Category: JustLikeThat

My First Photo Walk

Wikipedia defines photo walking as the act of walking with a camera for the main purpose of taking pictures of things that the photographer may find interesting. Saturday morning witnessed my first photo walk.

A couple of mates & I planned to capture the blooming relishes of Bengaluru city (still feels odd to deviate from Bangalore). But we ended up capturing a lot more. I was also pleasantly surprised by the good time I had over this boys outing.

  • Firstly, the early morning walk is much healthier than the usual beer sessions that we resort to for boys bonding.
  • I learned a lot about photography from my mates.
  • You read it in photography sites & books – clicking is the best way to learn. I got to practice quite a few things that I have been reading about.
  • Once in a while its also good to get a feel for how your photography is progressing. For me, crisp clear pictures are still a struggle, composition techniques are a conscious effort yet, need to start experimenting with RAW format & post processing might be something to play around with.
  • Lastly, the photo walk was a good lead into what turned out to be a great weekend.

Looking forward to planning my next photo walk.

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IMG_1608 Based on inputs from My Sunny Balcony’s Sriram Aravamudan, these pink flowers must be Burmese Cassia (Cassia Renigera). I have started to look forward to Feb-Mar every year just for these beauties.

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IMG_1748 A red dragon fly – definitely a first for me!

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IMG_1786-1 To do justice to this dude’s elegance, much more powerful glasses are needed.

IMG_1806 Navin Gundurao & Ramkumar – my mates on the walk. Check out more snaps from Ramkumar’s iPhone here.

IMG_1809 This photogenic creature was ever so cooperative in posing for us. She almost got gobbled by the 3 lenses.

IMG_1826This dude believes there is no gain without any pain. Just to prove the point, he made it to the pits. Watch this space to catch a glimpse of his camera work.

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Bombay Challenge – Having Fun Doing Good

Bombay Challenge – The challenge is to drive auto-rickshaws from Mumbai to Chennai & in the process raise money for a good cause.

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This is exactly what a Dutch colleague of mine is doing along with a bunch of his mates in autos. Apart from contributing to a cause & having fun, they are having experiences that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. After all, what is life but a series of experiences.

Way to go guys!

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Squandering The Benefits Of Telecommuting

Recently I was faced with a situation that warranted me to telecommute (work from home) for a day. The very next day I came across a mate’s blog post about the economics of working from home. This made me wonder if its all’s rosy on the telecommuting front.

Whenever I have worked from home, I have been surprised by the productivity gain from the missing distractions of a typical office environment. But what has surprised me even more, is how easily the gains can be squandered(1) if one is not organized(2) & disciplined. Squandering away the gains results in one feeling more miserable than a normal dip in productivity.

(1) Some ways of squandering any gains …

  • By being more productive I might make myself some time for the gym …but I also raid the cookie jar once too often
  • I squander time on getting unnecessary updates & applications for the laptop / iPhone
  • I might finish lunch quicker since I am alone   …but I end up spending more time on useless newspapers or websites

(2) Organized could mean having a prioritized ToDo list & being disciplined would mean sticking to the prioritization

IPL Tops India’s Most Innovative Companies

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list has an India sub-list for 2010. Indian Premier League tops the India list & also makes it to the #22 spot on the global list.

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The 2010 list also features familiar names like RIL, Godrej, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, M&M & Infosys. The list also brings some lesser known entities into the limelight – VNL (#39 on the global list), Narayana Hrudayalaya & A Little World.

VNL (http://www.vnl.in/) – VNL makes telecom equipment that helps mobile operators reach rural markets profitably.

Narayana Hrudayala (http://www.narayanahospitals.com/) – The rich come here for the world’s best heart care. The poor come here for the world’s kindest care, for no one here is turned away for lack of funds.

A Little World (http://www.alittleworld.com/index.html) – ALW is the developer of ZERO, India’s first domestic payment system with specific focus on reaching out to masses with lowest available communication infrastructure. MCHEK came out of the same stable.