Western Ghats in Monsoon

Two weeks back me and Ashwin Bhat visited a few places in the Western Ghats region. We visited Gudavi Bird Sanctuary, Jog Falls, Unchalli Falls, Sathoddi Falls and Magodu Falls. From a photography perspective it was a very good trip. I learnt a few important lessons. I was very interested in capturing Monsoon mood inside deep jungles of Western Ghats. It was an amazing experience. But capturing the mood in images and photography in general was not yet all easy. We (VMR, Ashwin and me) spent some good amount of time in rain inside the jungle near Unchalli Falls. Inside the forest, blood sucking leaches were every where. There were ticks, mosquitoes.. you name it. Yet the desire for capturing the Monsoon mood stood above all these. I just got away with three leaches climbing my legs.

I must admit I did not succeed in making some images which I had visualized (will reserve them for next trip - may be) but there were interesting lessons. First I was not prepared for taking care of myself and equipments. Lenses were fogging very quickly, lenses and cameras were getting wet, during trip to Sathoddi, my Lowepro bag got exposed to rain. Fortunately I had a plastic bag inside the side pouch which prevented water getting inside the bag. Leaches were every were - I was often thinking about them than about photography. At the end, I got used to it. Light was not at all ideal, exposures were very tricky - light meter may or may not help. Challenges were many - so were opportunities. But I could not make use of it fully. Hopefully next time I will be better prepared.

Some more images are at my home Nature Lyrics