The 100th Post - Some recent interesting pictures

This blog is a few pitstops along life's road... some people, pets, places and times that mattered... With this post, it has reached a 100 post milestone. I never expected to continue on for so long as it all started out as an experiment.

As it stands, it has been an interesting journey so far and I hope to continue on.

Anyway, these are two interesting pictures that I had taken during the Pujas this year taken during Sandhi Puja . . .

Nikon D200;   Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5

White on white

A white flower against a white sky . . .

Nikon D200 ; Nikon 18-70 mm f3.5-4.5 ED Zoom

Ringo @ 1 year and 4 months

Ringo is now really more adolescent than puppy, which has its ups and its downs and is evident in just about every aspect of his life.

He is more confident and independent and although Ringo is no longer growing at a gallop, he weighs more than 28 kilos.

The teenage rebelliousness has set in right after his puppy training was over. The trainer also seems to have given up on trying to teach him new tricks, since he only does them when the trainer is around and promptly forgets as soon as the trainer leaves.

Decided to wait only for a second for his photo and then came bounding over

and was more interested in the camera strap than he was of his picture taken . . .

Nikon D200; Nikon 18-70 f3.5-4.5 Zoom

Bahrain Landmarks

On the way home, we decided to drive to Bahrain and take our flight from the BIA (Bahrain International Airport). Took some pictures with the Panasonic Fx-5 that I was carrying during the times we were stuck in a jam on the way to the airport.

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Bahrain's iconic World Trade Center

It is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design.

The two towers are linked via three skybridges, each holding a 225KW wind turbine, totalling to 675kW of wind power production. Each of these turbines measure 29 m (95 ft) in diameter, and is aligned north, which is the direction from which air from the Persian Gulf blows in.

The sail-shaped buildings on either side are designed to funnel wind through the gap to provide accelerated wind passing through the turbines. This was confirmed by wind tunnel tests, which showed that the buildings create an S-shaped flow, ensuring that any wind coming within a 45° angle to either side of the central axis will create a wind stream that remains perpendicular to the turbines. This significantly increases their potential to generate electricity.

The wind turbines are expected to provide 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption, or approximately 1.1 to 1.3 GWh a year. This is equivalent to providing the lighting for about 300 homes annually. The three turbines were turned on for the first time on the 8th of April, 2008. They are expected to operate 50% of the time on an average day.

BWTC and the moon

Fiery Sky

Fiery sky....taken on 19.11.2009 at about 4.30 PM .

Panasonic FX-5

Sunset @ Jubail

Photos taken last Friday (06.11.2009) at a Bijoya Get-together at the Petrokemya Beach Camp in Jubail, KSA.

The sun sets . . .

Lights against an azure sky

Panasonic FX-5, 4 MP circa 2004

Flowers 2

Flowers again . . . shot on the Nikon D200 and the Nikon D200 and the Nikon 18-55 mm lens.

Cropped to a square format

Orange glow !!

Nikon D200; 18-55 Nikon

Flowers

Flowers again...

A close-up of a red hibiscus

Yellow hibiscus

A pink flower

Nikon D200 ; Tamron 70-300 on macro mode

Experiments

Some experiments with Adobe Lightroom Beta 3 . . .

These pictures were taken several months before.

Flowers

Nikon D200; Tamron 70-300 zoom on macro mode

Flower

Nikon D200; Tamron 70-300 zoom on macro mode

Flame of the Forest

Nikon D200; Nikon 18-55 f3.5-5.6

Nikon D200; Tamron 70-300 zoom on macro mode

Durga Pujo 2009 - Pandal hopping on the day after the pujas

We decided to visit some award winning pandals on the day after the pujas. This is the great part of being on vacation and one has all the free time in the world while people are slogging at their offices after the puja break.

Shib Mandir
The entire pandal is made out of banana stems, bark and leaves

A slightly more dramatic angle

Motifs @ Shib Mandir
Experimental shot . . . with a bit of photo manipulation

The Pratima

.Musicians . .

A definitely better framed shot than the previous one!

The other one we visited was the one called Suruchi Sangha, that was voted as the best and most innovative pandal this year.

The pandal depicts a Jharkhand tribal village and showcasing how they lived in close proximity to nature.

While the pandal has been modelled on a kumbha, the house of Birhors made of leaves and lush green creepers, ethnic Sohrai and Kohbar paintings find place in the interior mandap.

The idol

The painted roof

Durga Pujo 2009 - Dashami & Bishorjon

The 4 days of Durga Puja are nearly over. Our customary trip to my grandmother's house in North Calcutta for Bijoya is the culmination of the pujas for our family.

Blue skies after a rain drenched pujo

Esplanade ... under the blue sky as opposed to the usual grey

Deserted College Street on Dashami afternoon

Vivekananda Sporting Club

Amra Sabai

Bisorjon - Nawn e der Pujo

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Central Avenue with the Puja decorations

Empty Esplanade Crossing on Bijoya evening

Bisorjon

Nikon D200; Nikon 18-70 f3.5-4.5

Durga Pujo 2009 - Dashami Pujo

Was invited for Dashami Puja at my neighbour's residence, opposite to our house in New Alipore. Some pictures . . .

Dashami Pujo

Pujo in progress

A different view

Nikon D200; Nikon 18-70 f3.5-4.5