Category: Photoblog

Bellagio, Las Vegas

A lucky shot in the fading daylight while we were having dinner in a outdoor restaurant opposite Bellagio. Believe it or not, I have not done any retouching on this photo beyond a simple crop and some noise reduction. The colors are as they came out of camera. I use +3 Vivid setting all the time. Shot with Nikon D90 and Nikon 18-200mm VR lens, handheld.

Forum Shops, Las Vegas

Forum Shops, Las Vegas. This huge shopping mall has magnificent views. We just watched the scene than actually shop here. It’s expensive! Shot with Nikon D90 and Nikon 10-24mm lens. This wide angle lens gives a typical wide-angle distorted feel to the picture. I used the Brilliance/Warmth filter to enhance the warm orange glow of the indoor lighting.

Harley Davidson Cafe, Las Vegas

This Harley Davidson sign with bright red, white colors was very interesting. In reality the colors came out slightly different than what I saw them there. I didn’t bother playing with the white balance settings later. Shot with Nikon D90 with Nikon 18-200 VR lens without a tripod.

Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas

Planet Hollywood and Paris. Two iconic hotels in Las Vegas in all their night glory. Shot with Nikon D90 without a tripod. The newer digital cameras are getting very good at high-ISO performance that you don’t need to carry a tripod for a decent photo. I have done some post processing to remove noise and boost contrast.

Northwest Forest

Northwest Forest. This is a post-processed photo, to increase dynamic range called high dynamic range (HDR). Human eye can see approximately 20-24 F-stops worth of light intensity variation while most digital cameras can only capture 8-10 F-stops. What it means is what we see in a real scene can never be captured on a digital photo as it is. But with computers we can combine multiple images captured at various settings (called bracketing) and increase the dynamic range. This technique is most useful when shooting a subject with bright background like sky, snow, beach. In a normal photo, you either get a very bright overexposed sky and properly exposed object or very dark object and properly exposed sky, but never both. HDR image can depict both objects properly exposed by combining these two (or even more exposures). Notice in this photo that I’m pointing the camera directly at the sun, but still the tree barks, leaves etc. in the foreground are properly exposed. In a normal photo you would see them completely black in such case. Table Rock Trail (near Molalla, OR), Summer 2010.

Chicago downtown

A view of a slice of Chicago downtown as seen from the Sears Tower Sky Deck. You can see the Lake Michigan in the background. The apparent curvature on the horizon is not because of the curvature of the earth but the distortion created by the camera lens at a very wide angle. Spring 2004. Chicago, Illinois.

Hibiscus

This beautiful pink Hibiscus flower was in Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee, WI. We were visiting a friend there in Spring 2004. Hibiscus flowers come many colors including blood red and white, but this color is very interesting. Shot with Nikon Coolpix 4500 point-and-shoot camera in macro mode.

Macro mode. Matrix metering.

Spider on the flower

This photo was shot on a hiking trail (Angel’s Rest) in Columbia Gorge. I spotted this very small spider on the flowers trying to weave a web (look carefully you can see it too in the photo). Shot with Nikon Coolpix 4500 point-and-shoot camera. July 2003.

Macro Mode. Matrix Metering

Flowers in backyard

I like to shoot macro shots of flowers. Flowers with bright intense colors look very nice. This photo is interesting because the angle is different. Instead of the usual practice of shooting flower photos from top looking down, I put the camera below the flower “looking” up towards the sky. Shot with Nikon Coolpix 4500 point-and-shoot camera. This camera had a swivel back panel so I could compose the photo when the camera was held low near the ground looking up. July 2003.

Program Auto mode. Center-weighted metering.

Sunset at Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe in an awesome sight. This photo was actually shot by Shraddha in a hurry while we were just finishing a drive around the lake perimeter. This road goes all around the lake and this portion of the road is quite higher (in many places it’s at the water level). Shot with Nikon Coolpix 4500 point-and-shoot camera.

Auto Program mode, Matrix metering.

Tulips

Tulips always fascinate me. For the range of colors and beauty. Their short life span makes them even more precious. I like this photo especially for the saturated colors and depth of field. The quality of this photo is not as good because I had scanned the negative with a consumer grade scanner and later lost the negative, so this is only copy I’ve left besides the prints. Shot with Canon EOS Elan IIE and Sigma 28-80mm lens. Spring 1999. Woodburn, Oregon, USA.

Disneyland Christmas Parade

Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California, USA. From Thanksgiving to New Year, there is a daily parade in Disneyland resort. It’s very colorful and dazzling even for the adults to watch. This photo was shot during our visit to Disneyland resort in December 1999. I especially like this photo for the bright red color the ‘soldiers’ are wearing. You can also see the facades in the background that give Disney resorts a special look. Shot with Canon EOS Elan IIE.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea is native to South America, but is found everywhere in India as a decorative plant. This photo was shot at a Mahabaleshwar resort during Winter 2002. Bougainvillea is interesting for it’s flowers are not as spectacular as the leaves surrounding it are, they turn bright magenta! Shot with Canon EOS Elan IIE with Sigma 28-80 Macro lens.