U.A. Satish

Happy Onam

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Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala. It is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Chingam which follows the months of south-west monsoon. Today, 16 September 2013, is Thiruvonam. Happy Onam to all my Malayali friends!

This image I captured when I was travelling on Konkan Rail two months back, when the summer monsoon was at its peak. What was striking was that the whole countryside had been carpeted with green grass. The lush green carpet spread out as far as the eye could see. The train had stopped at a signal. So I was able to get down and take a few shots. Incidentally I used my Sony Cybershot point and shot camera.

The image has more than 6600 views and close to 100 favourites on flickr. It has also made it to Flickr Explore. You may like to see it on my flickr page. The picture on right shows a few of my photos on Explore.

By the way, now you will be able to get my email newsletter and it will be through Google feedburner. Go to the Follow page on my site to see the mail subscription link.

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Sharper Photos with these easy tips

Camera Tips / Satish

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Photos look best when they are sharp and clear. Our camera and lens decisions impact on the sharpness and depth of field. All our shots, even with the best cameras, may not turn out sharp. Here are some ways in which you can get sharper photos.

What causes soft images

The main reasons why one ends up with a soft photo are camera shake, subject motion and focus errors.

If most parts of your image is blurred, the most likelyreason is camera shake. If you are hand holding the camera, make sure you support it properly. Low shutter speed can also cause camera shake. If you are using a 50 mm lens, your shutter speed should not drop below 1/50 sec. Similarly, if the focal length is 18 mm, you may be able to get away with a shutter speed of 1/20 sec. If the shutter speed cannot be taken up, then you may have to resort to a tripod. …

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Serenity

1 Comment / Landscape / Satish

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uasatish, India, Vasai, nature, https://uasatish.com, — Serenity

I took this shot on a December morning when the the sun was still below the horizon. I had aimed the camera to the east. The horizon and sky had gone into deep blue for a while. This lasted only for about half an hour. This is the blue hour which is experienced before sunrise and after sunset. You can find out your blue hour by visiting BlueHourSite.

The location was the salt pans in Vasai, Maharashtra. The lines formed by boundaries of the salt pans helped in composition. The eyes are drawn to the tree line and mountains farther beyond. This creates a depth to the image.

I had the aperture at f/4.8 and shutter speed was at 1/125 sec. The camera was hand held and the high shutter speed ensured that there was no blur. Focal length was at 17,4 mm to get a wide angle view. You can view the photo on my Flickr page.

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Green Grass

Landscape / Satish

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uasatish, India, Vasai, nature, landscape, — Green Grass

After more than two months of rains in Mumbai and the rest of India, the wetlands of Vasai have fresh growth of grass. The fields are full of water which would recede in the coming months.

The sky was overcast when I took the shot. There was a slight drizzle and my Tamrac 5371 photo backpack shielded the camera from rain.

I set the aperture was at f/8 to get a good depth of field and sharpness. Focal length was 39 mm. See the photo on my flickr page.

Many parts of Vasai have vast open areas. Eighty percent of total rainfall is experienced during June to October. Average annual rainfall is 2000–2500 mm and humidity is 61-86%, making it a humid-perhumid zone. The driest days are in winter while the wettest days are experienced in July. As per the 2011 census, Vasai-Virar is the fifth largest city in Maharashtra.^[

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Electric Locomotive Ghaziabad WAP-5 #30017 Hauling August Kranti Rajadhani Express

Travel / Satish

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uasatish, India, Electric locomotive, WAP-5, train, Vasai, — Electric Locomotive Ghaziabad WAP-5 #30017 Hauling August Kranti Rajadhani Express

Indian Railways uses a class of electric locomotives called WAP-5. The WAP-5 series of locomotives haul the premium trains on Indian Railways like the Mumbai Rajdhani Express, Bhopal Shatabdi Express, Lucknow Shatabdi Express, Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani, Prayagraj Express, etc. The Bhopal Shatabdi hauled by a WAP-5 travels at 150 km/h (93 mph) in the New Delhi – Agra Cantt section.

The first 10 locomotives were imported from ABB in Switzerland in 1995. They are supposed to be a variant of the Swiss Lok 2000 (Design Concept) and German DB Class 120 (Mechanical Chasis). Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) started production in 2000. It was designed to haul 18 coach passenger trains at 162 km/h (101 mph). It is the first 3-phase locomotive in India.

Other key features of the locomotive are the provision of taps from the main transformers for Head end power (HEP or Hotel Load), pantry loads, flexible gear coupling, wheel-mounted disc brakes, and a potential for speed enhancement to 225 km/h (140 mph). Braking systems include regenerative braking (160 kN), loco disc brakes, automatic train air brakes, and a charged spring parking brake. MU operation possible with a maximum of two locos. At trials, a WAP-5 has been tested up to 185 km/h (115 mph).

Around 60 of these locomotives have been put to service as of January 2013.
@ Wikipedia

The shot was taken with a Canon EOS 550D camera and Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 lens.

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