Rainbow from the Channakeshava Temple, Belur, Karnataka

It was a cloudy monsoon afternoon in the Hoysala kingdom, but as I approached the Channakeshava temple in Belur, the skies opened up to let in some late evening sun. This bright sunshine and its soft glow made for a great session of photography at this historic site.



And it got even better when a rainbow could be seen against the temple entrance. It was quite a sight to behold. A great natural moment against a great historic monument.

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Sunset Silhouette Moments from Belur Channakeshava Temple

It was a typical monsoon day and all I could see was dark clouds and gloomy weather. I knew this type of bad lighting was not ideal for architectural photography and was hoping that the sun would come out and bless us with some golden evening light.

 
And it was one of those days when hope turned into reality. In fact, the day made a complete turnaround from grey skies to brilliantly blue skies with golden evening rays of the sun. It was right at this opportune time that I found myself at the Belur Channakeshava temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the pride of the Hoysala empire.

 
The light became so good that I decided to indulge in some silhouette photography keeping the temple architecture in the foreground and the designer clouds, blue skies and the setting sun in the background.

 
Personally, I don’t know how to categorize these photographs. Should I club them as landscape photography or skyscape photography. Or should I categorize them as silhouette photography, if there is such a category. These photographs seems to have all the right combination of elements and hence the dilemma.

 
What is your opinion? I am more leaning towards silhouette photography!

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In Deep Thought

Temples and historic monuments are a great place to capture some deep photographic moments. Portraits in front of historic architecture have always been very popular with the masses and it is this retro touch that gives the subject a classic look.

 
In this case, I spotted this elderly individual sitting alone and lost in deep thought at the Channakeshava Temple in Belur. The rich carvings on the temple in the background formed a formidable background and I was tempted to capture this moment in monochrome to ensure it is etched in time.

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Portraits: Adorable Kid at Channakeshava Temple, Belur, Karnataka, India

A travel photography trip took me to the Channakeshava temple at Belur recently. During this visit, all the group members (travel writers and photographers) went their own ways to capture their images. Even I was on my own way trying to explore this stunningly intricate structure that took more than a thousand years to build.

 
It was late evening and the soft golden glow of the sun and the succeeding sunset kept me busy with my frames, angles, compositions and controls. I had been shooting for a while now and needed a break. No, not a break from photography, but a change in my subject to keep my excitement levels going :-).

 
It was then that I spotted this adorable kid standing amidst colourfully dressed elderly ladies. This frame was enough to grab my attention and I was happy that I would get to take some portraits.

 
This adorable girl also seemed amused by the camera man at work and seemed to oblige by indulging in a series of emotions. At times, I would get smiles, then I would get a shy look and then once she was done with posing, she would give me the normal look.

 
All these different emotions helped me capture my subject, this cute kid, in different moods and I think the photographs, do perfect justice to it.

 
And when I got the ladies dressed in bright colours along with this kid and with the Channakeshava  temple in the background, I thought I got the perfect street photograph. This portrait and street photography session topped a great travel photography session for me at Belur.

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