Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

Nothing depicts the culture of a people better than a wedding. The festivities that surround the occasion are littered with elements from history as well as some reflecting recent trends (something old, something new). Pakistani weddings are no different and the use of the Marigold flower (both yellow and orange) is as essential to the wedding as water is to plants.

These traditions help define our identity, our individuality in this global mix of cultures, and should be nurtured and appreciated. For this week’s photo challenge, I present two arrangements of this beautiful and at times, under-appreciated, flower. Enjoy!

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Purple

What the heck? I’ll give this photo challenge a shot.

 

Color me Purple

My camera seems to have a mind of its own. Every time I try photographing purple objects, it turns them into a weird blue shade, which is kind of cool, but it’s nowhere near purple. In situations like these, I resort to Lightroom to readjust the hues, so that my purples stay purple. Since I wanted to highlight these beautiful flowers, I tried de-saturating the rest of the colors; the resultant is shown above!

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.0 is a magnificent tool for amateur as well as professional photo editors and if you are serious about photography, it sure is a must-have!

 

Floral Escapades

What can I say? I’m a sucker for pretty flowers (and all flora in general) and I love photographing them. It’s no coincidence that every one of my digital albums has a few (if not hundreds of) shots of these wonderful creations. Macro floral shots are my weakness and I don’t let any opportunity go to waste. Moreover, I don’t let the fact that I don’t own a DSLR stand in my way either; I’m perfectly happy clicking away with my Sony Cybershot DSC-W130. Some photos do require minor touch-ups and I let Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 take care of these.

Oh how I’d love to get myself a good DSLR, but a new (expensive) camera isn’t on the cards right now; supporting a hobby is more like a second priority at the moment. Till then, I’m happy with my point-and-shoot and on most occasions, am satisfied with how the photos turn out (although I’d like to have more control on the specific parameters – shutter speed, focus, aperture, etc.). Feel free to enjoy my humble efforts.

Can you spot the spider?

The White Widow

 

Motha’ Nature

Interestingly, these photos were taken at an outdoor birthday party (1st birthday, to be precise). I ended up taking photos of everything but the birthday boy himself. A fun-filled day spent with family and friends, it sure was a one-of-a-kind birthday. Moreover, it was a good day for getting close to nature.

Here’s what I ended up with. Enjoy!

At Death's Door

Get your buzz on!

New Beginnings

Cacticious

Hop till you drop

She comes in colors everywhere

Sky-high-cacti

What's up, doc?

Sin City Rabbit

What red-eye reduction?

Alien Plantation

i'm fROSEn

I might be setting for now, but I'll be back

Let me sleep

Thorny Silhouette

I see God in everything

Beautification

What are you lookin' at?