Landscape Photography: Confluence of Hill Streams

A Himalayan drive throws up some spectacular views. While the winding roads, the rarified air and the snow capped peaks offer a thrilling experience, the Himalayas also offer some splendid views of its rivers.


These fast flowing streams and rivers cut through the gorges and valleys and pass through dense pine ad other temperate forests.


I came across such a moment when I was making my way to Tawang, in the western part of Arunachal Pradesh. Thee photographic moment was the confluence of two rapid rivers, one slightly larger than the other. The entire confluence was surrounded by evergreen forests and made for a remarkable aerial view during my drive through this part of the Eastern Himalayas.

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Abstract Photography: Solitary!!

At Ladakh, the landscape photographer is spoilt for choice. Beautiful frames can be formed almost anywhere here. The sensational locales here nullify the importance of a good camera and/or a photographer. All frames taken here seem to be good.


This is such a frame that I took near the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. This solitary tree was standing against the barren mountains and the clear blue skies. This landscape photograph also looks like abstract art or at least that’s what I feel.

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Blue Skies of Ladakh: A Landscape Photography Series

The Western Himalayas are blessed with beautiful blue skies nearly all 365 days of the year. Its dry weather and low atmospheric water vapor levels ensures that the lighting is nearly always good here. So, be it summer or winter, the blues in the skies are a plenty.


It was such a series of blue skies that I saw when I went there on a winter backpacking expedition. These are some of the SUPER BLUE moments!

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Landscape Photography: Passing through Leh Market in the high Himalayas

Ladakh is one of the top places to shoot landscapes and the best part is that it is open all year round for the landscape photographers. One need not be in any special place in Ladakh to capture it’s pristine beauty. In fact, a relaxed walk through the markets of Leh can also throw some interesting sights.

 
Such a sight it was when I saw this view of a frozen Khardungla river with the mighty, yet barren Western Himalayas in the background and surrounded by leaf less trees. And all this while me and my friends were strolling through the Leh market on a very cold winter morning.

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Monochrome Landscapes of Ladakh

Monochromes are a great way to portray a classic moment and it works wonders when applied to landscapes. Initially, I was not keen on taking landscapes in monochrome. Instead, I would take portraits and street photography in monochrome and landscapes in full colour. This went on till I happened to change a colour landscape picture to monochrome during post processing and ended up totally liking it.

 
Hence, this time when I was in the thin air of Ladakh, I consciously took a lot of photographs in monochrome and ended up liking them. I hope you do too. There is something about landscapes in monochrome that I never seem to understand. There seems to be some mystery around them that you end up watching them intently for long hours, especially if they are large size prints. Or at least it has that effect on me.

 
And what better place to join together landscapes and monochromes than Ladakh, where every sight is a Himalayan vista, the lighting nearly always fantastic and blues that no place can beat.

 
So whether your object is a mountain, a valley, a river, a lake or open skies, monochrome landscapes look stunning. It is difficult to pin point a favourite in monochrome landscapes, but I would think of wide open monochrome valleys.

 
Such valleys give a sense that it never ends. Something like monochrome shots of people or building structures or automobiles, wherein people call them classic or never to die.

 
Such expressions are difficult to get in landscapes, but monochromes seem to elicit such a response even in landscape photography.

 
Now, I am not sure if I like these monotones, because they are monochromes or because they are landscapes of Ladakh. Either ways, I am happy that I ended up living the moment and capturing it in treasurable monotones. I hope you too enjoy the treasure.

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