Shivz Photography!

Photography??

Camera??

When was i first introduced into this wonderful world???
Had to think about that today and i recollected when i first saw a camera.

1992 - I was studying 2nd standard and my uncle had come home to visit us and he brought a Kodak camera with him. Like any other 2nd standard kid i was fascinated seeing a camera for the first time. Kept on pestering my uncle to allow me to take a shot but he never allowed me to even touch the cam he he :)

1992 - 2005 - Occasionally handled the camera during family functions but will be allowed to just press the shutter.. didn't have much of a chance to explore the camera

2005 - Advaitha - a one day workshop which our IT department organizes every year- My friend Prabhu gave me a camera (a film roll cam) and asked me to take some shots throughout the day. Boy that was really exciting.. took 33 shots totally and i took shots in all possible angles... i was really happy the other day... Seeing me take photos, another friend Agila handed over her digicam and asked me to take some photos...wow... this was going to be the exciting day of my life :D

But, I did two wonderful things that fateful day:

Screwup1:
1) I opened my friend Prabhu's cam in broad sunlight to take out the film roll... (Crime no:1) :P As you would have guessed when processed everything was white... (That's what my friend told me, he didn't even bring the processed photos)
Screwup2:
2) I didn't use flash in the digi cam (Agila's cam) and all the photos were pitch dark |
Total black & white :P இதுக்கு பேரு தான் Black & White photoso :P :P :P Almost all my friends were furious and even today they will tease me for this :P

Alright i learnt my lessons and didn't go near any cam for some time... But being the Aarva kolaru i am i couldn't leave it just like that... I shouldn't be that bad in photography ,so i learnt few basic things from net and was somewhat okay in taking photos... moved to digital cameras and then to handy cams... and all this time i started liking what i was doing... started to develop a passion towards photography ...

2007:

Joined HP.. Met two amazingly talented guys - Vishwaant and Zreejith. Vishwaant excels in photography, flash designing and site designing while Zreejith is an amazing artist and an amazing photographer. We used to discuss a lot about designing. We were asked to do lot of movies, presentations and posters for organizational activities and while doing this we used to discuss a lot about various creative designs....the more i discussed with them the more i learnt.

Coming to the exact point when my life turned... we went to Yelagiri for a short vacation and Vishwaant was taking photographs as usual with unusual angles... i and Vivek (My "thedal" hero) wanted to tease him, so we took Dominic's (another friend of mine - "DOSAVATHARAM "hero) camera mobile (Nokia n73) and went wherever Vishwaant went. If he was trying to shoot a flower we will go before he does and we would take the photo from the same angle... we had a nice time teasing him this way... But he was really nice to us and taught few things about taking proper photos... Vishwaant wanted to take a silhouette of Vivek jumping but he was not able to get any decent shot after lot of tries....... he left and started shooting some other poochi, poo whatever... Now yours truly wanted to try his hand in photography, wanted to tease Vishwaant that he can take the shot which Vishwaant couldn't ... i asked vivek to jump as high as he can and after few attempts i got the desired shot... it was not that great and all but personally i felt like as if i achieved something great...

That photo changed my life... compelled me to seriously consider photography as a hobby....

Sony Ericsson k850i:
Having decided to pursue photography as a hobby i was unsure whether to get a digicam... i had money to buy either a good mobile or a digital camera..It was November 2007 and Sony ericsson had launched a 5mpx mobile phone called Sony Ericsson k850i. Bought it. Shot hella lotta photos and i was accepted as a somewhat better photographer :) That's my story... now comes the anti-climax... few weeks back my mobile crashed (for the fifth time) and i was told it was not repairable. I was totally depressed. Almost 99% of photographs that i had taken was taken with my k850... i was really sad.. i know its just a mobile but still... somehow i was not able to take the shock....

November 10, 2009:

My birthday.. my best friend Archana took me to camera citi and said that she will get a new sony digi cam for me for 8k as a bday gift. My sis - Abi had promised to get me a new mobile for 5k. i was in no mood to get a new mobile.. i wanted a cam and a good cam.. i got 13k. now... called up my friend and philosopher Vishwaant for suggestions related to digicams... he advised me to put some more money and get a compact camera.. compacts are like higher end versions of digi cam... so i thought i can put 5k extra and get a compact... again vishwaant advised me to also look out for a second hand DSLR... getting a DSLR has always been a dream for me... for anyone interested in photography - the DSLR is the ultimate thing to have... so here i was searching for good deals in second hand DSLR's.

Then some of my friends suggested me to get a first hand DSLR from US since it would be cheap. So i did a small research on entry level dslrs... i had to shell out some extra money but i was happy that i was closer to realising my dream. Finally i zeroed in on Nikon D3000 - a pretty good entry level DSLR. My friend Shankaranarayan who was in US, bought it for me and i received it few weeks back... thanks a lot shankar... without you it would have been really difficult for me. Billion thanks for archie, Million thanks for my loving sis abirami :) and Trillion thanks to all my friends who always support me for all the stupid things that i do :D Okay let me wrap up this post quickly....

Today, its almost 2 years since i started taking photographs and every photo has taught me something new... every photo gives a new life for me.. and today i am moving to the next level.. the level where i could play with my DSLR and compete with professionals.... It has been an amazing journey so far and i know for sure that it will be even more amazing in the coming years... i have got lots, lots and lots of friends through my photography... Things are looking far more better now... i am getting new offers from various people requesting to use my photos in their websites.. other interesting projects are in pipeline through 3ifactory design studio.

These are exciting times... and i want to thank all my well-wishers, my friends, my critics... everyone who has viewed my photos even once... Without all your encouragement and support i wouldn't have come so far... Hope i get your constant support as i move into the next level with the help of my DSLR!!

The first day of "Shivz Photography" - i dunno how i can thank you all... planning to get some more amazing photos.. that will be the best way to express my thankfulness :D



P.S: For a long time i have been wanting to make a short film related to photography.. hope i make it soon... might be in 2010.

P.P.S: Whenever you are free check out my portfolio and provide your critiques and suggestions :D

http://3ifactory.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shivaj/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shivaj/
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/shivaj/popular-interesting/


Yours Truly,
Shiva

பூமியில் வானவில் - 7 (குழந்தையர் தினம்!)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

பூமியில் வானவில் - 6 (என்னவள்!!)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

பூமியில் வானவில் - 5 (மழை காதல்!!)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

பூமியில் வானவில் - 4 (நிழல் காதல்)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

Tweets of 2009!!

Kuru Kuru Kangalile (ARR's soundtrack for Couples Retreat)

ARR's soundtrack for the Hollywood Movie "Couples Retreat", fell in love with this song as soon as i heard it the first time... As i type this i had listened to this song 50 times... will keep listening to it :)

Here's the video:



And here's the lyrics to sing along :)

Love you Rahman as always :D

குறு குறு கண்களிலே . ..
எனை அவள் வென்றாலே...
குறு குறு கண்களிலே
எனை அவள் வென்றாலே...

இதோ இதோ
அவள் எனை
பதம் பார்க்கிறாள்!

இதோ இதோ
அவள் எனை
பதம் பார்க்கிறாள்!

சிறு சிறு பெண்ணிலவே
என் துணை ஆவாளோ...
சிறு சிறு பெண்ணிலவே
என் பசி தீர்பாலோ...

இதோ இதோ
அவள் எனை
பதம் பார்க்கிறாள்!

இதோ இதோ
அவள் எனை
பதம் பார்க்கிறாள்!

Kumbakonam,Trichy,Tanjore-2009 (with IT friends)

Just wanted to share what we did during our trip to Tanjore, Trichy and Kumbakonam.

Following is a compilation of tweets that i posted during the trip! Enjoy :)

Day0:

* Planning 2 go 2 Kumbakonam, Trichy & Thanjavur with my coll friends. Leaving tonite! Hope I get some good pics in the trip. Will b back on Monday | 8:51 AM Jul 16th.

* TAnjored!!!! :) 8:19 PM Jul 16th.

* I think am over excited. Its 2:35 AM now and I am still not able to sleep.| 2:34 AM Jul 17th.

* Is it because of the excitement of touring lot of new places with my friends? | 2:35 AM Jul 17th.

* Or is it because of the beautiful girl who is sleeping opposite my berth. | 2:36 AM Jul 17th.

Day1:

* My breakfast today. 2parottas-rs.4, 1 dosa-Rs.2, 1 vada-rs.1. Beat that:-P | 10:48 AM Jul 17th.

* Going to swamimalai now (Murugan Temple) | 10:54 AM Jul 17th.

* After seeing the wonderful temple in darasuram, which is also an UNESCO HERITAGE SITE, v r nw having lunch in meenakshi bhavan, kmu | 1:41 PM Jul 17th.

* Darasuram temple is wonderfully maintained by the ASI. If you are visiting kumbakonam, don't miss the darasuram temple | 1:43 PM Jul 17th.

* Watched Nadodigal film in kumbakonam, awesome movie. Now proceeding to Magaamaga kulam. | 5:30 PM Jul 17th.

* Worshipped Adhi kumbeshwarar also came to know about how Shiva created this temple. :) | 7:26 PM Jul 17th.

* Still searching for k7, he again got lost in a prasadam stall. | 7:30 PM Jul 17th.

Day2:

* Going to trichy now. A pleasant weather, great weather for sightseeing. | 7:50 AM Jul 18th.

* Stuck in trichy's traffic :( | 1:49 PM Jul 18th.

* Had a good darshan of Aranganadhar, Srirangam. | 1:51 PM Jul 18th.

* Saw the mandapam where kambar recited Kambaramanayam. I have no words to describe the feeling. :) | 1:52 PM Jul 18th.

* Went to rockfort. Come to know about the four different forms that can be seen of the mountain. :) | 5:48 PM Jul 18th.

* Looking from different angles one can see the lingam,vinayagar,kamadhenu and singa forms of MALAIKOVIL (Rockfort) | 5:50 PM Jul 18th.

* Got nearly blown away by the wind in rockfort. Will upload video once I come back. | 5:52 PM Jul 18th.

* Thiruvaanaikal - thiru+aanai+kaal. Beautiful temple of shiva. Shiva as Jalangandeshwarar. One of the panchabootham (Water form) | 5:56 PM Jul 18th.

* Shivalingam in thiruvaanaikal wil always b submerged in water. There is a natural spring near the lingam. Awesome. | 5:58 PM Jul 18th.

* Went to kallanai the dam built by Karikal cholan, in 12th century yesterday. | 5:21 AM Jul 19th.

* Came by Thiruvaiyaaru - (the place where five rivers meet) while returning from trichy. | 5:24 AM Jul 19th.

Day3:

* Getting ready to play cricket in my village ground. :), i hope the ground is not crowded | 5:25 AM Jul 19th.

* Today was the best sunday morning in my life so far. Had a terrific time now. | 12:22 PM Jul 19th.

* Woke up at 5, and then played cricket in my village cricket ground for two hours. Though we lost the series 1-2 we enjoyed the game. | 12:25 PM Jul 19th.

* Total elani (Tender Coconuts) that i had today = 8. Those were the sweetest i have ever had. Total elanis that v all had = 50+ totally! | 12:30 PM Jul 19th.

* Playing Cricket + Having refreshing Elani = Heaven ;-) | 12:34 PM Jul 19th.

* Most of my friends had never seen a bore set. Today they all took bath in one of the bore set and had the best time of their lives. | 12:37 PM Jul 19th.

* 1 bore set and thirteen friends. Lush green paddy fields, coconut trees. Relaxation Unlimited. | 12:39 PM Jul 19th.

* Sitting in the tallest tower in tanjore (The Bell Tower) and twittering. Now thats fun, with high speed winds for company. Thrilling exp | 2:30 PM Jul 19th.

* Vetti katrathukulla verthu kotrathu saar :-P | 4:36 PM Jul 19th.

* Going to the Big Temple in Tanjore to experience its magnificience once again!! | 4:37 PM Jul 19th.

* Bomb scare in big Temple!! | 8:20 PM Jul 19th.

* K7 has lost his digi cam. Still searching for it. | 8:24 PM Jul 19th.

* It turns to be a Yaanai vedi which got burst near the Temple agazhi. A dog died in the incident | 8:22 PM Jul 19th.

* Waiting for rockfort express in tanjore station. | 8:23 PM Jul 19th.

* Totally tired out after 3 days of vacation. Home sweet home, here i come. | 9:59 PM Jul 19th.

* I am so tired after the vacation, that i need another vacation now to relax! | 4:34 AM Jul 20th

Day4:

* Reached chennai. Waiting in mambalam station! | 4:38 AM Jul 20th

* Just now noticed Kumbakonam has aako in it... :P :P Thanks Vishwaaant :) | 4:33 PM Jul 20th

பூமியில் வானவில் -3 (காதலின் சம்மதம்!)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

பூமியில் வானவில் -2 (நெருக்கம்)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

பூமியில் வானவில்! 1 - (பிரிவு) (Collection of my kirukkalgal)

பூமியில் வானவில் - Complete Collection (click on "Read more" for a slide show)

Videos and presentations

The various video presentations that i did for my department and college:

Independence day presentation:


Woman's day presentation:


Presentation about my college:


Presentation for Asthra (My Department Sysmposium):
First half of this was developed by my junior Raja :) -


Presentation for a workshop (Advaitha):

My Bucket List

For my programmer friends this is not related to any data structures theory and for others this got nothing to do with any bucket :P This is just the list of things that i wish i could do before i "Kick the Bucket". I was inspired to write this down after watching the movie - "Bucket List". You can check out the original bucket list over here.

Shivz Bucket List:

1) Go to Himalayas. Trek Mt.Everest. Reach the highest peak on Earth. :)
2) Fall in Love. Twice!!
3) Learn to play a Guitar.
4) Learn to play drums.
5) Learn Swimming.
6) Be the best father in the whole world (Seriously...)
7) Adopt a child.
8) Drive a F1 car.
9) Do Deep sea diving.
10) Sky diving, Paragliding, Fly in a Parachute.
11) Run a marathon.
12) Watch a test match in Lords.
13) Watch a World cup final in which India is playing in India (if its in Chennai then i will be considering myself extremely lucky)

14) Visit all 7 wonders of the world ( if possible meet the 8th wonder too... yeah Aishwarya Rai)

15) Watch all the TOP 250 movies listed in IMDB. (update on Dec 11 - 50/250 movies watched so far :) )

16) Direct at least 50 award winning short movies.
17) Be an entrepreneur and own a start-up!!!
18) Play in Las Vegas for a night!
19) Try to visit all the districts in Tamil Nadu, All states in India and all countries in the World (At least once)
20) Have a Photography exhibition with my photographs.
21) Make a difference in at least one person's life.
22) Write a book and get it published
23) Contribute to environment conservation.
24) Have a farm in my own village and make a good harvest out of it. :) (My favorite)
25) Go on a bike ride from Kanyakumari to Kashmir with all my friends!
26) ...

I will keep updating the list now and then when something extraordinary strikes my ordinary head.... :)

Prank on Vodafone Customer Care

Prank on Vodafone Customer Care | Upload Music


Funny prank made on Vodafone Customer Care by some arts college students from Chennai.... Hats off to the Vodafone guy to have kept his cool throughout this irritating call...

But he is a human being after all right after 3 minutes of persistence he finally loses his cool!! :P

Maari mavane vodafone kai la maatuna.... unakku sangu thaandi :D

Listen to the clip and enjoy :P
P.S (The Clip would be in Tamil)

Can Pictures Lie?

Recently i had uploaded to flickr a photo of a tree's branch which i shot Kodaikanal. I liked the picture very much because of the simplicity in the picture... But i was taken aback when one of my friends (Obviously wouldn't want to name him) asked me if i took this shot against a white wall. Actually he asked me whether i was holding some kind of twig against a white wall when taking this picture...



I was shocked and surprised, to clear the air i am posting a picture which would explain how this picture was shot... i shot this from a view point tower en route to Berijam lake in Kodaikanal hills...



The background is actually a mist... Phewww - photography :P!!

Ponniyin Selvan (பொன்னியின் செல்வன்)

Ponniyin Selvan - the greatest novel ever written. When i went to the book fair this jan, i came across this novel and the sheer size and the volume of the books surprised me... there were totally 5 books in the package and all of them were huge (last one was the biggest).


Nevertheless i decided to buy "Ponniyin Selvan", came back home glanced through first few pages and forgot all about the book... I thought i would never be able to completely read the novel as it was really huge and i didn't have time to spend for "Ponniyin Selvan".

One Saturday i was extremely bored and didn't have anything else to do and started reading the first chapter. "ஒரு பானை சோற்றுக்கு ஒரு சோறு பதம் " The first chapter was enough for me to get hooked into the novel... That was all, after that i just couldn't get away from the book....

Remember that this novel came in the weekly magazine "KALKI" in the 1950's.. i always used to wonder how people could contain their excitement till they got to read the next chapter... the plot is woven such that the suspense is carried throughout the novel.... Kalki would have written in such a way that at any given point the story will go in different places, be it Kodiyakarai, Thanjavur, ilangai, Nagapattinam or Pazhayaarai - He will carry the story back and forth between these places and he would leave a suspense waiting at the end of every chapter...

Ponniyin Selvan - though it is hailed as a great historic novel, was written only based on some loose historic facts surrounding the death of Adhithya Karikaal Cholan and how RajaRaja Cholan ascended the throne. It is written in simple tamil and though kalki quotes certain poems from Tamil Literature he has explained the meaning in a simple manner. For people who are well versed with செந்தமிழ் and பைந்தமிழ் this book will be a treat to read.

I used to get up really early in the morning and go to sleep late in the night to read "Ponniyin Selvan", for two months the only thing i was doing other than going to office was reading "Ponniyin Selvan". It was so gripping and exciting

After travelling alongwith Vanthiyathevan, after walking with Kundavai and Nandini in the palaces of Thanjavur, After swimming with Arulmozhi varman and poonguzhali i felt really lonely when the novel ended... so i started to look into online forums to get more information related to the novel and i am sharing all the links so that you too can enjoy "Ponniyin Selvan" to a great extent.

VIDEOS:
Click on the below links:

>> Video about RajaRaja Cholan by BBC - the great chola king(Skip 23:00 mins)


>> Video about the Architectural beauty of the Thanjavur Periya kovil - by bbc (Skip 7:00 mins )

:: RajaRajeshwaram - a trailer video for the documentary film on Tanjore Big Temple (Brahadeeshwarar Temple)



PICTURES:
You need to be signed into orkut to view the below pictures:

>> Cover Pictures of Ponniyin Selvan - (Maniyan's artistic excellence)
>> Complete collection of pictures when it was published in Kalki - Contains pictures from first 4 parts
>> Some more pictures related to ponniyin selvan
::    பொன்னியின் செல்வன் சித்திரங்கள் - சுழற் காற்று

EBOOKS:
>> To read it as Tamil PDF book
>> To read it in English (I am not sure how the English version will be)
>> To read it Online

PODCAST of the entire novel.

Those of you who would shy away from reading Tamil books, here is a open challenge just read the first 4 or 5 chapters of "Ponniyin Selvan" and see if you could resist from reading the full book. I am not trying to compare "Ponniyin Selvan" with any other books but "Ponniyin Selvan" is truly a masterpiece....

I will be happy to help you if you need any more reference links regarding "Ponniyin Selvan"

If you have finished reading "Ponniyin Selvan" you can get yourself involved in the following discussion forums:

>> http://www.ponniyinselvan.in/
>> Orkut community for Ponniyin Selvan

Enjoy reading the greatest EPIC of Tamil HISTORY!!!!

Think. VOTE!!!!

What is your worth??? Please think and please GO out to VOTE!!!!

Why am i crazy about PIXAR??!!

Wanted to try blogging from my mobile... There were some steps to activate and after going through all that.. established the connection between my blog and my mobile.

Its fun to blog from mobile but obviously i am concerned about the GPRS rates... i think this blog would have taken at least Rs.5 to get uploaded... But anyways i am now happy to have found a new way to blog :D

Took a picture of the Wall-E DVD that i bought yesterday and uploaded directly from my mobile.. ain't that cool?

I have been waiting for this DVD for a long time. My best friend Archie gave this DVD as a Christmas gift, So a special thanks to her :)! Most of my friends know how i am a HUGE fan of PIXAR studios.... and i had always wanted to watch the "THE PIXAR STORY", a documentary film that was made about PIXAR...

i have seen almost all PIXAR films.. For kids who don't know what all films that PIXAR has produced, here is a list:

> Toy Story
> A Bug's Life
> Toy Story 2
> Monsters, Inc.
> Finding Nemo
> The Incredibles
> Cars
> Ratatouille
> WALL-E

Except Bug's Life i have watched all other pixar movies. Though i liked all the films i was never interested in how these films were made and which studio was actually making these wonderful films. Then i happened to stumble upon a copy of HBR (Harvard Business Review) in which Ed Catmull (the co-founder of Pixar along with Steve Jobs) explained how Pixar was formed and how after many struggles they were able to create Toy Story and how they managed to create a world class animation studio.. I also happened to listen to that podcast here.

I immediately fell in love with Pixar... Did a lot of research on them... the way they work... about Render-man(their rendering server) and host of other things... almost everything about pixar and it inspired me to create a new studio which will be bigger and better than PIXAR, at least i hope it to be---> The 3ifactory Design Studio (More on this later)

Having said that i came to know that a documentary was made about the history of pixar and that the documentary is going to be released in the WALL E DVD edition....

Thats the story of how i got my hands on this Wall - E DVD !!

If you are a pixar fan then you must watch the Pixar Story... Ping me if you need the DVD and i will be glad to lend that :)

P.S: [update on Aug 26th, 2010] I have seen Bugs life now and Pixar released two films after Wall-E - Up and Toy Story3. I have watched them too :)

Burn - E (Out and Out Comedy out in the Space)!!!

Are you a Fan of Disney Pixar's Wall-E??

If so, Read on....

I bought the WALL-E DVD pack so that i can watch "The Pixar Story" ( a documentary film about pixar came into existence and how it is ruling the animated movie world). There were loads of extra features which came along with the DVD but one "thing" which really impressed me was a "Short Film" named "BURN-E".

I was introduced into a new dimension of film making... We have Wall-E, which was a huge block buster movie... they had taken some scenes from Wall-E and included it in the story line of Burn-E... Now thats some really cool innovative thinking... thats why pixar is still everyone's favorite....

Coming back to the our Burn-E

BURN-E stands for (Basic Utility Repair Nano Engineer) ... What a cool name :P

So, as his name suggests he repairs broken things and in this short film he is trying to repair a small lamp. The film is about the obstacles that Burn-E faces while trying to fix that lamp and the sheer determination of Burn-E in spite of that.

Did Burn-E fix the lamp or not??

Watch the full comedy here ---> Click on the below link:

http://www.traileraddict.com/player.swf?id=7392&e=y

(Seven minutes of ultimate comedy :D )

Enzoi!!! Burn - E... Watch it if you are a big fan of Wall - E and Pixar (like me) :)