Category Archives: Photography

In Camera Out Camera

Published October 20, 2015 / by Jehangir

Well, it is the ‘Age of Extremes’ after all. My new cameras:

Nikon P1000 & P900

Telescope-like zoom power. This isn’t super zoom, it’s extreme zoom.

Nikon Coolpix P1000 : A 3000mm (125X) equivalent optical zoom NIKKOR ED glass lens — the most powerful lens ever used on a bridge camera.

Nikon Coolpix P900 : A 2000mm equivalent (83X) optical zoom equivalent NIKKOR ED glass lens.

Archived post from 20.10.2015:

‘Craters on the moon, wildlife from afar, your child's face on a crowded school stage’ is what the brochure for my new camera promised.

Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC and a mega 65x optical zoom is what convinced me to go for the Canon Powershot SX60 HS .

Craters on the moon: Check

Wildlife from afar : Check

Kids on stage will have to wait 🙂

Archived post from 13.10.2010:

I finally got myself a new camera. It is a Fujifilm FinePix HS10. The 30X zoom and amazing wide-angle capability were deciding factors as I dabble a bit in nature and architectural photography.

Here is a sample picture :

The time has come, therefore, to bid farewell to my trusty old FZ10.

Over the years, It has helped me capture some memorable photographs. You can view some of them here:

The Fluzi Gallery

I had zeroed in on the Panasonic DMC FZ10 after it won an award as Best Superzoom Camera at the TIPA Awards <2006>. It was after I recieved my new camera that I realised that I hadn't seen this year's TIPA Awards. Funnily enough the FinePix HS10 too was the winner in the Best Superzoom Camera category. I guess some things are just meant to be.

P.S : I hope Jamshed has half the fun I had with the Fluzi.

Thesiger in Kashmir

Published February 17, 2013 / by Jehangir

Sir Wilfred Thesiger (1910–2003) was a British explorer and travel writer best known for two travel books recounting his adventures in Arabian deserts and the marshes of Iraq.

Arabian Sands (1959) chronicled the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins, while The Marsh Arabs (1964) described the people of the marshes of southern Iraq.

Many people regard him as the last of the great traveller/explorers who wandered wildernesses across the globe. However, unlike his colonial predecessors, Thesiger's USP was his absolute empathy with the communities he encountered in his travels.


At the end of 'A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush', Eric Newby, no mean traveller himself, relates how during a chance meeting in the of the mountain ranges of Asia, Thesiger reacted to Newby and his friend attempting to inlate their air beds by exclaiming "God, you must be a couple of pansies."

Thesiger had also explored the Hindu Kush, the Karakorams and the Pamirs and described his travels amongst tribes like the Kafir Kalash, but I was unaware that he had visited and photographed Kashmir in 1983.

Exhibit: This single tantalising photograph entitled 'Dal Lake at Srinagar'

Thesiger took tens of thousands of photographs during eight decades of travels throughout Africa and Asia. However not many details are available of his Kashmir visit. Which begs the question – would Thesiger visit Kashmir and restrict himself to just one photo?

Thesiger's photographs were famed for their clarity and expressiveness and I hope we can access more of his Kashmir portfolio sometime.

Three Kingfishers

Published December 18, 2011 / by Jehangir

I have commented earlier on the Rule of Three in the bird life of Kashmir. True to the rule, three species of kingfishers are commonly observed in Kashmir – the pied, common and white-throated kingfishers.

One of life's little joys is sitting on the banks of the Jehlum and watching a family of Pied kingfishers fly past in perfect formation – think of a fly-by of minutiarised Sukhoi fighter-jets on parade.

The White-throated kingfisher lends a dash of colour to the bleak winterscape, while the Common kingfisher is, well, common.