Moist ~ Green ~ Lively - Season's first Trip to Western Ghats

...

Cloudy weather  ~  Expecting clouds to pour down anytime  ~  gathering dark clouds  ~

Peeking sunbeams through the dark clouds, confusing if it would rain or clear off  ~  drizzling  ~  distant thunders  ~  water sprinkles  ~

sound of raindrops hitting the car bonnet  ~  bubbles on the still water on the road  ~  ripples on the calm waters  ~

looking up towards the sky  ~  street full of dark umbrellas  ~  people rarely looking straight  ~  bent heads  ~  wet roads  ~  filled pot holes, defying their depths  ~

rich greens  ~  moss on the rocks and logs  ~  wonderful ferns  ~  colorful mushrooms  ~  splendid wild flowers  ~  wet forest floor  ~  stretching and crawling leeches  ~  wet dead leaves  ~

 

 

muddy red waters  ~  full flowing rivers  ~  re-incarnated waterfalls  ~  silently flowing forest streams  ~  skiddy and slippery river banks  ~  submerged dead trees  ~

cloudy forests  ~  lively valleys  ~  misty canopies  ~  singing streams  ~  bathing rocks  ~  smiling plants  ~

This is what Monsoon in the Western Ghats is all about.

Isn't it? :)


All images are from my recent trip to Western Ghats between 8th and 10th July 2011.

Planning again in Aug. 


More details here: 
http://www.landscape-wizards.com/home/services/workshops-and-tours


Cheers,

Ash

Faces from the land of mines!

It was a hot summer month of May. I was in the district of Bellary, which is known for its super hot summers and as a land which is badly hit by the mining or rather over mining, to be specific!

I was there at Hospet, along with my friend Shivakumar L to shoot some of the people portraits and culture images of the people around Hospet, Hampi and Sandur. We were there on an assignment. It was almost a first of its kind for us. We both were excited. We both were used to shoot for the whole day when it is Nature or WIldlife Photography. But people photography was something which I had not done much for so long hours.

We were going around Hospet and Sandur along with our friend Samad Kottur who was helping us with talking to the people and convincing them to allow us to shoot. It was because of his immense energy and knowledge about the place and people which made the trip a success.

We visited the Lambani settlement around Sandur. Lambanis are known for their vibrant colored clothes and they make those clothes by hand, mostly at home itself. We had the privilege to visit a Lambani village and make some images of women making the clothes at their homes.

We met two young guys who were working in a nearby mining refinery. One of the guy's head was nicely bathed with the fine dust of the ore. They seemed kind of unknown about the cause of the over mining and what they were concerned about was their daily wage which was barely enough to live their life and ofcourse to recharge their mobile!!

People we met were interesting! It was a nice learning for me. Both photographically and personally.

Approach to this genre of photography demands a very different skill set.

I am happy that I am learning it!

Cheers,
Ash