Fujifilm X S-20 provides six options for subject detection, one of them is bird. While tracking birds, the X S-20 either locks to the entire body or if available, on the eye of the bird. Here are some sample images of birds. These birds are definitely the Black headed Gulls which come from Siberia to…
Kodachrome Daily Fujifilm recipe just amazes me with capabilities of faithfully reproducing colors with remarkable accuracy despite the blazing hot sun. To test this film simulation I headed out in the middle of afternoon under a cloudless sky. Location is the Chandra Shekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj with its perfect park like settings with an…
The British came to India to colonize us. They used the East India Company as means to brutally subjugate us. After that came the factories, the first one setup in Surat in 1613. While the East India Company dealt in lots of good, their main revenue came from textiles. So this is what was taught…
8th September 2002 marks the day in history of India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 30 feet grand statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose under the empty canopy along with inauguration of “Kartavya Path”. Before this lakhs of visitors to India Gate used to ask the question, why an empty canopy. Let us…
You would be amazed how much amount of scrap is collected by the city authorities in Delhi NCR. But you will not be amused to find out what the authorities do with it. Nothing! Sometimes the scrap keeps lying around for years, wasting precious warehouse space. So when in 2019 when someone came up with…
First time I tried to locate the tomb of Razia Sultan was before the Google Maps and Smart Phones era. Asking for directions in the Old City for this tomb is not exactly enthusiastic and encouraging. Winding narrow lanes lead up to this secluded plot of land. Heavily encroached upon, it is thanks to the…
22nd January 2024 will witness the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a ritual performed by Pandit Laxmikant Dixit as a head priest and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the mukhya yajman or the main host. Laxmikant Dixit is the direct descendant of Gaga Bhatt who performed the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj on 6…
There are two rules while doing research for any new camera gear. First rule is never believe what photographers say on social media. They are paid influencers. Second rule is “never lose focus from the first rule”. I recently discovered this while deciding or not deciding to buy the Tamron 18-300mm for APS-C mirrorless cameras….
Shaheed Marg is a small road moving from east to west joining Kanak Bhawan Road. This road splits the locality in two parts, Tulsi Nagar (towards North) and Sai Nagar (towards South). Together these two localities house the holiest of temples of Ayodhya including the Shree Ramjanmbhumi Temple which will be consecrated on 22 Jan…
While photographing the railway station at night, two people walked up to me and asked me whether I am a reporter. Now here is a problem with street photography in UP, especially Prayagraj. Everyone thinks you are a reporter. They also ask you, as if to confirm the same. I, on the other hand get…
Note from the author :- If you search for Ayodhya on Google, the first ten pages will only talk about Ram Mandir. Even the next ten pages will not say anything about the history of Ayodhya. This detailed article will be an attempt to collect the different fragments of history at one place. This article…
Baring the odd sweet shop or a couple of tea stalls, most of the shops in Triveni Sangam, Prayagraj are selling articles religious in nature. There is a huge ecosystem and parallel economy for this. People come in large number to visit Sangam and perform the religious rituals. If Maag Mela is jam packed, then…
Note from the Author – The name of this place as marked on Google Maps is “New Company Garden” where the word ‘company’ represents “East India Company”. There are many parks in the major cities of Uttar Pradesh which are named either company parks or company bagh and that nomenclature continues. In fact in Prayagraj,…
Dev Deepawali is celebrated 15 days after Diwali. The festival of lights as we all know began with the return of Lord Rama from his exile to Ayodhya. Dev Diwali marks the culmination of the Diwali celebrations which is considered to be the grand finale when Gods descend on earth. It is celebrated in a…
Fans of Kodak Professional Portra 400 Film are trying to replicate the warm and grainy look captured by a film. The Delhi streets offer an opportunity at capturing yellow hues. What is Kodak Portra 400? Released in 1998, Kodak Portra was a professional grade film meant specially for wedding, fashion and portrait photography. Soon photographers…
Prayagraj is known as the Sangam city, more specifically Triveni Sangam or the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati. Prayagraj is home to the Magh Mela also known as Kumbh/Maha Kumbh. So any reference to this city is mostly connected to the largest in attendance and scale of preparation. People have used tech like satellite…
When Brahma created the universe, he also created seven human races to rule the Earth. One of his favourite race was the Kuru clan. The great epic Mahabharat is the story of different generations of the Kuru Dynasty. After the death of Krishna, the Pandavas left their massive kingdom in the hands of Parikshit, son…
It was 1890 and a group of revolutionaries decide to come up with a unique way to protest, they organised a religious fair. Any kind of gathering was prohibited under the British rule. But these revolutionaries were confident that a religious mela will not be objected to by the British. They also calculated that once…
On the outskirts of Prayagraj straddling the banks of river Yamuna is an intriguing temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is visual delight unlike anywhere seen on earth. It is also relatively away from the tourist circuit. Every year during the peak of monsoon, the hill becomes an island and the temple is accessible only…