Paradise...
The majestic Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim at a altitude of 18,000 feet. The suitable reward for fighting the lack of oxygen and the effort to reach this place... ...
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The majestic Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim at a altitude of 18,000 feet. The suitable reward for fighting the lack of oxygen and the effort to reach this place...
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Nov, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at a altitude of 17,800 Feet at Gurudongmar Lake, Sikkim, India where I had to battle with the gasping breath due to the low oxygen levels as I tried to keep my hands steady.Time
Due to the extreme weather (high winds, low Oxygen levels, Temps constantly hovering around the 0 Mark) we had to reach the place early around 7 AM and leave before 9 AM when the wind speeds begin picking up on the barren landscape.Lighting
The lack of clouds at such a high altitude led to the almost space-like eerie blue tone to the entire sky and the Suns rays hitting the snow at a low angle made it stand out from the entire overall landscape. Only I had to wait quite a while to get the water calm and ripple free since the winds were causing quite a disturbance and distort the reflection which is a big attention drawing part of this image.Equipment
This was taken using the Nikon D5200 with stock 18-105 f3.5-5.6 Kit Lens. Sadly I did not have my tripod and had to rely on holding my breath and getting a sharp shot at the relatively low light of the morning sun.Inspiration
All the places one visits, after a while good photographs are all that remains to relive the moment and tell a story :-) The awesome beauty of the place compelled me to capture something worth preserving which will remind me of the experience and the moment from the trip forever. A small time travel of sorts.Editing
No, I do not use any post processing software and also shoot in JPEG since I do not get much time to work on my pics later. Only some minor Contrast / Sharpness adjustments from the basic Windows Photo Viewer App itself was all that was done on this pic.In my camera bag
Apart from the D5200 and kit 18-105 Lens the only other piece of DSLR gear I own is a 50mm Prime which I seldom take on nature trips. For quick snaps and also some flexibility in Zoom range I keep a Superzoom Camera (Currently the handy and commendable Sony HX9V) handy apart from the DSLR in case I need some wide (24mm) or some Tele action. To match up the same focal range in my DSLR would require a huge lens luggage / cost neither of which I can afford in my current casual trips.Feedback
When faced with a naturally beautiful landscape sometimes it gets quite difficult to exactly isolate the main subject of image to compose the shot correctly. In this scenario the lake, the surrounding mountains, the reflections , everything was very beautiful and I had to hunt around the lake for a while to get the balanced kind of reflection and snow I wanted to compose. Also since direct sunlight on the snow gets very bright one also has to take in consideration about the blown highlights in high dynamic range situations like this and compose the shot accordingly. And lastly for a clear reflection it is a task of a lot of patience to get a ripple free clear water surface which will greatly enhance the wow factor of the image.
