Wet excursions...

There are some places on earth which are made up only for some specific seasons. Monsoon is a season that probably brings a limelight to places that are least visited during other seasons. One such place I visited a while ago is tamhini ghat.

A part of western ghats ,the place has a characteristic feel of the western ghats with fog,mist,wind and a plethora of combinations of cloud formations.
This is a mystical place in a sense that you are gazing into the vast expanse of the valley with a perfect whiteout for a little while and clear view of what lies beneath in other instant.

A certain reason why people flock here around on weekends is myriad of waterfalls and streams where people can chill out. With absolutely nothing that can stop the incessantly flowing water and rains this place really is mini heaven for nature lovers and is a real stress buster.
A picture showing people chilling out and how nature keeps an eye on us in its unique ways.

For some of us who love to photograph things ,there is a lot to experiment here with streams,stones and their wonderful combinations.A stream flowing ceaselessly amidst all the stones and rubbles always inspiring human nature to keep moving.......

For a change one can try out a hand at candid shots as there are many people wandering around the
vast expanses of the plains of this beautiful place.The mist creates a wonderful mood in the picture below where a couple keeps walking against strong winds......

Being close to metropolitan cities, tamhini ghats is not short of many unnatural structures like towers and electric poles. Creating silhouettes of these structures against the background of mists n clouds gives a wonderful ambience in the pictures. A transmisson tower in between two hills shows a contrast of natural powers and unnatural things.

Monochrome images showing combinations of trees and the ambience of monsoon always has been something different to capture.Monotone is instrumental in giving an enigmatic feel to the images,which this place deserves for sure.Western ghat terrains have always been a delight to visit in monsoons and to photograph them in monotones is really a treat.

Standing trees on cliffs always reminds of some strong men who always stood tall amidst difficult conditions. Nature in itself provides us with innumberable things to get inspiration from. I hope we all oblidge that some day or the other........

Tiger Food

There are things that are analogous between our world and the world of wilderness. Conventional and abundant things are never sought after.Well this is the way the world goes ,and theres nothing one can do about it. The denizen of the wilderness I want to mention here is another such common one.
Its such a satire that this hunted denizen is more of a talk of town and the pictures as well than a living one.What can be more ironic than the fact that I used the name of this blog as tiger food ,but this is the world, you got to have your associations with the stronger ones however good or bad to be in the limelight. Sad but the truth. Anyways introducing you to this common denizen, one of the first that you see inside the park gates is our beloved 'cheetal'.They are so common that they have being listed by IUCN as  least Concern "because it occurs over a very wide range within which there are many large populations".


Entering the gates of a forest reserve in central India viz kanha or bandhavgarh you can find cheetals in herds. Most of them who are near the track just run helter skelter on finding a gypsy running through the tracks. Most are happy amidst the shrubs ,behind foliage chomping wild stuffs.

  Looking at cheetal by a photography perspective can give you some amazing frames and some moments too. Being ubiquitous is actually an advantage from our POV as we can experiment a lot on them and get some good ones. This can actually be fruitful while we are waiting for the elusive things of the wilderness.

 

Most of the times ,cheetals occur in herds of ten to fifty individuals of both sexes. Their pinkish brown coat and the backgrounds of the forests is an awesome sight to the eyes.

I find the meadows in kanha a very good place to photograph cheetals,reason simply being the fact that the wide expanse if meadows keep them away from the vehicles and still they are sighted in clear and without foliage.Its a sight to see these creatures calm and in peace here enjoying among themselves,carefree yet vigilant enough to keep an eye on the predators.

A resting fawn, cheetals percieve it as a sign of safety ,we look at it as dismay since there is no on around :)

A little call from a langoor or by their own primate is enough to make them run around. These meek creatures show a graceful run mixed with strides and gallops running around the meadows.



And here is why we see such a large number of these denizens around in forests.

I really hope the world outside and world of wilderness are never analogous to each other. We all should always be sympathetic towards all in the jungles. That will be by essence ,the true love for wildlife........

Drizzles..

On a dull rainy day,while am just sitting on my couch and suddenly the DTH  loses its reception there is nothing but sulking that comes to my mind.Thinking of what to do I just grab my cam and go out in my yard to find if there is anything eyecatching.
Of all the natural phenomenons rains are something that bring a change in the ambience much drastically. :) Even simple drops on leaves and flowers, the incessant chirps n hums of birds n bees just create an ambience that is unmatched and create a good opportunity for pics.
Frankly speaking rain is something that can put off all your plans of getting out for some action,but for some kind of shots you would actually prefer to be inside your comforts.
Here are two of those I got from my window.

 As longfellow says, "The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." we just need to be calm and let it be.We just need to use our resources to the full and go on. Sometimes this is the most amazing part about rain.That you dont need to move out actually can be at your advantage.:)

who says only humans are eligible to enjoy rains!!!!. Even the smallest of the creatures take the chance to dance and celebrate. This is a picture of small insects that look like mosquitos humming over a perch amidst rains.

You pray for rain, you got to deal with the mud too. That's a part of it. isnt it? Denzel washington says it just right. After the rains pour out and take a breather we must really be ready to get out feet dirty to go in.

A petal fell on its plant's leaf ,drops on it just ready to wither away and fade. Guess this is just the way life goes.Some people walk in the rain. Some just get wet. petal chose an easy way it seemed.
we all have out options open.
Its just a thing like this......If you want a rainbow you should be amidst rains...............