klachak klachak...

i have got wings..

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:02 -0700

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scooby doo

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:45 -0700

feeding an imaginary scooby doo..
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Moving forward..

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:39 -0700

that's varun aka puchchu.. our neighbour's kid. always active, always curious & smiling and all those good things you see only in small kids. if u r fortunate, u would see more of his pics in the coming posts :)
a belated Independence day wishes!
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a wet plant

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:20 -0700

there are not many things that can beat the sight of fresh water drops on leaves.. accompanied by a faint smell of moist earth :)
few more closeups of the same plant can be found here
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Bike Path

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:25 -0700

Jan & Feb are the rare occasions when it rains in sunny california.
Today is one such day.
Location: Marvin Braude Bike Path, Marina del Rey, CA
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red Ninja

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:48 -0700

@ the Intl. Motorcycle Show, Long Beach, CA
More pictures here.
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a naked bike..

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:36 -0700

the kid seems to like this styling :-)
@ the Intl. Motorcycle Show, Long Beach, CA
More pictures here.
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where to sit?

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:35 -0700

@ the Intl. Motorcycle Show, Long Beach, CA
More pictures from the show can be see on my flickr photostream.
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admiration..

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:11 -0700

@ the Intl. Motorcycle Show, Long Beach, CA
More pictures from the show can be see on my flickr photostream.
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Dear santa..

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:56 -0700

dear santa.. i will be a good person this year. get me this camaro.. pls pls pls
the beast belongs to my colleague gaurav, who bought it recently.
nice car, isn't it ;-)
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Freaky Creatures

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:21 -0700

.. last in the Freaky series.
more fighting at www.freakycreatures.com
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Battle for Middle Earth

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:45 -0700

Here's a second one..
more fighting at www.freakycreatures.com
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Storm in a coffee cup

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:51 -0700

Goroc & Rexar.. battling for the right to stand on the coffee cup.
Psst.. they are 2 of the Freaky Creatures designed for the game that we are developing.. beware!!
Let me also take the opportunity to tell the one or two fans of this blog that you can play the game for FREE as well :-)
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tall trees.. tiny humans

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:46 -0700

This is the great General Sherman tree.. the largest tree by volume.. in the entire known world !!
You can say that just by looking at it, can't you?
Location: Sequoia National Park, CA .

The high sierras..

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:42 -0700

a beautiful view from a place called the Moro Rock.
this is part of what is known as the Great Western Divide.. with 10K+ feet mountains in the background.
Location: Sequoia National Park, CA .

Lake shrine

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:52 -0700

I would never have imagined that there is a beautiful lake, a few 100 meters from where we work. It was a good find.
This was taken at the lake of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine.. established by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Location: Lake Shrine, Pacific Palisades, CA.
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I'm rich..

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:52 -0700

taken quite a while ago.. when I was asked to count these notes.
if only they were all mine :-(
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500mi

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:18 -0700

it's good to have an odometer on any thing that moves. it gives you a sense of reaching some milestones.. small or big.
Location: beach at Santa Monica, CA.
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Oregon cows

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:44 -0700

oregon cows.. happily grazing
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Congrats.. class of 2009

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:58 -0700

been to Corvallis last weekend.. to attend the commencement.
its funny to wear the black gown and cap and the hood.. but it sure makes you feel like you have done something important.
Location: Reser Stadium, Corvallis, OR.
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Yosemite Valley

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:18 -0700

The big picture of the Yosemite valley.
It's a beautiful place.. with lots of waterfalls and rainbows. I have uploaded more pics of yosemite to my flickr stream.
Location: Yosemite National Park, CA.
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Malibu Hindu Temple

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:05 -0700

This is the Malibu Hindu Temple. It is a temple built in proper south Indian style.. with the gopuram, dhwaja sthambam and all, and dedicated priests who live within the temple complex. Even the location is awesome.. not too far from the sea. A nice place to visit on a lazy Sunday morning.
Location: Malibu, CA.
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Walking on the water :-)

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:04 -0700

Surfing must be just like riding a motor cycle.. you are so close to the surface below, you are almost touching it.
In this case, you can fall as often as you want.. and can still walk away :-)
Location: Santa Monica, CA.
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Earth Hour - Mar 28 8:30pm

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:46 -0700

sorry.. just kidding.
it is a photo of my keyboard in the dark ;-)
all info about earth hour here.

Happu Ugadi (New Year)

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:30 -0700

A Happu Ugadi (Telugu New Year) to everyone.
In the foreground, you can find 2 surfers paddling on their surfboards :-) It isn't very clear in this picture through, because of the sun overpowering everything. There are couple of such people you see quite often at the beach between Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades.
Location: Santa Monica, CA.
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A foggy day

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:06 -0700

Taken on the same day as the previous one.
Location: Santa Monica, CA.
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See the sea?

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:44 -0700

Taken with my new (well.. refurb) Nikon D60 :-)
today was the first day I took my camera out.. and this is the weather I got :-(
by the way, there is the sea where the sand ends.
Location: Beach at Santa Monica, CA.
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Stormy skies

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:23 -0700

love the red car in the picture.. it is such a contrast to the gloomy surroundings.
i have moved to LA last month.. so you should be seeing a different set of pictures now.
miss the lovely oregon, but i guess california has its own share to offer. let me see.
and with a new place is also coming a new camera :-) .. still in transit though :-(
can't wait to get my hands on it.
Location: Pacific Palisades, CA.
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Lord Shiva and Parvathi

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:13 -0700

Lord Shiva and Parvathi on top of Kailasgiri hill in Vizag.
The statues are quite big, you might actually identify them on Google map, if you zoom it enough.
Haven't gone out much these days (you know why), so posting this picture which is taken a few years ago.
I need all their blessings for Thursday!
Location: Kailasgiri, Vizag, AP.
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Framed..

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:33 -0700

2 directors and a lot of actors.
not sure what they were trying to do.. but it was a good sight for the onlookers
natural frame.. courtesy: a window at the valley library :-)
Location: OSU, Corvallis, OR.
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Orange Bus

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:01 -0700

..one of the local tourist buses in Tirumala.
Location: Tirumala, Tirupati, AP.
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Tirupati Temple

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:13 -0700

a view of the Tirupati temple from the outside.
Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati is the richest god on earth (source: wikipedia)
it goes without saying that no camera/recording devices are allowed inside the temple premises.
Location: Tirumala, Tirupati, AP.
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on a bike.. in the rain

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:51 -0700

taken some time ago while going on a bus to Vizag
by the way, a Happy Sankranthi/Pongal to everyone!
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2009

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:01 -0700

May you have lots of food & money, lots of fun & joy, lots of time & happiness.. and may you share it with everyone around you. Have a great 2009 and beyond!
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Merry Christmas

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:07 -0700

Merry Christmas to all.
It snowed real heavy this time.. about a week back. The snow must have been about a couple of inches above the ground.
I prefer the sun, but even the snow is welcome once in a while.. at least it keeps the rains away in Corvallis :-)
Location: Home @ Corvallis.
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Jumbo blessings

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:46 -0700

There were many people competing to get the blessings of the elephant. The elephant would receive a rupee coin with its trunk, and bless on the head of the person, in return. Of course the profits would go to the person with the stick, standing beside the elephant.
I have a couple of hectic weeks ahead.. I might not be posting frequently during this time :-(
See you more in 2009 :-)
Location: Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore.
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Clear waters

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:45 -0700

this was taken some time back, when we tried on our unsuccessful South Sister climb :-(
the water was so clear you feel like drinking it. unfortunately some of the light falling at angle, didn't allow me to get a clearer shot.
haven't posted for a long time.. was a little held up with the work. But now it's all in the past, since I am leaving for India tomorrow and returning back only after the Diwali :-)
Depending on the availability of the internet, I will continue to post. Until then..
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Office Space

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:01 -0700

That's my office space.
It looks somewhat clean, because I rarely use it these days :-)
Location: Kelly, OSU, Corvallis
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Love an Engineer

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:55 -0700

This is a photo of the plant that I keep at my desk. Sprinkled some water on the leaves for extra freshness :-)
The photo was taken a while ago.
But really, try keeping a plant at home or at work.. and you will definitely feel closer to nature. Surely, the gurukulams in the earlier times, were such a perfect setting for learning new things.
And, watering it regularly can be a good stress-reliever too. Probably the same holds true for pets as well.
Location: Kelly, OSU, Corvallis
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Squirrel and nuts

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:34 -0700

the squirrel that I was mentioning in the previous post.
i guess with this picture, i am done with the photos takes at South Sister. something different next time :-)
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Mole and the Mountain

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:44 -0700

a aquirrel.. against the backdrop of Mount Bachelor :-)
the squirrel in the picture, was very friendly. we gave it some almonds and it was happily munching them away.
later, to get a better shot, i was trying to get it on top of one of the small rocks there.. by placing some more nuts over there, but didn't had much luck. i guess, it's small stomach would already have been full by then.
get a closer look at the squirrel in this next post.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Along the face of the mountain

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:59 -0700

Recently, I have been posting a lot of pictures that were taken at the same location.. bear with me for 1 or 2 more posts, and it will change :-)
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Rocks and a man

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:03 -0700

There are a lot of loose rocks out there.. it can get tricky if you aren't careful.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Above the clouds

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:03 -0700

Luckily the sun wasn't too low in the sky, so the picture could be taken facing the sun and still keeping it out of the photo.
I really like the darker foreground, and of course the layer of clouds in the background which are almost at our eye level.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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The big picture..

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:17 -0700

The view from the top of the South Sister.
Mount Bachelor (I think) in the distance and a number of small lakes, I could spot 5.
Isn't it beautiful?

Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Summit of the South Sister

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:55 -0700

This is the point until which we could climb. There's a small pool at this height, and you can see the summit from here.. probably an hour's hike further.

Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Happy Hour

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:10 -0700

My idea of a perfect meal.. steaming soup on a rainy day. nothing to beat that :-)
The picture might have been better, if the steam could be captured.. but unfortunately it came out hazy (probably because of the glass background).
Location: Home, Corvallis, OR
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Skiing down

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:51 -0700

Some people coming down the South Sister.. taking the faster route by skiing down.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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The South Sister

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:13 -0700

The South Sister mountain.. up close.
Do you see the snow on the top in the shape of a "C".. that's as far as we could get to (bottom of the C). And then, it was already 6pm :-(
If everything goes well, we will make another trip to the Sisters this summer.. and this time we are making it to the top.
by the way, this is the 100th photo on 'klachak'. thanks to everyone who visit here once in a while. I would be more than glad to hear any comments/suggestions from you. The complete archive can be accessed by following the links on the top.
I recently started maintaining a Flickr page (more as an online backup for my photos).. so if you are a Flickr buff, that would be a good place to stay in touch as well.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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A twisted tree..

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:57 -0700

A twisted tree and the South Sister in the background.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Moraine Lake & BrokenTop

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:20 -0700

That's Moraine lake in the front and BrokenTop mountain in the background. By seeing the mountain, it should be pretty clear why it was named so.
The Moraine lake comes after 1.5 miles from the trailhead, and is the stop for the too young and too old.. not for us :-)
By the way, something wonderful happened yesterday.. India won an Olympic GOLD in an individual event (air rifle). This gold comes after 28 years (hockey 1980) and as far is individual medals go, this is the first ever gold for an Indian. God bless Abhinav Bindra.
Location: South Sister, Bend, Oregon
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Mount Bachelor

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:07 -0700

That's mount bachelor ahead.. it is pretty close to the 3 sisters, probably less than 10 miles.
It is one of the popular skiing spots in Oregon.
Location: Mount Bachelor, Bend, Oregon
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You are lost :-(

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:07 -0700

If we haven't reached the top of the south sister, this GPS is to be blamed @#$@!#%!*
Instead of trusting the Google Map, we put our faith in this.. and it took us through some really rough road, you won't even find back home. We were travelling at 5 miles/hr, and after a couple of miles it said that it lost us. So, we had to trace back, and take the original route, and by the time we started hiking, it was already past 1pm.
So, we were able to reach about an altitude of 9000 feet (about 1000 feet short of the summit), when we had to turn back :-(
Location: Three Sisters wilderness, Oregon

The 3 Sisters

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:46 -0700

The three sisters - the 3rd, 4th and 5th highest mountains in Oregon.
South Sisters, the tallest among the 3, standing at about 10,000 feet is the one which we tried to climb. I think we climbed until we were at an altitude of about 9000 feet. More about that in later posts.
Three sisters wiki.
South Sister hike info.
Location: The 3 Sisters, Bend, Oregon
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High altitude proposal

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:47 -0700

This is a signboard, saying that Andrew Saputo proposed to Maria Korinek, on Aug 3rd 2008.. and this was put up nailed to one of the rocks, on top of the South Sister mountain at an altitude of 9000 feet. What surprised me more was that I initially thought it was in memory of that day, but we saw this on Aug 2nd, which implies that the guy is planning to propose to his lady love tomorrow.. and this was part of the surprise. isn't that nice!
Lucky him, who could get a girl who is also willing to climb that high :-)
Here's wishing him good luck.
by the way, we climbed the South Sister mountain yesterday; I shall be posting some pics taken there, in the next couple of posts.
Location: South Sister Mountain, Bend, Oregon
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Bald Hill Trail

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:15 -0700

This is the trail I was talking about in the previous post. It was a not-too-strenuous 4-mile round-trip trail.
Location: Bald Hill Trail, Corvallis, Oregon
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Bald Hill Trail - map

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:40 -0700

This is the map of the Bald Hill Trail which we covered on bikes (bicycles), a couple of weeks back.
When we started the trail, we took a snap of this map.. and whenever we had to take a turn, we zoomed into this picture and figured out the way. The map even had lengths of each path, and it helped us in our estimates to the next turn. That is when I realized that even digital zoom (within a camera) comes in handy sometimes.
Location: Bald Hill Trail, Corvallis, Oregon
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Poo..

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:23 -0700

that's my neighbour's cat "Poo".. with a small bell to its neck.
it's really fat, and always comes in if the door is left open.. i guess, looking for food.
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PS: Sorry, for not posting for so long.. will try to add some pace now. Also, if you have something to say, please feel free to use the "Leave a Comment" section (below) to post your comments/suggestions. Thanks.

ant on flower

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:44 -0700

an attempt at a macro shot.
should be trying more of these..
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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trees at an angle

Mon, 26 May 2008 17:42 -0700

sun rays pouring through the trees.. is always such a nice sight.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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soo green..

Sun, 25 May 2008 10:50 -0700

such a beautiful green.. what can I say.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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Save me from the trees ;-)

Sat, 24 May 2008 17:18 -0700

it was surprisingly sunny that day.. allowing us to take some good shots.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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PoW

Fri, 23 May 2008 16:10 -0700

swamy suman and his prisoner-of-war pose.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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Cascade head - beach view

Thu, 22 May 2008 10:31 -0700

The beach/sea view from the lower view point of the cascade head.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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Surrounded by green..

Wed, 21 May 2008 19:07 -0700

chari and pavan.. surrounded by the greenery all around.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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At the trail head

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:16 -0700

went hiking on the Cascade Head trail, over the last 2 weekends. it's an amazing hike through thick green and ends up on cliffs overlooking the pacific ocean!
See for yourself.. over the next couple of posts.
Info on the hike available here.
Location: Cascade Head (near Lincoln city), Oregon
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Cars.. heading into the forest

Sun, 18 May 2008 10:50 -0700

taken during out trip to the coast over the weekend.
the road wasn't too wide and there was some bike (bicycle) race going during that day.. hence the traffic jam.
Location: somewhere along OR-18, Oregon
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Spring Festival @ OSU

Fri, 16 May 2008 13:12 -0700

There was a Spring Festival (annual event) that was celebrated at OSU last weekend. Various international student organizations set up booths to display a part of their culture and there are some song and dance performances as well.
The one in the picture is a band playing Irish music. The music was very good and perfectly suits the spring-climate. It's getting sunny nowadays, yae..!
Location: near Memorial Union, OSU
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Seattle Downtown

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:18 -0700

Seattle downtown and its surrounding water bodies.. from above.
Location: Seattle, WA
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Ice Pebbles

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:23 -0700

Yesterday, it was raining ice pebbles.. not huge ones, but big enough to make people wary of going out. I guess it's called hail. And it was sunny again after a few hours.
A nice reminder of the changing climates ahead of the Earth Day, which is celebrated 2 days from now.
Location: Home
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Hanuman?

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:18 -0700

C-Man doing a Hanuman, i guess.
Hanuman had successfully jumped over the sea to reach Lanka. C-Man is trying to emulate that, though on a lesser magnitude :-)
Location: Leavenworth, WA
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Water and Ice

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:51 -0700

Last weekend, we went to this place called Leavenworth which is supposed to be a mock German village. It is quite scenic over there, so we went hiking for some distance on those snow covered mountains.
Location: Leavenworth, WA
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Spring is here :-(

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:48 -0700

Spring is here.. but no sign of the rains stopping yet :-(
Location: near Library, OSU, Corvallis, OR
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more birds..

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:06 -0700

a lot of them, just flying for a small distance and then coming back to the ground.
just practising for a long-range migration, i guess :-)
Location: outskirts of Corvallis, OR
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Lot of birds..

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:15 -0700

the birds actually looked heavy on the ground.. pheasants or some such kind.
Location: outskirts of Corvallis, OR
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Fat Sheep

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:51 -0700

A few fat sheep.. on the way to the trail.
They have such a nice built-in sweaters.
Location: near McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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Coming Down

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:41 -0700

The whole fun of going uphill on a bike is in coming back down.
For a ride that takes about an hour to go up, it takes about 5-10 minutes to come down. It's just amazing.
That's Swamy and Kannan in the picture.
Location: McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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Going Up

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:27 -0700

Kannan, trying hard to make a small climb with his mountain bike.
He shelled out a lot of money on his new bike, and he thought that would give him special powers while trying difficult trails.
If only money could buy everything ;-)
Location: McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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Small-Boy

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:49 -0700

Small-Boy.. that's this guys nick-name.
Actually, he is a fan of the character Hell-Boy, but we thought small-boy suited him better :-)
Location: McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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Green Trunks

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:27 -0700

The trees with green moss all over them.
Location: McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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Trailhead

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:04 -0700

This is the start of the trail that I was mentioning in the previous post.
Most of the trails are bikable.. that is until you go deeper into the woods, where even walking gets tricky due to the damp earth.
Anyways, tires on loose gravel feels so good, doesn't it?
Location: McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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Star-fish plant

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 12:53 -0700

We went on a bike trail (cycling) in the nearby McDonald forest yesterday.
Got some nice pics on the way.. will be posting most of them in the next couple of posts.
Location: McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR
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A lo..ong musical instrument

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:45 -0700

There was a European Night held at OSU last weekend, and this was one of the events where a swiss guy was playing this really long instrument. It looked like a single piece, I wonder how they transported it here.
Location: MU Ball Room, OSU, Corvallis, OR

Beating the snow

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:49 -0700

The stick that was used to hit the snow doesn't seem to be visible in the picture.
Still, I think it is a nice capture, taken by one of my friends.
Location: Marys Peak, Oregon
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Tall Trees

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:15 -0700

Another photo from the same trail as the previous post.
Location: Marys Peak, Oregon
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Marys Peak Trail

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:43 -0700

went to Marys Peak over the weekend. It is supposedly the highest peak on the Oregon coastal range.. but the thing is, we never got to the top of the peak. 10 miles from the top, the road was closed due to snow.. so we went on a hike in to the forest.
Oregon is such a beautiful place with trails and all everywhere, that I am planning to stay down here even after my graduation, which should be in summer. Hopefully, I get a job somewhere around.
Location: Marys Peak, Oregon
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China Night - Kung Fu

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:36 -0700

I don't think any Chinese cultural event would be complete with out a display of the martial arts that they mastered so well. Its not an individual's display of power, its just a form of self-expression.
Seeing martial arts performance, always reminds me of Bruce Lee. His words go something like..

"Empty your mind.. be formless, shapeless.
you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup
you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle
you put water into a tea pot, it becomes the tea pot
water can 'flow', or it can 'crash'..
be water, my friend."
The complete interview video - here.
Location: LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
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China Night - Acrobatics

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:39 -0700

There were some performers from San Francisco at the China Night, and their performances were the most professional. And among them, the girl in the picture stole the show.. she was bending like an elastic stick, and passing through all sorts of objects like a 1 or 1.5 feet diameter ring and an equally wide drum. It must be pretty hard practice.
Location: LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

China Night - Lion Dance

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:02 -0700

Lion Dance is the one, in which 2 people put up a costume depicting a lion, with one person acting as the head and front legs of the lion, and the other person forming the hind legs. It was a fun programme, with the lions even catching some objects thrown from the audience, with their big mouths.
Location: LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
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China Night - Cute Kids

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:11 -0700

Chinese kids are the cutest in the world. Kids in any part of the world are cute, but the Chinese i guess are a little bit extra cute, aren't they?
Location: LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
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China Night @ OSU

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:16 -0700

China Night was held at OSU last Sunday. The programmes were awesome, though I couldn't make out most of what the MCs were talking. Especially, their dresses are dances are so different from ours, considering the fact that China is just a neighbouring country to India. I have a few more snaps from the event, I will post them in the coming days.
Location: LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
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Train in the desert

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:19 -0700

Location: Somewhere in the deserts of Nevada.
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Wind Energy

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:32 -0700

It is too cold these days.. so thought of warming up my thoughts at least by putting up a picture taken during sunny times :-(
Location: Somewhere in California state.
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Guess?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:19 -0700

take a guess..
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Dosa

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:59 -0700

On the new year's eve, we tried a few dosas at home with actual mix of rice flour and urad flour.
Unlike the ones from the readymade mix, which usually come out brittle, these came out quite well.. yummy yummy!
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Rain Drops on Glass

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:54 -0700

Have a happy and wonderful New Year 2008 !!
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Knowledge is Infinite

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:24 -0700

Click here for a larger image.

Silver Falls

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:32 -0700

Over the weekend, few of us went to Silver Falls State Park. It has a number of waterfalls.. this, I believe, is the South Falls.
One interesting aspect of this fall, is that you can watch the water from behind as well. Towards the middle of the picture, you can see a thin railing over which people can go behind it.
Oregon has so many waterfalls, that if you deviate from any highway and go for a distance, you will find a board indicating directions to some falls :-)
Location: South Falls, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon
Click here for a larger image.
PS: The resolution isn't great, since the picture was taken with a cell phone camera.

Portable Plant

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:51 -0700

The last post has been hanging there for too long :-(
Here's a different view of the same plant.
Click here for a larger image.

Water on Leaves

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:24 -0700

An attempt at a macro shot. I think the dark background made it more striking. One of my favorite shots :-)
Isn't it such a soothing green?
Click here for a larger image.

Texture

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:35 -0700

It's a wall-mounted light, inverted by 90 degrees.
I liked the detail in the picture, though I haven't realized it at the time of taking this.

One reason for that is, my new camera :-))
I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3.. a compact camera with a 10X optical. Probably one of the first of its kind.
I have always wanted to take lots of photos, but felt constrained by the size of my other camera. I wonder how people carry around their SLRs/DSLRs which are much larger/heavier.
So that's the reason for buying the new one.
PS: If interested, you can find a review of the TZ3 here.

Green Waters again

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:27 -0700

Another 'green waters' post :-)
The previous one can be found here - it's a darker green this time.
Location: Foster Lake, near Sweet Home, Oregon
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Sparkling Waters

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:40 -0700

I think, it was Balu and Chari.. the ones in the previous 2 posts.
The sun rays were reflecting at such an intensity that it almost blackened out the rest of the details in the photo. Probably its because of the sun being at a low angle and the water so clear.
Location: Foster Lake, near Sweet Home, Oregon
Click here for a larger image.

Green Waters

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:40 -0700

It's my friend Balu this time.
The picture was taken from an elevation. The reflection from the trees behind, gave it a nice thick green look.
Location: Foster Lake, near Sweet Home, Oregon
Click here for a larger image.

Fishing

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:52 -0700

Last weekend (it's called Thanksgiving weekend), we went to do some fishing, just for the fun of it. We didn't catch any fish (of course ;-), but have seen another guy walk away with 2 that he caught. He looked like a seasoned fish-catcher, so we didn't mind.
The person you see in the picture is my friend Chari with a life-size reflection of his in the water.
Will be posting few more pictures from the trip, in the coming posts.
Location: Foster Lake, near Sweet Home, Oregon
Click here for a larger image.

Lake in the backyard

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 23:17 -0700

That would be a pretty decent place to live.. a spacious house, in the middle of a desert, surrounded by hills and a lake in the backyard.
Location: near Lake Mead, Nevada
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Orange and Black

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:16 -0700

A photo taken during the same match as the last post.
The stadium was almost full, with most of them in the Orange & Black colors of Oregon State.
I must admit, I do not understand the game much, but went to watch the game just to witness the crowd with all their shouting, cheering and booing.. it's an amazing atmosphere.
Location: Reser Stadium, OSU, Corvallis, OR
Click here for a larger image.

Game On

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:26 -0700

A snap from the last weekend's football match between the OSU Beavers and the Washington Huskies, played at the Reser stadium here.
We won of course :), though with a tight margin of 29-23.
Official coverage of the match can be found here.
Location: Reser Stadium, OSU, Corvallis, OR
Click here for a larger image.

Tires on rails

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:24 -0700

This is the first time I am seeing a vehicle with rubber tires, moving on a rail track.
Well.. not exactly. The truck do has tires, but if you observe closely, it is actually moving on metal wheels, and the rubber tires are just floating :-)
Probably they can be lowered when the truck needs to travel on road.
Location: Near Dixon, OSU, Corvallis, OR
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Two Ghosts

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:13 -0700

Yesterday, we celebrated the birthdays of Kshitij (on the left) & Craig at our home.
The cake that we bought was pretty big; we didn't want to waste it all, so we used a big part of it to decorate their faces.
Location: 221 NW 17th Street, Corvallis, OR
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Trees and Buildings

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:38 -0700

Some neat roads.
I have heard stories that, in Singapore they charge some 500 bucks if you spit a bubble gum or do similar thing on the streets.
It would be very constraining to live in such a place, won't it?
Location: Near Suntec City Mall, Singapore
Click here for a larger image.

Vizag - panorama

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:55 -0700

          Unfortunately, due to the XXL width of the image, some part of the text here is getting cut.
          I have posted this photo in my earlier blog as well, but I liked it so much that I had to include it again. Those who have seen it already, please bear with me :-)
          Would love to hear your comments on this.
          Location: Vizag, AP, India
          Click here for a larger image.

Desert Cactus

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 01:31 -0700

a lonely desert cactus - lives with the hope of catching the occasional rain.
without hope, it's all empty out there.
Click here for the original size image.

a residential complex

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:23 -0700

Sometimes, when you see things from far above, you can't help but wonder how insignificant our lives are.. well, not in all respects, but still.
Location: Somewhere near Los Angeles, California
Click here for the original size image.

Ships and Water

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:47 -0700

This is of course not crater lake ;-)
You can see a bunch of ships, at a docking station.. unloading perhaps.
Location: Port Hueneme Harbor, near Los Angeles, California
Click here for the original size image.
PS: I didn't knew the exact location of the place when I took the picture (except that it is near LA).. but thanks to Google Maps, I was to able pin down the exact location later on, based on the outline. Isn't that amazing!

Ball of snow

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:53 -0700

Chari & Chandra - preparing a large ball of snow, to throw back at us.
If you watch close, the flash on their faces gives the photo a look as if the picture is taken in a photo studio with a beautiful wallpaper at the back and some dummy snow/powder in the front. See that?
Location: Crater Lake, Oregon
Click here for the original size image.

Sky Blue Waters

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:04 -0700

The water actually looks so solid and still, that it wouldn't give you a clue as to how deep it is.
The spot at the photo isn't much deep, but the deepest point in the lake is more than half a kilometre from the surface (Source: Wikipedia again).
Location: Crater Lake, Oregon
Click here for the original size image.

Crater Lake - View 2

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:57 -0700

Another view of the lake. The water looks a deeper blue here.
Location: Crater Lake, Oregon
Click here for the original size image.

Crater Lake

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:16 -0700

Here's the promised blue waters of the Crater lake.
I couldn't capture the entire lake in one snap, not just because it was huge, but because of the fog that covered a considerable portion of the lake. Summer would be the best time to visit here, when you get to view the entire lake.
Location: Crater Lake, Oregon
Click here for the original size image.

clear water

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:27 -0700

from clouds, we come down to water now.
last weekend, we have been to a place called Crater lake. it is one of the many beautiful places, that Oregon is famous for. The lake is supposed to have the clearest water of any lake in the world (source: wikipedia).
The lake's water is also one of the darkest blue, in my opinion. I shall post more long range shots in the coming days.. you can find out for yourself.
PS: I am not sure what the red color at the bottom of the photo is.
Click here for the original size image.

Clouds at sunset

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:42 -0700

this photo is taken around the same time that this one is taken, only the angle is different.
Sunset is always pleasant but sunrise can be quite difficult to capture.. the rays are too strong even for the naked eye, let alone a camera's.
this is the last in the cloud series for now. i will start with a fresh one next time.
Original-size image

Clouds again..

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:30 -0700

These are a different form of clouds.. they look more porous.
You can observe the sun rays coming out of the top layer.
I think I have one or two more "cloud" stuff and then I will be done with it and we can move on to other interesting things.
Original-size image

Cloud carpet

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:44 -0700

Sometimes it is difficult to believe that clouds are just full of water and nothing else.
Original-size image

Explosion in the sky

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 20:30 -0700

This particular set of clouds resemble an explosion in the sky, with a thick ball going up and streaks of smoke going sidewards in all directions.
Clouds make all sort of shapes, and children are especially good at spotting the vague similarities, wonder why.
Original-size image

Immersed Sky

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:36 -0700

Doesn't it look like the sky immersed under water?
It was a thin layer of dark cloud.
PS: I have some more of the clouds stuff coming down the line.
Original-size image

Colorful fields

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 22:52 -0700

I have seen fields which are green, brown & yellow or a mix of these shades, but never violet ones.
Not sure, what the crop might be.

Original-size image

Rhombus

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:55 -0700

An almost perfect rhombus.. but for a missing piece on the top.

Cloud of Hope

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:12 -0700

The cloud was looking so full.If you jump on it, I wonder if you will go through or just get trapped inside.

If you observe close enough, you can find a ship sailing by all alone. Spot it?

PS: The previous post had to go, sorry about that.

Beautiful Sunset

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:31 -0700

Sunset photos are one of the most beautiful. You take them with any camera and in any angle.. they just come out beautiful.

Location: over the Pacific

PS: I have taken a couple of photos at similar altitudes. The entire collection is available here.

Stress-B-Gone

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:11 -0700

The person in the picture is Nancy Lamka, an Inspirational Pianist.
This picture was taken when she was playing on the piano in the Portland Airport. It was excellent soothing music, and she even played one of her compositions for me.. I think it was "I am coming for you" or something like that :-)
If you would like her to play at one of your events, you can contact her at www.stressBgone.com
Location: Portland Airport, Portland, OR
PS: Had a meaningful trip to India over the last month and am back in Corvallis. Hopefully, I will be pulling out more time to post my collection of the recent times. Stay tuned..

Cooling Off..

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:43 -0700

Location: Bugis Street, Singapore

Laughing Buddha

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 22:22 -0700

The god / mythical figure in the picture is commonly known as "laughing Buddha".
The people/visitors often touch his cheeks and belly and then touch their face.. i guess they believe that the touch will cleanse them.

by the way, today, Aug-19 is celebrated as world photography day.
3 cheers to all.

Location: Bugis Street, Singapore

anti-gravity

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:13 -0700

In high altitude places (or near the beach), sometimes there will be so much wind blowing that if you drop water it goes up instead of falling down. You can see tourists in this picture enjoying one such phenomena.

Location: Hoover Dam, Arizona

PS: It's back to the Vegas pics, some more coming down the line.

OSU Beavers - win College World Series Back2Back !!

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 08:12 -0700

This is the homecoming ceremony of the Oregon State Beavers after winning the College World Series Baseball championship back2back (2006 and 2007), celebrated outside the Reser stadium. This is a very very big achievement for the small town team from the NorthWest and now we can all be truly proud to be beavers. You can read more here.

Location: Reser Stadium, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

Incidentally, yesterday was 07/07/07.. and there were a couple of great events associated with that unique date, like the Live Earth event for increasing awareness about global warming, and the announcement of the new 7 wonders (unofficial) based on popular electronic vote, and the chosen ones included our own Taj Mahal !!

Chicken, Prawns and Samosa

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:42 -0700

A little break from those outdoor photos.
We celebrated the birthday of one of our friends' yesterday night, and we had some common cooking on the occasion.
What you see here are - samosas in the front, prawn curry on the right and chicken fry far at the top.. yummy :-)

Location: Home, Corvallis, Oregon

everyone's going somewhere

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:14 -0700

In the US at least, people are always going somewhere.. all the time. I don't understand why they move so much.
It is justifiable if you are going on a bike (motor cycle) because of the excitement and the hard gravel zipping past you making the experience so real; but going long distance on a car is so waste of time. hmm..

btw, only now did I notice that all the recent posts have been of roads. Let me change the subject next time.

a lonely car in the desert

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:42 -0700

The ICML'07 conference has started yesterday at our univ. Such events don't happen often at OSU, so trying to make good use of it.
Will be little busy till Sunday with attending the talks - don't have any papers as yet :-(

Btw, this photo is taken enroute to Vegas. I have a few more photos, which I will be posting in the next couple of days.

all straight

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 02:00 -0700

unlike the previous picture, this is a straight road.. for a long stretch. there is no reason to introduce any curves/turns along the path, since it is a desert.

Location: One of the many similar roads in Nevada.

twists and turns

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:17 -0700

I have promised some nice pictures from my trip, and here they are. I will be posting them over the next couple of days. The pictures I have taken are mostly from the road trip we made, than of the final destination itself. After all, it's the journey that matters, not the goal :-)

This picture is a road with lot of twists and turns. I have a somewhat similar picture posted previously, which was taken in Vizag. You can find it here. I liked it better, probably because of the greener surroundings.

US Navy

Fri, 25 May 2007 02:25 -0700

probably on a routine exercise..

I am not geting good pictures to post recently, so I decided to go to Vegas ;-)
Should be back with some good experiences and a bunch of snaps as well.

Location: Downtown, Portland, OR

Headless Chickens

Sun, 20 May 2007 13:23 -0700

Correct, that's the name for our soccer team. There were a few people missing in the picture here, but I guess, the total 'headcount' should still be the same ;-)

Location: Soccer field, Corvallis, OR

All eyes on the ball

Tue, 15 May 2007 17:32 -0700

People are moving in all directions but their eyes are locked on a single object. That is why playing / watching sports can be so riveting.

Location: Soccer field, Corvallis, OR

Men @ Work

Wed, 09 May 2007 13:15 -0700

This picture was taken a while ago, when we were living in Vizag. Recently, there were many such buildings which were being razed down to bring in taller apartments. In the background is the Eiffel Tower of vizag, the All India Radio tower :-)

Location: Siripuram, Vizag

Band of Brothers

Fri, 04 May 2007 22:14 -0700

Another snow pic, in continuation to the last post.
Couple of us been to a skiing place during the Spring break. It's amazing fun, once you get the hang of it. I guess, any activity where you can just glide/fly along with the flow, will be awesome.

Location: Willamette Pass Ski Area, Oregon

Snow-man

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:49 -0700

Couple of people enjoying the first snow.

This picture was taken in last November when it snowed here. It was my first real experience of snow and it was just awesome. It doesn't snow often in Corvallis, in fact it snowed only twice (as far as I remember) during the winter this year.

Location: In front of the Memorial Union, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

Speeding truck

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 23:38 -0700

Everything close by is whizzing past so fast while the distant hills appear so calm and composed.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:59 -0700

nothing more to add.

Sun and Sea

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:55 -0700

Strange that I am starting this new photoblog with a sunset, rather than a sunrise. One reason for that being - I seldom get up so early to capture the rising sun.
I had previously posted a series of sunrise photos at my old photoblog, you can watch them here.

Location: Newport beach, OR