567 - 5th - Far away in the fog

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th Jul'09

547 - 15th - The cabins at the hill side

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th Jun'09

466 - 5th - Amongst the dryness

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th Apr'09

Almost everything nearby had dried up due to the scorching sun. Even the green leaves of the tree had given up and left the tree. The whole tree looked like a dark shade of brown except for these shining orange flowers. It was really amazing to see such a touch of freshness among a scene fully devoid of life.

Nature has surprises hidden in places you least expect.

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461 - 31st - La Malinche

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 31st Mar'09

This one is from one of my treks to the Volcanic mountain in Tlaxcala - La Malinche. This place is actually the base of the main peak which you reach almost after three hours of climbing. The peak which you see at the top of the image is still three hours away from this point. This place onwards, the surface becomes more difficult to manage as it contains loose soil and small stones. When I first saw an image of this place, I thought it would be a child's play to reach the top; but believe me it is an exhausting thing to do.

It took me five hours to climb and another three to come back to the base of the mountain. But the effort was really worth putting in.

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456 - 26th - Covered up

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 26th Mar'09

Even the brightest things in this universe can disappear behind dark clouds of darkness. It takes a moment for the darkness to overshadow everything and spread a sense of gloom around. But what we forget is that no matter how dense the dark clouds are, no matter how quickly they take away all the light, once the sun comes back, they are scattered like pieces of paper in the wind as if they never existed.

As for the image, it is of a cloudy morning sky in Veracruz.

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452 - 22nd - Sea shells

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd Mar'09

All of us have collected “sea shells on the sea shore” one time or the other in our lives. I did it again last week after a long gap of around 10 years. If you want to have your share of fresh untouched lot of sea shells, you should head towards the beach early in the morning. When most of the others are in deep slumbers you can actually make an amazing catch. I got some really strange colored shells which I have never seen before – green, black and shades of brown. Along with shells, I got some really beautiful stones which I gave to my friends in office to be used in necklaces.

Sea shell hunting; a fun thing to do.

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447 - 17th - Out in the open

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 17th Mar'09

A beach is one of the favorite hangouts to have a nice vacation. People usually pack up and head for big picnics to these places. A lazy day at the beach, having sun baths and eating out in open air.

These two families were probably enjoying their day out. I was sitting inside a restaurant on the beach side enjoying my post-lunch coffee when I spotted them. The view of the beach along with the hay thatch at the top gave the whole scene a distinct "clickable" look. Just as a random fact to go along, I saw at least five different cars stuck in the sand that day. I was wondering why the hell can't people just leave their cars behind and enjoy the nature in its complete originality.

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443 - 13th - Among the waves

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th Mar'09

I have taken numerous photos of the sea waves splashing on the shores and the sun drowning in the sea far behind the horizon. Incidentally, this time the sun was setting in the opposite direction. I had the sea in front of me and the sun at the back. I was thinking how could I get the two together in the same frame & pop came the idea.

I took off my slippers, folded my pants to my knees and walked towards the sea with the camera safely tucked around my neck. After walking a few feet I could see the sea waves in front of me and the sun setting down at the horizon; yet again.

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442 - 12th - The dry pine

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Mar'09

The volcanic mountain of Malinche is covered with pine trees. As you start climbing towards the top you cannot see anything but pine all around. The homogeneity provides a really beautiful scene. At many places the ground is covered with dry pine fruits; big and small.

I remember my school days in Mussoorie, India (one more place abundant in pines) when our teacher used to ask us to look for big dry pine fruits and then paint them with different colors. It used be a really interesting assignment.

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437 - 7th - Mineral deposits

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 7th Mar'09

Hierve El Agua is a place in Oaxaca where streams of water, rich in minerals originate from the ground and flow down the slopes to the valley below. At the edge of the plain surface the water starts depositing the minerals and forms a bright slippery plastic like surface, dull yellow in color. If you step inside the water, it is unexpectedly cold and the surface feels like a smoot sheet of cermaic under your feet.

The water starts having a greenish look as you move towards the edge. All in all it is a nice view sitting on the edge with you feet inside the pool.

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427 - 25th - Hierve el agua

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 25th Feb'09

Hierve el Agua (Spanish for "the water boils") is set of natural rock formations in the Mexican state of Oaxaca that look like waterfalls. Relatively small amounts of water -- which, despite the name, is not hot (25°C) -- bubble up from four springs and, running over the cliffs, evaporate. The rock formations, primarily of calcium carbonate, are left behind.
The formations are very high, with the two principal “waterfalls” measuring 12 and 30 meters.

Most of the people (some of them are even reading this :P) who visit Oaxaca fail to see this place as it is not that well spotted on the tourist map. But it is really worth traveling through the dusty 12 km stretch of road leading to the place.

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432 - 20th - Quiet and lonely

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th Feb'09

Sitting at a height of some five hundred meters, with a vast stretch of jungle in the front and scores of mountains is all you could see till miles; just imagine the tranquility and peace such a place would inject in your heart. Sitting drowned in your own thoughts with nothing to be heard other than the sound of your own breath and that of the flapping wings of birds flying overhead.

After taking this photo I trekked all the way to the spot and spent some quiet fifteen minutes just staring at the beauty of the place.

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431 - 19th - Spreading out in the open

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 19th Feb'09

Somehow this image gives a sense of "completeness" to me. The way the branches spread out and the way the tree displays it's magnificence, somehow makes the picture complete.

I took this picture during my trip to Oaxaca. I was climbing down a hill to reach a waterfall and this tree was a sort of "pit-stop" in the middle for people to rest under it's sprawling shade. Since it was a bit early in the morning, there were not many people around and I was able to get a "clear" picture.

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422 - 10th - Against the clouds

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 10th Feb'09

Though it seems like a tree on the slope of a mountain but really it isn't. I mean yeah, it is a tree for sure but the slope is not of a mountain. The slope is of one of the huge pyramids at Monte Alban in Oaxaca.

The Monte Alban ruins are one of the most popular ruins in Mexico after Palenque and Chichinitza. The place covers a vast area and has some dense vegetation around it. Most of the trees which covered the pyramids were cleared off but some are still standing tall . This one was one of them.

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421 - 9th - Sitting on the edge

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 9th Feb'09

I weird bench at a weird place. We had taken a pit-stop on our way to Oaxaca at an open place besides the highway up in the mountains. While the others were smoking away they tiredness, I wandered around to look for some good shots. Some distance away from where we parked, I found this bench made of four pieces of stone, built right at the edge of the mountain.

The snarled mountains at the back with the clouds casting dark shadows gave a perfect background.

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420 - 8th - Orange ball of fire

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 8th Feb'09

Have you ever sat on a mountain and see the sun hide behind the horizon? Believe me, it is really a magical experience. The color of the sky gradually starts changing from light yellow to orange and then to dark red. The bright ball of fire which was practically impossible to look at just a few minutes ago slowly turns into a dim orange circle which is just beautiful to look at.

In a matter of seconds the sun vanishes behind the mountains and just leaves a couple of things behind - an orange trail of light and a wondering me.

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409 - 28th - The tiny fungi

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 28th Jan'09

One person was really pissed off while I was busy clicking these tiny mushrooms - my guide to the ruins of Palenque.

We had hired a guide to let us know the story behind the stones at the archeological ruins of Palenque. After giving us the details of the pyramids he led us into the jungle to show some ruins which haven't been excavated yet. As we were spiraling through the narrow path in the undergrowth we passed under a log of a fallen tree. This bunch of tiny fungi was growing on that particular piece of wood. While the guide was cursing me for spending time on something which isn't even remotely related to Maya civilization, I was busy getting my shot.

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407 - 26th - Agua Azul

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 26th Jan'09

Agua Azul (Blue water) is a famous waterfall in the state of Chiapas, around 69 Kms from Palenque. This waterfall consists of many cataracts following one after another. The water is as blue as it looks in this picture & on many others posted before, and has a high mineral content. Where it falls on rocks or fallen trees it encases them in a thick shell-like coating of limestone.

The place offers a hour's trek up the hill to reach from where the water actually enters the area from a narrow crack in the mountain. The density of people inside and around the water decreases as you go up and it's clarity increases. It was probably one of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen.

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405 - 24th - Crystal clear

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 24th Dec'09

For a moment I did not realize that this particular log of wood was actually immersed in water. The way the shadows fell and practically no optical distortion due the water made me feel at the first glance as if it was lying on a sheet of gravel. Only the next moment when my eyes rested on it, I realized the presence of water.

No wonder people couldn't resist dicing into it and being there for hours.

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401 - 20th - Thru the shade

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th Jan'09

We were climbing up the slope to see the place from where the water starts gushing in the waterfall of Agua Azul. It was a long way up; more or less a two kilometer trek. While on the way, I noticed this small place among the dense vegetation where the sunlight was falling on the flowing water after being filtered through the thick shade of the tress above. The sparkling water along with the rays of light coming down was a treat to the eyes.

I managed to make my way inside the place and took some shots. I wanted to go a bit further but the ground below was taking the form of a swamp. So I maintained a safe distance and tried to get the best I could.

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