Monday, January 21, 2008

Chennai Man !!

Im in Chennai for the past 3-4 days. Most probably Ill be visiting this city every week 4-5 days for the next 4 months. Yesterday my gf had joined for some shopping and I was shocked at the crowd all around. And I thought Chennai was better than Mumbai when it comes to crowds / traffic ! Peak time traffic is same as Mumbai with slightly better roads maybe. But the number of people on bicycles will pretty much take away all the road advantages !
Took time off day before yesterday to go to Vedanthangal, a bird sanctuary close by to see the famed painted stork colonies there. It was a great experience though very few species seem to be there. Did click a few pics and thought it was a worthy trip.
Oh yea the dosas and filter coffee are every bit as good as they are famed to be :)


Sunday, January 13, 2008

Uran - birder's paradise

Assume all had a grand NY party to welcome to the new year !....I have had a rather busy first fortnight in 2008 and hope that is not a sign of things to come ;).....
Anyways, me and Sandy took off to shoot flamingoes in Uran salt pans this weekend..She did not have the Pany FZ 50 though since only I was planning to shoot. It was the first outing for my new baby, Canon 100-400 L IS which I had gotten from the US of A...On the 40 D it felt like I was in gym doing weights....Im still very much low in the learning curve of long lens and the pics were definitely not of the same quality that I would get from my shorter focal lengths..But we did have a great time shooting in the morning half and then heading to Uran plaza (Though there are mixed reviews, we did like the place a lot - a nice getaway for a day at a budget less than 1500) for loads of beer and a nice lunch. It is as the regulars know the most famous eating joint in that part of the world..It is a very reasonable place and the ambiance is really lazy - hammocks, beds, easy chairs......And ofcourse close by around JNPT and Uran you have some of the winter migratory birds - little bit of heaven close to Mumbai...