Landscape

It was a sunny evening at the beach. Although it was close to 5 pm, the sun was still shining brightly. The challenge here was to get the exposure right since  I was directing the camera at the sun.

Location

Location is Kalamb beach near Vasai in Maharashtra. Kalamb is also not far from Nallasopara station on Western Railway. It is a beautiful beach. The sand here has a grey colour, may be because of the minerals in it. The beach is very wide at low tide, but the water comes in a quite a bit when the tide is high.

Technical Data

I used a high shutter speed of 1/4000 sec. to get the exposure right. The active focal point was on the boat so that it retained details and was not just a silhouette. I used evaluative metering in RAW format. Flash was not fired.

 

I took this shot last week. There was a small stream which was leading to the tree line in the distance. The stream reflected the colours of the sky. The sun was low in the horizon and the sky had a golden glow.

Location

The location is the abandoned salt pans of Vasai. The area is vast and open. The water table had gone down. But there was still a stream running across the land.

Camera Info

The camera is Canon EOS 550D. I shot the image in RAW format which helped me capture the warm and soft colours. Aperture was f/8.0 and focal length 18 mm. ISO speed was set to 100. Exposure program was Aperture Priority. I used a shutter speed of  1/20 sec. The camera was hand held.

Season’s greetings and a happy new year to all my friends!

Kerala is the land of coconut trees. South-west monsoons (Edavapathy) bring rains to Kerala in the months of June to August. People look forward to seeing the drenched landscapes and wet rice fields. The environment stays cool and dust-free . The rainy season is best for Ayurveda therapies. See images of Kerala when it rains.

Location

The location is in North Kerala, near Payyanur. The shot was taken from a train when the rains had taken a short break. I used my Sony Cybershot camera.

Technical Data

I have used a shutter speed of 1/640 sec. to avoid motion blur. The aperture was at f/2.8 to let in more light. I used a focal length of 5.8 mm.

I took this shot two days back. The sun was just going below the horizon on a cloudless sky. The sunset was dramatic with vivid colours. The lower half of the setting sun can be seen through the trees on top of the hill.

Background

The stream reflects colours of the sky and leads the eye back to the hill and the partly covered sun. The timing of the shot was just right, as the sun was balanced on the horizon. This photo has made it to Flickr Explore, with more than 13,300 views so far. You can see it on my Flickr page.

Technical Info

I set the Exposure Program to Manual. The light was changing quickly. So I had to fix the camera settings in Manual Mode. Focusing was done in auto mode. Shutter speed was 1/80 sec to make sure that there was no camera blur.

Happy Diwali to all my friends!

 

This shot was taken in the salt pans of Vasai. It was a warm evening. The sun was about to set at 7:00 PM. The sky was cloudless.

Colours of Sunset

Nature produces abundant colours close to sunset. The light changes quickly. If one is a bit patient, you can see wonderful colours in the sky even 30 minutes after the sun has gone below the horizon. This is true for sunrises too.

Technical Details

I was using my Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II lens. The wide aperture was letting in more light, allowing me to use a high shutter speed. Silhouette of the tree took up half the frame.