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 #11 - Marshall's big adventure

I'm very excited to bring this week's spotlight forward, because it involves a friend of mine.

Marshall Chen is a guy who I've known for a long time. Back in college, I almost immediately associated Marshall with a camera. This guy was extremely enthusiastic and was constantly out there doing his thing. 

As I started getting much more into the hands on aspect of photography, it was almost instinctive that I talked to Marshall. I had noticed that his Instagram feed had started to become a lot more professional, and his pictures continually improved. 

The picture below is one I found on his Instagram that I absolutely love. 

"I took this picture on my way back to LA from Laughlin, Nevada, and yes -- while I was driving.

I saw this billboard on my way to Laughlin and kept it in mind. The other side of the board was blank. It just sat there in the desert to rust. 

The road for the most part is smooth. There are some curves here and there but mostly straights.

Rugged tarmac surface creates plenty of noise, but at the time it makes me feel like I was riding a horse through the desert. 

And my 1.4 liter straight four Chevy Cruze now feels like a V8 Camaro." - Marshall

Besides the composition of the picture, I really love the colours and the open space. To me it clearly shows the spirit of adventure and the long road leading to nowhere. This idea resonates with me, and this picture shows me that every time I see it. 

What are your thoughts? Do you like this picture as much as I do? Leave a comment below and share your perspective!

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