Pics of a lovely visit to Swallows Falls State Park in Maryland.
Author Archive
Maryland Mountain Getaway Leave a comment
Bold fox Leave a comment
This fox has been all over our neighborhood, and doesn’t seem fazed by nearby humans:
Shrooms! Leave a comment
Look behind trees while walking through the forest and you’ll find remarkable colonies of mushrooms:
Morning commute 2 comments
My commute nowadays is a short walk through the woods behind our house. The light is hopeful and other creatures have created more beautiful structures than I ever could. 10 minutes of serenity and I’m ready for whatever the day holds in store for me.
Vermont Woods Leave a comment
I looked for bears in vain. The forest was beautiful nevertheless. All you could hear was the summer heat making all creatures lazy, while pine needles cushioned my feet and a caterpillar crossed my path.
Sunset over Virginia swamp Leave a comment
Out the window Leave a comment
Not many photo opportunities when you’re quarantined, except the view out the window. But what a nice view it is:
Springtime in Virginia Leave a comment
Markets of Bengaluru Leave a comment
Captured on my last trip to India:
Faces of Bengaluru Leave a comment
Captured on my current trip to India:
Shot on iPhone 11, edited with Snapseed
Philly visit Leave a comment
Captured during a one-day business trip to Philadelphia. Not much time for photography except while waiting for my train at beautiful 30th Street Station:
The last leaf… Leave a comment
…of fall is hanging on for dear life:
iPhone, edited with Hipstamatic
Fall Forest Find Leave a comment
New family member Leave a comment
This is Tally, who already is enjoying her new home:
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Forest Stream Leave a comment
Captured on a sunny fall day:
Fall is here Leave a comment
Well, at least on my blog. The woods around our house have looked like this for a while now:
LA impressions Leave a comment
A 1-day business trip to Los Angeles didn’t leave much room for photography, except for a few shots of downtown:
Driving Miss Tally Leave a comment
We spent the last few days driving across the plains from Denver to Virginia with our new dog, Tally. There wasn’t much to photograph while driving:
iPhone, edited in Snapseed
Shoot, shoot, shoot! Leave a comment
Captured at the local YMCA:
Washington Nationals Fan 1 comment
Captured in a previous season – but now it’s a timely post. Congrats, Nats!
Mechanic shops in Bengaluru Leave a comment
Captured in the KR Market near ChickPet:
DC Vertigo Leave a comment
New office building in DC – I get dizzy looking at it.
Art or function Leave a comment
Even a mundane hallway feels artsy at the Renwick Gallery in Washington DC.
Simple deterrent 1 comment
Whether it works I don’t know, but it certainly made me think. Captured in Delhi near Haus Khaz, a popular dining area.
UFO 2 comments
Spotted on the way to Chicago:
Dogs of Delhi Leave a comment
Captured at Fort Hauz Khas in Delhi:
Rickshaw with a view 1 comment
Captured while riding a rickshaw through Old Delhi.
Temples Galore Leave a comment
Here are just a few of the hundreds of temples tucked away between markets and commercial streets in Bengaluru.
Storage nightmare Leave a comment
I hope those files don’t contain anything important:
Captured in Bengaluru market.
Bengaluru Impressions Leave a comment
Captured during an afternoon stroll through one of Bengaluru’s many scenic markets. Click on any image to see in slideshow format.
French countryside Leave a comment
Captured in the early morning just before landing at Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris. I can almost smell the croissants that a bakery down there probably is serving up right now.
iPhone, edited with Snapseed
A no-photo post from India 2 comments
You came here to see photos, I know. But let me tell you what you’d miss if you saw my latest pictures from India, where I am now:
Before I took up photography, I used a journal to record my impressions of the faraway places I visited on business: Rio, Singapore, Taipei, Caracas. But like many of us, I’ve succumbed to the immediate gratification of a snapshot taken with a phone.
Unfortunately, pictures don’t do India justice. They may convey the shimmering colors of women’s silk saris, or the deep azures, vermillions and magentas of ceremonial powders displayed in such perfect cones that one doesn’t dare disturb them through a mere purchase.
But pictures can’t convey the constant honking of cars, cabs, trucks, buses, motorcycles, scooters, and the ubiquitous yellow-and-green autos (aka tuktuks, everywhere else) as they all jockey for better positions on crowded boulevards or as they wind their way through streets so narrow that pedestrians have to escape into store entryways to make room.
Pictures don’t transmit the shouts and hawks of vendors in the market as they invite attention to their wares with melodic bellowing or urge buyers to make up their mind with the staccato-like hectoring of ‘balla-balla-balla-balla’.
Pictures don’t portray the close proximity of people, the constant brushes against others as you try to pass on too-narrow sidewalks or enter too-narrow doorways.
Pictures don’t let you smell the mix of spices, rotting fruit, exhaust fumes and wet asphalt, the fragrance of burnt nuts and corn-on-the-cob wafting in clouds above the rolling food carts that meander through traffic, the aroma of fresh flowers being weighed using hand-held brass scales, the occasional whiff of cow manure, the bouquet of spicy coffee served in paper espresso cups from corner stalls no bigger than a coat closet.
Pictures don’t let you feel the invisible dust that covers your skin as soon as you step outside, or the cool air wafting out of stores fortunate enough to have a fan, or the heat that stings your skin as soon as the sun breaks through the monsoon clouds.
Pictures don’t convey the drizzle that threatens to turn into a monsoon downpour that never comes, or the screech of a bird that is so jarring because it is so rare, or the dogs slinking through the throngs of people looking for scraps of food and getting no affection, or the thousands of smiles flashed at you in the hope of a bit of charity.
Pictures don’t let you feel the flakyness of a barota dipped in masala sauce, or the crispness of a roti served with an assortment of chutneys, or the softness of a slightly charred naan combined with butter chicken.
Pictures don’t convey the near-misses between cars inches apart in heavy traffic, or the flow of traffic around pedestrians crossing the street without any sign of hurry or panic, or of commuters boarding a bus that has already pulled away from its stop, its doors left open to allow stragglers to jump aboard before picking up speed, or the haggling that precedes the boarding of any conveyance.
All that is lost with photography. What’s also lost is our attention span — we see something, we snap a picture, we move on. Gone are the days of quiet contemplation triggered by a desire to ‘remember the moment.’ Our memory has been outsourced to photo storage in the cloud.
I don’t recall the few pictures I took so many years ago in Rio, Buenos Aires or Provence, but my recollections are nevertheless vivid, indelibly stored in my mind through the act of writing them down. So if you want lasting memories of your travels, maybe it’s time to put down the camera and pick up a pen?
Morning in Guanella Canyon Leave a comment
Captured these while driving toward Guanella Pass in Colorado. I was most excited about the moose sighting. 🙂
Morning over the Flatirons Leave a comment
Here’s another shot – this one more panoramic.
Flatiron view 3 comments
Enjoying the view on a beautiful morning in Boulder, CO.
iPhone, edited with Snapseed
DC Metro Impressions Leave a comment
A fine example of man-spreading:
Shot with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
DC Metro Impressions Leave a comment
Rare sighting!
A millennial a)reading a book, and b) a classic (The Count of Monte Christo) and c)in public. All is not lost.
Shot with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
DC Sartorial Style 2 comments
Washington, DC is a place where tie clips are still a thing, where bow ties are still worn in seriousness, and where men still wear fedoras.
Captured on DC Metro with iPhone.
Look up! 2 comments
Or you might miss sight like these window washers high above K Street in DC.
Shot on iPhone
Backyard beauties Leave a comment
Shot on iPhone,
Edited with Snapseed
Sunrise glow 5 comments
Morning light captured on Hilton Head.
Captured with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
21 Cormorans Leave a comment
Captured with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
Sunrise on Mars Leave a comment
Just kidding – it’s just a beach scene.
Still life with leaves Leave a comment
Beach impressions, part II Leave a comment
Beach abstraction Leave a comment
Shot with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
Beach approach 6 comments
On Hilton Head:
Inside Ed Ruscha Leave a comment
Captured at the Glenstone Museum.
iPhone, Hipstamatic
Flowers Galore 3 comments
Flower garlands at Mysore’s Devaraja Market.
Flower buds for sale 2 comments
Captured at Dewaraja Market in Mysore:
