Back in the backyard after a month

A whirlwind trip of India covering Chennai, Trichy(Gunaseelam), Hyderabad, Delhi, Manali, Chandigarh and Mumbai.. not to mention the various airport experiences...

This photo was taken in Gunaseelam after the mottai (mundan) three weeks ago..

This one was taken earlier today..

We are now back as is our hair! It has been a rocky 24 hours with the little one throwing up and daddy and Jr. reserving a bathroom each as designated resting places for the last 24 hours. Cathay Pacific airline food really needs to be checked for germs! Mommy who was wise enough to stick to grandma given "thayir saadam" and blessed enough with immunity has been taking good care of us.. ie., more thayir saadam for everyone!

Many thoughts to pen.. will need the brain to collate before the posts come out.

.

Filoli - again

Wanted to show FIL at least some local place before his return to India.

Chose Filoli. Promised a 2 hour trip max. Still bad idea.

It was 96+ C out there. The van temp indicator read 106 F!

Filoli gardens are very well watered. The steam sizzles off the floor. The heat, humidity and pollen form a bad combination for people prone to hay fever.

So, this post will be brief...

Two pictures..

Daddy danced with the little one again for a short time and she was ecstatic! We had fun while we were at Filoli. It just had side effects for daddy.

On a side note Jr. was busy making cards.

Me : ???

Jr. : I want to make a yellow card and a red card

Me : ???

Jr. : To give to amma! (mommy)

Me : (thinking.. finally someone in this house dares to give Amma a yellow card or red card ?! this must be some sight) ????

Jr. : That way if Amma feels slightly upset with someone in the house she can show them the yellow card and if she is really upset with someone she can give them the red card!

Me : (very disappointed, but accepting the inevitable fact that the only person who gets carding authority in the house as Amma) Can I give a yellow card?

Jr. : NO. Only Amma!

At the end of the day, we might actually adopt this system. Yellow is warning. Red card means person will have to go to garage for a timeout.

Jr. has some amazing solutions, doesn't she?

.

Random snaps - Photoblog

One with the little one - sun directly behind her, used the car's windshield reflector at my foot to redirect the light to her face.. Somehow it still has a yellowish tinge (probably because of sunlight reflecting). Need to figure this one out by playing with the white balance (which was set to Auto in this case)

One with a dove that visited the backyard to drink water from the puddle, just after the sprinklers stopped...

It has been a busy week. This weekend promises to be interesting..

.

Zoom goes for a ride..

Other snaps from today's trip..

Got to walk along the waterfront in San Mateo and watch the flights land from the ocean side into SFO airport..

The planes were loud and felt very close, especially when you zoomed in on them!

An 8 foot 30 lbs Boa which defined "reptile"...

Photos of SFO from Twin peaks that definitely beckon us for another visit when there is better visibility..

and finally a stitch shot that covers probably a 120 degree arc...

A city below teeming with life and when you look at those matchbox sized houses and the risk of it all being in earthquake country, you cannot help but shudder!

.

High Key - trial Photoblog

Visthra had posted a facebook linkpointing to another site with some tips for high key photography.

This weekend started off very differently with both in-laws being out of the house and just the four of us starting off a lazy weekend. The nose was acting up and that meant no outdoor stuff. Perfect day to find the right bright window and play with the kids, right?

Wrong.. as it turns out, the models should help by not moving or this thing does not give you good results.

Finally what worked?

Crank ISO all the way to 1600, go 1/60 to 1/200(for the moving models we raise in this house), and go as open as the aperture would allow me with the 18-200mm at 150-200mm. No flash (but used two foam sheets to reflect light back on to the kids..

The other option was to use the 50mm and go f1.8 with the ISO still at 1600 and 1/250 seconds.

Expose for the subject, don't worry about the background. Let it flood the shot. That pretty much summarizes the "high key" concept. Can totally see why a bounce flash would be useful in this case.

Here are the first trial results. They will be perfected over time..

Thanks to Visithra and Louis Pang for making an otherwise ordinary Saturday morning, exciting!

ps. on a side note.. ain't manual mode great? If you took a picture of the kids in automatic mode in the same location with the same setup, this is what you will get! There is more to photography than having a good or great camera. It is all the little tricks and the experience you build with constant experimentation, learning from failures and improving on successful shots that makes a difference.

.