Spotlight #22 - Lost

It's almost been a year since I took that incredible trip to Ladakh. 

I remember prior to setting off, having butterflies flutter around like a whirlwind in my tummy. It was my first real road trip in ages, and I hadn't prepared myself nearly as much as I wanted to. 

Eventually once I got on the road, time seemed to fly back, and out of nowhere what was supposed to be a 14 day trip seemed like a weekend. 

This picture was taken sometime into the trip - the day after an 18 hour drive day.

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We had spent the night at a tiny little village set in between two extremely nauseating mountains. When we got in, the temperature had dropped perilously close to freezing (it was mid summer, by the way), and the altitude (over 5000m) had started to take it's toll on a couple of us. 

Needless to say, the night turned out to be a restless one - me, with a migraine so painful it felt as if my brain was imploding. 

We were quick to get up and leave the next day, just after sunrise. This picture was taken a kilometer or two outside of the village where after one of the most traumatic nights, the surreal landscape blew us away. 

Spotlight #20 - Pondicherry

Bringing back Spotlight this week with a stunning shot taking by Rohan during his time in Pondicherry. 

Rohan has been featured on here before. He specializes in landscape shots, and with good reason. Check out his picture below and see what he has to say about it. 

"Pondicherry is one of my favorite places to be in South India. ALong with it’s beautiful french architecture that dates back to 100s of years, it is also home to Rocky Beach and that is what you see in this image. Rocks lined along the coast, lighthouse right behind you, tourists walking, eating and enjoying, locals walking their dogs or running. Diversity is my favorite element at Rocky Beach.  

This shot was taken right before sunset and there was ample light in the sky. I wanted the waves to look dynamic in the pictures and went for a nice long exposure at a low aperture as I had forgotten to pack my ND filter (Stupid, I know). After multiple attempts, this is the shot I captured and I am glad you get to see it here."

Follow Rohan here - https://www.instagram.com/rohanrath/

Spotlight #16 - The Cold Desert

The picture here is honestly one of my favourites ever taken. I took this picture during a transitional phase in my photography. 

I had always set myself the boundary of shooting 'real subjects' and not landscapes because I believed that the beauty of landscapes are very hard to capture, and never accurately capture the feeling of actually being there. 

During my trip to Ladakh, I found myself shooting landscapes, but as an experiment to prove to myself that my theory was correct. 

And then I got this shot

This was taken on our way to Lake Tsomiriri, a small little isolated lake in Eastern Ladakh that (for now) is away from the public eye. 

As we were driving we passed by this smaller little pond, and it seemed like the stars had aligned perfectly because we had reached at the time when the lighting was gorgeous, the music was pumping us up, and our sleep deprivation and the high altitude were driving us up the wall. 

This picture is always going to remind me of that experience - one that almost felt like an out of body one because of days of being on the road, and hours and hours in the jeep. 

This picture, apart from simply being aesthetically pleasing is always going to take me back to those memories.

Spotlight #15 - Floating the Golden Gate

This week's Spotlight features Marshall Chen (again). 

I had Marshall on a few weeks back where he talked about a picture that I really loved. You can find that here. 

This week, Marshall pulls out another rabbit out of his hat with this incredible picture. Check it out below and read on to see what he has to say about it. 

My friends and I hiked Yosemite, toured San Francisco, and even had lunch in Google’s dining hall on Google Campus.

And my friend John here trying to be Magneto is just a piece of happy memory from that spring break.

“You remember that scene from X-Men where Magneto destroys the Golden Gate Bridge?” I asked John.

“Yeah.”

“Cool let’s recreate that!”

That was a wonderful vacation.

Check out more of Marshall's stuff here - https://www.instagram.com/marshallthesavage/

and here - http://www.marshallturbochen.com/

Cheers :)

Spotlight #12 - Pondicherry Sunsets feat. Rohan Rath

I first connected with Rohan via Instagram, after we both shared our appreciation for each other's pictures. 

What drove me towards really getting in touch with him and bringing him on Spotlight was the Indian connection. For some reason, the fact that he was in India, and was a photographer based out of a city so close to where I stay, made things more real. 

Suddenly I had visions of collaborations and improving our photography together. 

I follow Rohan's landscape Instagram account. Check it out here - https://www.instagram.com/rohanrath/

When I look at Rohan's pictures, I see exactly what I have to do when it comes to shooting landscapes. His lighting and framing are always on point, and it serves as a benchmark for my own photos. 

Here's what Rohan has to say about this picture: 

"This is one of my favorite photos. It was taken back in 2013 at Auroville, Pondicherry. I’d recently picked up a Canon 600D and was testing out the kit lens and learning photography. It was during this trip that I realized how much I love shooting Landscapes and even more sunsets. I once read somewhere, “Sunsets are proof that almost everyday can end beautifully”. I have shot numerous sunsets since, and this image is where it all began.  

To anyone who would like to get started with Landscape Photography, I would say just start right away. There’ll never be a good camera to start with or a good time to start clicking. Everyday is a good day, and every camera (phone/DSLR/P&S) is a good camera to start with. And lastly, landscape photography is also an awesome excuse to be outdoors and close to nature."

Follow Rohan here - https://www.instagram.com/rohanrath/

Leave a comment or two below with your thoughts on the picture and Rohan's feed. 

Cheers