Valley in Spring

The river was flowing with lot more water than we were here the last time. No reflections this time :). But the sounds of the water hitting the rocks, the cool breeze from them with the valley behind, is a sight to behold. Though the sunset wasn't what we had hoped for, the entire experience was spectacular! Can't wait to go back again.

A New World

After the sun sets and darkness surrounds us, a whole new world reveals itself. Looking at the Tunnel View in Yosemite, with no city lights, the stars pop into the sky. Like millions of fireflies, the stars from the past, shine and light up the sky. Our eyes adjusting to the new found darkness, we sat and looked up in the vast sky in awe, feeling tiny and humbled. Just then, our one year old decided to wake up and cry in hunger, so we had to pack up! The whole experience, Spectacular!

Sunset in Catalina

Catalina Island is a small touristy island close to Los Angeles. You get to see the most of the attractions from the ground level as the higher elevations are either inaccessible or it's residential area where tourists rarely venture. We wanted to get a different view point of the island, from an elevation. We didn't know where to go exactly so we started to climb up and just walk around the neighborhood. When we said we were looking for a vantage point to take pictures, a kind gentleman let us in on his patio which overlooked this amazing view. Lucky! This photo was used as a cover photo in the visitors guide by Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau in 2017.

Panoramic Moraine Lake

One of the most popular destinations and picturesque locations in Banff is the Moraine Lake. The amazing blue green color (due to glacial rock flour) can mostly be seen in Summer and then it goes dark grey. We spent hours at this location, no picture can describe the feeling or the beauty of this place.

Bellissimo Manarola

Cinque Terre, Italy! Bellissimo Cinque Terre... Cinque Terre, which literally means “Five Lands” is a very popular tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It has five flamboyant villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The beauty of Cinque Terre is how these villages are built on rugged and steep terrain overlooking the sea.

Take off

It was a rather gloomy and grey afternoon and we stopped at Wilhelmina Bay in Antarctica. The conditions for the zodiacs were good, calm ocean and almost no winds but the fog limited our visibility. We had no idea what we were going to see. On top of it, it started to snow. Bundled up, we hopped on to the zodiac and we were off. Our ship, disappeared behind the thick fog and other zodiacs were mere spots across this clam ocean. "We spotted a whale" someone said on the radio. Our zodiac driver took us to the what seemed like the middle of no where. He turned off the engine and other zodiacs near by followed suit. We were rolling our eyes wondering "Whales? Really". And then it happened. Scores of humpbacks just popped out of the ocean, a few, right next our zodiac. Then they were off on their hunting expedition as they disturbed all the seagulls swimming on the ocean. I focused on the Whale and took several shots. This was a lucky shot and one of my favorite photos from this trip. Being in-midst of these gentle giants made us care for them, made us care for our Earth in whatever minute way possible. This picture was showcased in National Geographic's Yourshot Editors spotlight: http://yourshotblog.nationalgeographic.com/post/166463981679/top-shot-the-take-off-top-shot-features-the

Magical Peltier Channel

Peltier Channel wasn't a stop but a channel we had to pass through during our trip in Antarctica. As we passed through this channel, unbeknownst to us, our mouths were agape. Just magical! Peltier Channel is a channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) long, in a NE-SW direction, seems like its filled with pure white milk.

Follow me

The white snowy Mikkelsen Harbor kicked off our second day in Antarctica. Teeming with penguins and various other wildlife, it was a visual delight. Gentoo penguins walk on their highways to go swimming (or to grab lunch perhaps?)

Hummm...

Monteverde cloud forest is an amazing place to experience "Walk in the woods". Just outside, we saw scores of humming birds buzzing around sucking nectar from the flowers and nectar feeders that were hung around.

Shining Peaks

We woke up in the wee-hours of the morning to see the sunrise and shine on the Tetons. The breeze almost non-existent, the water calm except when the swallows flew in to hunt for their prey and disturbed them, the Tetons were perfectly reflected like someone had laid a mirror. After about couple of hours the peaks shined from the sunlight, sight to behold!

Orange Shades over Half Dome

It was a long windy drive to Glacier point. As we got closer, the cars were just backing up for miles. "Parking Nightmare..." I sighed. We waited for what seemed like hours before we found a spot and lugged our way to the Glacier Point. I was expecting a crowd but not many photographers, they were the crowd! We waited until the sunset when the sky turned red, then orange, pink, purple and settled in to the dark blue of the night in matter of minutes. Now that's, priceless!

Red Ending...

Sunset at Gate of the Valley View Yosemite We drove for hours before we reached the Yosemite National Park. We had at least an hour before sunset when my wife said "The sun might hide behind the mountains well before it's time for the sunset." So we tried to hurry up our check-in process only to see a long line in front of us. We quickly got our keys, and looked at the map to see where the Valley view was and drove at a snail pace (constructions, darn!) and we reached. Surprisingly, there weren't many waiting. A few photographs were standing in the middle of the river. We scouted the area for a few minutes and settled at a spot, it was just big enough to fit the tripod and saw as the sun left a red shadow behind... We were lucky there was just enough water for a nice reflection :)

Golden Sunrise

It was 3 am when we woke up on a weekend. Our Golden Retriever pup Maxx, was fast asleep. We quickly freshened up and got our cup of joe's and hopped into the car. Maxx had a confused look "Do you guys realize it's 3 am in the morning right?" We drove for almost an hour and half before we came to a small-ish parking lot. To our surprise, it was full! We drove around and found an empty spot a little ways up. After a short hike down, with Maxx dragging us as he was curious about everything around, we reached Battery Spencer just before sunrise. We sat there, the three of us, looking at the beautiful San Francisco downtown through the Golden Gate. Feeling Priceless!

The blue

A lonely boat floated deep in the ocean as we explored the Dry Tortugas National Park. The park is little off from Key West, so there isn't too much traffic, leaving the vast blue ocean on this amazing sunny day just for us to explore and enjoy. Serenity at it's best!

Good morning Miami!

On Thanksgiving day, when many had started their day planning for a Turkey Dinner, we decided to kick the day off at the Miami Beach. With only the waves and some birds around, the beach and the sunrise were entirely ours to enjoy! The sun rays piercing through the clouds for just few seconds, an amazing sight to watch.

Sunset at Natural Bridges

Growing up next the ocean, I find the sounds of the waves, calming and soothing. The small beach near Natural Bridges, with less crowds, is a place I like to go, sit and relax as the cold breeze caresses. With wonderful marine life to view during low tide, I find this an amazing place to go picnic on a nice day.

Natural Reflections

The iconic Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, California has been one my staple destinations ever since I ventured here. The relatively less crowded beach, the amazing marine life you can see during low tide and sunset on the horizon, indescribable.

Emerald Bay Sunset

This was our first trip to Lake Tahoe with our Golden Retriever Maxx in 2014. After his first experience swimming in the lake, he was tired, ready to snooze any second. We parked our car on the shoulder in the middle of the highway and waited for the sun to set. It was just the three of us, me, Anu and Maxx. We semi comfortably sat on a huge boulder and watched the sky turn from blue to orange to black. Truly amazing.

Harbour at Night

The cool breeze from the bay was upon our face. The huge smiling scary face of the Luna Park eclipsed us. Not giving it much of a look we turned around looking at the skyline, waiting for the return ferry.

The (Almost) Twelve Apostles

From Melbourne to Twelve Apostles, phew!, it was a day long drive back and forth along the Great Ocean Road. Some boring landscapes that later turn into beautiful beaches and amazing rock formations! We saw the sun set behind The (Almost) Twelve Apostles, there are only seven apostles left :(.

Red shapes

The lower antelope canyon was one my favorite canyons we visited during our short trip in Page, Arizona. The various shapes, colors and the texture, play with your imagination. Like we try to guess shapes from the clouds, we cringed our necks and turned 360 degrees to guess what these shapes might look like. That looks like a "Rose" I said...

The Red Reflection

We braved the harsh sun, insects and large mosquitoes (I am not kidding) as we waited for couple of hours to see the sun set behind the Grand Tetons. A beaver from the beaver-dam near by swam, unafraid of us humans lurking around. From various view points, the Grand Teton and it’s neighboring mountains tower upon you. But as you get closer to them via Schwabachers Landing, it seems like the Tetons get smaller. A little after the sunset, clouds turned a fiery red, for just for couple of minutes before the blue dusk took over. Photography along with travel, has made us experience and admire some amazing moments. Like Calvin tells Hobbes "It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy...let's go exploring!" We packed up to return the next morning.