6th November 2019
Johnnie Walker Blue Labelg
"Why do you drink whisky that is so expensive?"
8th November 2019
Grey Goose — Zero to the top in one year
Select France to make this Vodka due to the culinary history of the place, boast about the wheat and Springwater used in making the Vodka, the kind of things usually a Whisky maker talks about, this further distinguishes you from the rest of the products. Finally, price your product 5 times higher than the rest and watch it rise to the top of the sales chart. This is not unusual, a lot of other brands have done the same including Chivas Regal. Actually the Chivas Regal effect is the name given to this phenomenon where people judge the quality of a product by its price.
7th May 2019
The Gullwing
I have the good fortune of sitting in one of these in the Auto Expo 2010. Mercedes Benz is a client of R K SWAMY BBDO where I used to work and we went to the stall of Mercedes in 2010.
17th April 2019
Notre Dame
Notre Dame was on fire on Monday and it was badly damaged including the spire on top that collapsed along with a part of the roof.
16th April 2019
A Benz and a Cadillac
Seems like red is my lucky colour.
12th April 2019
Care for some more whisky?
The bottle of whicky you buy from market is 750ml, the bottles you buy from Duty Free shops at airport are 1000ml. Is this done to ensure you can get your full quota without having to rely for unusual sizes?
11th April 2019
A Dynasty of Alcoholics?
Pick up any bottle of Scotch Whisky and you will see By Appointment to.. and it has names of Kings and Queens of England, check out this picture as well if you have not noticed it yet. Didn't the ruling class ever indulge in anything else, like fruit juice, maybe?
10th April 2019
Holy... Basil
The freshly germinated saplings must taste good which is why te pigeons ate most of them for any plant we have in our balcony. During the spring and monsoon, the seeds of plants like basil fall in the planters and new plants crop up everywhere but not for long.
9th April 2019
By the lake
Another shot of the Mercedes-Benz 500K. Did you know that the "K" in the name stands for Kompressor which means a supercharger. I am not sure if the car I am driving now, a car made 80 years after this car has a supercharger or not.
7th April 2019
Cadillac Eldorado
Once the basic need is met, we desire more than that. A revolution called a wheel was invented a long time ago, is still going strong.
4th April 2019
Mercedes Benz 500
The car that I bought two years ago values only a fraction of what I paid for it (actually still paying for it), but this 1938 car is obscenely more expensive at $1.45 million than it was brand new.
18th February 2019
Leaf in seive
When you waste your time scrolling through social media sites on your phone, sometimes you learn something as well.
12th February 2019
Justerini & Brooks
Have you felt your mood change based on a task? Let's say you were...
9th February 2019
View from Gaur City
A long exposure from the balcony of my brother's house after the rains, when the air is clean and the visibility is good.
26th January 2019
Absolut India
What is your opinion on crowd sourced design? As a designer I have a special dislike for words like this, there are countless examples of when the corporates have exploited them by offering "exposure" chance to be recognized or win a prize or even employment. At the same time I know a lot of people, including designers who not onlt think it is a good idea, they activey participate in these contests.
20th January 2019
Arc de Triomphe at night
I went a full circle around the Arc de Triomphe and then waited a further for it to get dark so I could take some pictures like this. I took quite a few shots and it was difficult to manage this without a tripod.
16th January 2019
Arc de Triomphe
I never posted any of my Paris images...actually I have not been posting anything at all here and I don't usually post on Facebook or Instagram. This is made by stitching three images which is quite evident when you look at the image.
13th January 2019
Valley of the Deer
This is another shot taken using my new lightbox and at with this result, I can see the result is as good as taking a picture without a light box. I can see the reflection of the lights, the reflections of the inside of the lightbox and even my own reflections.
12th January 2019
Swedish Vodka
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have got a new lightbox and this is a picture taken using that lightbox. It needs to be perfected as the first attempt was less than successful. I have to get the lighting and the exposure right and I also have to change the sheets I used on the sides to tracing paper to get better light and diffusion.
9th January 2019
Happy New Year
This year has been satisfying for my creative pursuits. 2018 was very good for photography. Maybe it is wrong to say that it was good for photography because I spent seven months without a camera but after that, I did buy a camera with interchangeable lenses. It took me an extraordinarily long time to upgrade but that is a different discussion.
9th November 2018
Gymnast egg
What can say except that I am impressed by the balancing act of the pigeon. Laying an egg and ensuring it doesn't drop off the inch and a half grill is an impressive act. I don't know what the pigeon plans to do with this egg though, I mean it was a difficult stunt to pull off but the question is why?
22nd August 2018
Money Plant
We used to be extremely good for recycling. Recycling a bottle didn't mean sending it to a recycling plant, melting it again and using it to make a bottle once again.
19th August 2018
Happy World Photography Day
Since I have not been taking pictures for the last one year I don't have my lightbox with me either. The last one was made using a cardboard box which I threw away as it was taking up space, collecting dust.
13th August 2018
Smooth flowing one
Almost exactly an year ago, my camera broke down and I have not been able to take any pictures. It took me about an year to buy a new camera. I considered Olympus M5/M10, then I almost bought Canon D250 and finally I bought the Panasonic G7. I have got the camera back, I hope I will get back my passion as well, without passion, the camera is useless.
19th May 2017
Smooth flowing one
How would the people who participated in the 100 year war or the Battle of Waterloo would feel about the French ownership of the largest selling Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the world? Not only are the Fench profiting on something made in Scotland, they are leveraging the legacy and the Scotch reputation as well.
18th May 2017
So, they did started it all
So here is one of the largest selling Single Malt Whisky in the world, if not THE largest selling.
17th May 2017
Kentucky in our hearts, Bourbon in our soul
Kentucky in our hearts, Bourbon in our soul, and as I mentioned in the previous post, Japanese by ownership. This is an interesting aspect of a corporation buying a brand and then leveraging the value of the brand.
15th May 2017
Jim Beam
Most brands miss the very aspect of their personality that makes it desirable - their legacy.
17th November 2016
Supermoon
I try to take pictures of Supermoon whenever I know there is one and the weather is conducive, as it was on 14th of this month. It was 356,511 kilometers away from the center of Earth.
14th October 2016
Not a bhakt, just because I post a Lotus pic
If anyone says anything positive about Modi, he is a "Bhakt", and if you just as much as acknowledge that Kejriwal has slashed electricity bills, you are an AAPtard.
6th October 2016
Black and White... May be Green too
Bottles of Jack Daniels and Jim Beam use only black and white. The label of Black & White is also in these two colours but the bottle is green.
27th September 2016
Encounter with El Chupakabra
On national Highway 44, the driver of the car pulled over to pee and he was later found by the locals who own this farm in state of shock.
20th September 2016
Halo
The funny thing with the Android phones is that since January 2011, I have bought three of them - each one bigger and more poweful than the one preceeding it and I always paid 12,000 bucks for it.
19th September 2016
It don't matter if you're...
16th September 2016
Water retention
Clicked on the June trip to Punjab and Himachal, this is a Colocasia leaf, known as arbi in Hindi. Apart from the root that is quite commonly eaten, these leaves are used to prepare a delicious snack.
13th September 2016
A door and a chaj
1st September 2016
Babhor Sahib at sunset
Babhor Sahib is a gurudwara we visit on almost all our visits to Nangal. This shot is taken from the other side of the Sutlej river from a place called Sutlej Sadan.
20th December 2015
Disco Diwane
Twenty years ago I could never imagine going to Chandni Chowk and spend half a day in researching the lights for my new home, but that is exactly what we did.
16th December 2015
A prayer for Nirbhaya
Till three years ago we were celebrating Vijay Diwas, but since 2012 this date has been remembered for an entirely different and shameful reason.
11th December 2015
Thick skinned
Spotted during my last trip to Nangal.
11th November 2015
Happy Diwali
May this Diwali and the rest of year be as full of bright sparkles as this.
2nd November 2015
Destiny - A portrait of Benedict Cumberbatch
started a portrait of Benedict Cumberbatch after carefully selection an image from more than a dozen I downloaded over the past fortnight.
16th October 2015
Dad, Isn't this the guy who plays Tony Stark?
Manuraj correctly identified Robert Downey Jr.
28th September 2015
Shutter Island
If today I have to name a favorite star, it would be Leonardo.
11th September 2015
Holding it together
On the Independence Day there were 10 balloons and out of those, 8 managed to go up in air and the other two crash landed including one that eventually went up in flames
10th September 2015
Houston, we have lift off
On the Independence Day there were 10 balloons and out of those, 8 managed to go up in air and the other two crash landed including one that eventually went up in flames
9th September 2015
Around the block in 10 minutes
Can't fly a kite? No problem, buy a hot air balloon. You just have to light a fire and up it goes... except that it doesn't.
8th September 2015
Tile Pattern
Tile pattern, however one that is created in photoshop but on an actual house using real bricks by masons.
16th August 2015
I actually went to the museum
One of the assignment for summer vacation for Manu was to list the items displayed in National Museum from the Indus Valley civilastion.
15th August 2015
Happy Independence Day
The rains ruled out the kites during most of the day but in the evening, the weather was dry enough to launch some hot air balloons.
13th August 2015
Dakota - The plane with reversed wheels
This plane has its nose up in the air even while standing stil. I guess this might have been done to give it an easier lift... or maybe just to make it look eager to fly.
11th August 2015
Bharat Ratna Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata
What I find admirable is keeping your focus on larger groups - your customers, your employees and your country. This used to be the vision of JRD Tata who believed in making a positive impact to the lives of people.
10th August 2015
Waiting for lunch
Wonder what the spider is going to eat today - a fly, a mosquito, some other bug?
16th July 2015
Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon PVC
Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon decided to take on the Sabre jets in his significantly smaller Gnat risking his life.
13th July 2015
Robert De Niro
Recently I started sketching again and last weekend decided to make a portrait of Robert Deniro.
3rd July 2015
Dandelion?
Not really? This is a dried dlower which looks a lot different alive than dead.
1st July 2015
Red
There are sevel levels or terraces on the garden each one lower than the previous one. Almost at all those points where one ends and another begins, there is a waterfall. This is one of those.
29th June 2015
Lamps and Water
There are sevel levels or terraces on the garden each one lower than the previous one. Almost at all those points where one ends and another begins, there is a waterfall. This is one of those.
23rd June 2015
Pinjore Garden
16th June 2015
Manu at Jal Mahal
This is a garden one should visit twice. Once during the day in winters and once at night during the summer.
2nd June 2015
Celery
My initial experience of celery was with baked potatoes in Melbourne and my initial reaction was not entirely positive.
19th May 2015
Beauty in death
Not only do I find them amazing when they blossom, I see a beauty even when these flowers have dried up... and I guess these flowers understand and resiprocate that love.
18th May 2015
Radiance
I printed calendars regulary from 2007 till 2010 and then did one in 2012 as well. Now I am planning to do one for the next year and this time it will feature pictures by Manuraj.
15th May 2015
Mother nature's jam cookie
Some kid's wish of treats growing on trees seems to have come true. Here is the jam bud, will flower into a Jim Jam in a day or two.
13th May 2015
Rain water harvesting
12th May 2015
Scaling new heights
Not exactly what the old man meant when he said "I want to my son to scale great heights."
11th May 2015
Just out of a shower
Anyone else won't have gone into details like this.
9th May 2015
God is indeed in detail
Anyone else won't have gone into details like this.
7th May 2015
A Dark Rose
"Nothing special about it." is what we feel like when we see a greeting card or a message we get on Facebook or whatsapp using a picture and type on top of that.
23rd April 2015
You are in my frame
Composing the shot becomes difficult when shooting with another photographer... unless you don't mind having the other photographer in your frame.
23rd April 2015
Furnace
Apart from looking like a furnace, this looks like a defensive formation by soldiers. Each petal is like a shield that is protecting what is at the center.
17th April 2015
Big mouth
Have you ever noticed that no matter which whisky they are drinking, the mouth of the bottle is always the old fashioned one
16th April 2015
Open windows
The light that falls through the windows on the bottle looks like braille.
6th April 2015
Golden Drops
31st March 2015
Comfort Photography
Like there is comfort food, there is comfort photography - tried and tested subjects with predictable results. It doesn't produce anything spectacular and nothing unique but the results are quite good (enough).
17th March 2015
Jab andhera hota hai...
So how was the Whisky? Buggered if I know. I am not an expert in whisky and I don't care about the expert's verdict about whisky either. I do know, though, a thing or two about graphic design.
15th March 2015
Pink Flowers
8th March 2015
Noida Authority joining Holi celebrations
Not to be left behind, the Noida Authrity also joined the Holi celebrations.
7th March 2015
Happy Holi
Will it? Won't it? After many days thinking about if the weather will be warm enough for kids to play holi, it took a turn in the favour of kids. It was sufficiently warm in the morning for kids to frolic in water. However none of them wanted to take a bath with cold water afterwards.
24th February 2015
..ki aag hai mujhme khain
It's been a long time. I have not been posting on this blog and I have not been photographing either. Usually spring is a very active month for me but this time around the samera has not come out all that often.
23rd February 2015
Attention! Flame
Believe me, it is not an overstatement. This lighter is like a blowtorch... a small, pocket blow torch.
21st January 2015
0.7mm
I liked the nifty little box these leads come in. It is easy to use as it down't require you to open a lid, you click the blue lever and it opens a hole for the lead to come out. More details in the next post.
5th January 2015
Happy New Year 2015
A little more of the same for you this year as well.
22nd December 2014
Booth 5, then Booth 6
The job is hectic and requires planning upfront.
20th December 2014
Nector Shopping
No plastic, no paper, there is no credit line either. The payment has to be made on the spot and it has to be a barter- the bee has taken the nector and pollinates the flowers. This is ultimate example of blind dating.
18th December 2014
Hi Bob!
8th December 2014
Static charge
26th November 2014
Static charge
Filling up a bean bag is a challenge. The small styrofoam balls tend to get static in the short distance they cover from the plastic bag to bean bag. Any balls that fall out tend to float around the house for days.
24th November 2014
Robert Deniro
Ronin is my favourite Robert Deniro movie and I love some of the lines in that movi like the one above and another one is "'Whenever there is a doubt, there is no doubt'. That is the first thing they teach you."
13th November 2014
Are you going to mix drinks?
Is it bad to mix my drinks? Of course it is bad to have a whisky if you had a couple of tequila shots before that, a vodka before that, a little wine before that, some bourbon before that, a little rum before that and a few beers before that. Because you already are pretty drunk by now.
13th November 2014
Sharp
Dozens of beer bottles started their journeys the same way and continued on the same path till the time they got to my refrigeraor.
12th November 2014
A courtful of Alcoholics
"A purveyor to the Russian Imeprial Court". A common thing to see on the bottles of Alcohols is Royal endorsements. Bottles of whiskies, just like this bottle of Smirnoff Vodka boast about being patronised by the royal courts.
6th November 2014
Vodka - To see it for what it is
A Vodka can be produced anywhere in the world and can be made using literally dozens of things - you can use potatoes, grains, beet. Hell, in US people make vodkas using ethanol bought in bulk from agricultural and industrial giants.
5th November 2014
No, not Russian. Not anymore
What image comes to mind when you thing of a Vodka? No matter what else you think about, I am sure Russia comes to everyone's mind. But is it right?
4th November 2014
What makes the Diwali "Happy"
I am not going to discuss how other sources of pollution are so many times more harmful than fireworks... how diwali smoke is not even of fraction of what some people may want us to believe.
22nd October 2014
Please stop making me feel like an environmental terrorist!
Since my childhood fireworks and crackers have been an integral part of Diwali just like it for Chinese New Year or the 4th of July.
17th October 2014
A Broken Neck
16th October 2014
Smashed
A photo-shoot involving a smashed up glass bottles is not the safest of the thing to do especially when a 9 year old kid is involved, which is unavoidable as Manu HAS to be involved in a photo-shoot if I am doing it.
9th October 2014
Holy Smoke!
This is my first attempt at smoke photography and it happened by accident.
