Everything turns dramatic, skies, mountains, seas, and earth. As tufts of cottony clouds float across, sunlight plays games on the golden fields - providing an opportunity for a unique click every passing second. Freshly washed, even the dullest surroundings look bright, colours gleam and hurt the eye. What else can a photographer ask for? Not only does everything start looking better, new subjects burst out of the earth on the form of fresh, gleaming saplings, and rain-drops, those little devils, gather the entire world inside them for you to capture. Even the dirty rainwater caught on the roadside offers reflections that make you wonder why on earth does anyone complain about it.
But apart from these unique photography opportunities, monsoons can also be a challenge. You need to be extra careful about your gear. We will discuss this and much more throughout the month of August. There are several changes on the cards. We have often got queries from our followers about how a particular photograph was clicked, what all equipment was used, what were the various camera settings, and other specific queries. So we have decided to give such queries a formal place in the calendar of Travelling Camera. The section will be called "Picture Deconstruction". Also, Travelling Camera will now be following a more structured calendar so that our followers know what to expect when. Following is a rough weekly schedule:Monday: Photo Story
Tuesday: Picture Deconstruction
Wednseday: Photo Story
Thursday: Photography-related Product or software review
Friday: Picture Decostruction
Saturday: Photography tips and tricks
Sunday: Photography tips and tricks
Photo stories from guests will be accepted as usual and will be published either on a Monday or a Wednesday.
We are really excited to try out this new model. In case you have any inputs, please do send us an email at vj@travellingcamera.com. We would love to hear your thoughts on this.
And, now it is time to look back a little, at the tricky li'l month that has just passed, July 2014. For the entire month, boisterous clouds came roaring, threatening to pelt us with heavy raindrops at the first given opportunity. But in most cases, these turned out to be empty threats and the clouds simply dissolved into thin air. But there were times, when they did oblige. And that is what has made all the difference. That is what has made our balconies green all over again and that is what has made all the geckos of Delhi dance a mad dance on the walls, the ceilings, and even the floor. And the excitement also translated into the photo journeys published this month. Here is summary:
The mischievous monsoon clouds followed us to the hills, and engulfed us at the very first opportunity. Our trip to Dhanaulti saw us playing hide and seek with the clouds. Click here to learn who won the game at the end - Amongst the clouds in Dhanaoulti, India.
And then we continued our explorations of Uttarakhand a little more with Day tour to Kanataal, Chamba and Tehri Dam from Dhanaulti, Uttrakhand (India) and Exploring Mussourie in half a day.
The Uttarakhand experience ended with a very "fishy" experience at Mussourie. Here is a report of our account:
Jawahar Fish Aquarium on Mall Road in Mussourie, Uttrakhand (India)
And out of this exploration of Uttarakhand, the following post was born: Shimla Vs Mussourie : Which one has a better Mall Road. And it went viral within hours.
And then for a brief while we went international to Wales and England, with posts like A stopover at Chester, Cheshire || A coach trip through the North of Wales
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before we completed our meanderings with an exploration at the home turf with Delhi Zoo - National Zoological Park is one of the best places to explore for Kids in Capital City of India.
Brief philosophical moments made the month more meaningful and we expressed them with The Lord God Made them All - Why our search for Eternal Fragrances most often ends in the lap of Nature.
There were some candid reviews to help you make the right decision Resort review - Green Forest Resort, Dhanaulti a post that got some strong responses from our readers.
And finally there was some exciting news for gadget lovers, there's a brand new one out in the market. Here's our experience of it: Gadget News of the month - Adobe Ink and Slide.
And some tips to help you showcase your photographs better on your website: Creating interactive Gallery for your website/blog.
And to end our summary, here is the icing on the cake, the posts by our lovely guests:
Our first time contributor Akanksha Dureja, took us on a journey through England to the coastal town of Dorset. Her beautifully told story made us want to pack our bags and catch the next flight to the UK. Here is what you should be reading to get the same feeling yourself: Dorest - a dream destination.
Another international photo journey came from our long-time contributor Anchita Dogra. Click the link to experience the Swiss Alps with Anchita, we assure you it is a unique experience: Friends with the Swiss Alps || by Anchita Dogra
Back home in India, Karan shared his adventures at Bir Billing in his characteristic, uninhibited style. Click here to read his "Nomadic Escapes": Into the WILDERNESS - Nomadic Escapes @ Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh, India | By Karan.
Another writer exploring Himachal Pradesh was Peeush Tomar, who bought us a soulful account of his journey to Chandrataal. Click here to read his account: Chandrataal - The enchanting, soul-searching journey into wilderness || By Peeush Tomar
And then Jitendra Kushwaha took us to the ethereal destination of Leh Ladakh. His photographs present some extremely pretty sights. Click here to experience the place through his camera: Leh Ladakh – A place with serene beauty and having almost all terrains except ocean || By Jitendra Kushwaha.
And to conclude, here are some stats to beat the next month:
Total number of stories in July 2014: 25
Total number of page views till date: 21,82,000 +
Total number of page views in July 2014: 74000 +
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