Rain Break !!

I shot these on a rainy December Sunday. The sun was playing hide n seek and the sparrows were making the most of the rain stops.

Icy Bay Area

Snow is an unusual sight for the people in the Bay Area. The minimum temperatures now are in the low 30 Fahrenheits and the moisture freezes into ice overnight. This is my first experience of snow, if it can be called so.



The use of wipers to get rid of the deposited ice is not a wise idea. I learnt this by committing this mistake.



The chore of scraping off the ice using any spatula like tool, to 'extract' the submerged car is a laborious boring task. This is most common in the east coast and places where it snows heavily, covering the vehicles, roads, trees, buildings etc.

Boxer !!!

Pets in America are a blessed lot. They are treated and pampered like family members. The Pet food & accessories is a billion dollar industry. This is a lovely boxer breed which I shot in a park.

Ducks !!

The various species of Ducks in Hellyer. This one is the American Coot.





The Smew in flight

Garden Hues !!!

This was shot for the sake of the out of focus background which is actually a tree with brilliant red leaves - The colours of Fall.

Artifacts

Shot in Nov 2008 in San Jose. The lifeless artifacts that we use to adorn our homes , in a way adds life and become a part of our lives.

Backyard Sparrows !!

This sparrow was captured in digital in the backyard of my sisters house in San Jose. The picture has been cropped to portrait. I realized that bird photography or for that matter any wildlife photography requires a lot of patience and a keen eye.

Perched !!

This was shot near the Silver Creek Park. I am trying to get the hold on the lens with which I can create some interesting shots in the future. This is a test shot of certain group of Sparrow. I liked this one inspite of the many faults.

Nose Dive !!

This was shot in a small creek called Silver Creek near the place I live. I observed through my lens that these ducks dive into the water at regular intervals.


When I researched on wikipedia I came to know that these are a group of ducks which feed mainly by diving. The Diving ducks do not walk as well on land as the Dabbling ducks.

Canon !

My experiments continue with the newly aqquired 75-300 mm lens. The lens cover is the subject this time.

Yellow & Red

Some colourful shots of the season shot near the place I live in south San Jose. I do not see the vibrant colours associated with Fall in the Bay Area, like what I have seen in pictures of places in the East Coast during this time.



These pictures are the output of a Canon 75-300 mm telephoto lens which I purchased today. Till today I was shooting with a multi purpose standard 17-85 mm lens which came with the Canon EOS 30D DSLR. But most of the times, when I am travelling and on the move I use my good old Sony Cybershot DSC P100 / P200. I will use the DSLR more often from today. Some exciting times ahead with this lens.

Countryside

These pictures were shot in September 2008 during a drive nearby. The long road ahead is intentionally made out of focus.


The grass dried by the summer heat. In a few months from now, fed by the rains the entire place is going to spring into life. The place is the outskirts of Yerba Buena

Changing Colour !!

Here are some colours for this fall season. More to follow in the coming days. Last fall seems yesterday



This one shot using the Canon 30 D DSLR.



This macro shot using Sony Cybershot DSCP100 Digital Camera.

Stroll in Stanford

View from the Stanford tower.

This is a musical instrument which is played every Wednesday.


The Stanford Hoover tower.








The Stanford Memorial Church and inside.


The quadrangle.


Bronze statues by Auguste Rodin - Burghers of Calais. The Burghers of Calais (Les Bourgeois de Calais) is one of the most famous sculptures by Auguste Rodin, completed in 1888. [Source - Wikipedia]

Monterey Bay

Some snaps of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.