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 #19 - High in Hampi

Life has taken a bit of a breather these last two weeks. 

I was away travelling through the South for a bit, hoping to rekindle the fire that rock climbing had once sparked. 

I had planned this trip for way too long, and it felt great to finally be on the road. Suddenly, time began to slow down and an air of contentment settled over my life. 

Worry lines began to get erased and I began to feel that flow I once had, but lost. 

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This photo is the perfect symbol for what Hampi is - beautiful sunsets, surreal landscapes, dry terrain and demented humans getting their kicks from climbing rocks. 

I took this my first evening in. I was sleep deprived and my brain was saturated, and despite telling myself I would take it easy that evening and start fresh, I found myself meeting folks and climbing rocks with them that evening. 
 

It was great feeling that adrenaline fueled high that only adventure sports can give you. I ended up taking this picture after sending a route that I had first thought was beyond my capability. 

The timing of the shot with the dude standing on top of the boulder, and the streak of white in the air blend well together. In a way it's the most accurate representation of that first evening.  

Spotlight #9 - Cricket

Today's picture is a bit of a throwback to my childhood. 

Before my parents moved up north, Chennai used to be my home. 

During my recent trip there, on a random evening, I took a walk with my fam. On our way there we saw this - 

It was a small ground, but there were two separate cricket matches going on. It reminded me of when I was a kid and would do literally anything to play. 

Cricket used to play a huge part in my life when I was a kid. As I walked by this, I realized just how important it is in cities in the south, especially Chennai. People breathe it all over India, yes, but it's something else when you go down south. 

Their passion is different from the aggressiveness everywhere else. There's a sense of lightheartedness and pleasure that you can feel. People just want to play, they don't care about anything else. 

That's exactly what I see in this picture. 

What about you? I would love to hear what you think about this picture, and if you have any special memories. Leave a comment below!

Cheers :)

Spotlight #6 (with second special guest)

Continuing on with the trend from last week, I've got on another friend who's venturing into the rabbit hole of photography. 

Funnily enough, Doug was my roommate for an entire year, and I had no idea that he was such a visual person, and yet now almost a year after moving out, we've reconnected over this simple common interest. 

One look at the picture, and you can see why I as interested in finding the story behind it. Here's what Doug has to say:

"So this is a photo I took while my family was traveling around Cinque Terre, back in September. There is a hike between the five cities that make up the Cinque Terre coast, we had been hiking most of the day, and we approached Manarola right around sunset. 

I shot the photo on my iPhone 6s, using the panorama function, and only lowered the brightness before taking the photo. I take a lot of sunset pictures, like too many, but there is something incredibly beautiful about this photo, it captures something beautiful, but it also captures a memory, which is how I feel every photo should be taken."

-Doug Lappe

Listening to what he had to say about it was awesome, because it's exactly how I feel about the pictures I take. It's the memory that makes up most of it, and invoking an emotion in the viewer is the best part about photography. 

Follow Doug here.

What are your thoughts on the picture? Do you have another view on photography overall? 

I would love to hear it. Leave a comment or two below. 

Cheers

Aman

Spotlight #3 - New York, New Yawk

This week's spotlight is on one of my favourite pictures. 

It was early June of last year, and I was roaming through the streets of New York with a mate of mine. 

It was 6 in the morning. We had just got off the bus from Boston and were killing time before we took the train out to Long Island to get refreshed. 

As per usual, we traversed the High Line. 

The High Line in Chelsea is just one of the billion places in New York that's amazing, and it's easily one of my favourite spots. 

It appeases the side of my personality that loves to walk, and it also shows me so much of the city, which satisfies the adventurous explorer. 

The picture is from my time there.

Shot with an Iphone, the picture makes up for the lack of technical edge with the personal memories I have attached with it. 

What's your favourite spot in New York? What's your favourite city to shoot in, or just explore?

Leave a comment or two below and we can have a chat!

Cheers

Aman