I started clicking at a fairly early age. It was 1972, Puri and I was not even six that time. Probably it was an Agfa Isoly II. But that was not our camera.



I could purchase my first camera in 1978. It was a click IV. Probably the price was Rs 140/- that time. My uncle purchased it from Bombay. I used to save Rs.1.5/- daily from the rickshaw fare given my my mother. In a note book, the accounts were recorded against date. I could pile up a huge sum of Rs.125/- and the rest was a gift from my father.

Yashica electro 35 was the next that we had. My Aunty-Uncle brought it from England in 1979.

The first SLR that entered our house was Minolta 7000. That was incidentally the first autofocus SLR in the world. With a decent 28-70 lense it was dream machine for me.

The pictures were excuisite and crisp.

In late 1992 I purchased my first Nikon. It was FM 10.

 In 1996 I took the next step with a Nikon F65.

With an 18-24mm wide angle, 70-200mm tele and a basic 35-70mm lens this was a complete set for me.


 

In 2004, I graduated to digital photography with Nikon Coolpix 8700. It was a 8MP, superzoom bridge with 35-280 mm lens. The picture quality was astonishing and in some cases outstanding.

In 2007 I purchased my first Canon S5 iS. This is again a 8 MP bridge camera with 35-432 mm. It was not a great camera, though I could take some nice photos with this at Rajasthan.




 

Nikon D60 was my next camera which I purchased in Aug 2008. This entry level D-SLR could never really satisfy me. Except for a few nice shots at Prague, I was not too happy.

 

Canon SX10iS was a small giant which I have used for a few months in 2009 abd early 2010. Again a bridge with 10 MP and a 28-560 mm lens.

It was fun but again had some limitations with which I became aware and sensitized during the wildlife photo safari and Bandipur.







 

Within 4 weeks of coming back  in February 2010 I moved to my next D-SLR and again a Nikon. This time it is D90 with a 18-105 mm lens.

After a long 3 years I purchased my first Canon D-SLR 7D. Initially with a 18-200 mm lens and then replaced the lense with one 18-135 mm and another 70-300 mm lenses. 

Wildlife Photo Safari: Bandipura-Ranganathittu

The idea of going to an exclusive photo safari and that too 2000 km away from my city was little weird to start with. But once I decided, I was determined to make it.

Drs Ravi and Roopa Hebbali were the organizing force behind this Safari.

I joined the group on 22nd early morning at Ravi's Bangalore office at 28th Cross, 4th block, Jayanagar. Including me it was a group of eight. Dr. Tanmoy Das, from Apollo Hospital Kolkata(whom I met for the first time there),Dr. Hafiz and Dr. Fabith from Caclicut, Dr. Santosh also from Kerala(Kanhangad),Dr. Kannan from Chennai, Xercis Tampal an IT professional from Mumbai and Dr. Ramesh from Bangalore. Our faculties were R. Dev( a celebrated widllife photographer in his mid fifties(he was incidentally the youngest Indian to be awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society of UK in 1978 ) and Dr. Manoj Singadi(http://www.manojsindagi.in/) a qualified paediatritian and a celebrated wild life photographer(who is also an Associate Fellow of RPS, UK).

Including Ravi and Roopa, it was a dozen.

The next two days were mind blowing to say the least.

We first went to Ranganathittu bird Sanctuary, then we camped at the Bandipur Safari Lodge on the Mysore-Ooty Road.

Next three days were dotted with intense activities like, open jeep Safari in the morning and evening, wild life talk, macro photography session, theory classes, Landscape photography etc.

The members of the group gelled very well to each other.

The whole trip was a refreshing and rejuvenating experience which inspired, provoked and almost whipped me to take better photographs with my small Canon SX 10iS bridge camera with a 28-560 mm lens.

But this was the smallest and cheapest machine at work there with some 500 D, 50 D, even 5D Mark II and D90 etc. with 55-250 mm, 100-400 lenses !!!

It will take some time for me to settle down in the concrete jungle again after this dream Safari.

Praha

I don't know why Praha seemed to me as a melancholic city...

Can't forget the dilapidated rail stations of yesteryear, old town square, Charle's bridge(remided me of Paris, though) and even the one-way, narrow ally to the restaurant for which even the pedestrains need traffic signals(as only one person can walk in or come out at one point of time:-)

Now very rich or snobbish, Praha is very humane and down to earth.

A relaxing afternoon cruise on the serene Vlatava river was really very helpful in unwinding...

You may leave Praha but Praha will never leave you...it tends to stay deep inside and continue to come back again and again like an old song:-)

That is Praha for me.

Magical Lucknow

DERMACON 2010 was held in Lucknow this year. This was my first visit to the city.

I was mesmerized. It was love at first sight. The newer pasrts of Lucknow are awesome with wide and clean roads and flyovers. Parks are, though impressive, smells of autocracy.

Under a grey British sky, the temperature was just few degrees above freezing point. Art Huntley was one of the invited speakers. So were Dr. Ortonne, Torello Lotti ,Robin Graham Brown, Howard Maibach.

We will remember the afternoon at Dr. Ahmed Zaheer's ancestral place Aliya Manzil on the Rana Pratap Marg. Raj and Asha Kubba, Martin Black were there among others.

This was a personal and private invitation.

Gazal was tantalizing. Kebabs were unworldly. Kali Gazar ki Halua was a revealation.

Will take long to erase the memory of that cold afternoon wrapped with pure and heart warming Lucknowi Tehjeeb, Nafasat, Nazakat, Takaluf and Latafat.

My website launched!!!

Dr. Koushik Lahiri (Dermatologist & Dermatosurgeon)

Launched my site.
It is http://www.drlahiri.org/
Titan typed www.
Dyuti typed drlahiri.
Fultusi types org
Ma clicked on Enter.
That was 9.47 pm.

Jheel road visit: down memory lane

That was late sixties.

As a toddler, we used to stay at Jheel Road, Jadavpur.

After forty years today, I accompanied my mom to the same place. Mrs Kundu(Maiya) was there. Surprisingly not that old.

Next door neighbour(Mother of Nanuadidi) could instantly recognise my mother.

That was a tearful reunion.

There was a big waterbody infront of the house.

Now

"Juger haoa onyo mone

jomi bechar taka gone"

Sei Jheel ta bikri hoye gechhe.

Pukur bujiye mati phele tar opor bari hoye giyechhe sei kobe.

Bari. Bari r opor mobile er tower.

Eta onyo jug.

Solar eclipse from Greenwood Nook, Kolkata

Well, it was not a total one...but almost total...91% to be precise... with the help of an 'user friendlly' cloud cover we could enjoy the rare celestial event.The pix were compressed so the quality is not that exciting but seems ok nonethelessAfter 1980 and 1995 this was another chance... next one is 105 years away.Till then:-)