Feynman and flower...

"An artist can see and love in a much better way that he explores more beauty in objects than others..." I agree... but i ask you a simple question who is an artist.... A painter???..
A musician?? .... no.... definitely not... but most of the common people think that an artist means someone who paints, sings... etc.. and as a general trend those who go beyond scientific explorations become hard hearted...
here i present you some words of Richard Feynman about the aesthetic sense of a scientist and beauty of scientific explorations.

"I have a friend who's an artist and he's sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say, "Look how beautiful it is," and I'll agree, I think. And he says- "you see, I as an artist can see how beautiful this is, but you as a scientist, oh, take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing." And I think that he's kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me, too, I believe, although I might not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is; but I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time I see much more abbut the flower than he sees. I can imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside which also have a beauty. I mean it's not just beauty at this dimension of one centimeter, there is also beauty at a smaller dimension, the inner structure. Also t.he processes, the fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting-it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: Does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which shows that a science knowledge only adds to the excitement and mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds; I don't understand how it subtracts."

HDR - exploring exposures beyond limits..

We are always wondered by the beauty of sea waves, land scapes in foreground with bright colourful background sky, through our eyes. But when you look through viewfinder of a camera, it may not be so beautiful because either foreground become dark or background become over exposured. I have posted some techniques in earlier blogs.
Here i introduce you to a new world of HDR, high dynamic range photography... mixing images of a range of exposures by taking a series of images with varying shutter speed..
here i paste a tutorial to do HDR photogrphs in photoshop, for that you need a plug in for HDR like photomatrix.. please download it.

take an image of foreground or background with suitable shutter speed.. then change shutter speed gradualy with capturing untill it covers the remaining parts of image.. first start from 3 images...

1
Start with 3 images. One normal exposure, the second underexposed and the third overexposed. In this case I used 2 stop bracketing. As I shoot a lot of city scapes I can get away with 2 stops, because I'm mainly shooting flat surfaces and banding and posterization isn't such a problem. If your shooting rounded and curved surfaces you will want to lower your bracketing to get smoother gradients.
I set the bracketing on my camera to 2 stops. Then I set the shooting mode to burst. When I hold the shutter down, 3 photos will be captured. I shoot in RAW mode for the widest possible dynamic range. You can still create HDR if your camera doesn't support RAW. Make sure you shoot in Aperture Priority or in Manual. You want to bracket the exposure time, not the Aperture. If you change the aperture, the depth of field won't be consistent and you'll get blurring. Also avoid any moving subjects in the photo or you'll get ghosting.

2
Time to merge the photos together into a single 32 bit image.
Choose File>Automate >Merge to HDR. This works on Photoshop CS2 and CS3. (CS2 Doesn't have auto align). Choose either images or folder. I organize each set of photos in its own folder so I used the folder option. Select your photos to merge. Turn on Auto Align in Photoshop CS3. Click OK. (Photoshop CS3 uses new Auto-align technology that even allows you to create HDR without the use of a tripod!)

3
Your images will now be merged into a single photo. You can turn off individual photos by un checking their boxes on the left filmstrip. If you get some blurring caused by camera shake in the longest exposure, you may want to turn off that photo.

4
The merged result is a floating-point 32 bit image. You can adjust the overall tones by sliding the White Point slider. Easy with it, a little movement goes a long way!
5
Click OK to merge the photos into a 32 bit image. Now is a good time to save your file.

6
In order to use the photos, you'll need to convert them t 16 or 8 bit images. When we convert them we will create what I call interpretations of the photo. The reason I say this is because we have unlimited ways we can make the photo look. While we have this huge dynamic range available in 32 bit, we will no longer have those options after conversion. Always work from the saved 32 bit version, and then convert and save versions (personal interpretations). Avoid overwriting the 32 bit image, it's our master and we may want to go back to it many times.
Choose Image>Mode>16 bit (or 8 bit). Now we get to play with some fun options. You're now at the tone mapping part of the process. This is were all the creativity can ooze.
(If you want to make the adjustments without converting, choose view>32 Bit Preview Options. You can use several of Photoshop's tools in the Image>Adjustments menu. The most important of these is the Exposure control)
You'll see an HDR Conversion Dialog box. Exposure and Gamma is the default option. Best way to approach this? Set the gamma first, then adjust the exposure to suit. If you want an image with lots of contrast, lower the gamma. For less contrast raise the gamma. Finally, adjust the exposure to get the desired brightness. If you want more control, read on... otherwise press OK to convert.

7
Change the Method to Local Adaption. (There are 4 available methods, but these are the only 2 with user input).
With local Adaption, you can adjust the curves. Set these like you would normally work in curves, but don't be afraid to clip the histogram a little. You can clip because your working with a larger dynamic range than you're used to. Bring out the detail in the image, but don't forget to put some shadow in there or it will look washed out and fake. Once your happy with the curve, adjust the radius and Threshold sliders to make sure there are no halos in the photo. (Badly converted HDR images have a glow around the areas of contrast.) The radius controls the mask blur while the threshold decides what gets blurred and what doesn't.
Click ok to convert.
8
Here we have a merged image from HDR. The second image is a variation. In the second variation, I applied exposure, curves and sharpening settings while in 32-bit mode (Highlight Compression Method). Photoshop is great for producing very realistic HDR images.
9
If your desiring a more surreal result there are different plug-ins that you can use. My favorite is Photomatix pro from HDRsoft. You can just get the tone mapping plug in for Photoshop which works great.Using photomatix tone mapping plugin allows you to get highly detailed textures in your photographs. You merge in Photoshop as shown in this tutorial. Then choose Filter>Photomatix to apply tone mapping. Convert and save as normal.

Why you fear to dance in rain....!!!!!!!!!!

"മഴ കൊണ്ടു , പനിയാണ്"....

we often come with these words in monsoon...

why all the peoples get sick in rain..

its nothing other than absence of "natural immunity"..

high rate of infections cause diseases in body,in the moist cool climate of monsoon, to get cured we use antibiotics, and many other medicines that are available in our local markets.. "vicks,balms" etc are some of the example for this.. they simply inject some ideas to the common people that they should fear rain.. or to fight against rain with their products.. we subconsciously develops temptations to use these antibiotics and medicines.. so that they can expand their market.

There are people who works in rain, play and dance in rain just like me.. we dont have any problem. and from my experience i observed that people who lives in touch with nature are less succeptible to these diseases.

So work with your immunity , not with medicines..

To acquire natural immunity you just be with nature.. be exposed to rain, sun, mist... open up all your senses to feel nature... keep your body clean.. keep your mind happy... eat more vegetables.. drink more water.. do some exercise... and from my experiences, avoid fear and take some risks in life...

then what to fear in dancing in rain... ???

go start playing, dancing... rain is so roamantic....!!!!!!!!

Arundhathi roy .. changing colours...

Arundhathi Roy says.."maoists are justified in taking up arms because the government has been unjust to them and is waging a war on them" from her experience with moists.

when she come to kerala she forgets everything and support who were with the old land lords.. and she is even against "bhoo parishkaranam"...

And when she go to outside india, everything get changed and becomes a western capitalist writer....

when dealing with ammu in "god of small things" sexual anarchy is dealt as a "venmani or painkili" which were used to divert the focus of common people.may be to get a reward from capilatistic anti communist world.,

when "chengara" land strike strike started, she came and supported Lhaha gopalan and all. when the acceptancy got lost for the strike.. she went out with her "melting heart"..

i dont know what all these antagonistic things means...

and she again comes with maoist love.. gains media coverage.. and may leave the screen as thousands of innocent people are killed in these days....

And it is not sure that she may start crying in front of camera for militants who are killed by maoists...

Search for Thamzi stopped...

In this rainy day, i am sad to tell you that P G Tenzing is no more...

i wrote a blog on his book. and i was really inspired by him. His thundering journey on his thunderbird in search of thamzi, the hidden destiny of each individuals life attracted me very much.

P G is for palden gyatso means thundering sea.. yes it was. He selected only what he want. He did what he want to do.. He searched for what is his destiny.."thamzi"..

It is raining outside without thunders... it may the tears ,because thunder is no more...

Canon EOS 550 D... revolution from entry level..

I think this is the first DSLR from entry level price around 0.5 lakhs at perfection. eos 7D, eos 50D, nikon D90,D300 the most widely accepted DSLRs within a range of 1 lakh. But with the announcement of the 550D canon has changed entire price face.

It is supported with 18.1 mp sensor, 63 point metering dual layer sensor,3.7 fps shooting, 1920*1080 HD movie, large ultra fine LCD screen, redefined buttons, iso up to 12800, hdmi control... and a lot more..

it holds compatibility to all EF and EFS lenses.

Experts tells that it is 99% eos 7D... a little bit slow when compared to 7D.. but to others it is best and sometimes out stands 50D.

This enables all the budding photographers especially wildlife, to shoot up to a standard professional level. It is worth buying it with a suitable lens. and go for an outstanding shoot in the wild..

The International Year for Biodiversity..

It is the variation of life forms on our earth.. when the population of an organism decreases or it disappears variation decreases... that is diversity decrease..

do we want diversity..???

for what,,???

selection reduces the diversity... but may not by natural selection.. it have been started billions of years before.. then what..?? SELECTION BY HUMANS which destroys the biodiversity..

we want biodiversity.. because every living components of this biosphere are interrelated. when a chain breaks everything start breaking.... forest will become a myth... beautiful wild animals will be only in stories...

earth is heating up... no drinking water.. no free non polluted air.. can we live... AT LAST WE WILL ALSO BE SELECTED FOR "EXTINCTION".....

the only way to conserve the biodiversity is keeping every ecosystem and organism as it is created by the nature.. don't ever exploit.. don't disturb... let them free

otherwise....

പഴമക്കാര്‍ പറഞ്ഞു.... കാവ്‌ തീണ്ടല്ലേ..

കവികള്‍ പറഞ്ഞു... കാടു മുടിക്കല്ലേ..

നാം കേട്ടോ... നമ്മള്‍ പരിഷ്കൃതര്‍...

ആധുനികതയുടെ മക്കള്‍..

അവര്‍ പ്ലാസ്റിക് കുപ്പികളില്‍ വിഷം തന്നു..

നാം നന്ദിയോടെ കുടിച്ചു..

അവര്‍ കാടിന് വില പറഞ്ഞു...

നാട് മുടിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ പണം തന്നു..

നമ്മള്‍ നന്ദിയുള്ള പരിഷ്കൃതര്‍ കൈ നീട്ടി വാങ്ങി...

കാട് വെട്ടി വിറ്റ്‌ കൊട്ടാരം പണിതു..

കുടിക്കാന്‍ വെള്ളം കിട്ടാതായപ്പോള്‍

ആരും വന്നില്ല..

മഴ ഇല്ലാതായപ്പോള്‍ ആരും വന്നില്ല...

കൃഷി മുടിഞ്ഞപ്പോള്‍ ആരും വന്നില്ല..

ഇപ്പോഴും നമ്മള്‍ കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നു,,

അവരുടെ വിഷക്കുപ്പിക്ക് വേണ്ടി,.....

SAY... ... we want our forests back.. we want our biodiversity...

let us join our hands on this international biodiversity year to conserve the BIODIVERSITY...