585 - 28th - In safe hands

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

572 - 10th - Thirsty

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

571 - 9th - Against the shade

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

546 - 14th - Sunset behind the fence

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 14th Jun'09

545 - 13th - May god bless you

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

544 - 12th - Japanese beauty

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

504 - 3rd - The glowing iglesia

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd May'09

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.

Click here to see the full sized image

455 - 25th - In bright sunshine

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

I was searching for some nice subjects out in my garden when I saw this small flower blossoming on a small twig. I went under the tree and took some shots from different angles. The ones from the other side came with the flower having a lot of dark shades because of the sun being in the background. The moment I switched sides and had the sun on my back, the tones in the image changed drastically.

Looks great to me, dont know about you!!

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454 - 24th - Teeny tiny

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

With the naked eye I couldn't even see anything inside the flower except the yellow pollen at the center. But when I pointed my camera and looked through the lens, I could see this tiny green insect hidden inside. If you click on the image and see the full size, you can actually see it's black eyes and it's tiny legs.

Just started experimenting with my new macro lens - Sigma Macro 180 mm

Click here to see the full sized image

449 - 19th - Brave old trekkers

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

I had just started climbing down the peak of the volcano Malinche at around 15ooo feet when I met this old couple. Given the fact that I had seen many a young hearts loose their breath on their way up, it was really surprising to see this couple almost at the peak with a grin on their face. They were supporting each other through a common rope tied to their waists and were slowly but steadily heading towards the summit.

I stopped and talked to them. Both were in their late 70s and the guy was a doctor in Puebla. It was their love for nature and mountain climbing which brought them all the way up defying all the age related logic.

Click here to see the full sized image

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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435 - 5th - It's a bee's life

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

I recently bought some close up filters (since I didn't have enough money saved for a good macro lens) and was experimenting around in the garden. I was trying to get a close up of the tiny yellow flowers and their grainy pollen when suddenly this bee entered the frame. Since my focus was already set at the flower, it made it easy for me to get a shot of an otherwise really quick moving insect.

Though the filters are giving some exceptional results but not as good as I want them to be. I have to make the decision of piercing a hole in my pocket real soon.

P.S - Don't forget to click on the image and have a close look at the bee :)

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430 - 28th - Men at work

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

My job seems to be quite easy if I compare it with what these men in the picture are doing. Imagine yourself perched on a narrow piece of wood, hundreds of feet above the ground, on top of a huge cathedral, with nothing to hold you other than a rope tied to your waist. On top of that, you are expected to paint the walls with one of your hands, bearing the heat of the blazing sun at the same time; phew.

I dont know what is their motivation for taking such a risk for a job, but whatever it is, must be a really strong one.

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429 - 27th - A reflection of me

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 27th Feb'09

This shop in downtown Tlaxcala was selling mirrors and wooden frames. I didnt realize it was a mirror ship until I saw the reflection of my feet in a low hanging mirror. I just took some photos without any particular intention, but when I saw them in my system, they looked quite abstract; that being the reason I decided to post oen of them for today.

Click here to see the full sized image

412 - 31st - Grilled onions

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

We were having a "weekend" lunch at one of my friend's place and the menu was "Something grilled". While the meat-eaters were enjoying their share of grilled "arrachera" (beef) I had some othe exotic options saved for myself - grilled onions, nopales (cactus) and some grilled cheese.

There is nothing special, but I just love the taste of grilled food. The whole idea of grilling different vegetables and cheese on top of red hot coal just increases the taste of the food ten fold. God do I miss the paneer tikka (grilled paneer) at Bikanerwala in Delhi...

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378 - 28th - The divine duo

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 28th Dec'08

Sun and moon are perhaps the most important symbols in all the major civilizations in Latin America - the Mayas, Aztecs, and also Olmecs. All the temples, the palaces and major constructions have them in one form or the other. There are records of kings dedicating entire cities to the Sun god and huge palaces to the moon.

This picture is not from any of the archeological sites, but is a front door a small house in downtown Tlaxcala. Even my apartment's door has a golden yellow sun hanging on the side.

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374 - 24th - Santa claus is coming to town

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 24th Dec'08

Oh! You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why:

Santa Claus is coming to town!

He's making a list,
He's checking it twice,
He's gonna find out
who's naughty or nice.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

He sees you when you're sleeping,
He knows when you're awake.
He knows when you've been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!

So...You better watch out,
You better not cry
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

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373 - 23rd - The Nacimiento

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd Dec'08

Come Christmas and almost every house here in Mexico would have two things for sure - A Christmas tree and a Nacimiento. Everyone knows what a Christmas tree is, but most of you won't know what is a Nacimiento. Or you would be knowing but by a different name.

A Nacimiento is basically a small decoration through which the birth place of Jesus is presented. It typically consists of baby Jesus, some sheep lying around and a lot of hay. Sometimes people get more creative and make big houses and put some rain deers and Santas around the place (as you can see in the picture).

Must be really fun to create something like this. In India, we do almost the same thing on the festival of Krishna janmashtami, which is celebrated to mark the birthday of Lord Krishna. As a child, I always used to make something very similar with my friends, though with a different name - Jhanki.

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372 - 22nd - The white fire

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd Dec'08

It is amazing how photographs change their looks once transformed from colored to Black and White. The whole thing looks drastically different and the image doesn't have the same effect any longer as when it was colored.

I was passing by a museum in Mexico City last week, where they put up different photos on display outside on the wall besides the pavement. The photos are really unique & I always make it a point to have a look at them whenever I am at the place. It was there where I noticed the different effect a Black & White image has on you. Along with giving a homogeneity to the elements of the picture, somehow it makes you observe the otherwise non noticeable details inside.

Click here to see how the colored image looks

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