hints, allegations and things left unsaid...
In London
My first visit to London comes to an end in another two days. No city abroad has ever impressed me so much as London. It is heartening to see the old and the new exist here in perfect harmony. The white, lit-up dome far away is that of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The metallic framework that leads to it, and for some reasons reminds me of the human spine, is the Millennium Bridge. A friend informs me that whenever a new building is constructed, it needs to be sanctioned by the city authorities such that it doesn’t obstruct the view of the cathedral from any important site!
While I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the stay here for many reasons, from a photographic standpoint, I am happy to have been able to pursue long exposure photography at night.
Photofriday: Depth Of Field
Here is another picture of the same bottle-brush plant that I had posted for my Diwali entry. This one has a much smaller depth of field as a result of which the "filaments" in the distance look like one red, dreamy mass. Also notice the "buds" where these "filaments" are still curled in.
Enough said
unexpected presence of a cannon
at Colonel Baillie’s dungeon
might also be mistaken
for a crazy installation
with a look of utter disbelief
I practiced my shutter release
Boom!
An infantry unit is said to have held office right above Col Baillie's dungeon. A cannon that rolled through a hole in the roof lies at the very spot till date - it being too heavy for someone to endeavor its restoration to its original place. The hole too; in the vein of leaving things untouched, has been left unrepaired.
Alternative title: A cannon shot with a Canon
Update: This picture has been voted Noteworhty under the Photofriday theme 'Weight'. A big THANKS to all who voted!
Colonel Baillie's Dungeon
Colonel Baillie's Dungeon at Srirangapatna, looks more like a low arched gallery or passageway than a dungeon. Even on a partially cloudy day, it seems sufficiently lit-up by the sun; the surrounding walls whitewashed in white, serving to highlight the illusion of adequate illumination. The overall ambience therefore is such, that you half expect to run into a whirling dervish lost in his meditative trance.
History however, informs us that the present appearance of the dungeon is signally deceptive. The dungeon is the very spot where Tipu Sultan's (usually English) prisoners were once kept for torture. Indeed, the watchful among you will be quick to point out protrusions in the wall that are purported to have once held the chains that bound the tormented captives. The present appellation in fact, couldn't have been a crueler irony. The dungeon is named after Colonel Baillie, who is said to have perished here during his imprisonment - though according to another prevailing version of the tale, he died several years later.
Green
This post is here to break the monotony of gray and black which - though an inherent fault (if it may be a called so) of my blog template - had been accentuated by the last two posts. There isn't a better way to offset it than by the tedium of green with a hint of maroon.
Every blog, irrespective of it's blogger's actual intentions, performs an important function - that of feeding his/her vanity. To allow this blog to discharge that very noble office, I should point out that I cross the glorious 300 post mark with this post.
I will now go on and elocute on the journey which has led me to this remarkable achievement.
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On second thoughts, I'd rather have you go through my last three years' archives :-)
The boy at the fort (III)
The last of the three portraits taken at the Chitradurga fort.
The sentence above might sound like title of a Dali painting.
The three portraits, from the first portrait in color to the sepia tinted one to the one I have posted here, are in a way representation of progressive degeneration of memory.
The boy at the fort (II)
Another portrait of the boy at the Chitradurga fort, taken just a few minutes after the one I had posted yesterday. He had opened up to me by now - at least to the extent which the barrier of age and language allowed; the distrusting look in his eyes giving way to one more befitting a carefree 7-year old. For the first time in my life, I was meeting a subject who enjoyed being clicked! He took me to a spot near the entrance (built into the perimeter wall) that leads to the main area of the fort, where he had kept a gunny bag full of dried grass. That sack was to be our makeshift stool for the morning's shoot!
The boy at the fort
I ran into this boy, the moment I was within the perimeter of the Chitradurga fort. For a moment, it felt like he had walked out of one of those Charles Dickens novels that often begin with an account of the humble, downtrodden beginnings of their adolescent protagonist. Seeing a camera in my hand, he requested me to click him. I obliged. He couldn't be happier. Nor could I have been.
Update: Sajith pointed out that the version posted here looked a bit out of focus. I've tweaked the original a bit and posted the sharper version. The softer focus (or lack of it) has been intentional a few times before, but here, it was clearly an oversight.
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