The season’s first photography workshop in Corbett titled the ‘Corbett Expedition – Jan 2010’ organized by Nature Wanderers in association with Kunzum was attended by 19 participants from Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore. The workshop was conducted at Camp Wild Adventure by seasoned naturalist Kahini Ghosh Mehta. During the 2 day interactive session, the participants were given ample opportunities to try their hands at nature, bird, wildlife and abstract photography. In addition to 2 safaris in Corbett, the participants also did a trek through densely wooded forests to shoot subjects like leaves, trees, landscapes – to name a few.
The second edition of this season’s workshop by Nature Wanderers and Kunzum will be in the month of February / March 2010. The dates would be announced soon. Stay tuned to Kunzum for more details.
Cheers – Nature Wanderers Team (Shivang Mehta, Ankur Srivastava, Shourabh Ghosh, Somya Srivastava)
Tagged as:
Corbett,
photography,
Workshop
Rangantathittu is 15kms north of Mysore and is accessible to scores of bird lovers from Bangalore to make an easy day trip. It was advocated by India’s famous Ornithologist Salim Ali and was established in 1940. Bird lovers can forever be thankful for this lovely sanctuary – hordes of visitors throng this sanctuary to get their fill of birdlife.
Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary is fascinating. Birds supposedly come from as far away as Siberia and Australia during migratory season. Vast colonies of birds make this an ideal destination for one to observe various bird behaviors. Time flies by as one observes these amazing creations in their natural habitat.
Six islets have been created to provide the best possible environment for migratory birds for breeding & feeding. Visitors can rent boats to get close to the islets which houses several colonies of these birds. During our visit last week (mid-Jan), the most common birds sighted were Openbilled Storks, Black Cormorants, River Terns, Painted Storks, Little Egrets, Night Herons, Spot billed Pelicans, Darters. I missed sighting the Stone Plover however. Apparently a lot of other varieties such as Kingfishers, Hornbills, Wagtails and many other species can also be found. Marsh Crocodiles were lazing on the rocks. While I spotted a Golden-Oriole, I could not get a clear shot of the bird. However two River Terns who have gotten quite accustomed to humans getting so close, allowed for some really wonderful shots (one closeup shot below in article). [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
Bird Sanctuary,
birding,
Birds,
Karnataka,
Ranganathittu
GPS or Global Positioning System is a means for finding the accurate position of a person/device through a receiver anywhere on the Earth. GPS provides a Latitude/Longitude for position that can be used in a wide variety of applications from Navigation to getting Yellow Page Information in a neighborhood.
GPS is owned and operated by the US Military and was opened in the 80’s for civilian commercial use and is free of cost to use for anyone who has a GPS receiver. [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
GPS,
Navigation
Wildlife photography needs heart, head and loads and loads of patience and perseverance. Amongst the most important aspects of being a good wildlife photographer is becoming familiar with the technical aspects of photography like the setting, adjustment and focussing of the camera.
For a start, assemble the right equipment. Like most things in life, camera equipment ranges from the basic to the very expensive. Beginners can go in for consumer models with high optical zooms. [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
Camera,
guide,
photography,
travel,
wildlife
The life of a travel writer and photographer often hangs by a thread. One mishap, and all the hard work can morph into undecipherable bits and bytes. I am talking about all the photographs taken and features written – a labour of love and costing a lot of money to put together. What does one do?
Back up all data on the go. Even if one is using a reliable and sturdy Mac like in my case. The option is an easy one, right? Go to Nehru Place (Delhi’s wholesale computer market), buy a regular internal hard drive meant for desktops, put it into an external casing with a USB connection and you are done. Easy? Yes. Cheap? Doesn’t get cheaper. Reliable? I am not betting my career on it. [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
Backup,
Hard Drive,
Memory,
Seagate,
Technology
I am asked this question very often: what do we carry with us when we go to Ladakh? This is what normally forms a part of my packing list, not only for Ladakh but wherever I go to in the mountains (come exceptions would be there in urban areas like Mcleodganj, Simla etc where you get most supplies). So here goes: [continue reading…]
Caution: What should a traveller do in these times of terror alerts and economic slump? And add that to the existing travel woes. Here is an attempt to give some answers. (This feature was originally written for the Deccan Herald newspaper and can be accessed here)
Charles Dickens may or may not approve of this twist in his famous quotation, but it may be apt to say ‘these are the best of times, these are the worst of times’ to travel. On the one hand, you have security concerns, failing infrastructure and the economy teaming up to sour your plans of seeing the world. On the other hand, this may be the opportunity to catch up on your ‘always dreamt, never had the time for’ travels with things going slow at work and bargains waiting to be picked. [continue reading…]
If you are out a travel trip, and enjoy taking snaps, have you ever encountered situations where you have run out of battery or memory just when those great moments and sights were waiting to be recorded? Or did you lose your camera or memory sticks with all the great photos you were waiting to show off when you got home?
Here are some tips from personal experience to keep the smiles intact:
- The obvious – carry extras: This is the easy one: Carry extra memory and battery. But you did not need this article to tell you this. But still think about it.
- Take Back-Ups: Another obvious: If you are carrying a laptop, download images whenever you can. If you are not planning on carrying your laptop, but are travelling by a personal vehicle, carrying the computer may be worth the extra baggage. Better than spending on extra memory.
- Back-up on CDs at a cyber café: This is what I did on Mcleodganj once: Most cyber cafes, especially in tourist locations, have facilities to download images and burn them on a CD for a nominal sum usually under Rs. 50 for a CD. They usually have all kinds of card readers, but it is always a good idea to carry the USB cable you got with your camera to read directly from your camera. No, you don’t need any drivers or software to read the card. Make sure you open and check the images recorded on the CD to ensure they are fine before deleting the same on the memory stick. But many remote or poorly connected places may not have such facilities.
- CD Back-up as insurance if you lose the camera: Even if you have enough memory, taking a CD back-up when you can may help in case you lose your camera or memory cards.
- Upload to Flickr: The best insurance for your snaps are uploading them on to a photo sharing site like Flickr, or any other server space you have. You may need high speed internet access for it though, available only in limited areas.
- Charge batteries even when you don’t need to: If you used the camera since the last recharge, put it on charge again even when you don’t need to yet. Electric supply at many of the places you stay can be erratic, and you may not be able to charge when you really need to.
- Carry your charger with you: If it is not too bulky, carry you charger with you when you are out for day excursions. You may need to get some juice flowing while taking a break for tea or a meal somewhere.
Happy clicking!!
Tagged as:
Back-up,
Battery,
Camera,
Memory,
Technology
If you are driving in the Himalayan mountains, especially away from the big towns like Simla and Nainital, keep an eye on the fuel gauge. You never know when you will be stuck for fuel.
Supplies to fuel stations in the remote parts of the mountains can be erratic or limited, and may run out fast. On a trip to the northern Indian state of Uttrakhand (formerly Uttranchal) in June 2008, I was almost stranded in the middle of towns where one could not hope to get a decent room to sleep in. A fuel pump owner agreed to top my tank up even as he was turning everyone else away (that’s another story why he did so. But the close call came with a lesson; I sum it up for you here:
- Carry a jerry can: Buy a good quality jerry can and always carry 20-40 litres with you. Ensure it does not spill when you go over the rough mountainous roads.
- Fuel up in small quantities: Even when they have stock, gas stations may not give you more than 5-20 litres at a time. They would rather give a bit to more vehicles so they may at least make it to the next fuel station. Every time you come across a fuel pump and you have consumed upwards of five litres, tank up. It may seem a bother stopping often, but you can at least feel assured you have a full tank.
- Even with ‘No-Fuel’ sign up, you may get some out: In India, things often work in ways one may not be used to. Even when a fuel pump says they are out of stock, you can wager they have some to sell. They usually keep a buffer for VIP quota (read, when locally influential bureaucrats or politicians need the fuel for themselves or those they favour), and may share some with you. You can request earnestly saying you have come from far and have far to go; offer a premium (but be careful on this one: the owner may not want to be caught black-marketing to a stranger he does not know. When I was stuck, the bribe extracted from me very diplomatically was to buy a jar of coolant for Rs. 200); gently throw your weight around by dropping some names or if your profession is one that draws awe; or just play belly-up and say you cannot move till you get some fuel as you are on empty.
- Don’t insist when there is a crowd: Even if someone is willing to favour you but refusing fuel to others, it may not work if you are at a station where lots of people are hanging around for fuel. It may be difficult to give to one and not to the rest of the crowd; it could cause a riot. Speak the manager or owner discreetly, or seek out a station with fewer people around.
- Try alternate channels when all fails: This may cost you a premium, but there are alternate places to try and get fuel: ask automobile service stations or public transport vehicles for some fuel. They usually carry some stocks, or know someone who may. But they might charge you extra and use measures where you may end up with getting lesser quantity than what you paid for.
- Ask for directions to nearby fuel stations, and take detours if need be: If your fuel gauge is dipping, keep asking people for the nearest fuel pump and take detours if need be. It may be worth the effort.
- Don’t take risks in bad weather and at night: If there are chances you may be run out of fuel before reaching your destination, make sure you are not in the middle of harsh weather, or are on the highway after dark. Getting rescued in daylight is tough enough; the thought of camping on a mountain highway at night can hardly be anyone’s sense of adventure.
Tank up before you go belly up!!
Tagged as:
driving,
fuel,
Himalayas,
holiday,
india,
mountains
The following post is a column I wrote for the Hindustan Times, a leading daily in India. You can access its web version by clicking here. It has a strong Indian context to it though.
Rohini Sharma wanted to go on a family holiday over the Easter weekend to Lansdowne, a hill station in Uttarakhand. The family was all set to go with accommodation tentatively booked at the Retreat Anand at this charming, colonial hill station, when the plan was changed to stay instead at the Bird House in Dehradun. Why? Because reviews and images posted on the Internet by other travellers did not paint a pretty picture of Lansdowne.
Instances like these are becoming more a norm than an exception as travel planning enters the Web 2.0 era. The Internet is full of reviews and opinions posted by travellers, and many people are using these as a key reference source when planning any trips. Such User Generated Content (UGC) is being seen as mostly credible and trustworthy, with the ‘authoritative’ voice of a professional writer no longer the last word when it comes to deciding one’s holiday. Continue reading this trend story
Tagged as:
travel,
ugc,
user generated content
Just because you travel business class does not mean you have to use the generous baggage allowance it comes with. More so since airports are the great levellers; all but a few treat passengers and their bags equally, irrespective of the class they are travelling in.
This should prompt you to think of some reasons to pack light and smart. How are the following for starters? [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
bags,
Business Travel,
executive travel,
health,
pack,
packing,
travel,
weight
The season’s first photography workshop in Corbett titled the ‘Corbett Expedition – Jan 2010’ organized by Nature Wanderers in association with Kunzum was attended by 19 participants from Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore. The workshop was conducted at Camp Wild Adventure by seasoned naturalist Kahini Ghosh Mehta. During the 2 day interactive session, the participants were given ample opportunities to try their hands at nature, bird, wildlife and abstract photography. In addition to 2 safaris in Corbett, the participants also did a trek through densely wooded forests to shoot subjects like leaves, trees, landscapes – to name a few.
