Thunderstorm and sunset at Emerald Lake.

Emerald lake during sunset

31 st Dec morning- When I first visited here, I knew I had to come back for the sunrise because the cliff is positioned to glow as the sun rises from behind. So I started early on 31 st Dec to be here before sunrise. The drive itself was about 1.5 hrs to this location. And just around sunrise the pink/red streaks adorned the sky. The cliff and the lighthouse glowed. I crossed the barricade and was right at the edge of another cliff to photograph this !! This was one of those days when everything fell in place. The skies, the water and the radiance. Mesmerizing ! Technical information : This is a single shot from Canon 40D. No merging, no fanciful processing, no advanced editing involved in processing. The picture is pretty much as seen.

Rainstorm around sunset at bow lake, canada

The sunlight briefly illuminated shores of Tso Moriri at an elevation of 15000 feet, one of the highest altitude lakes in the Himalayan range. The storm on the Indo-China border was symbolic of the on going border disputes between India and China at that time

As snow melts in summer, streams are full and flowers bloom. I spotted this location on my way to Pangong. But it was raining. So promised to stop here while returning. And am glad I did !!

Sunset in the Himalayan lake, Tso Moriri at 15000 feet !

The second largest river in California,the Russian river meets Pacific Ocean in near full moon light

Bow lake in the morning twilight

Calm before the storm at Emerald Lake

Last rays of the setting sun, turquoise colors of Pangong lake, pebbles that lead to the lake ,approaching waves and painting like mountains!! So many elements of interest that capture your imagination

Pangong lake lit up by moonlight

The moon showed itself out of the clouds and lit the lake ! Some stars show up as faint trails in the cloudy sky

Tso Moriri Lake - Beautiful rainbow spans a high altitude (over 15000 ft) lake.

Himalayan desert - Sand dunes, towering mountain ranges illuminated by warm rays of the sun before sunset, and shyok river

It was near full moon. Was cloudy, windy and was shivering cold. Took this shot as soon as the moon showed itself out of the clouds. You can see some star trails though clouds hid most of them. That night it rained like monsoon at Pangong lake !! Locals told, it was very very unusual to see that kind of rain. The mountains were seen dusted with snow next day when the clouds cleared off

Pangong lake in full moon light

At an elevation of 14000 feet, Pangong lake is one of the highest and one of the most beautiful lakes in the world! It dazzles in full moon light . The deep blue colors of the lake look stunning in full moon ! It was very windy and cold but I had to be out at night to capture this once in a lifetime spectacle!

Pigeon point lighthouse - Had to drive for 1.5 hours in the dark on winding roads of Highway 1 to reach here before sunrise. But it was worth it. At this time it is still dark, the moon will set in an hour. The camera however captures some colors even at this time. This place is so desolate that when I arrived here, felt eerie with waves crashing and no one to be seen around. Initial instinct was like "go back" !!. But then as I stayed, I was soaked in the bliss and solitude.

Cathedral Rock in Yosemite in full moonlight after snow storm

Beautiful sunset at Pangong lake

Granite towers of Yosemite illuminated in full moonlight

The storm allowed for filtered light to hit Pangong lake and brought out its emerald green colors! At other times it looked deep blue and aquamarine. The color of the lake changes at different times of the day based upon the direction of the sun as well as the type of light at that time!

April 4th- Spectacular colors post sunset on Hapuna Beach. Hapuna beach is rated as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. At the end of the beach are the lava rocks, rocks formed after lava cooled and solidified. I wanted to highlight the waves crashing against the lava rocks. Volcanic rocks are extremely sharp and one needs to be careful to not trip over them. These colors lasted just for a couple of minutes after sunset! I actually have some shots right before the colors peaked and then some as it faded. This is a single shot. I took another shot from here during sunset the next day and the sea was rough ! Very different mood, http://shikha.smugmug.com/Portfolio/BIg-Island/28974538_prN69X#!i=2505227578&k=9FLZsKs Technical info : Camera: canon 6D Lens: Canon 24-70 mm f/2.8 ii Shot @28mm , f/22 for 13 sec , ISO 100 Also used 3-stop neutral Graduated density (soft-edge) filter to suppress the highlights in the sky . This is necessary for single shots as the dynamic range is huge during sunset

Celebrating the festival of light, Diwali

The lunar ball might just roll down the hills ! This is a single shot.

Beautiful Alpen glow on Victoria Glacier and stunning blue green water of Lake Louise.

December 8 - Rain and clouds at this time of the year in Northern California make for dramatic skies. Made another trip to the Pacific coast and captured some pictures during sunset. Waves striking the shores make stunning patterns! Camera- canon 40D Lens - Canon 17-55 mm Tripod -Silk Pro Processing- Shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom. No HDR. All images are single shots. To handle dynamic range, used Lee .9 graduated density filters (soft edge).

Rainbows span the Tour Eiffel. There are actually two of them. No Photo shopping!!

May 26th- The granite tower and Yosemite falls come alive as near full moon rises from behind. It was a sight to be seen. The fall was gleaming in moonlight. I took this picture at midnight. Also note the star trails in the sky.This is the time of the year when Yosemite valley is at its best. Flowers, meadows and gushing waterfalls !! It was an experience of life time! Can't describe the feeling in a few words.

North face trail.

granite towers, bridal veil falls and merced river!

May 12 - El Capitan ,a vertical granite monolith at Yosemite NP. I set my tripod on rocks at the shore, partially submerged in the water . This allowed me to capture the merced river flow that complemented the cloud patterns and the granite monolith very well. You can see ribbon falls only during this time of the year. In a few weeks, it will dry up.

Onomea falls and the lush green tropical rainforest.

The smallest birds on the planet, Humming bird!

Burney falls. Long exposure to create the silken effect. The Burney falls loop trail takes you to the bottom of the falls as well as above the falls.

Early morning teton reflection in beaver pond

I lost my way while driving and by the time arrived here, sun had set ! It was getting dark and there wasn't time to climb down to the rocks. I noticed that the ice plants had become vibrant after heavy rains in December. There was a whole patch of red and I thought of experimenting with them in the foreground. Used .9 Graduated neutral density LEE filter (hard edge) to suppress the highlights in the sky and exposed this shot for full 25 secs. The result was well exposed foreground and frozen ocean!! It was dark by the time I left this place.

I arrived here before sunrise. It was partly cloudy and that helped suppress the highlights in the sky. Some colors began to show in the sky. The bench and the ice plants looked to me very interesting. Exposed for 5 secs with aperture f/14. Obtained a well exposed foreground.

Picture shot from the campus of Gurudwara - South San Jose . Riot of colors post sunset!! The colors are as seen and not because of photo shopping