner of Virupaksha temple, blessing the curious visitors who come to see her. Most visitors are scared at first and take time to approach her. Girls giggle and push their friends ahead before following them. Boys appear daring, feeling accomplished after being blessed. Older men and women approach cautiously, reserved in their emotions but clearly unsure if it is safe to get closer. But Lakshmi treats everyone in the same way, blessing them with her trunk without betraying any of her own thoughts or emotions.