Today (30th April) Adobe released Photoshop CS5 Trial. I grabbed copy early and wanted to try the new features. here is a quick take on HDR Pro feature of Photoshop CS5.

Among all the new features CS5 boasts HDR Pro is one of the most hyped. Till now we needed to go to 3rd party soft wares like Photomatix Pro to get that HDR look we want. This feature is revamped-from-the-ground-up and called HDR Pro. Like the Merge to HDR feature in Photoshop CS4 and earlier, HDR Pro lets you combine two or more exposures of a single scene into an impossibly rendered composite, complete with wide-open shadows and richly detailed highlights. The big difference: Unlike Merge to HDR, which is about as easy to control. HDR Pro offers superb controls and delivers quite a reliable result.

I quickly compared my Photomatix pro rendered HDR which features in my last blog Nir-Laksha Dweepa-Day2-Kalpeni. I used the same set of files and here is the result with HDR Pro. I think there is definite improvement from the CS4 version. But if you want superior control over your HDR then photomatix is still the king. Let us see the results. First is rendered with Photomatix pro and the second using HDR pro. Judge yourself which one you prefer. As you can manipulate any HDR to your hearts content, there is definitely scope for improvement in both the shots. This is what I liked.

Photomatix Pro Rendered HDR

HDRPro Rendered HDR

Remove Ghosts option is new in HDR Pro. This will eliminate movements when you are shooting multiple images in a busy environment. I had a photograph of Tilakkam island from that trip which I had taken as HDR but was unable to publish as there was ghosting artifact I thought that would be perfect candidate for checking ghosting option and predictably it came out picture perfect with HDR Pro. Here are the results. First one is with Photomatix Pro which produced nice output but with lot of ghosting artifact which is minute but visible on large photo.

Photomatix unable to resolve Ghosting

Here the same set of photos by HDR Pro which ghost elimination has made it crisper. Even though I like the output Photomatix produces HDR pro is winner here.

HDR pro which removed Ghosting artifact efficiently

Remember that this is not a definitive review or a shootout between this two HDR softwares. It is just a short comparison I did within the short time I had to express my views. I welcome your view on that.

Glorious Sunrise from the Top Deck of MV Kavaratti

The ship was still swaying. A green line of land is visible through the cabin window. Clockwork flashes from the light house illuminate the pre-dawn blue sea. Public address system told us that the passengers to be ready to disembark at Kalpeni. MV Kavarathi is anchored a mile or so off the coast, from where mechanized boats dart towards the ship. As the comforting air conditioned cabins of MV Kavaratty were lit by early morning sun I rushed after grabbing a quick morning tea to witness my first sunrise inside the sea. It was quite disappointing initially due to dense cloud covering the raising sun. Soon the disappointment vanished as the sun rose and lit the very dark blue Arabian sea all around us.

Dark blue water and Grey clouds

After leaving Kochi late in the evening this was the first glimpse of the sea. The color of the sea was just incredible. It is difficult to capture that color in photography due to limitation of sensors and monitors. That is why I recommend you to experience it live at least once in your lifetime by visiting these places. I have used High Dynamic range (HDR) photography to get you close to the feeling what I saw that day.

Map of Lakshadweep islands

We disembarked the ship around 8 AM through smaller boats to reach the jetty on the eastern side of Kalpeni Island. Kalpeni is more known for its three satellite uninhabited isles named Tilakkam, Pitti, and Cheriyam. Kalpeni is 2.8 Km in length and 1.2 Km in width with Cheriyam island on the north, Tilakkam and Pitti on the south western side. Kalpeni has one of the largest lagoons in Lakshadweep archipelago. It is also quite shallow which makes it splendid for all kinds of water sports. Kalpeni has the distinction that it was the first of Lakshadweep islands where girls started going to school.

luxury transport vehicle

After stepping on to Kalpeni we were greeted by strange transport vehicle to take us to the SPORTS resort on the south western side of Kalpeni. These were small Piaggio Ape 3 wheeler pickup vans. Put 2 wooden benches on these pickup and this coconut carrier becomes luxury transport vehicle for us. The roads are narrow but fully concreted and runs along the length of this narrow island snaking their way though the coconut trees.

Welcome Coconut drink at Kalpeni

At the resort we were welcomed to the island by SPORTS guys with fresh and rejuvenating coconut water. This is a ritual they follow in all the 3 islands without fail. What I fail to understand is that this coconut is most welcome when we are really tired and thirsty, but is offered early in the day when we had our sumptuous breakfast in the ship.

Tilakkam Island from SPORTS resort

Anyway it was no place for logic, so kept all my thoughts aside and wandered (wondered) around huge pool of very shallow water full of broken coral and sea life. Tide was very low and the boats were anchored almost in the middle of this lagoon and they made us wait for the sea to raise.

Brown Sea Cucumber & broken coral on the boat

Tilakkam Island

Snorkeling in shallow waters, Pitti Island is far away

When it was sufficiently high they took us across to Tillakkam island for kayaking and Snorkeling. On the way to the island was quite interesting with several Huge black Sea cucumbers on the way. The huge lagoon was quite shallow (2-3 feet) and full of corals and rich in marine life and coral reefs. Since I lacked underwater camera you will miss that view I had in snorkeling. They give you the gear which can be used for snorkeling. We did it for almost 4 hours, there was a huge variety of corals and fishes. The life under water was just incredible. Water was crystal clear. there was no sand or rock what was underneath was powdery corals and broken corals in various shapes and sizes.

Boat to take us to snorkeling

The Blue Lagoon

Initially I was overawed by he size of the things in water, and I swan cautiously, but as the first hour passed, all the cautiousness turned into curiosity and I was moving away with ease on the surface exploring the coral reefs and the marine life. I was overawed by the sight of ocean grass and corals spanning over large tracts of the ocean floor. initially all that looked scary and I stopped every now and then and stood on my feet.

Black Sea Cucumber Photo taken from above water

If you know to swim, then you are at ease. If you don’t know how to swim, then make sure you walk on the white sand and only put your head in water when needed. Make sure you are around the instructor at all times, so that he can spot you in times of distress. There was plenty of refreshing lemon juice which rejuvenated us to explore more.

Kayaking the lagoon

Around 12:30PM water started raising quite high as high tide was setting in. The pool slowly turned in a lake then almost became sea. We were feeling the tide and the wave along with current was pushing us around. The guides who were around us informed that it was time for departure from this lovely water heaven. With deep heart and sun burnt body we left the lagoon to have a lunch consisting of guess what Lagoon fish. I don’t know what grass eaters had but I sure know they missed lagoon fish which was yummy.

Local lady who prepared food for our lunch

Parichakkali and Kolkali dance

After lunch there was folk dance show conducted by the same set of guides who helped us in the morning. This was a dance of traditional Parichakkali and Kolkali dances of the Lakshadweep probably toned down to the tourists. After the dance we were taken on tour of the island. First stop was Government Hosiery factory where they make cotton vests. Isn’t it ironical as the word hosiery refers to leg-wear and what they sell are banyans (which was originally the name for loose nightgown of 18th century not the vests we wear under our shirts) We had a look at the rickety but still working knitting machine which produced yards of cotton material. Most of our co-passengers almost looted the whole place as the price was unbelievably low. I was left out of the crowd of buyers as they had never heard of XXL size T- shirts in those islands

Ancient Vest machine in Hosiery factory

I asked the our guides to show a Masjid which was supposed to have been built by fairies. The story of this mosque goes like this: Long ago, people planned to construct a mosque here. They dug up the place to construct the basement. When the workers returned the next day they found the mosque at the same site. It was built overnight by the djinns, Miracles don’t end there. Of the seven ponds surrounding the masjid, one provides drinking water despite its proximity to the sea. Unfortunately they denied to show us as it was not part of our itinerary. What I was fortunate to find was one such fresh water pod nearby.

Fresh water pool

Kalpeni Main Road

Later they took us to the north tip of the Kalpeni where we could if we wanted walk along the coral debris to the northern most uninhabited island Cheriyam. Cheriyam was once a part of Kalpeni and today is connected to the main Kalpeni by a bank of sea coral debris. The devastating storm of 1847 is said to have reshaped Kalpeni island and broke away Cheriyam from Kalpeni. And due to the storm Kalpeni has the distinction of not having a beach. We were exhausted by the swimming, snorkeling and kayaking for whole morning and Cheriyam did not look that attractive for our burning backs. So we took a small walk towards it and since the tide was high we returned back to the resort for a well deserved evening tea.

Cheriyam island with Coral Debris

After the tea it was time to reach back to our ship. When we reached the jetty for the boat we could see a huge rush of passengers who want to travel in our ship to other islands along with us.

Waiting for the boat

Before we caught the boat we took the mandatory group shot. Here you can see our whole group of 21 standing along the huge concrete boulders of the jetty and the MV Kavaratty in the background around a mile from the island anchored in the deep sea.

Us with our ship

Ship among Boulders

Golden Glow

We reached the ship just in time to capture the setting sun and I had a blast with some beautiful sunset and post sunset shots which included the glorious sky with light from the lighthouse and crescent moon.

Last boat before Sunset

Lighthouse

Vibrant Sky

Ship bidding adieu to Kalpeni

Last glimpse of Kalpeni before lights fade

After a hearty dinner we left for the island of Minicoy. We were in for a surprise in the early hours of the morning next day. But that will be a suspense I’ll reserve for the narrative on Day 3.

Fishing Great Egret

Let me clarify those who are wondering about the title. Nirlaksha = Negligence in Kannada (Would be Nirlakshya in Sanskrit) Dweepa = islands. This is my trip report to the Lakshadweep between 17th April to 21st. I, along with my family and 18 other friends spent some lovely time in a ship called M.V Kavaratti and visited 3 of the 36 odd islands of Lakshadweep Atoll. You will notice why I named the trip report in this fashion in the course of the narrative. Till then it would be a suspense.

MV Kavaratti in parking bay

Due to luggage constraints I chose to carry very little of my photographic gear but I have managed to get some great shots. My Main workhorse was Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens which produced some great wide angle shots. Canon EOS 7D with Canon 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM used as backup. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM was great for the glass bottom boat shot when fitted on 5D mark II. It followed the boat floor without a hint of hunting on focus. All my gear was carried on Lowepro minitrekker bag. I will elaborate on gear as the report progresses. Let us jump to the trip report.

Chinese nets

We started our Lakshadweep trip from Mangalore. Our Trip organizer Prasanna who has already posted his album on picassa here had arranged tickets in the AC 3 tier Coach in Malabar Express train which left at 6:15PM from Mangalore railway station on 16th and reached Ernakulam Junction at 3:30 AM on 17th. A transport via a Mahendra Pickup Van took us to a nearby Hotel Anatha Bhavan on MG Road of Ernakulam. We took much needed early morning sleep before refreshing ourselves with bath and breakfast at the hotel. We checked out at 10AM and asked the Van driver to take us to the ferry trip and Jews Synagogue visit as the ship was delayed and they had asked us to report only after lunch time.

The First stop was off the Fort Kochi near the famous Chinese nets. The Chinese fishing nets (Cheena vala) of Fort Kochi (Fort Cochin) in the City of Kochi (Cochin), in the Indian State of Kerala, are fixed land installations for an unusual form of fishing — shore operated lift nets. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets of 20 m or more across. Each structure is at least 10 m high and comprises a cantilever with an outstretched net suspended over the sea and large stones suspended from ropes as counterweights at the other end. Each installation is operated by a team of up to six fishermen.

River road behind Chinese nets

The system is sufficiently balanced that the weight of a man walking along the main beam is sufficient to cause the net to descend into the sea. The net is left for a short time, possibly just a few minutes, before it is raised by pulling on ropes. The catch is usually modest: a few fish and crustaceans — these may be sold to passers by within minutes.

Houseboat on shores of Vembanad lake

The system of counterweights is most ingenious. Rocks, each 30 cm or so in diameter are suspended from ropes of different lengths. As the net is raised, some of the rocks one-by-one come to rest on a platform thereby keeping everything in balance. Each installation has a limited operating depth. Consequently, an individual net cannot be continually operated in tidal waters. Different installations will be operated depending on the state of the tide.

China Vala

It is received wisdom that the nets are Chinese in origin. This is not as improbable as the 5,000 km distance from China might suggest — Kochi is a very important centre for the spice trade attracting traders from far and wide. Some suppose that the nets were introduced by the Chinese explorer Zheng He.

Dolphin in Vembanad Lake

After visiting these Chinese nets we took a boat ride in Vembanad lake. Ferry took around the mouth of Vembanad lake which is largest back water lake of Kerala State. We saw several Common Terns, Whiskered terns, Gulls and Great egrets jostling for fish along the lake mouth. We also had luck of seeing Dolphins but from a great distance.

Common Tern

I hate Plastic

The Vembanad lake, the second largest wetland in India and the largest tropical wetland ecosystem on the country’s southwestern coast. It is recognised as a Ramsar site , a wetland of global importance as defined by the Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and joined by India in 1981. Like many other permanent backwaters, its environmental condition is in a state of precipitous decline, representing a looming ecosystem crisis. There are plastic bottles everywhere you look. Other plastic and solid rubbish lines every shore and canal, regularly clogging motorboat engines. The water is more like slurry , you cannot see deeper than the first inch or two.

Kochi harbor with prominent Port Trust Building

Common Terns on Vembanad lake

Whiskered Terns on Vembanad lake

Common Tern on Vembanad lake

Along our trip we visited a fish market and saw many Houseboats (Kettuvallam) which are famous tourist attraction of this lake. We also saw our ship parked at Willington Island Bay close to Taj malabar Hotel. It was a short boat ride which dropped us off at the Jew Town on the bank of Vembanad lake.

Fishermen turning up at fish market to auction their catch

Kettuvallam

We wanted to see the Jew Synagogue but unfortunately it is closed on Fridays and Saturdays. So we walked along the street which leads to the Paradesi Jew Synagogue and all the antique shops along the sides of the street. These shops sport huge collection of antiques expecting to sell them to foreign tourists who throng these places. Kerala which proclaims itself as God’s own country attarcts huge number of foreign tourists for whom Kochi is one of the main attraction.

Antique dealers in Jewish Town

Paradesi Jewish Synagogue

Even Antique wall is for sale

Head of the Buddha

Pefume with Toddy!!

After window shopping in sweltering heat at the Jew Town, we left to the Kochi port to have lunch. We had a sumptuous and tasty vegetarian plantain leaf lunch at BTH restaurant inside the port.

At around 1:30PM we went to the check in counter of SPORTS office which is checking in site for our trip to Lakshdweep. The Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports (SPORTS) is the organization which conducts this Lakshadweep Samudram Package is a Five-days cruise to visit the islands of Kavaratti, Kalpeni and Minicoy by ship- M.V Kavaratti.

We collected the boarding passes from the SPORTS office. From there, they arrange transport to the jetty for boarding. Now, this place resembled a war torn country area where people were lining up for free food. It surely resembled a refugee camp. Picture this, a small walled area of about 200 sqft and about a 100 odd people waiting to rush in through a small door.

Everyone had luggage, but we were stunned when we saw the islanders. They generally travel from Kochi, which is their only source of shopping. Everything from vegetables to blankets to cartons full of provisions to LCD tvs were lined up as luggage.

MV Kavaratti in parking bay

There is no separate line for tourists. You need to jostle your way through. or like what we did is to wait patiently for all the passengers to finish their check before entering the queue. Just then, the small door opened and one by one, all the luggage belonging to the islanders was put in.

The staff was efficient, but fell short for the volume of the work they need to do. If only they had managed the crowd outside the counter too in an humane and efficient way it would have been great.

Then we got our luggage scanned and we were quickly taken to the jetty via a bus. There stood the impressive MV Kavaratti. Majestic from the outside, we expected it to be the same from inside as well. Even though we were told that luggage is supposed to be transported by porters, since we did not seen any one around it was our turn to carry our luggage up the dicey ladder leading to 4th floor deck of the ship.

Tug pulling ship from the parking bay

The ship then waited for I don’t know what… by the time it started moving, it was 5 pm. The first class cabin allotted to us was quite nice, it had bunker beds, a table, a fan, cupboards, an attached bath and was air conditioned. 21 of us were allotted 11 rooms. Even though it was half rate for kids they were given a separate bunker.

Post Sunset

Few of us who were allotted rooms on the 4th deck were cramped compared to the ones in the 5th deck. There was hardly a space to climb on to the top bunker bed in the 4th Deck. On the last day of the trip we found out that this was a trick SPORTS kept on doing on all the gullible tourists who have opted for Samudram package. 10 cabins in the 4th deck were really 1st class AC cabins meant for the 1st class passengers who opted for 1 day trip from Kochi to Kalpeni island, but instead allotted to us for full 5 days. So if you have choice of selecting cabins or you are booking via travel agent insist one from 5th Deck. They are spacious and the port window is open-able to let in fresh air. Also if you are booking rooms in group notice all the odd number of cabins are on the right side of the ship ( starboard in the nautical term) and all even number of cabins are left side of the ship (port in the nautical term).

Now, there are constant announcements on the ship which are audible in each of the cabins. Food was served at a very punctual rigid time schedule which needed a great discipline to follow. One important info about the food. The food at best can be termed decent in good quantity but bland for the our taste buds.The food court was divided into Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian. Menu was identical on both side except an extra non veg item for meat eaters, curds for grass eaters.

Away from Kochi

We set sail from the Kochi harbor at around 5PM and left for the great sea in search of first destination which is Kalpeni islands of Lakshdweep Atolls. The journey out of the port on to the great sea was uneventful we could feel the gentle side to side motion of the ship inside the cabin. Sea sick feeling was there but I did not see anybody grossly affected by it.

After Sunset from the Top Deck

Wait for my next blog for the day 2 where we reach first of Lakshdweep island – Kalpeni.

P.S My good friend GN Ashokavardhan who accompanied us on this trip has posted his version of day 1 at his blog ಸಾವಿರ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಲಕ್ಷಗಳಿಸುವ ಯೋಗ.