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Snail and Spores
A Snail walks on a dead log covered with fungus releasing spores. This fungus was an active releaser of spores, which means it released spores continuously without any external stimulant. Snails mostly feed on this fungus as there were quite a few of them roaming on this dead log. These fungal spores, when lit up with an intense light from a certain angle, produce such amazing colors! I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! So I fired an intense flash from the opposite side to bring out the colors and the details in the spores. When zoomed at 100%, you can see amazing variety of colors in each individual spores. This indeed is a miracle of Mother Nature
Snail in Wonderland
A Snail walks on a dead log covered with fungus releasing spores. This fungus was an active releaser of spores, which means it released spores continuously without any external stimulant. Snails mostly feed on this fungus as there were quite a few of them roaming on this dead log. These fungal spores, when lit up with an intense light from a certain angle, produce such amazing colors! I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! So I fired an intense flash from the opposite side to bring out the colors and the details in the spores. When zoomed at 100%, you can see amazing variety of colors in each individual spores. This indeed is a miracle of Mother Nature
Snail and Spores
A Snail walks on a dead log covered with fungus releasing spores. This fungus was an active releaser of spores, which means it released spores continuously without any external stimulant. Snails mostly feed on this fungus as there were quite a few of them roaming on this dead log. These fungal spores, when lit up with an intense light from a certain angle, produce such amazing colors! I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! So I fired an intense flash from the opposite side to bring out the colors and the details in the spores. When zoomed at 100%, you can see amazing variety of colors in each individual spores. This indeed is a miracle of Mother Nature
Northern Lights
our eyes or they are just a medium, and the actual vision relies on our brains? Illusions are a great way to understand this complex. Often we see such illusions in which our brain is fooled to see (or not see) something which is very apparent to our eyes.
This is an image of a Bracket Fungus (Polypores) releasing spores. These spores, when lit up with an intense light from a certain angle, produce such amazing colors! I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! I decided to experiment with better lighting. I came back to this dead tree log on which the fungus was growing as soon as it got completely dark. The challenge was getting the spores right in windy conditions. Even a slight breeze would make the spores fly away too swiftly and it was not possible to get a good definition of their quantity. The wind would stop for a few seconds every 15-20 minutes and the speed of the spore release would slow down and the visible quantity would dramatically increase. After a few attempts over a stretch of 2 nights, I managed to create a set of beautiful and vibrant images. This particular image was more colorful and close to what I had pre visualized.
I tried to fool my brain into seeing this Macro image as a landscape image only by rotating it to Horizontal view. Rest of the magic was created by my brain as it started to view the bottom structures as the "Stonehenge", the upper part as stars and the middle colorful part as Aurora borealis or Northern lights!!!
This is an image of a Bracket Fungus (Polypores) releasing spores. These spores, when lit up with an intense light from a certain angle, produce such amazing colors! I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! I decided to experiment with better lighting. I came back to this dead tree log on which the fungus was growing as soon as it got completely dark. The challenge was getting the spores right in windy conditions. Even a slight breeze would make the spores fly away too swiftly and it was not possible to get a good definition of their quantity. The wind would stop for a few seconds every 15-20 minutes and the speed of the spore release would slow down and the visible quantity would dramatically increase. After a few attempts over a stretch of 2 nights, I managed to create a set of beautiful and vibrant images. This particular image was more colorful and close to what I had pre visualized.
I tried to fool my brain into seeing this Macro image as a landscape image only by rotating it to Horizontal view. Rest of the magic was created by my brain as it started to view the bottom structures as the "Stonehenge", the upper part as stars and the middle colorful part as Aurora borealis or Northern lights!!!
RGB
This is an image of a Bracket Fungus (Polypores) releasing spores. These spores, when lit up with an intense light from a certain angle, produce such amazing colors! I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! I decided to experiment with better lighting. I came back to this dead tree log on which the fungus was growing as soon as it got completely dark. The challenge was getting the spores right in windy conditions. Even a slight breeze would make the spores fly away too swiftly and it was not possible to get a good definition of their quantity. The wind would stop for a few seconds every 15-20 minutes and the speed of the spore release would slow down and the visible quantity would dramatically increase. After a few attempts over a stretch of 2 nights, I managed to create a set of beautiful and vibrant images. This particular images impressed me with its minimalistic and aesthetic outcome and the subtle feel of just 3 primary colors, Red, Green and Blue!
A Bug in Wonderland
A bug attracted by light sits on a mushroom of a Bracket Fungus (Polypores). Bracket Fungus are active releasers of spores. This specific group was releasing spores in a very high quantity. It is often neglected that when the spores are lit up with an intense light from a certain direction, they look colorful due to refraction of light. I had never observed this before, but when I saw the spectrum of colors with bare eyes just by firing a low intensity flashlight, I was amazed at the vibrancy of it! I decided to experiment with better lighting. I came back to this dead tree log on which the fungus was growing as soon as it got completely dark. The challenge was getting the spores right in windy conditions. Even a slight breeze would make the spores fly away too swiftly and it was not possible to get a good definition of their quantity. The wind would stop for a few seconds every 15-20 minutes and the speed of the spore release would slow down and the visible quantity would dramatically increase. After a few attempts over a stretch of 2 nights, I managed to create a set of beautiful and vibrant images. This image looks like the bug is in some other world, some kind of wonderland of sorts!
The Magic Tree
After mistiming my visits to this place where the Firefly congregation happens for 3 years, I finally went at the right time to the right place this day. After exploring for about 3 hours and seeing a million fireflies in the process, I found this particular tree where the quantity of fireflies was bewildering.
This particular image is a stack of 32 images (30 seconds exposure each) of this tree taken on a tripod. Later the images were stacked in Adobe Photoshop. This image contains 16 minutes of viewing time of this amazing tree.
This particular image is a stack of 32 images (30 seconds exposure each) of this tree taken on a tripod. Later the images were stacked in Adobe Photoshop. This image contains 16 minutes of viewing time of this amazing tree.
Pure Magic
After mistiming my visits to this place where the Firefly congregation happens for 3 years, I finally went at the right time to the right place this day. After exploring for about 3 hours and seeing a million fireflies in the process, I found this particular tree where the quantity of fireflies was bewildering. After experimenting with various techniques for a few hours, I started taking handheld images. It gave me freedom to move the camera and create more dreamy and creative images. Luckily the skies were dark due to clouds and it allowed me to take longer exposures. This particular image is a 127.3 seconds exposure and I moved the camera sideways while calculating and shifting focus in different plains about 4-5 times, all this while taking the image.
Fireflies
After mistiming my visits to this place where the Firefly congregation happens for 3 years, I finally went at the right time to the right place this day. After exploring for about 3 hours and seeing a million fireflies in the process, I found this particular tree where the quantity of fireflies was bewildering.
This particular image is a stack of 18 images (30 seconds exposure each) of this tree taken on a tripod. Later the images were stacked in Adobe Photoshop. This image contains 9 minutes of viewing time of this amazing tree.
This particular image is a stack of 18 images (30 seconds exposure each) of this tree taken on a tripod. Later the images were stacked in Adobe Photoshop. This image contains 9 minutes of viewing time of this amazing tree.
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Majestic Cat
A Young Tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve comes out of its resting and observes its surroundings and the pond nearby.
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Lur-KING
This is actually how you see the Tiger in the Jungle most of the time. This image gives me a feel of true Tiger habitat in our forests. Dense and undisturbed forest cover is what the Tigers need to survive and prosper. Let’s pledge to conserve forests for these magnificent beasts !
Hunter Hunted
A colony of Red Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) hunt down a black Scorpion (Heterometrus species). These weaver Ants make nests by weaving leaves together, thus the name. They forage for food on trees and forest floor and can hunt down bigger creatures with ease. This scorpion was at the wrong place at the wrong time and it took about an hour for the ants to kill it. After killing it, they liquefy the solid contents of the prey and take the liquid to their nests. A couple of ants can be seen transferring the white colored liquid as other ants are busy extracting more.
I found this scorpion surrounded by ants while I was looking for spiders. I observed as they killed this scorpion with the might of their numbers. It must have took around 50 ants to kill this one. It took more than 3 days to completely empty the insides of the scorpion. I visited this place every day and took this image on the 2nd day
I found this scorpion surrounded by ants while I was looking for spiders. I observed as they killed this scorpion with the might of their numbers. It must have took around 50 ants to kill this one. It took more than 3 days to completely empty the insides of the scorpion. I visited this place every day and took this image on the 2nd day
Morning Prayers
A Weaver Ant pauses in between of its daily chores as other ants continue hastily with their jobs. The Ant in focus looks like it has taken some time off to complete it's morning prayers.
Kill Squad
A couple of Weaver Ants juggle with their fresh prey, an Ant of different species, as they cross a small branch to take the kill back to their nest.
Team Work
A colony of Red Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) hunt down a Snail and carry part of its shell back to their nest. There are huge colonies of Weaver Ants with some colonies consisting of 7-8 nests with thousands of individuals. I spent a lot of days with this colony in a water stream. They used to build their nests and protect it for most of the time. They used to get out to hunt and forage after every 2-3 days and that day consisted of a lot of hunting and gathering. This particular day, the water levels in the stream had risen and the snails started to gather on stems of small bushes in the stream to avoid water. This gave the Weaver ants a chance to hunt them and they hunted more than a dozen snails in the whole day.
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Farmer Ants
Who would consider ants as farmers? However, it is a true circumstance in which they herd and care for aphids in order to keep a much loved food in constant supply.
Aphids are sucking insects that are common on both outdoor and indoor plants. They feed on the sap of plants and secrete a substance called honeydew. This sticky resin is a favorite food of ants, who actually “milk” the aphids for it by stroking their abdomen. (Swipe to see the closeup of the ant where it is stroking the aphid's abdomen and extracting honeydew).
The relationship between aphids and ants is symbiotic in that both receive some benefit from the arrangement. The unique relationship between these two organisms provides protection for the aphids and food for the ants. Ants protect the aphids from predators, such as lacewings and ladybugs. They have also recently been found to protect the aphids from a fungal outbreak that causes death, by removing the bodies of the infected aphids. Farmed aphids supposedly produce larger drops of honeydew and more offspring. The sweet sticky stuff is a favorite food for ants, who also take it back to feed larvae.
Aphids are sucking insects that are common on both outdoor and indoor plants. They feed on the sap of plants and secrete a substance called honeydew. This sticky resin is a favorite food of ants, who actually “milk” the aphids for it by stroking their abdomen. (Swipe to see the closeup of the ant where it is stroking the aphid's abdomen and extracting honeydew).
The relationship between aphids and ants is symbiotic in that both receive some benefit from the arrangement. The unique relationship between these two organisms provides protection for the aphids and food for the ants. Ants protect the aphids from predators, such as lacewings and ladybugs. They have also recently been found to protect the aphids from a fungal outbreak that causes death, by removing the bodies of the infected aphids. Farmed aphids supposedly produce larger drops of honeydew and more offspring. The sweet sticky stuff is a favorite food for ants, who also take it back to feed larvae.
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Male Matters
This Damselfly by the name Southern Heliodor or Libellago indica is found near streams, rivers and water bodies in forests. The Males of this species are extremely protective of the area they perch in. Whenever an intruder male enters area of another male, they perform a mid-air combat and try to shoo away the intruder. Often more than 2 males are seen in combat which lasts for a couple of minutes. Then both the males rest on the nearest perch and again start the combat after a small rest.
I observed many individuals and would see the combat going on repeatedly for days at a stretch. As soon as the sunlight would make the stream temperature warm, the males would start the combat immediately. The winning male would gain rights to mate with multiple females and the egg laying process is also carried out simultaneously.
The challenge of making this image was to sit for hours in water in order to get to the eye level of these damselflies. Also during the combat, the males would move in rotating motion thus making it extremely difficult to get both males in focus in a single shot with a blurred background. After weeks of trial and error, I was able to get a few good shots as I had pre-visualized.
I observed many individuals and would see the combat going on repeatedly for days at a stretch. As soon as the sunlight would make the stream temperature warm, the males would start the combat immediately. The winning male would gain rights to mate with multiple females and the egg laying process is also carried out simultaneously.
The challenge of making this image was to sit for hours in water in order to get to the eye level of these damselflies. Also during the combat, the males would move in rotating motion thus making it extremely difficult to get both males in focus in a single shot with a blurred background. After weeks of trial and error, I was able to get a few good shots as I had pre-visualized.
Damsel in a Gold mine
A Southern Heliodor damselfly rests as sunlight illuminates its surrounding as if it was a Gold mine.
Damsel in Distress
A Male damselfly named Southern Heliodor (Libellago indica) is caught by a Fishing Spider (Pisauridae sp.)
The Damsel Story
This Damselfly by the name Southern Heliodor or Libellago indica is found near streams, rivers and waterbodies in forests. The Males of this species are extremely protective of the area they perch in. Whenever an intruder male enters area of another male, they perform a mid-air combat and try to shoo away the intruder. Often more than 2 males are seen in combat which lasts for a couple of minutes. Then both the males rest on the nearest perch and again start the combat after a small rest.
I observed many individuals and would see the combat going on repeatedly for days at a stretch. As soon as the sunlight would make the stream temperature warm, the males would start the combat immediately. The winning male would gain rights to mate with multiple females and the egg laying process is also carried out simultaneously.
The challenge of making this image was to sit for hours in water in order to get to the eye level of these damselflies. Also during the combat, the males would move in rotating motion thus making it extremely difficult to get both males in focus in a single shot with a blurred background. After weeks of trial and error, I was able to get a few good shots as I had pre-visualized.
I observed many individuals and would see the combat going on repeatedly for days at a stretch. As soon as the sunlight would make the stream temperature warm, the males would start the combat immediately. The winning male would gain rights to mate with multiple females and the egg laying process is also carried out simultaneously.
The challenge of making this image was to sit for hours in water in order to get to the eye level of these damselflies. Also during the combat, the males would move in rotating motion thus making it extremely difficult to get both males in focus in a single shot with a blurred background. After weeks of trial and error, I was able to get a few good shots as I had pre-visualized.
Feeding Dragon
A dragonfly having its breakfast on a hot morning. I observed this dragonfly for a long time as it chose to sit on the exact same spot even after flying away multiple times. I positioned myself right with 2 flashes and took some portraits. Luckily for me, he came back with a meal on one of those flights !
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