Milestones

My last post was my 100th published post. I have a few that never made it to the blog land. Anyways, 100 is not a great number, not one I'm too proud of given that I have been doing this for long. But, it's still a milestone, right? And what do we do when we reach a milestone? We celebrate. Or we just mention it in one post and go on about our life.

One milestone that I'm actually celebrating is my recent switch to full manual mode on my DSLR - full as in full, including manual focus. I do not see myself using it very often, especially the manual focus, as I'm too slow with it. I'm just getting used to it but I never will be as fast as the auto focus. or could I? Having said that, it just gives me so many degrees of freedom. I love that!



Till this time, I thought ISO was useless. WHAT??


I had read in so many photography articles that manual mode is so liberating, it gives so much freedom, it gives so much better control, it makes you a better lover and all the time I used to think what a bunch of suckers! Ok maybe, I didn't read the last one. But then, who would do all those adjustments manually when the machine does it for you in one half-press?

I stand corrected. The manual mode does give you freedom - the frustrating movements of the lens when it's not able to focus on something or when it keeps focusing on something other than what you intend are now a thing of the past, the over bright or under-bright pictures are a thing of the past, the unending waits for the shutter to close are a thing of the past, the blur caused by the slow shutter speeds is a thing of the past. What I finally get is a satisfying picture and I can again tweak a setting, if I'm unhappy with the result. (With so many frustrations gone from your life, wouldn't you love better? Maybe I did read the better lover part then. Or maybe I'm saying it now. But it could happen!)




So summing it all up, I am happy.

I'm still taking baby steps with the manual mode. I hope to get better.

And while we are on milestones - It took me many many years but finally I found the guts (or should I say the cheek) to wear bright red nail paint. This makes me happy as well.


The book is the Bhagvad Gita and I have finished it in case you are wondering. Thankyou very much!

And in a few days, I'll cross another really BIG milestone. I'll cross Indian borders to go to Sri Lanka. It's not Europe and it can be mistaken for Chennai but what the hell, it's still 'foreign' land.

Take a step back

Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans.

Let me tell you a story.

Today morning was a beautiful morning. Perfect sun, perfect temperature. I left the main door open to enjoy the beautiful sky outside. Just then a wasp, a big bee, 5-6 times the size of a honeybee wandered inside my door. AAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!

I was morbidly afraid of the 'beast'. I knew better than getting into her way and hid in my kitchen while the bee went into my bedroom. Obviously, she was looking for a way out of this prison of a place. I mean, she is a lady of the outdoors, clear skies and pretty flowers. The bedroom curtains were drawn but there is this small ventilator on the top of the windows which is covered with glass. She saw the light there and tried to escape from there.

She tried and tried and kept on trying, somehow thinking that the glass will give way somewhere. I empathized with her but more than that I wanted her to leave, so I opened the curtains so that she would see the light from the window and escape.

But, she didn't. She was right above the window but kept trying to get out of the ventilator. Struggling with the glass pane.And struggling. And struggling. She just could not see the open window.

Do you know where I'm going with this? The bee was so occupied with her struggle to get out of that small ventilator that she could not see that a whole big window is open right next to her. Ever wondered how many times we do that? As I stood there watching her, I thought about that. (And than I ran back to my kitchen)

Wouldn't it be good that ever once in a while we step back and look at the bigger picture? Maybe we are struggling for the wrong things in the wrong place.Who knows, a bigger door has been opened for us. How sad is it to know that when we are engaged in our futile escape from the small ventilator, an entire large window is waiting for us.

The update on the bee is that she was wise enough. She must have seen the window and she did escape after I don't know how long. I didn't dare to stay and look at her struggle lest she gets frustrated and charges at me, maybe transform into a monster, wrap me with her huge wings, take me to her den and slowly torture me to death with her family of poisonous wasps. Weird things happen.