Monday, October 8, 2007

The Austin Steam Train




One of my first projects as "Multimedia Editor" for The Daily Texan was to shoot the Austin Steam Train. It was a lot of fun (and work!) but the video is going to be up on the website - thedailytexanonline.com later this week!!! This picture happened by chance (the best way, right?!) and its one of my favorites from the entire piece.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Weekend escape.


Sean and I decided to take a little road-trip. We had initially planned to go to a place called Pullicat Lake (in Andhra Pradesh), but because of the monsoon rains we decided to go someplace closer. Finally we agreed on Bheemeshwari, which is about 70km out of Bangalore. On the way we had a flat tyre - spent over an hour changing it and getting the punctured one repaired. When we finally got there it was a little crowded, but we went to our usual place - away from the fishing camp and the other common attractions of the place. A short hike took us to the “machaan”, and from the top we watched the Cauvery River flow silently as the winds noisily tried to move the mountains behind us.
On our way back we pulled over on the shoulder of the road and walked up a dried river bed of pink granite boulders. We saw the footprints of elephants, piles of their dung, and millions of tadpoles in the puddles that had formed in the recent rains. Then with a gust of wind, we saw looked like a million little pieces of colored paper thrown into the air – they were butterflies. Lots of them. Covering little areas of the ground, their colors highlighted by the background of dark, wet mud.
Wordsworth wrote in his poem From Tintern Abbey,
“While here I stand, not only with the sense of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts
That in this moment there is life and food for future years.”
Inspired and refreshed, we came back to the noisy, crowded and polluted streets of Bangalore.

The face that....

On our way back from Hunkal woods, we saw an elephant and her mahoot on the side of the road. The short stop that we made so that the girls could take pictures with the elephant resulted in the pictures posted below. The mahoot has such a ferocious expression on his face, and it is the elephant that looks gentle and approachable (ironic?). Anyway, as a result of this brief encounter, I have decided to do a more in-depth study of this relationship. I know it will not be easy to get these men to talk to me, but I cannot give up until I have at least tried. So Im off to Koorg this weekend. Wish me luck!

The face that....


Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Hunkal Woods


I had the opportunity to go to an absolutely gorgeous coffee estate in Chikmagaloor, Karnataka. The place had some spectacular scenery, both in terms of the coffee plantation as well as the Western Ghats that surround it. I also met two of the nicest human beings on the planet. From this trip, I will never forget the walk up the freezing creek, laughing at Anant's jokes till my sides and cheeks hurt, the wind at the top of a spectacular view-point, and a million fire-flies lighting up one tree in the middle of the forest!

About Me

Austin, Texas, United States