Stories

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

– Anthony Bourdain

The memories of what I took from my travels. Here.

Field Notes from Iceland

17 hours ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

A few weeks back, I stumbled upon a conversation the author Anne Lamott had with David Perell. The thought provoking...

11 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 weeks ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

Serengeti. Say the word, loudly. Doesn’t it roll off the tongue in a manner that conjures up images of something...

39 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 weeks ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts

One of the most useless questions an adult can ask a kid is – what do you want to be...

12 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 months ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Europe

"Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it." Daniel Kahneman The...

77 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 months ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Europe

The wind howled. Long and impatient. Icy cold. The snow hurled itself across the earth and air. The tiny little...

79 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 months ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

Time – this is the third and final installment of my three part series on how I looked at Mara...

62 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 months ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

This is the second of three posts on what I tried to capture in my last visit to Masai Mara....

80 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 months ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

This is the first of three posts on what I tried to capture in my last visit to Masai Mara....

54 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

6 months ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

I put my camera down. The scene was too amusing to remain detached and focused on mundane things like composition...

81 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 months ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - India

The refreshing coolness of the air was what I first registered as I opened the door and stepped out onto...

72 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 months ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts

Bloody. Brutal. Horrific. Every scene around him was just that. One typical war zone scene after another. His eyes stung...

76 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 months ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

I am not sure exactly when this question started bothering me a lot more than it had in the past....

63 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

11 months ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

I was in a bit of a funk. A vague sense of restlessness had crept up in me. For a...

61 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

11 months ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Asia

“ Fox in Socks, our game is done, sir. Thank you for a lot of fun, sir” – Fox in...

51 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

12 months ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Asia

"In art, everything is possible. But everything is not necessary." - Arvo Part A photograph is the capture of a...

62 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa / Trip - Asia

In 2025, it is estimated that we humans will take around 2 trillion photos. As of now, all of us...

57 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Asia

“ We were so far north in Japan that we could actually see Russia.” That was my favorite oh so...

55 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Asia

Nothing was working. The swans were not exactly being cooperative. Most of them were busy snoozing, heads tucked in deep...

50 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Asia

“ A good photograph must be waited for. You don’t chase it, you let it come to you. You just...

43 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Asia

The place looked straight out of a fairytale book. I walked down the gently sloping path from the ticket counter....

63 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Asia

Have you climbed up stairs that are more than a century old ? We had come to Jigokudani to photograph...

94 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Asia

How cold will -25 deg C be ? I will be able to give you an idea in my next...

39 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Adventure / Conservation / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

Last year, a rhino was killed every 15 hours. Let’s zoom out and find out what that actually means. At...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

Did you ever see a giraffe? It is like something from between the regions of truth and fiction. Geraldine Jewsbury...

43 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

1 year ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

I looked up in awe. There he stood, tall and majestic, unconcerned about all us puny beings scattered around him....

52 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

I froze. Even the slightest movement from me could destroy the moment. To my right, around ten to twelve feet...

67 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts

Many had asked me over the last year or so. I used to recoil at the suggestion. Me ? Now...

42 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

Things have changed. There used to be a time when I would approach a trip in a blasé manner, insouciantly...

62 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

There are times when you watch a scene unfold in front of you, right from the start to the very...

45 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

I’ll tell you how the sun rose - A ribbon at a time. The steeples swam in amethyst, The news...

42 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

Continuing with my aim to get guest posts for you each quarter, I had requested Shreeram MV, an ace photographer,...

58 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

How do we take a photograph ? No, not the physical act of focusing and pressing the button. As we...

58 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

Why do we do it ? Why do we take a painfully long flight trip to reach a country that...

47 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Adventure / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

“ This is a graveyard for drones” Jens, our guide, announced with a chuckle. This was in 2022, during my...

41 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Polar regions

What are the odds of seeing a polar bear ? It’s not easy to sight a polar bear. In fact,...

52 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

Phototrips can be bloody tiring. I reached home a little after noon. A journey that was a tale of delayed...

63 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / trekking / Trip - Polar regions

As you read this, I would have either just reached the northern most inhabited place on this earth – Longyearbyen...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts

I thought it would be good for everyone who reads these posts to occasionally hear from others who are also...

55 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - South America

I had recently written about how I had run into problems with accessing all my images which were scattered across...

47 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Ethics / Photography / Photography thoughts

Recently, a photographer, I admire and follow, David DuChemin, put out a short reel on Insta. He talked about the...

57 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - South America

" We don't make mistakes. We have happy accidents" -Bob Ross Disaster had struck. My desktop was not reading many...

95 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

What is most critical for getting a good photo ? Your gear ? The opportunities that come up ? How...

54 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

It doesn’t happen suddenly. It also doesn’t happen at the same time. You first notice it in the waters. One...

83 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - India

Creativity is work ethic. This sentiment was the main theme in one of David duChemin’s blog posts and one that...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

Bharatpur is bewitched. At least, in winter. Here, you don’t tumble out of a cupboard into a Narniaesque world. Instead,...

48 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

There was a quote I had read that stayed with me. ‘ The eye is always caught by light, but...

50 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

I saw one of those standard Insta reels the other day where the photographer walks across to a complete stranger...

42 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

Pushkar. I can’t remember exactly how Pushkar got imprinted on my mind. Of course, it was a usual quiz question...

59 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

2 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

Yeah, it’s that time of the year. The moment I almost dread. But also a useful exercise . The process...

56 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Ethics / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

Our chopper swung sharply to the left, after speeding ahead of the running zebras and, as a single unit, the...

55 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

“ Are those elephants ?” “ No…just a mirage.” Followed by a chuckle. That was our guide, Lenny. “ What...

43 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / trekking / Trip - India

I would have loved to have spent a few quiet days after the trek. Any trek gives you time to...

56 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Polar regions

It started in the most innocuous way. It is often rather difficult to spot a polar bear. The distant white...

39 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Europe

The other day I had a conversation about an image I had posted on Insta with my good friend R....

56 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Europe

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson When I was writing...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Europe

His eyes were locked on his opponent. A cold, unyielding stare. He meant business. But, so did his opponent. He...

46 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

Its difficult when you get overwhelmed. Your mind gets crowded up, you are unable to think straight, you are looking...

42 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Europe

I am back home. From near zero and sub zero degree temperatures, straight into the boiling cauldron that Bangalore has...

57 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

I am back in Norway. This time focusing on wildlife on the other end of the size spectrum to polar...

52 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

It was dark outside, an inky darkness in a slow, seductive dance with the light fog. We bumped along, occasionally...

58 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

"Life is short, break the rules." ~ Mark Twain I was mildly confused. I was standing at the Mandovi beach,...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

We speed on the highway. A weary landscape lies around us. It lies vast and unattended, hot and searching for...

39 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

If, from my work table, I move slightly to my left and stretch my arm to a rather neatly arranged...

52 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Creative Musings / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

With photography, I always think that it’s not good enough” – Lynsey Addario I agree. Still, one should look at...

54 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

3 years ago / Photography / Photography thoughts

2022 will stay in my memory a little more than most years do. Not because of a truly fabulous trip...

57 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

There are 19 species of marine mammals in Svalbard. 3 species of terrestrial mammals. And a whopping 237 species of...

50 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

Male lions. They get all the attention and take all the glory. With their flowing, impressive manes, their battle scarred...

38 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

A bird, a curious mix of dark grey ( or is it more brown ? ) and white – brownish...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Polar regions

I dug my hands deeper into my pockets searching for some warmth that could be lurking inside, hunched my shoulders...

47 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Conservation / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Polar regions

It’s a rather unremarkable bird to look at. Visually, there are birds that are far more striking than the Arctic...

49 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

“Mara ? Again ? ” How does one explain ? Of course, no two visits to the wild anywhere in...

62 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

4 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

Its an oft repeated cliché that every moment in the wild is a fight for survival. A see saw battle...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 years ago / Conservation / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

Totally out of the blue, breaking the stillness that surrounded us, a party of peahens took off from near the...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

Kung Fu Panda, the movie, was a runaway success. As a series, the movie grossed over $1.8 Billion and is...

49 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

“ You know, this is the first time that soon after a trip, you have not yet shared any wildlife...

49 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 years ago / Conservation / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - India

4273. The agitated, noisy flutter of a dozen wings taking off in alarm broke the stillness of the cold, foggy...

39 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - India

It was quiet. Even the usual forest sounds seemed muted, as if a little wary. We peered into the forest....

41 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

5 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - India

4:30 am : The alarm goes off and we reluctantly struggle out of the warmth of our thick blankets. 5.:15...

36 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

6 years ago / Creative Musings / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

The eloquence of light Straight off…the heading for this post is not an original one. A few days back, while...

47 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

6 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

She crouched. Low. Body tense. Poised for motion. Eyes locked in on a single Thomson’s gazelle calf that was grazing...

50 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

6 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

Siligi. It meant, ‘ The Dependable’. A better name couldn’t be there for a cheetah mom with six cubs. Siligi...

48 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

6 years ago / Nature / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

When we first saw them, they were two tiny dots, one much smaller than the other, in a sea of...

50 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - South America

Southwild Pantanal Lodge. Our last stop. It is located a little off the Transpantaneira, on the banks of the Pixaim...

52 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 years ago / Adventure / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - South America

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I could feel a tiny rivulet of sweat start its journey from the back...

77 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - South America

“ We got a sighting.” The handset crackles, voices exchange messages and those are the magic words from Fabiano, uttered...

39 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - South America

Transpantaneira. The highway to nowhere. For some reason, the story of this highway has always fascinated me. Somewhere in the...

69 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - South America

‘ So, where is your next trip ?” “ Brazil.” “ Oh wow !! The Amazon ?” “ No, to...

46 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

7 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - India

“ I am planning to go photographing birds in Goa” “ Goa ? “ “ Yes.” “ For BIRD photography...

83 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 years ago / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

We were in a bit of a quandary. We had spent 7-8 days looking at the wildlife across different spots...

46 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 years ago / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

Not every minute, not every incident in the wild is packed with pulsating, adrenaline filled action. Not every opportunity for...

44 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 years ago / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

I stretched myself, rolled my shoulders, and raised my hand to stifle a yawn. I looked behind me and most...

51 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 years ago / Photography / Photography thoughts / Trip - Africa

I was anxious. Restless. We had reached the Masai Mara the previous day after lunchtime. A quick lunch and we...

50 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 years ago / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel / Trip - Africa

Masai Mara. I was finally here. I have been planning this visit for at least five years. I have read...

45 Views

Field Notes from Iceland

8 years ago / Adventure / Nature / Photography / Photography thoughts / Travel

‘ Yay !! We did it !!” We exulted in the sheer delight of having crossed the last big rapid....

61 Views

Subscribe

Love wildlife photography?

Get my latest photos | blogs | tutorials | giveaways before anyone else!

Most Popular

2 weeks ago
Scribbles from Tanzania

Serengeti. Say the word, loudly. Doesn’t it...

3 weeks ago
“Kill Your Darlings”

One of the most useless questions an...

2 months ago
The Ethics of photographing Steller Eagles

First, let’s get the cold numbers out...