Group Photo

Last Sunday I along with my friends Rohit & Dijiraj Conducted a full day Basic photography workshop at Mangalore. it was a great success. Participants were from various fields. All were keen to learn the basics of photography. We covered several fundamental principles during the morning session. After lunch we concentrated on hands on interaction with them. This was our second basic photography workshop conducted under banner of Mangalore Photography Club. We are soon planning to come with an advanced workshop on selected photography topics.

We got a nice coverage in local papers. Here is an link from Mangalore Today.

Since I was busy preparing for the workshop, I was not able to blog for last 2 weeks. I will have a new post soon.

The Photography Workshop on 29th August

I, along with Rohit S.Rao & Dijaraj Nair are conducting our 2nd Basic Photography Workshop on 29th August 2010

If you Love taking pictures with your digital camera? Want to improve your skills, but don’t have a lot of time to spend? How about some straight-to-the-point tips that cut to the chase and show you step by step how to accomplish a task? If that sounds like just what you had in mind, Digital Photography Workshop is just what you need.

Digital Photography Workshop covers important tasks from choosing a camera to making great photos. It also shows you basic operations along with some great tips on Portrait, Landscape, Street and Wildlife photography.

Please inform your friends who are interested in joining this workshop.

You’ll be able to learn:

• What is photography
• The need to take good photos
• Camera from film to digital
• Getting the best out of lenses
• Tripods & other accessories
• How to take a good photographs
• Composition
• Framing
• Lighting
• Point of view
• Getting best out of your camera
• Aperture
• Shutter speed
• ISO
• Basic Post Processing
• Tips on
  • Portrait photography
  • Landscape photography
  • Street photography
  • Wildlife photography
  • Event photography

Date: 29th August 2010, Sunday 10AM – 5PM

Venue: District Small Industries Association (R) Mangalore Hall
Industrial Estate, Yeyyadi, Mangalore 575008

Workshop Fees: Rs 650/- Inclusive of materials & food.

All you need is a keen interest in photography and a camera.

For Further details and registration contact

Dr. Krishna Mohan 98807 44258
Rohit S.Rao 98450 71770
Dijaraj Nair 98452 80852
Email: mangfoto@gmail.com

White Browed Wagtail

On that Sunday I was strolling near Bondel trying to capture some birds.. It was raining heavily that day and I was unable to find mach except this bird who was searching for insects in a nearby puddle. After seeing me it went near a pile of Granite rocks nearby. This gave me a nice opportunity to shoot him in a nice evening light. Here are some of the shots which I took with Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM on Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF 1.4x II Extender. All shots were taken handheld at 1/500th of second with f/4.0 and ISO 200.

The White-browed Wagtail or Large Pied Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) is a medium-sized bird and is the largest member of the wagtail family. They are conspicuously patterned with black above and white below, a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. They are common in small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops. The specific name is derived from the city of Madras which is now renamed as Chennai.

White Browed Wagtail in a puddle

The White-browed Wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at 21 cm length. It is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It has black upperparts, head and breast, with a white supercilium and large white wingbar. Unlike White Wagtails it never has white on the forehead. The rest of the underparts are white. The female has the black less intense than in the male. Juveniles are like the females brown-grey where the adult is black.

The White-browed Wagtail is a resident breeder in India and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is rare in the higher altitude regions but has been seen in Ladakh on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. In most of India it is found below 1000 m but in southern India it goes up into the hills up to 2200 m.

White Browed Wagtail

These wagtails have adapted well to urban habitats and is often found perched on overhead water storages in residential buildings. Usually seen in pairs or small groups near open water. They call often especially in the mornings and are active like most other wagtails. They will perch on the ground as well as on wires or on buildings. The song is long and loud with many different notes. The usual call is a wheezy “wheech”. They can fly fairly rapidly for long distances and they fly with a bounding (dipping and rising) flight pattern and have been recorded to travel at the speed of about 40 km/h.

Looking Straight

Like other wagtails, this species is insectivorous. Nestlings were mainly fed orthopterans, caterpillars and spiders. Stayphylinid beetles and pentatomid bugs have also been recorded in their diet. Local name for wagtails in India is dhobin meaning washerwoman.