Toddling into the Arena of Photography :)

My friends and family are quite familiar with this popular and sometimes annoying trait of mine....my love for photography!

And with an ever supporting DH cum subject cum inspiration cum critic by my side, I could not ask for more. He gifted me with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Camera....wooohooooooo! Thanks Honey ;)

So, I kicked off my pilot project with the annual Ugadi celebrations here at Toronto.

Finding it a bit difficult to hold the camera steady as it's quite heavy with the complicated zoom lens. The pictures are not perfect but not bad for a starter, I think. Moreover, I want you all to drop in your detailed comments, tips and suggestions to hone my skills.

Wish the diya was a little more focused here...


I soon realised that I loved clicking portraits...and I did just that, the entire evening. My positioning has gone wrong in the below pictures. Perhaps, I should concentrate more on that one.


These young girls performed so well! Caught their expressions post-dance.


Though not focused properly, I somehow fell in love with this picture. This girl also played drums..Believe me, it was mindblowing!


And this girl was the most interesting subject for me. She had beautiful, expressive eyes.


Wish I could capture the complete mudra :(


Happy her and a more happy me :D

Virodhi naama Samvathsaram

Hey!

A very Happy Ugadi to you all :)

I remember way back in school days, how Ugadi was celebrated. We used to wake up to the song "yuga yugaadi kaledharu Ugadi marali baruthidhe" on Doordarshan. After a detailed head bath, Mom used to deck us up like little dolls with new clothes and matching bangles, earrings, bindi and what not. Dad used to perform puja in his usual manner after cleaning all the idols and photoframes. By then, inviting smells from the kitchen would have already started and we would make rounds to the kitchen to catch a glimpse of the delicacies! Of course, mom would not let us even touch the food and insist on waiting until naivedhyam.
Meanwhile, Dad used to serve the most- awaited "Ugadi pacchadi", a combination of sweet(jaggery), salty(salt), sour(raw mango pieces), bitter(neem flowers),and hot(chilli powder)tastes. I used to love it so much and I still do...:D

The combination of all the tastes in "Ugadi pacchadi" represents the different emotions/phases in life that we come across and signifies the acceptance of all situations with the same spirit :)

After naivedhyam, we used to have this lavish feast with wide variety of eatables. Besides the food part, it was the "Panchanga Sravanam" which was more exciting. Dad and mom would delve into the new panchangam and read out the famous "aadhayam, vyayam, rajapujyam and avamanam" for each of our birth stars and also the yearly predictions. I still can't figure out how the predictions are so normalized across different age groups, genders etc but for the star sign. No two people have the same destiny. Talking about astrology takes up a new dimension and a different post. We'll do it some other time :D

For now, let's hope that this Ugadi brings in happiness and good luck to all of us...much needed especially during this recession!