Visited the neon sign graveyard in Las Vegas:





Visited the neon sign graveyard in Las Vegas:
Captured during a business trip to Chicago:
I found tiny fireworks in my yard….
A visit to 868 Estate Vineyards in Virginia.
Pics of a lovely visit to Swallows Falls State Park in Maryland.
This fox has been all over our neighborhood, and doesn’t seem fazed by nearby humans:
Look behind trees while walking through the forest and you’ll find remarkable colonies of mushrooms:
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.
Not many photo opportunities when you’re quarantined, except the view out the window. But what a nice view it is:
Captured on my last trip to India:
Captured on my current trip to India:
Shot on iPhone 11, edited with Snapseed
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:
…of fall is hanging on for dear life:
iPhone, edited with Hipstamatic
This is Tally, who already is enjoying her new home:
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Well, at least on my blog. The woods around our house have looked like this for a while now:
A 1-day business trip to Los Angeles didn’t leave much room for photography, except for a few shots of downtown:
Even a mundane hallway feels artsy at the Renwick Gallery in Washington DC.
Whether it works I don’t know, but it certainly made me think. Captured in Delhi near Haus Khaz, a popular dining area.
Spotted on the way to Chicago:
I hope those files don’t contain anything important:
Captured in Bengaluru market.
Captured during an afternoon stroll through one of Bengaluru’s many scenic markets. Click on any image to see in slideshow format.
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
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?
Here’s another shot – this one more panoramic.
Enjoying the view on a beautiful morning in Boulder, CO.
iPhone, edited with Snapseed
A fine example of man-spreading:
Shot with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
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
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.
Or you might miss sight like these window washers high above K Street in DC.
Shot on iPhone
Shot on iPhone,
Edited with Snapseed
Morning light captured on Hilton Head.
Captured with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
Just kidding – it’s just a beach scene.
Shot with iPhone, edited with Snapseed
On Hilton Head:
Captured at the Glenstone Museum.
iPhone, Hipstamatic
Certainly in Bangalore, where traffic is famously congested.
iPhone, Hipstamatic
Seems chaotic but is actually quite beautiful — everything flows like water. I just wish the photos could convey the ceaseless honking.
At the starting line:
And they’re off:
My ride:
Took my team to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for some creative inspiration – glad we picked a 60-degree winter day!
Last night it snowed lightly and I captured these images before the snow melted.
iPhone, Hipstamatic app
iPhone, Hipstamatic app
… is easy when you’re not the one having to rake them…
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
iPhone, edited with Snapseed
Captured on Halloween, behind our house. No retouching necessary. 🙂
More murals from my trip to Philadelphia. Click on any image to see them in slideshow format.
iPhone, Hipstamatic