I was wondering what was the name of the street. Would the exposure be enough to get some details from the dark street ?

A Buddhist man with much soiled clothes and a knapsack on his back twirled his prayer wheel in slow steady rhythm of life. He was having a conversation with a man sitting on top of a plastic crate. Were they discussing world peace or was it just the prices of meat or vegetables in Ladakh? The bearded man with the bearing of a follower of the Muslim religion glared fiercely into the sun trying to figure out what was going on.

Two faces in different expressions from the same visual stimulus. It has perhaps to do with how well you can look at light and the harsh outdoor conditions or has it do do with tolerance and peace within.

What do you think ?

Meanwhile, Airtel has presence in Leh, that is for sure. :)


Dates
Taken on November 18, 2010 at 12.11PM IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr April 10, 2013 at 6.57PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D70
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
Flash No Flash
DSC_1413 nef final

Tags:   India Ladakh Leh Buddhism Islam Moslem mosque prayer wheel bead Buddhist traditional Ladakhi dress Airtel signboard signage telecommunications 3g 2g wireless Kashmir photo photography Anoop Negi ezee123 Índia Індія Индия Индија הודו ינדיאַ الهند بھارت هندوستان อินเดีย Ấn Độ インド 印度 بھارتấnđộינדיאַ 인도 inde Indie Indien Intia Ãndia IndiÃ

© All Rights Reserved

See the photos on a black background

Here is Part 2 of the water pump story at Hemis. The palpable joy of the beaming protagonist is turned into a contorted face as the cold water hits the skin. ( Or is it just some soap in the eyes ;-?)

Technically, the water from the ground source ought to be pretty warm compared to say water from the stream - there was one flowing 50 feet away - icy cold yes.

So you decide why our young monk is wincing ;-)


---


November is very cold in Ladakh and at Hemis which is nestled higher up than Leh, it sure is numbing cold at 9 am what with the glacial melt trickling down a few feet away.

The cold is no problem for the dwellers of the Hemis Spiritual Centre nestled in the monastery even in the winter months. As long as the sun comes out, it is time for rejoicing.

Young acolyte monks do a wash up routine and our protagonist here is the very same one who was beaming a few frames earlier.

Hemis monastery is reputed to have been built initially in the 10th century AD and went into slow disuse over time. It was resuscitated in the 17th century and is the principal gompa of the Drukpa Buddhists who believe in a Tantric aspect of Buddhism. The spiritual retreat is open to all and if you so desire, staying there is a worthwhile proposition. The photograph in the comments carries the telephone numbers.

Notes on Photography - The sunshine is strong and it has been toned down in processing. The light quality being so good makes the subjects stand out tack sharp in the image almost to the point of being a cut out at some angles.
The yahoo maps are provided by Nokia and I think both of them offer terrible service. The Hemis monastery area infact everything west of the Indus river is shown as Tibet whereas there is no dispute about this piece of land. I wonder where Nokia is headed with such bad geography

Dates
Taken on November 17, 2010 at 9.25am IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr November 26, 2012 at 6.53PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D300
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 52 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash
_DSC7885 nef

Tags:   Hemis monastery Buddhism monk monks Ladakh spiritual retreat red robe robes acolyte washing ablutions Anoop negi photo photography ezee123 portrait Índia Індія Индия Индија הודו ינדיאַ الهند بھارت هندوستان อินเดีย Ấn Độ インド 印度 بھارتấnđộינדיאַ 인도 inde Indie Indien Intia Ãndia IndiÃ

© All Rights Reserved

I gaze from the flat rooftops in Ladakh.
The numbing chill of winter is far away.
The thaw of spring - A dream to dream.
Hasten not! oh fluttering mind,
It is still November in Thiksey.

Dates
Taken on November 14, 2010 at 9.41am IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr November 15, 2012 at 3.36PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D300
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/20.0
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1/3 EV
Flash No Flash
_DSC7336 nef cu br sh 125 pxl shhi

Tags:   Ladakh India thiksey religion Buddhism monastery prayer flag roof top november rain sun shine blue sky clear day Índia Індія Индия Индија הודו ינדיאַ الهند بھارت هندوستان อินเดีย Ấn Độ インド 印度 بھارتấnđộינדיאַ 인도 inde Indie Indien Intia Ãndia IndiÃ

© All Rights Reserved

Durga is a female Goddess with a penchant for slaying demons and commoners for their wrongdoings. A popular deity amongst the Indians, it takes new avatars with the Bengalis during the Durga Puja period. In Bengal and elsewhere where the Bengalis reside, huge idols come up for worship with a bit of modern day story telilng thrown in.

Here I guess you all know what Avatar Durga has taken here.

The Durga Puja begins today and will continue till Dussehra.

Happy Pujo!


Dates
Taken on October 19, 2012 at 10.55pm IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr October 20, 2012 at 3.07PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D300
Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 29 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1 EV
Flash No Flash
_DSC3940 nef cu sh hi tfm wideangle sm ver 2

Tags:   durga puja pujo India Delhi bengal bengali bongla bong psychedelic pandal Bangla idols Bijoya dashmi dusshera HIndu festival culture Avatar set blue Ambe goddess Anoop Negi ezee123 charmwood green pink purple statues statuette tall women slaying demon Shiva funky mahisasur winter jhaal mudi shubho photo photography durga's pop Índia Індія Индия Индија הודו ינדיאַ الهند بھارت هندوستان อินเดีย Ấn Độ インド 印度 بھارتấnđộינדיאַ 인도 inde Indie Indien Intia Ãndia IndiÃ

© All Rights Reserved

This is a regular take of boats in harbour in the city of Cochin in Kerala. Near the Cochin port Trust, I guess


This is thematically correct for the 3.5 theme


Dates
Taken on July 29, 2007 at 6.11pm IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr October 11, 2012 at 3.44PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D70
Exposure 0.011 sec (1/90)
Aperture f/9.5
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash
DSC_0193 via ACR cu LB 33

Tags:   Kerala India cochin shipyard wellington island boat trawler trawlers boats fishing community fishermen Ernakulam harbour Anoop Negi ezee123 photo photography best color theme green red yellow Willingdon Índia Індія Индия Индија הודו ינדיאַ الهند بھارت هندوستان อินเดีย Ấn Độ インド 印度 بھارتấnđộינדיאַ 인도 inde Indie Indien Intia Ãndia Indià Mallu Malyalam

© All Rights Reserved