Wordless Words...

Walk through History, Enjoy Nature - Military Park

2009-07-26T00:27:00.009-04:00

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - American Declaration of Independence

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Greensboro, North Carolina, is a memorial to the battle of Guilford Court House during American revolutionary war (war for independence, in other words). Though Americans lost this battle, it is considered to be a decisive factor in winning freedom. The statue in the picture is of Nathanael Greene, who led this battle, during American revolutionary war. The place Greensboro, is named after him in honor of his valor.

This particular battle has very close resemblance with the battle led by Pazhassi Raja in the forests of Wayanad, Kerala, against British (the advantage of high land and woods).

The park offers many walking trails to appreciate nature, photograph and to learn American History. Its a great place for enjoying the woods, taking a leisurely walk or for activities like jogging or cycling.

Having fun with fireworks

2009-07-15T22:58:00.029-04:00

July 4th - I was curious to see how independence day is celebrated in US and, all the more eager to try photographing fireworks. The results were not bad.
Camera : Canon S2 IS

Note : How to photograph fireworks with your point and shoot camera
Point and shoot cameras are supposed to be for easy shots. To shoot fireworks and other night shots, everyone turns to SLR cameras. If you are ready to take some care, you can shoot great fireworks pictures with point and shoot cameras too. You need to do some preparations before shooting.

1. Decide your camera settings well in advance - You may not get much time experimenting with the modes during shooting.

Mode - Most of the latest cameras, especially canon models, have the fireworks mode. If it is there, your work is half done. Set your camera to Fireworks mode. If you don't have the fireworks mode, pick a manual mode where you can set the following values :
- Aperture = f/8
- Shutter Speed = 2 seconds
- ISO = 100
- Metering = Evaluative metering

Timer - Set the timer to continuous mode, where you can take multiple shots together.
Focus - Focus to the night sky, where the fireworks are going to happen. If your camera displays focus settings, it will show focus as infinity. That is what we want.

2. Position - Find a comfortable position for shooting. You may have to go pretty early and find a comfortable seat. Use a tripod for best results. Try how you can press the shoot button, with minimal or no shake. A remote trigger is highly recommended, though I could manage without that. Focus the camera to the part of the sky, where the fireworks will be appearing.
3. Shoot - When you see the rockets take off, press down the button . Keep pressing. This will shoot continuous frames. Stop whenever you want. If you keep pressing, you can capture multiple fireworks in a single frame. Remember, even a small movement will cause the frames to be shaky, because the shutter is open for longer durations.

Clicking Off...

2009-07-12T22:13:00.001-04:00

I registered this blog long long back, when I was playing with the Canon A 510, my first camera. Somehow, I got into serious blogging after that and the photo blog had to step aside for a while. Right now, I feel like talking about my photos, and here I am... :-)