Let me tell you that the life on the rig is monotonous and at times long strech of loggings can take its toll on you... considering the fact that logging goes on for 3-4 days continious at times... i think i was a bit lucky to not get strained much. Why?? Because when i went to the rig, the rig was one of its kind, first time bein used in India...Drillers were not very sure how to drill wit it...so ofcourse problems had to occur and they did occur.. hence we the geologists had good enough free time in our hands... Unfortunately the well dint go as planned but i re-discovered my talent with the camera (oh the new one Olympus SP 570 UZ).
Though I dint click the mountains and snow this time, it were the birds, animals and the Mysterious sun... It can give you the best textures to play with. And we the busy humans dont appreciate it much with our daily hectic schedule. Tel me when was the last time you just sat down to watch a sun set or woke up early jus to enjoy the sun rise????????????????? Dont remember huh!!!!!
Well its not just you people, you all can kick me for saying that and ask me the same question. My answer would be not until i was in Rajasthan, cos once on the rig we tend not to differentiate with the days and the nights. Thats life on the rigs and i kind of started liking it because yu just hav to worry bout your work and nothin else. But then wen your loved ones call you, you gotta be back for them. Life??????
Any ways, let me tell you what all i saw: Deers, Egyptian Vulture, Cattle Egrit, Common Hoopee, Scissor Tails, Bulbuls (red and yellow vented), Bee Eaters, Hawk, Kingfisher, Indian Roller, Roadrunners (Tittar), Pea-cocks and Pea Hens, Sun birds, Shrike, Some scarry Ghostly birds, then very similar very Shy birds but witout yellow eyes, Robin, Humans, crows, sparrows etc etc etc.....
Let me give you Day by Day account of happenings:
NOTE: All my pictures are LOW RESOLUTION compared to the Orignals so they could be uploaded...You See uploading a 4mb pic wld take years when you have loads of pics to share!!!!!!
DATE: 24th & 25th Oct 2008:
Novice at clickin pictures and using my camera for the first time, I hit a JACKPOT....I managed to click a Common Hoopee and Ed my Co-Geologist and a Very Experience Photographer who was my mentor on both fields was surprised to what I managed... Im sure you wanna know why he was..
Klick here for the Pictures of 24/25-10-2008
DATE: 26th Oct 2008
After a surprisingly beautiful picture clickin session ysterday we were in for another surprise... a flock of deers!!!!!!! atleast Six of them. I got them when I was goin to Balotra and in one of the fields they were socializing...But just before that some of the above mentioned creatures posed for us..have a look
Klick here for the Pictures of 26-10-2008
DATE: 27th Oct 2008
From a beautiful sunrise to bunch of bee-eaters, posing bulbuls to those ghostly birds (im sorry we dint knew their names so we named them very sweetly Ghostly Birds becos they typically sound like the voices from horror film) we had it all. But the excitement for the day was the Indian Roller a Majestic sharp blue bird..
Klick here for the Pictures of 27-10-2008
DATE: 28th OCt 2008
I played with the sunrise today and we chased a group of deers, smart chaps dint wait a sec to pose for us, but I managed few decent pics. Bulbuls, Squirrel and Bee-eaters all summed up for todays pictures..
Klick here for thePictures of 28-10-2008
DATE: 29th Oct 2008
Was unlucky today morning!!!! A group of deers were enjoyin their mornin brunch. As we approched them they dint notice. Quicky i cliked few pics n then ..... Pooooffff!!!!!!! my camera goes of "Low Battery"...Damn!!!! Life... but i charged them up and as the day progressed I managed some flying Bee-Eaters...
Klick here for the Pictures of 29-10-2008
DATE: 30th Oct 2008
ENTER Kingfisher!!! We had already shifted to the Rigsite by now and guess wat Mr. kingfisher welcomed us the next mornin. He posed on the lamps but we dint mind. Even though we would have loved it in nature, but who cares, it still looks as beautiful as it is. Oh yes, today I realized how shy a Indian Roller can be..
Klick here for the Pictures of 30-10-2008
DATE: 31st Oct 2008
Well its said if God is pleased with you he grants your wish without asking. He did, Kingfisher in the nature eating insects..and it posed too!!!
Another lesson learnt: Dont try to over use the sequential shots, they give you nice pics but at a lower resolution. But if you plan to merge them all then cool!!! Go ahead with sequential shots
Klick here for the Pictures of 31-10-2008
DATE: 1st Nov 2008
Happy November!!!!!! I celebrated today..so no pictures...
DATE: 2nd Nov 2008
Some more sequential shots, Kingfisher in a Silhouette, a chamoflauged Bee-Eater couple, and a stupid Shrike who dint realize i was clicking it.. the story goes like..I was hiding under a bush to click the bee eater sitting on a perch. Mr Shrike comes in scares off the bee-eater and proudly says this is my Perch, not realizing someone downstairs was clickin his pics. Normally if a Shrike sees you from far distance it fly's off..Jus like the celeberities...
Klick here for the Pictures of 02-11-2008
DATE: 3rd Nov 2008
Today I learnt how beautiful a Sunset can be if utilized properly... the texture, a normal tree or a shrub can create in a Sunset, otherwise missing in normal days light, is simply AWESOME...
Klick here for the Pictures of 03-11-2008
DATE: 4th Nov 2008
A beautiful day..started off with some nice sunrise pictures, a bunch of 5 bee-eaters cuddling up tryin to fight cold..and the day jsut gets luckier with the Egyptian Vulture, trying to rip apart a dead sheep... If you think tats wow!!!!! you would not belive I clicked Tiny Winy Sparrow like cute birds from a ctachable diatance without scaring them off!!!!!!!
Well today I am gonna upload Ed's pics too... they jus too good to not share with you all...A Professionals Pics
Klick here for the Pictures of 04-11-2008
DATE: 5th Nov 2008
Beautiful Sunrise, the Bee-Eaters and a walk across the Luni river bed..... Dont know what bird it was, it was just hopping around and not trying to fly away when i chased it..See
Klick here for the Pictures of 05-11-2008
DATE: 6th nov 2008
It was a free day for us today. No operations were on, so we managed to get on top of the highest dune in the area. One day when we managed both sun rise and sun set. Again it was a deer territory, but it was there territory and unfamiliar for us. They played with us, hiding in the bush and running away wen we got dead close to them and scarying the shit out of us (because they surprised us). But we managed some pics of them from distance.. have a look and not to forget the Mysterious SUN.
Klick here for the Pictures of 06-11-2008
DATE: 7th Nov 2008
Silhouette of a Kingfisher and the Ghostly birds, Bee-Eaters warming up for the days activity and a bunch of Sparrows caught in the moment of flight and landing summed up for today
Klick here for the Pictures of 07-11-2008
DATE: 10th Nov 2008
UNARGUABLY.. the most wonderful sunrise of my life!!!!! A set of pictures which would give run for the money to rest of my pictures...This day was dedicated to beautiful cloudy sun rise and for all my loved ones... hey yeah have you seen a Tailor Birds nest... i have but never seen a Tailor Bird :o(
Klick here for the Pictures of 10-11-2008
DATE: 12th Nov 2008
Ed had left, Mike had relived him today. So I lost my photo taking partner!!!!
I think today birds got really friendly with me, or else never a bee-eater let me come so close that i could catch it with my hands or a shrike who jus stood there and posed for me or a Sunbird who hung upside down and showed some acrobatics..ahh not to forget some wierd chicken like bird with a crown and this could fly..
Klick here for the Pictures of 12-11-2008
DATE: 14th Nov 2008
Although i stayed on the rig till 20th, today was my last day of clicking pics. It started off very dissappointingly because I had no birds to click :o(=
But then when i was clicking the Ghostly Birds there appears the Hawk.. He just made my day..
Klick here for the Pictures of 14-11-2008
Its gotta be a different ending today.. I cant say "Thank You god for gifting us the Mighty Himalays.... etc etc etc"... Its gotta be something else...
I think.. let me let me give a enviornmentally friendly message!!!! Lets stop killing deers, black bucks etc. for meat and other things they are on the verge of extinction...Such beautiful creatures, we need to protect them for Tigers. See the logic goes like, we protect tigers so their population increases and what do they eat... DEERS.. so if more Tigers, we need more Deers, to feed them...Or else they feed on us...Us the Human Beings!!! the ultimate creatures..and I am sure you dont wanna be munched on by those tigers rite...So PROTECT deers!!!!
Instead lets start eating the Pigeons, Doves and the Roadrunners (im sure they must be very yummy), there are tons of them in Rajasthan... Im sure if we eat a few nothings gonna happen to their population ;oP...... Hahahahaha!!!!!!! Jus Kiddin..dont want the animal lovers go on a YET another Hunger Strike... :o)
Thanks for All the Patience!!!
Tanzeem Patankar
