SW Florida Workshop - Day 0
An early morning uneventful but bumpy flight to Fort Myers got us in on time. We collected our bags, rented the car and off to Fort Myers Beach. The workshop included a trip to Cape Coral for burrowing owls so day zero required a scouting trip to the area. The typical locations were devoid of owls but the vacant lots yielded some active burrows.Here are some images from this scouting trip:
India Trip Report 4 and Final
This is the last of the India trip reports but I will continue to update the blog with additional images as I process them. Just got back from an awesome workshop in SW Florida - look out for the next batch of reports and images.
So we arrived in Kanha for a three-night stay. The plan was for five safaris but with the unpredictability of the airline we were booked on, we changed our tickets to depart from Nagpur instead of Jubalpur. This meant a 5 to 6 hour travel time from the lodge instead of 2 to 3 hours.Kanha is about 3 times the size of Bandhavgarh resulting in a sparse distribution of both safari jeeps and animals. It is however a prettier jungle and has a few species that are not found in Bandhavgarh – the Indian Bison or Gaur, the Indian wild dog, and swamp deer. We saw and photographed all but the wild dog.The Earth Lodge in Kanha is one of the nicest places to stay. Very modern facilities, beautiful stone construction, an infinity swimming pool and awesome food.Here are a few images of the lodge photographed by Hal Oliver:
Here are some images from Kanha:
It is now February 26th and the eve of our departure. We fly from Nagpur to Delhi on Indigo Airlines – an upcoming and ranked number one in India. It was a pleasure to leave a bit ahead of schedule and land on time – a very pleasant experience.We decided to do a bit of sightseeing on the last day. A trip to Delhi Haat that is more like a permanent craft fair. Handicrafts and native foods from the various states of India are the main attraction.The next Photo Tour will include a visit to photograph Asiatic Lions. Custom trips to India can be requested both for Cultural and Wildlife opportunities.
India Trip Report - 3
Landing in Jabalpur we were greeted by a very courteous group of Kingfisher staff and were soon on our way driving to Bandhavgarh. We checked in at the Nature Heritage Lodge, a quick lunch an off to our first safari. Bandhavgarh is divided into three zones with only two being active. The zone closest to the resort is TALA and the one farthest is MAGDI. Our first safari was in Magdi the second zone.
Our first creature was a wild boar, actually a whole family of about 8 boars. A number of Hanuman Langurs, Chital (Spotted deer), peacocks and peahens were in abundance as were owls, raptors and a numerous species of awesome birds. The next three days were spent in the TALA zone – each day presented us with a variety of wildlife but unfortunately no tigers. One had been located by an elephant scouting team and accessible only by traveling on elephant back. We decided not to do the viewing and hope for better luck by jeep.The fourth day’s AM safari was in the Magdi zone and did not yield any tigers but a potential as one of the jeeps had heard two tigers growling and crunching on a kill. The next safari yielded an extended viewing of one of the two tigers. The following day the safari was even better when each one did a 40 to 45 minute show. With the success of viewing tigers we decided to extend another day in Bandhavgarh and reduce the Kanha excursion by a day.Rather than showing individual images here is a slide show gallery representing the two zones in Bandhavgarh, scenes from the safari, a village in the area and its people:
India Trip Report - Part 2
Next stop was a couple of days in Delhi just relaxing and doing some sightseeing a bit of architectural photography of some of the land mark monuments. Our first stop was the Qutab Minar.
Following lunch the plan was to visit Humayan’s tomb but lunch took longer than anticipated so that was avoided but deferred to the next day.A morning visit to Lodi Gardens and an afternoon visit to Humayan’s tomb yielded a few memorable shots.
The following day Feb 17 We were booked on a Kingfisher Airlines flight from Delhi to Jabalpur. This is the day after the airline announced their quarterly results of huge losses and the possibility of a shutdown. After considerable delays and the possibility of missing our firs safari in Bandhavgarh we finally boarded the flight at 9:00 AM which was a 2.5 hour delay.More in the next segment of the report.
India Trip Report Part 1
We are about at the midway mark of the India Photo Tour and Workshop. A brief recap of this first half follows. A brief night in Delhi and an early morning ride to Agra. We checked in at the beautiful Taj Gateway Hotel ( A part of the exclusive Taj Group of Hotels). After an awesome lunch where we were entertained by traditional Rajasthan musicians and puppeteers we departed to see the great Taj Mahal.
This next one is an image shot by one of the participants of the master puppeteer who supposedly has the second longest moustache – 2 meters long – end-to-end. Notice how it is wrapped around his ears and then back down his face.
It is unfortunate that photographers are not permitted to take tripods into most monuments in India and have to resort to high ISO photography to get enough shutter speed to prevent blurred hand held images.Here is an image close to sunset.
The evening was spent visiting a local art store where we were treated to the craft of marble inlay work. These skills have been passed down through the generations of the original artists who carved and inlayed precious and semiprecious gems on the walls of the Taj Mahal.It was planned that we photograph the Taj by moonlight. Trying to get a good image in the allocated half hour slot that is managed by the security guard at the Taj makes the opportunity very difficult for even a single decent night shot, particularly as you can’t use a tripod or even a monopod inside the secured area of the Taj. We had arranged to do our photography from the rooftop of a building that overlooks the Taj and where we had access to tripods, and hot masala tea (spiced tea made with ginger, cardamom, and other flavorful spices).
We had altered our schedule so as to capture a moonlit image of the Taj but that put us in a predicament for the following mornings sunrise image. The Taj is closed to the public on Fridays and is open only for prayer at specific times during Friday. As a result we ventured to Mehtab Gardens for the sunrise. What worked out even better is that we guided to a beautiful spot across the river that gave us an awesome view of the Taj as the sun rose above the horizon. It is unfortunate that there is so much smog and pollution in Delhi and in Agra. This make capturing pristine image a big challenge. 
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and drove to Chambal – a small town situated in a terrain that has an extensive network of ravines and the Chambal River (a tributary of the Yamuna river). We spent the afternoon photographing numerous species of birds. The Indian roller, yellow and red wattle lapwings, hoopoe, sandpipers, the Eurasian thick knee, red vented bulbul, white cheeked bulbul, spotted owlets, to name a few. 
While we were photographing the birds, etc., opportunities to photograph local village scenes were ever present. The next two images are by Hal Oliver.
We had dinner and spent the night in the Chambal Jungle Lodge. This is a lovely lodge with individual cottages for the guests. During the night we heard at least three large packs of jackals howling in the vicinity of our cottages.The following morning a 10-mile drive took us to the river where we boarded our chartered boat for a river safari. A Red Vented Bulbul en route to the safari.
In addition to a number of birds, we were able to photograph the Indian Crocodile and the Gharial (a member of the crocodilians but exclusive to India).Here are a few of the river safari images:
Post lunch a short drive (few hours) to Bharatpur where we checked in to the Lakshmi Vilas Hotel, which is a converted residential palace of the Maharaja of Bharatpur’s brother.The following morning was our first safari in Koeladeo National Park. On entering the park we were greeted by a group of peafowl silhouetted against the rising sun.
Another image of the same sight.
We spent two and a half days for a total of five safaris in this park. What and abundance of birds and mammals. A small representation follows:
Here is an incomplete list of birds and mammals we saw and photographed over the course of the first 1/3 of the trip:Grey Francolin (Partridge), Indian Peafowl, Lesser Whistling Duck, Bar-Headded Goose,, Ruddy Shell Duck, Comb Duck, Spot Billed Duck, Northern Shoveller, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Brown Headed Barbet, Indian Grey Hornbill, Common Hoopoe, Indian Roller, Common Kingfisher, White Throated Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Greater Coucal, Rose-tinged Parakeet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Collared Scops Owl, Spotted Owlet, Brown Hawk Owl, Large Tailed Nightjar, Rock Pigeon, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Oriental Turtle Dove, Laughing Dove, Spotted Dove, Red Collard Dove, Brown Crake, White-breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, Purple Gallinule, Marsh Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Dunlin, Eurasian Thick-Knee, Great Thick-Knee, Yellow Wattled Lapwing, River Lapwing, Red Wattled Lapwing, Indian Skimmer, River Tern, Osprey, Black-Shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Red Headed Vulture, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Shikra, Little Grebe, Darter, Little Cormornt, Indian Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Indian Pond Heron, Black Crowned Night Heron, Glossy Ibis, Black Headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Painted Stork, Black Necked Stork, Brown Shrike, Long Tailed Shrike, House Crow, Large Billed Crow, Eurasian Golden Oriole, White-browed Fantail (Flycatcher), Black Drongo, Oriental Magpie Robin, Indian Robin, Black Redstart, Common Stonechat, Brahminy Starling, Common Myna, Bank Myna, Wire-Tailed Swallow, White-Eared Bulbul, Red Vented Bulbul, Common Babbler, Jungle Babbler, Large Grey Babbler, Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark, Purple Sunbird, White Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail, White-browed Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Baya Weaver, Red Avadavat, Indian Silverbill,The Mammals: Gharial, Marsh Crocodile, a multitude of Turtles,,Rhesus Monkey, Hanuman Langur, Sambar, Nilgai, Wild Boar, Jackal, Indian Civit, Indian Hre, Five Striped Palm Squirrel, Indian Flying Fox, Shortnosed Fruit Bat.Next Update - as soon as possible when I can get a good internet connection.
Boston Skyline March 19, 2011 Super Moon Night
While cleaning up bring to make more room on my Macbook for the upcoming photo tour and workshop to India next week I came across this image. This was captured about a year ago on the night of the "super moon". I am looking forward to doing a lot of night photography and time lapse images on this trip. In particular the Taj Mahal - we will be in Agra the night after the full moon but hopefully will get some good opportunities.
SW Florida Workshop Update
There are a few spots open for the South West Florida Workshop. For those planning on getting away and having some fun in the sun photographing birds and landscapes the discounted rates at the hotel require reservations before February 20th. So make sure you book as soon as possible. If you any problems making reservations please ask for Jennifer Campbell.Here is a link to the information flier for the workshop Florida 2012
Comments from this weekend's Macro and Close-up workshop participants
I would like to express my sincerest thanks to all the participants who attended the workshop this weekend. Most of all thanks for your wonderful comments - I am glad you all came away with something of value from the session.Comments from the participants:Shiv is a very knowledgeable photography instructor. He presents his material so that everyone can understand the concepts. He was very thorough and open to answering students' questions. He gave out a lot of useful, practical information that was well worth the price of the course.This workshop was fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about Macro or Micro Photography.Nothing beats this small group format for a workshop. It really provides a one on one feeling in addition to getting to practice what you learned with your peers. All this plus having someone there with Shiv's expertise to answer and questions, which he encourages you to ask, makes for a great learning experience. I would do this again in a heartbeat. -MattThis workshop was very informative from the presentation right through to the hands on. Shiv's skill as a workshop leader comes with his ability to articulate difficult concepts in a way for the lay person to understand. I highly recommend!!The information flowed well-the presentation was easy to follow. hands on with instructor assistance was outstanding. I would attend another seminar/workshop by Shiv any time. Bob B.Your work lead me to believe that I could learn something from you. Just didn't realize how much. You packed a lot into this workshop....well worth the price.Really enjoyed this and would do it again in a heartbeat.After attending many workshops, this is one of the best. Concepts around macro shooting are difficult to understand and your examples were clear and helped me immensely! I truly appreciate your ability to articulate a concept clearly and concisely. Thanks for a great day...inviting house, lunch and lots of things to work on!I particularly like how other participants more experienced help out those with less. I felt people were not intimated at all and were free to acknowledge their weaknesses and learn...you helped a great deal with that by announcing that no question was weak...everyone learns something.Depending on one's own level of experience...more experienced photographer will get more and those with less, get less but everyone comes away with something...a sign of success in my book. No presenter can meet everyone's needs but can make an impact even in a small way.The presentation included a lot more detail and information than I expected.
GREATER LYNN INTERNATIONAL COLOR EXHIBITION - Closing date February 16, 2012
One of the largest clubs in New England and one I belong to holds the largest photography exhibition and YOU ARE INVITED.
The Greater Lynn Photographic Association invites all photographers everywhere to submit digital images to the GREATER LYNN INTERNATIONAL COLOR EXHIBITION. All phases of the exhibition will be conducted in accordance with the recommended practices of the Photographic Society of America, the Federation Internationale de I'Art Photographique 2012/040 (FIAP), the Canadian Association for Photographic Art (CAPA), and Interessengemeinschaft Internationaler Wettbewerbs-Fotografen 2012/16 (IIWF). There is no restriction on subject matter.
Sponsoring Club: Greater Lynn Photographic Association, Lynn, Massachusetts - with recognition of PSA and CAPA, patronage from FIAP and IIWF.
Judging Location: Greater Lynn Photographic Association Headquarters, 564 Boston Street, Lynn, MA 01905
Eligibility: Open subject matter, CPID exhibition. Acceptances for PSA star rating are eligible in the CPID. Please read all the Entry Rules and Instructions before entering the exhibition.
Format: Digital images online, digital images on CD.
For details and submitting your entries Click Here
Checking for Monitor Reproduction
Last evening I presented "Screen to Paper" at the Gateway Camera Club. A number of members and guests requested verification charts for monitor calibration. So here is a brief and the charts.Shadow Reproduction:Create a Photoshop image as in the image below; It is a square with three levels of grey: RGB 0 0 0, 8 8 8, and 12 12 12. Macke sure that your monitor can resolve all three levels
Brightness & ContrastUse the following chart to ensure that the Brightness and Contrast settings are correct. Each band should be distinct and visibly separate from its neighbor.
Now using Photoshop create a 6 inch by 1 inch Photoshop image at 72 ppi. Using the the gradient tool to create a gradient from black (RGB 0 0 0) to white (256 256 256). Make sure that the shadows and highlights can be resolved. There should be no banding or breaks in the display.
Color VerificationThe three primary color charts are for reference. You should be be seeing the full range of color steps as in the grayscale chart above. Unlike the grayscale chart the extreme ends on the primary color charts ale less distinguishable. Please do not use these charts to make color adjustments. they are provided for verification only.
All the charts are available as a zip file that can be downloaded. Click Here.
Macro and Close-up Workshop on March 11 is now full.
The March Macro and Close-up workshop is now full. I may consider another one in the spring. If you are interested please let me know via email s.verma@me.com.
Macro & Close-up Photography Repeat Session - March 11, 2012
- Black Eye Susan Stacked Focus Result
I will be repeating the 1 day Macro and Close-up photography workshop on Sunday March 11, 2012. We will start at 9:30 AM and conclude at 5:00 PM. A pizza lunch is included.In this macro photography workshop you will learn how to take beautiful macro photos like a pro. You’ll be able to take eye catching macro and close-up photos with great detail and sharpness.Click on this Macro & Closeup March 11 link for full details and a description of the program.
The January 29 - Macro Workshop is now full
I will schedule another session for March 11, 2012. The program will be the same. Please indicate the appropriate date in your registration form.
Spring Wildlife, Landscape and Wildflower Workshop - Smoky Mountains/Cades Cove
Announcing the Smoky Mountains/Cades Cove Workshop - April 22 to 27, 2012.Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a world-renowned preserve of wildflower diversity—over 1,660 kinds of flowering plants are found in the park, more than in any other North American national park. In fact, the park is sometimes referred to as the “Wildflower National Park.” From the earliest hepaticas and spring-beauties in the late winter to the last asters in the late fall, blooming flowers can be found year-round in the park. Wildlife is fairly abundant in Cades Cove and we will have opportunities if lucky, to photograph bears. There is approximately one bear per square mile in the Great Smoky Mountain National park although they are rarely seen except in Cades Cove. Other wildlife include bobcats, both red and gray foxes, coyotes, beavers raccoons, red wolves and the river otter. Elk have been reintroduced in Cades Cove and white-tailed deer are abundant.
Registration FormEnrollment InformationRelease Form
Other workshops and photo tours for 2012 and 2013 are on the Workshop tab of the site.
South West Florida Birds and More Workshop - Finalized
The 2012 South West Florida Workshop details have been finalized. The dates are March 4 to March 10, 2012. Get to some warm weather and capture some of the excitement of bird photography. The 2011 workshop was a huge success and this one will be too.Florida is famous for bird photography, and the South West has some of the best bird photography opportunities in the state. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Little Estero Lagoon and the Venice Rookery are some the finest locations and provide us plenty of great opportunities to capture great wildlife images.
Registration FormEnrollment InformationRelease Form
Other workshops and photo tours for 2012 and 2013 are on the Workshop tab of the site.
A One Day Macro and Close-up Workshop.
I will be conducting a 1 day Macro and Close-up photography workshop on Sunday January 29, 2012. We will start at 9:30 AM and conclude at 5:00 PM. A pizza lunch is included.
In this macro photography workshop you will learn how to take beautiful macro photos like a pro. You’ll be able to take eye catching macro and close-up photos with great detail and sharpness.Click here for full details and a description of the program.
Snowy Owl "irruption"
Snowy owls are not uncommon in Massachusetts as a few are reported each winter. In some years the population grows substantially, these are "irruption years" and this year is one of them.The Snowy owl is a northern bird that lives and breeds in the open arctic tundra and is highly adapted to extreme cold conditions. Those years where their food supplies are diminished they will fly further south in search of food. In the early spring they will head back north though some have been seen even in the early summer. The male is nearly all white while the female will have dark barred makings.The owls are a very strong muscular breed and are formidable predators. They will not hesitate to go after and kill hares and are partial to ducks. Ducks have a high fat content that the snowy owls need for insulation.
Maybe Adobe has a heart.............
All concerned about having to buy the full version of CS6 just because you did not upgrade to CS5 - do not despair Adobe has just announced an upgrade plan for CS3 and CS4 users. Here is what they say:
Upgrade offer for CS3 and CS4 customers
More at: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/faq/upgrade-policy.html
My review of Lightroom 4 Public Beta
I spent all day looking at and using the Lightroom 4 Beta. I like a number of the new features that it has and am also disappointed that some of the modules have not had the enhancements I was hoping for. I have the review available as a PDF document that you can get by clicking on the following:
Lightroom 4 Public Beta Review.Your feedback and comments would be most appreciated.