VIVITAR V3800N

VIVITAR
Founded in Hollywood, Calif., in 1938 by two German immigrants, Max Ponder and John Best, Vivitar is a famous Los Angeles photo marketing firm that competed with the big boys as major 35mm SLR lens makers from about the mid 1970's to the late 1980's with their Series 1 lenses. Any mechanical engineering product with a german touch  will definitely have that classy feel.Vivitar products were widely used by both professionals & serious hobbyist .

Vivitar has grown from a regional distributor of photographic products to an international imaging technology leader. Originally known as Ponder and Best, the company became Vivitar in 1979, with its own brand name and an impressive list of patents and technological innovations. No, Vivitar did NOT  own their own lens factory.  Instead Vivitar hired the best lens designers they could find (using then state of the art computers in the USA)  to make the best lenses they could under the premium "Vivitar Series 1" brand name.     Super lens designs were produced, some which had never been seen before.   Series 1 lenses of this period were very good lenses indeed, often as good or even better than major lens manufacturers. .  Vivitar accomplished this with innovative Series 1 lens designs from great lens designers,  demanding quality control, and having independent lens manufacturers bid to make those lenses to Vivitar's specifications.   Interestingly,  a particular lens could be made by one lens maker one year, and by another winning bidder lens maker to the same specs the next year.  Contrary to popular opinion, you will soon realize when checking serial number codes that all Series 1 lenses were not made by a single manufacturer.  In fact, many lens makers produced classic Series 1 lenses.

Special Thanks to   my friend Suchismita  Biswas  for allowing me to shoot in their home , this camera actually belongs to her father  who himself is an avid photographer , while having conversation with him  regarding this camera I told uncle that  you own history  .

Smart phone generation  people who are obsessed with megapixel  will find it hard to believe that such a state of art mechanical engineering product  with fine aesthetics  ever existed .

Bhopal

I visited Bhopal  december 2011, on a company assignment for just four days didn't had much time .. but really loved the brief visit to the various landmarks of the city . Bhopal is the capital of the state of Madhya pradesh .In 17th century Bhopal was known as 'Baghdad of India' .it was known for it's rich sufi culture , magnificient palace , sublime mosquue , splendid gardens & beautiful lakes .
in the late 80's , Bhopal  was in news because of the tragic gas tragedy from union carbide plant which still affects people, wall graffiti like   "hang Anderson " can be seen near Hamidia hospital,these days  a lot of real estate boom is going on in the outskirts of the old city which is now known as new Bhopal , numerous private  engineering & pharma colleges have sprung up , some of them with questionable credibility :) .
Any talk of Bhopal is incomplete without  the awesome food the city offers especially the kababs & pararthas .
here are few photographs from my Bhopal  trip ,

                                     
                                              Shot @ upper lake , the statue is of Raja bhoj

                                                            Shot @ Tajul Masjid

                                                                Shot @ Tajul Masjid

                                                   Shot @ Tajul Masjid (at the entry gate )

                                                                 Shot @ Tajul Masjid

                                                              Shot @ Tajul Masjid

                                                              Shot @ Tajul Masjid

                                                         
                                                                 Shot @ Upper lake

                                                               Shot @ Upper lake

                                                                Shot @ Upper lake

                                                               Shot @ Upper lake

                                                               Shot @ Upper lake

                                                             Shot @ Upper lake

                                                              Shot @ Upper lake

                                                              Sun set @ upper lake

                                                              Sun set @ upper lake

                                                             Sun set @ upper lake

                                                                        Jain temple

 
                                                        Street photography @ bhopal

Pentax mx slr film camera

Maker: Pentax

Dates: 1976-1984

Variants: chrome, black, MX Data

Camera Type: 35mm SLR

Focusing: manual 

Lens mount: Pentax K

Shutter: focal plane, horizontal, cloth
from 1s to 1/1000

Exposure meter: TTL, open aperture,
center weighted

Exposure modes: manual

ASA/ISO range: 25 to 1600 ISO

Finder screen: interchangeable, 8 types

Shoe: fixed hot shoe

X sync speed: 1/60

TTL Flash: no

Motor drive: external Winder MX (2i/s) or Motor MX (5i/s)

Battery: 2 x 1.5V

Weight: 495g w/o lens 

In 1976, Pentax introduced two compact 35mm SLRs, the MX and the ME. The Olympus OM-1 presented in 1972 had introduced a new trend for compactness in SLR cameras.

 source : camera pedia 

* special thanks to Kingshuk sett for allowing me to shoot in his house , this camera belongs to his father whos is a serious hobbyist  ,

some anxious moments before the world cup victory

2nd april , 2011 will be  a  special day for every Indian,the historic victory brought  joy , happiness & a sense of achivement to every indian , the match was worthy of  world cup final. At one point every one thought  may be India is going to loose the match ,  as the fortune of both the teams fluctuated it seemed as if  it  is  not a match rather an edge of the seat  thriller .

            pre match exitement , every corner of the country were decorated with indian flags , the    atmosphere was festive & electrifying

             every where projector screens were installed so that the match can be watched en masse

 after a slow start  srilankan innings beagan to steady & their scoring rate began to increase , so naturally  fans were worried & watched anxiously while silently praying in their hearts for the dismissal of  the lankan batsman  Jayawardana

 Sri lnka set  a target  of 2745 , a highest runchase target in a world cup final , for a while it made every body sad

 The indian innings began & sehwag was dissmissed , shocking & a bit horrified , everybody thought it was again repeat of 2003

 after few moments  Tendulkar was dissmissed , it seemed end of the road

a steady innings from Gambhir , kohli & a captains knock from Dhoni  saw india successfully chased down 275 - the highest ever run chase in a world cup final defying history & the TRIColour flies high . The celebration had began - crackers bursting , confetti blurring ,people dancing in the streets , dhoni's boys brought home the cup after 28 yrs .

Art is life is art

"It is impossible to express India's particular beauty in black-and-white.
Black-and-white might be a good medium to convey Europe's fear and alienation,
but color is natural for Indians and more appropriate for the extraordinary diversity
of India. Unlike European art, Indian art did not have the tradition of independent
black-and-white sketches and drawings. If any line drawings were made, they were
for being filled out in color. Color is the fountain of India. Color is the basis of
the entire rasa theory, that governs Indian painting, dance, music, and literature."- Raghubir singh (veteran ace photographer )

shot @ Indian handicrafts fair , i was really amazed to see the work of  some of India's finest craftsman  from the most remote corners of the country , for them art is life , life is art .

 

Holi- The festival of colours

Holi - the festival of colors - is undoubtedly the most fun-filled and boisterous of Hindu festival. It's an occasion that brings in unadulterated joy and mirth, fun and play, music and dance, and, of course, lots of bright colors!

With winter neatly tucked up in the attic, it's time to come out of our cocoons and enjoy this spring festival. Every year it is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March and glorifies good harvest and fertility of the land. It is also time for spring harvest. The new crop refills the stores in every household and perhaps such abundance accounts for the riotous merriment during Holi. This also explains the other names of this celebration - 'Vasant Mahotsava' and 'Kama Mahotsava'.

Kodachadri

Kodachadri is a beautiful mountain peak with dense forests(altitude - 1343 meters above sea level) in the Western Ghats in South India (Karnataka State). The western ghats boasts of great trekking & rare species of animals ,the name comes from native word "Kodacha" or "Kodashi" which means hill and "Adri"a Sanskrit word, both combined together coined the word Kodachadri. It is also called "Kutachadri" and "Kodashi Parvatha". Kodachadri forms a picturesque background to the famous temple of Mookambika in Kollur. Situated in the middle of the Mookambika National Park, it is home to several endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna. The shola forest and rain forests loom in a perpetual layer of mist around the peak. . The forests surrounding Kodachadri is very rich in diversity and rare species are found in this evergreen forest.

I visited kodachadri in the month of september  with my friends , and that is the best time to visit kodachadri . i didn't knew much about the place but to be very honest this place surprised me with it's sheer raw beauty, untouched by commercial tourism it's a must visit place for all nature lovers . one has to say the state of Karnataka with it's diverse  geography & culture it is truly -"one state,many worlds "