A Passage to Salvation
Clicked during my trip to Amarnath... during a 50 km walk on snow and ice in the Himalyas.
Clicked during my trip to Amarnath... during a 50 km walk on snow and ice in the Himalyas.
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Jun, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The Photo was taken on the trek to Amarnath, a holy shrine of Hindus, located in Kashmir state of India. The cave is surrounded by snow clad Himalayan range most of the year, except for a short period in summer. Thousands and thousands of pilgrims make their way on foot, and some on Horses, Palkis(palanquin) and some via Helicopter too! Thought the most popular remains the 50 km trek done over 3 days from Chandanwari (near Pahalgam) to the Holy cave. Welcome to read a lot more on this blog i wrote.. http://linesnframes.blogspot.com/2013/04/Time
The photo was taken on the morning of 28th June 2012 at 10.27 am on the second day of my trek between Seshnag and Panchtarini....at an altitude of roughly 13,000 ft.Lighting
The morning light is usually beautiful in the mountains, so i took advantage of the still soft light, and yet the strong contrast between the foreground and background. I think it was primarily the angle which made it an especially appealing frame.Equipment
This was shot on Nikon D90, on the kit lens 18-105mm lens f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. The only additional piece is a Circular Polarising Filter(CPL) to capture the Sky colors. Its a handheld frame.Inspiration
Everything about this trip was inspirational for me. The views are breathtaking wherever you look, but one is truly inspired by the amount of faith the pilgrims have. While there could be one odd photographer like me, the pilgrims truly believe its their 'passage to salvation'.. thus the title of the image. I think this was the journey of a lifetime for me too, while i made several beautiful pictures on this trip, this was the defining frame, where all the elements came together, the cottony clouds, the imposing mountains, the pilgrims on foot as well as the horses, and in the distance the tents as well, where one could rest their aching limbs!Editing
Well, as this image was taken in 2012, i didn't know much about post processing. I know landscape photography needs heavy post processing today, but when i submitted it for the first competition, i just worked on the color correction and shadows in Picasa and it went on to win the first prize. The image has won many awards and also exhibited a few times. I think some very basic color corrections in Lightroom suffices for me.In my camera bag
I started using a DSLR in 2010, and since then I have been using my Nikon D90. On a long travel photography trip, i may borrow another camera from my brother, but mostly my Nikon D90 with its kit lens of 18-105mm is my workhorse. As Tamron's brand ambassador in India(after winning the 2012 Tamron challenge), I do have a few Tamron lenses in my bag now, the 90mm Macro being my favourite; I also would carry the 10-24mm wide angle lens from their stable. And on a wildlife trip the Tamron 150-600mmG2. I am glad even without being an equipment heavy photographer, I have been able to win so many global and national awards. One of my pictures is also a Windows 7 wallpaper(https://www.flickr.com/photos/12333120@N00/3679142327).If you have an original copy, you can see my name on the copyright.Feedback
I have always believed Composition is key in photography. As you can see from the above answer, I am not a equipment heavy photographer. The Art of Seeing is critical. Look for interesting lines to guide the viewer... one can notice the compositional cardinal rule of Leading Lines being used extensively in the picture. Have a point of interest and look for balance in the frame. Keep looking and you'd find your frames!
