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Gallery
Portfolio
- Photographs
- Videos
Journal
- Photo Essays
- Tutorials
  - Astro Composites
About Me
Contact

Experimental

Experimental Photography

the.final.shot

/the upside down v1 Restarting the cycle of blue,

/the upside down v1

Restarting the cycle of blue, grey, orange with a new set of 3 surreal geometric illustrations created from the frames that I captured a few months back. As Susan Sontag rightly said, "Surrealism lies at the heart of the photographic enterprise: in the very creation of a duplicate world, of a reality in the second degree, narrower but more dramatic than the one perceived by natural vision." I am trying to do justice to this statement through these frames.
Swipe for the original frame.
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/unearthly earth (scene 4)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-55mm kit lens
Illustrated using @photoshop
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#surrealism #art #surreal #surrealart #artist #contemporaryart #artwork #digitalart #abstractart #illustration #modernart #arte #abstract #artistsoninstagram #photography #artoftheday #surrealismo #popsurrealism #photoshop #design #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat #baapwalecreators #upsidedown

/deep orange The final illustration on this templ

/deep orange

The final illustration on this template counters the blues of the first frame. This was shot during golden hour in Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand, India. I had already processed an early morning and a blue hour shot and was looking for something shot during the evening to complete the series. The photographer is always trying to colonize new experiences or find new ways to look at familiar subjects—to fight against boredom. For boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other. This photo was shot in 16:9 with a lot of negative space. In order to make this illustration work I had to first balance the elements in the already existing frame and then work on the design.
Would you like to see a tutorial on how to transform your landscape photos like this?
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/unearthly earth (scene 3)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-55mm kit lens
Illustrated using @photoshop
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#surrealism #art #surreal #surrealart #artist #contemporaryart #artwork #digitalart #abstractart #illustration #modernart #arte #abstract #artistsoninstagram #photography #artoftheday #surrealismo #popsurrealism #photoshop #design #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat #baapwalecreators

/it's always grey Continuing the series by purgin

/it's always grey

Continuing the series by purging all the colors and going noir. The arts in which Surrealism has come into its own are prose fiction (as content, mainly, but
much more abundant and more complex thematically than that claimed by painting), theater, the arts of assemblage, and — most triumphantly — photography. It provides us with an opportunity to conceive of idea of blurring the lines between art and so-called life, between objects and events, between the intended and the unintentional, between craftsmanship and lucky blunders. Well, I consider myself to a be 'trained-to-be-lucky'. It's the years of practice which increases the 'lucky' counter as the time progresses. So, what does this frame look like to you: a well-crafted piece or a lucky blunder....or, is it, somewhere in between? (comment a high-five emoji if you got the reference)
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/unearthly earth (scene 2)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-55mm kit lens
Illustrated using @photoshop
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#surreal #surrealart #baapwalecreators
#sonyGreatLittleMoments
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains

/unearthly earth The past few days or rather week

/unearthly earth

The past few days or rather weeks have been emotionally draining. During the second wave of the pandemic, I was once again confined to the walls of my abode. Unable to shoot or experience anything new, I began scouring my hard drives. It was then when I stumbled across a folder labelled ‘For finding inspiration’. I have this habit of leaving clues/inspirations for my future self and this folder was one of such inspiration. I studied the photos that I had archived and passed through boredom into fascination.

Any photograph has multiple meanings; indeed, to see something in the form of a photograph is to encounter a potential object of fascination. The ultimate wisdom of the photographic image is to say: “There is the surface. Now think—or rather feel, intuit—what is beyond it, what the reality must be like if it looks this way.

I began the journey of making real to surreal and that’s how this project came to life. Starting the series with a cool blue geometric surrealist art.

Swipe to see the original frame.
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/unearthly earth (scene 1)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-55mm kit lens
Illustrated using @photoshop

This Eid is unlike any other Eid. This Eid stands

This Eid is unlike any other Eid. This Eid stands for something different. I am not saying that the essence of gratitude and harmony aren't there, but only that their importance has increased multifold, and that they are coupled with more important things. This Eid is not about having a lavish spread after 30 days of fasting. It is not about cleaning every nook and corner of our homes. It is not about prettying ourselves for the prayers and meet-ups.

This Eid is about survival. It is about being grateful for the air that we are breathing and for the fact that we are alive to see this day. It is about extending support and encouragement to those who have been going through the excruciating pain that I can't even begin to describe (I'll cry). It is about checking in on our friends. It is about being with our families under one roof and be grateful for our togetherness. It is about being hopeful for a better tomorrow.

This Eid is not about the grand celebrations, it is about the little things.

Eid Mubarak!

Sincerely,
Abd

/faces in places Wrapping up the series 'the maje

/faces in places

Wrapping up the series 'the majestic mountains' with a classic 'faces in places' shot. Sun was a not-so-constant visitor during the day. The think blanket of iron-grey clouds dominated the scene. But when it did show up, the sun produced something spectacular. This combination of sun shining from behind the clouds looked like a sort of headlamp to me. How did you perceive this frame?
Frame 2 was captured a few moments later than frame 1
P.S.- I am not sure what the next series will be. Recent times have been mentally exhausting for most of us. I'll figure something out. Until then enjoy the wallpaper series I posted on my stories today :)
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/the majestic mountains (scene 27)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-55mm kit lens
f/8 1/250sec 55mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains

/the veil The clouds have a fey and primeval qual

/the veil

The clouds have a fey and primeval quality to them that cannot be compared to any other aspect of nature. They can make the water and the land glow with unearthly sheen by making way for the ardent sunrays or they can obscure whole forests and meadows with their otherworldly veil of grey. Even though at a moment in time it might seem that the darkness has engulfed everything and that its veil cannot be lifted even by the incisive rays of the golden orb, somehow, light finds its way. The prince of darkness is unable to conjure up a malignant sorcery to keep the luminescence from getting in and soon, light trumps darkness; the same way, we shall trump this global misery.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 26)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-300mm kit lens
f/11 1/125sec 86mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains

/flip Time and again nature proves that it is the

/flip

Time and again nature proves that it is the greatest artist there is! I mean, look at these two shots: taken from the same place (a little panned from each other), just 15 minutes apart. On one hand, you feel that you are surrounded by brownie dust and minutes later, you are in this beautiful sandwich of teal and orange.
With the pandemic worsening, and most of the time being utilized in getting leads for people in need, I am feeling pretty exhausted lately. Initially, I thought that I should stop posting altogether, but then I thought that maybe looking at these frames refreshes someone. I hope that we get through this. There are only two more frames left from this series after this. Don't know what I'll do after that but I have faith that I'll figure something out, ah, the Stockdale Paradox!
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/the majestic mountains (scene 25)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-55mm kit lens
f/11 1/250sec 35mm ISO-100
f/9 1/200sec 35mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #triund
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #petapixel #apolloxtripoto #badroadbuddies

/breathtaking If breathtaking could be translated

/breathtaking

If breathtaking could be translated into an image, for me, this would be it. This moment was one of the few where I felt that my camera sees better than my eyes can. This mountain was really far from the basecamp and had it not been for the 300mm lens (on a crop sensor, so effectively 450mm), I would have never witnessed something like this (well, if I took a helicopter and surveiled the peaks, but that's not happening anytime soon). I have this habit of drifting away. So, yes, it was certainly surreal to see the winds' glacial breath bouncing off of the icy peak as the soft golden light of the dimming sun illuminated the scene. As I write this caption, I pray to the mountain gods to lead us out of this misery. Sending bountiful duas. May this holy month of Ramzan shower us with blessings. Ameen!
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/the majestic mountains (scene 24)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-300mm kit lens
f/11 1/200sec 300mm ISO-100
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#photoscapeofthemonth
#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #badroadbuddies #apolloxtripoto

/rustic orange The frigid Himalayan cold wind is

/rustic orange

The frigid Himalayan cold wind is lashing on your face. It carries a fragrance with it. The fragrance is very familiar. The fragrance that takes you back to your childhood. The fragrance that sparks your amygdala. Its moaning doesn't concern you. The rustic orange skies hint at a fever dream but the landscape makes you feel quite the opposite. The iron-grey clouds and the waning sun vie for supremacy. Nothing the sun could do could banish the wonderland of white beneath it. Its only effect is to smash the flint-grey sky into a wonderful blend of yellow, and red. It is enough. The awe-inspiring majesty of nature makes your soul rejoice.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 23)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-35mm kit lens
f/8 1/200sec 18mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #dystopianlandscape #writersofinstagram #apolloxtripoto #badroadbuddies

/dystopian landscape As we trekked the craggy mou

/dystopian landscape

As we trekked the craggy mountains of Triund, we witnessed only a bank of iron-grey clouds. My dreams of capturing the clear night sky filled with twinkling little pulses of light were shattering with every passing minute. We reached the top, set-up our camp and were just about to prepare instant noodles as the dusky clouds acquired a deep-orange shade. It almost looked like we were transported to one of those Blade Runner-like dystopian futures. The skyline lit up with a sunset-gold glow. There was a storm a-brewing. The next few shots will be from the same evening.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 22)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-35mm kit lens
f/11 1/250sec 18mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #dystopian #apolloxtripoto #badroadbuddies

/tranquil Sometimes I like to compose photographs

/tranquil

Sometimes I like to compose photographs in the genres taken over from painting - townscapes and landscapes. There's something about such scenes that just draws us in. There's a sense of tranquility and mystique in them. Like this one. The soft light falling on the rolling mountains bathing them in Babylon-blue. The seamless sky adding to the quietude. One could just stand and stare at the scene. Well, that's what I did for a good 10-minutes before making this exposure.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 21)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-35mm kit lens
f/13 1/25sec 18mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #lookslikeapainting #badroadbuddies #apolloxtripoto

/silent is the night The night is quiet. Nothing

/silent is the night

The night is quiet. Nothing moves. Nothing stirs. A shroud of spectral silence prevails. A silver moon hangs in the sky. The moon's wraith-like light arrows down as eerily as a scene from an old fable. I sit with my back against the rails of my rooftop, watching it fade away, praying that this feeling, the feeling of constant fear, the fear of loosing someone close, the fear of falling asleep and waking up to another bad news assuages. May we find a cure for this problem soon, may we find a cure for wellness. Amen!
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/the majestic mountains (scene 20)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 18-35mm kit lens
f/10 1/100sec 18mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #badroadbuddies #apolloxtripoto

/hope It is a very strong word, isn't it? When al

/hope

It is a very strong word, isn't it? When all is lost, only hope remains. Hope for things to get better, hope of seeing a glimmer, hope for the happier times to knock on our doors. Given the situation, at times I feel that all we can have is 'hope'. This frame symbolises hope for me. While trekking the craggy mountains we were faced with the arduous challenge of walking on black ice. The dry leaves, the murky skies and, the dirty ice were an omen of bad weather. The constant slipping was adding to our fret. And then came the rays of hope, lighting the peak of the mountain and an exodus of birds rising as if reaching for the heavenly luminescence. It tranquilized my heart. And the journey forward was a lot better.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 19)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/11 1/125sec 70mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #badroadbuddies #apolloxtripoto

/why mountains? A quote by Rene Daumal has stayed

/why mountains?

A quote by Rene Daumal has stayed with me even after the trip: “You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen.” I learn something every time I go into the mountains. And for me, that is a reason enough. What's yours, be it a mountains or beaches.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 18)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/6.3 1/500sec 300mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #badroadbuddies

/comic book panel Have a quick look at the frame.

/comic book panel

Have a quick look at the frame. Notice the grey-white texture of the mountains, the shaky tree silhouettes; doesn't it look like a scene from a comic book. It looked like that to me when I saw it IRL. In teaching us a new visual code, photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe. They are grammar and, even more importantly, an ethics of seeing. Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood. This is one of the many lessons I learnt during this expedition.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 17)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/6.3 1/500sec 300mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains

/between a breath and a pause Nature has become m

/between a breath and a pause

Nature has become more a subject for nostalgia and indignation than an object of contemplation. Cameras do not simply make it possible to apprehend more by seeing. They have changed seeing itself, by fostering the idea of seeing for seeing’s sake. For it is in the very nature of photography that it be a promiscuous form of seeing, and, in talented hands, an infallible medium of creation. So go out there are, and don't just see. Observe, investigate and capture what happens between a breath and a pause: the story of life. The shot in the first frame is about the timing and the one in the second frame is about finding beauty in the mundane.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 16)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/11 1/250sec 70mm ISO-100 for both
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #badroadbuddies #apolloxtripoto

/finding my way home Travelling to the mountains

/finding my way home

Travelling to the mountains and living their for a Sen night gave me the opportunity to pause and reflect. It cleared my mind of the clutter and gave it a much needed breathing room. This activity in turn helped me in having fresh ideas and eventually enabled me to create a film and write a photo-essay. While I was thinking about writing the caption for this post, it struck me how this expedition has impacted me and I thought I'll start a conversation with you folks on that. I am sure you must have been on a trip that had an impact on your life and I'd love to read about it in the comments or DMs, even if it is a brief description of the journey.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 15)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/11 1/200sec 70mm ISO-100 for all the 3 shots
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikonasia
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains
#badroadbuddies #apolloxtripoto

/supreme serenity During our descent there came s

/supreme serenity

During our descent there came sharp left turn on the ridge. I was concentrating on my steps as the black ice was posing serious challenges for us. As I reached the pin of the corner, I lifted my eyes towards the horizon and witnessed this serene scene. In the distance, the peaks of the mountains were wreathed in a necklace of snow. Nothing it could do could banish the wonderland of white beneath it. The yellow and green trees decorated the otherwise banal scene. The ornamental beauty of the land returned. All around me, the snow flashed, the trees glittered and the birds chirped.
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/the majestic mountains (scene 14)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/11 1/200sec 70mm ISO-100
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#photoscapeofthemonth
#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikontogether #nikonasia #shotonnikon
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange #apolloxtripoto
#indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains #badroadbuddies

/bluer than blue As I progress further with my pr

/bluer than blue

As I progress further with my project and writing the photo-essay (as you would have seen in my story today), it became obvious that it was really unimportant what I chose to photograph. I had a narrative in mind even before actually starting to travel. I wanted to tell a story through the photos. The particular places along the way simply provided an excuse to produce work. You can only see what you are ready to see - what mirrors your mind at that particular time. The more development I make on the project, the more clearer it becomes. It was the narrative that I had envisioned which was driving my exposures. I wanted to write a story interlacing light and darkness, and to my surprise, that's how the photographs turned out to be. So, yes, my narrative has taken a turn towards light and now the feed would be bright!
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/the majestic mountains (scene 14)
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Shot on @nikonindiaofficial D5200 with the 70-200mm kit zoom lens
f/11 1/200sec 82mm ISO-100
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#sonyGreatLittleMoments #winAlpha7C_IN
#natgeoyourshot #incredibleindia
#mountainlife #greatoutdoors #instamountain #lovemountains
#trekking #momentswithnikon #nikontogether #nikonasia #shotonnikon
#tripotocommunity #_ip #raghavrairalhan #gun_eat
#himachalpradesh #kheerganga #himalayanrange
#blackandwhitemountains #indianmountains
#landscapephotography #mountains

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