Washington Oaks State Park Beach
Washington Oaks State Park Beach
Washington Oaks State Park Beach is a beautiful coastal destination located in Palm Coast, Florida. The beach is known for its unique combination of coquina rock formations and soft, white sand, creating a picturesque shoreline. I have been there a couple of times, but I didn’t get much chance to shoot. They evacuate the park and the beach area before sunset, and most of the time the forest ranger arrives early and forces us to leave. These photos are from my last trip, and thanks to the cloudy day, I got some time to shoot a few long exposures with 10-stop ND.
Leaves and Patterns
Here are few images of leaves I took with iPhone 6s plus and then converted to black & white with the Snapseed app. I hope you may like it. Thank you.
Net
Now I have another brand new lens in my arsenal and it is Nikon AF-S FX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ED; it’s a full-frame lens, not the DX one (Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G) which I owned before but then I sold it off once I moved to a full-frame camera.
I decided to buy this one mainly for its weight and size; it’s much lighter and smaller in weight and size than the highly recognized and well reputed Sigma 35mm Art lens and of course, Sigma is more costly than Nikkor. I have never coupled the 35 Sigma Art lens with my Nikon camera, but I have tried other Sigma Art series lenses like 24mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, and 24-35mm f/2. In general Sigma lenses are heavy, they have a full metal body, rugged construction, comparatively bigger in size, and pictures are sharp and a little more contrasty than what I usually get with Nikkor lenses. Somehow I feel Nikon cameras work just perfectly well with Nikkor lenses – be it color, sharpness, resolution, and contrast rendition. It works totally in sync with all other Nikkor lenses I possess.
With the new Nikkor glass, on the first day, I went out to the Salt Lake Sector 5 area (within Kolkata) in bright daylight around noon. I liked the frames I got – fishing net, structures, different patterns, reflection, water body, and a way of life over there; very interestingly all these belong to the very adjoining area of Bengal’s high-tech park.
“The creative act is a letting down of the net of human imagination into the ocean of chaos on which we are suspended, and the attempt to bring out of it ideas.
It is the night sea journey, the lone fisherman on a tropical sea with his nets, and you let these nets down – sometimes, something tears through them that leaves them in shreds and you just row for shore, and put your head under your bed and pray.
At other times what slips through are the minutiae, the minnows of this ichthyological metaphor of idea chasing.
But, sometimes, you can actually bring home something that is food, food for the human community that we can sustain ourselves on and go forward.”
― Terence McKenna
Meghamaya Meghalaya
6 black & white photos from Meghalaya.
In these photographs, there is no direct correlation with the place itself though, the only connection is these shots from Meghalaya. However, the mystic feel, romantic atmosphere, and uncertain trill have an unavoidable invite which goes quite well with Meghalaya’s overall touch.
A Few Black & White Photos of a Girl
A few black & white photos I shot for Shilpi in a friend’s traditional Bengali house.
Neil Island: Spending time with stars
Neil Island: Spending time with stars in a serene island
Neil Island is an island in the Andaman Islands of India; 40 km northeast from Port Blair, with green surroundings of paddy fields, banana plantations, and tropical trees dwells the Neil island. This small town offers a very relaxed atmosphere for tourists and is famous for its slow, laid back vibe, the friendly people, and its delicious food. People come here mainly to chill out and enjoy the quietness of the place, as there is not much to do but this.
I stayed in Pearl Park Beach Resort located at Beach No. 1, Lakshmanpur Beach for just one night and the resort is surrounded by very tall trees. I thought to do some night photography with these trees. The ambiance was very quiet and the trees are getting little illuminated by resort lights. For human eyes, those lights were really low for good visibility. However, for long exposure photography, it is apparent and gives a different look and feel. I had to turn the photographs in black and white so that I can avoid the reddish tint of the light. Actually, I would turn these images anyway to black and white; I love black and white photographs. So, it’s not an excuse, but just a fact, for a more contrasty look.
I must say, keeping the photography aside, it was quite an experience spending roughly three and a half hours of quality time with pristine nature and stars in a tranquil Ritchie’s Archipelago island.
Reminiscence
Reminiscence: Few bookmarked pages from 2015 diary
These are not real diary pages, but here you will see 35 iPhone 5c images, all are captured in 2015. And then I have converted them into black and white to represent how I perceived them. Like everyone’s life, each year carries some significance, for me, 2015 is sort of a chapter closer. I returned back to my own country after 5 years at the very beginning of the year, and in the end, I lost my father. I will be close to my parents that were my primary reason to return back to my home country, but that did not work out.
I am not good at words – the more I will try to explain, the more I will confuse. So, please have a look at the 4.40 minutes video comprising 35 still iPhone images and feel how I spend my 2015. And I hope, with Ludovico Einaudi’s track Experience, it will be a little more interesting.
Thank you.
Shades of Grey
Shades of Grey, Guggenheim Museum in New York City
Before coming back to Kolkata, I went to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and unfortunately on that day museum was half-closed; some installation work was going on. They charged half price for the ticket price though. Inside the museum, photography is not allowed, no one is allowed to take pictures of paintings, sculptures, and other art objects they have. So, I took some pictures from the outside of the building and very few from the inside, of course avoiding the security guards.
This building is nowhere close to the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao in Spain architecturally, but it is something indifferent in New York City compared to other city buildings, even other museums. Not as big as I thought it would be. It’s located just beside the Central Park of New York City, so I got another chance to roam around in the park, it was completely snow wrapped.
These images are no brainer, however, I liked while photographing and converting them in black and white using Adobe Lightroom.
New York City: Street Affairs
New York City: Street Affairs
I admire Joel Meyerowitz for his thought process, and I treasure some of his quotes.
“I think about photographs as being full, or empty. You picture something in a frame and it’s got lots of accounting going on in it – stones and buildings and trees and air – but that’s not what fills up a frame. You fill up the frame with feelings, energy, discovery, and risk, and leave room enough for someone else to get in there.”
This is what Joel Meyerowitz said, and I couldn’t agree more with this.
As I am spending some quality time with photography, and refining my thought process, this is the same realization I am getting from inside. I believe that memorable photographs have three dimensions, and I do prefer to say the third dimension as feelings, energy, discovery (what Joel pointed out in his own words), or whatever emotional aspect you can think of which touches heart, embraces soul, and make a persistent impression in life.
Third Dimension and a perspective
So, If the third dimension is missing, does not matter how much colorful it is, or how beautifully it has been composed, the image will never stand in viewers mind for a long time. I have put together my views here more elaborately.
Here are a few street shots from New York City where I have tried to fill the frame with love and affection.
Again, in Joel’s own words –
“We think of photography as pictures. And it is. But I think of photography as ideas. And do the pictures sustain your ideas or are they just good pictures? I want to have an experience in the world that is a deepening experience, that makes me feel alive and awake and conscious.”
Please share your thoughts, realizations, and experiences you have on photographs that impact you in some way. I know it changes with time and maturity as we grow. But still, this is important, because if we can’t define, visualize, how could we possibly create it?
Thanks you.
Grand Central Terminal: A Short Story
Grand Central Terminal: A photo series by Sudarshan Mondal
Inside the walls of this enormous structure of Grand Central Terminal, life happens every day, and probably the same way it is going for year after year. Certain things never change, such as relative socio-economical conditions, how we perceive emotions, interpersonal relationships over the years. Almost all events of life are visible even in a single day among the thousands of unknown strangers. Time advances, technology improves, overall economic growth sustains, but the relative social gaps do not change over time. The ratio of rich & poor, patterns of people’s living standards, the interpersonal behavior do not change over time. Also, in a broader aspect, it is irrespective of geographic location. I can not prove it obviously, but I leave it to you to think about it.
Here is a photo series on Grand Central Terminal. View on YouTube (Time: 3:54 min) with a piece of excellent music.
A Few Photographs I took inside the Station
Here, in a few selected images, the goal is to delineate human conditions, interpersonal relationships, and phases of emotions in the faces of absolute strangers roaming in the Grand Central Terminal.
A little kid is learning his first walk, young couples are having their romantic time, whereas another couple is having some sort of melancholic discussion, some are singles – do not have any partners, and apparently they are looking for someone desperately, techies (read as IT guys) have their job to do while they are in transit. And a newly married bride is having little lone time while her husband is out for calling a taxi. A homeless old man is taking a tight sleep in the corner of this palace-like structure, and others have taken corners to take little rest for some time until a police officer gives a visit, a chef is having little off time while working – all are happening under the same roof.
We all are same
How different it would be if you stand inside a railway station of an Asian busiest terminal, for example, Howrah Railway Station, West Bengal, India, and watch only the human behavioral aspects, patterns of interpersonal relationships, and relative socio-economical conditions. I bet you would realize that we are all fundamentally the same across the world. I believe that human behavior is the same in a given situation.
Grand Central Station is “the world’s loveliest station” as described by travel magazine Travel + Leisure in its October 2011 survey, and is “the world’s number six most visited tourist attraction” bringing in approximately 21,600,000 visitors annually.
Grand Central Terminal is a railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the largest such facility in the world by the number of platforms with 44 serving 67 tracks along with them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along with platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres.
Although the terminal has been properly called “Grand Central Terminal” since 1913, many people continue to refer to it as “Grand Central Station,” the name of the previous rail station on the same site, and of the U.S. Post Office station next door, which is not part of the terminal.
Similar blogpost on Howrah Station, you might like it. Please have a look.
Please leave your comments here. Thanks for watching it.
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ABOUT MY BLOG
Sudarshan is an independent photographer based in Lake Mary, Florida. His works are soulful, transcendental, and have an enduring impact. He loves creating images, storytelling, and the creative process involved. He believes in simplicity, being close to life, openness, honesty, and the value of holding a camera with humor and compassion.
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