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...

My summer gift to all.....

This is about a book, MEGA LIVING by ROBIN SHARMA.. a famous leadership success guru..
i have passed a number of books in the previous years in philosophy by nepolean hill,n v peale, osho,Joseph Murphy,James Allen.etc.. but i could never satisfy with these as a success maker... but when i started reading this book i could understand that this is something different. all the books i read focus on a single aspect like goal setting,belief,habit formation.. but this holds all the matter we want.. at the end it is supplied with a success programme of 30 days... first two parts holds the principles involved in the programme..
it is very easy to understand it whole.. but very difficult to interpret and to apply.
i promise that you will change according to your will if you work hard...
and NOT ACCORDING TO OTHER'S DESIRE...
do you want to feel freedom.. or want to be in cage...

Don't Ask Any Old Bloke For Directions...

Ya.... he was the bureaucrat.. an IAS officer..
not now.. it is not he is pushed out of the service but just resignevd from the service.. why because he want to be free like a bird and dont want to be a beurocrat.. he tells that he is not mentally suitable to become an IAS officer, if there is an mental screening test he would have not become an IAS officer.

i think this is something that everyone of us must read.. we all are running behind our dreams.. not the destiny... everyone understand what we are made of at last, when we are out of the game..

read..just to know what to do... what to become.. what to dream....

Are you fatigued...?????

I cant... i am too tired... may be these are the two words by which we drops our great dreams..

i paste a paragraph from a famous book robin sharma.. read you will definitely understand what is the problem behind you...

One of the most common “diseases” in our modern world is
fatigue. People rush to work, are busy all day, run home to have a quick
meal and drop into their favorite couch only to doze off in front of
their television. The most common excuse for not doing something
important has become, “but Honey, I was too tired.” People who once
had lofty ambitions about becoming famous and changing the world
for the better now crave nothing more than a night with eight hours
of good sleep. Our society is paralyzed by its tired citizens who lack the
energy to achieve what they need to achieve in order to make their
lives memorable. Would you be shocked to learn that, generally, the
“fatigue disease” is nothing more than an illusion? To illustrate this
essential truth, think about the last time you were at the office or at
home reading something boring and dull. Think of how you really
disliked having to plod through the material and think of how tired
you felt reading it. Your head started to bob and you actually nodded
off a few times. If only you could have a little nap you thought. Then,
you were interrupted by a ringing phone or a friendly colleague who
dropped by. All of a sudden, the drowsiness and fatigue vanished. You
felt alert and vibrant again. You were really not tired at all but, rather,
had created this state because you were not interested in the subject.
More importantly, you had not developed the habit of disciplining
yourself to push on through the material in spite of the drowsy
impulses.

negative thinking is the greatest cause of fatigue known. A wandering
mind will do more to make you tired than a 10 mile run. The mind is
like a thousand volt battery. It starts the day fully charged and loaded
with of energy. Then, as the day goes by, 100 volts are lost worrying
about the bills. Another 200 volts are lost thinking about some past
event that is really not important and that you know you should not
even think about. Another 300 volts are lost by daydreaming about a
vacation that you want to take but cannot afford. Soon all your energy
is gone and you feel like you need a rest.
The first step to eliminating mental fatigue is to control every
thought in your mind. Make certain that each one is an optimistic,
positive one. Then, with the habit of discipline, start to realize that
you have an incredible energy reserve that is simply waiting to be
tapped. Realize that the fatigue is your own creation. Break the habit
of fatigue. Toss it away. When the tired feeling starts to take hold, keep
focused on the task at hand. Just as a runner gets a second wind on a
long run, your mind will get a second wind if you exert your discipline
muscles and stick with the job you are doing. It will not be easy at first.
But you must be strong and not seek to escape the task you may be
finding dull and unpleasant. Soon your discipline will take over.
Things you had trouble doing will become easy. Larger goals become
attainable and your confidence soars. You feel mentally stronger and
happier.

Malabar wildlife sanctuary..

Area around kakkayam dam of kozhikode district is going to be a wildlife sanctuary with the name malabar wildlife sanctuary which is already famous with orkuzhy water falls and rajan murder case.
The Department of Forest and Wildlife has set in motion a plan to establish wildlife sanctuary, covering the reserve forest areas of Kozhikode and Wayanad districts.
The sanctuary will consist of the forest areas in and around Kakkayam in Kozhikode district and the adjoining forest tracts in Wayanad, with a total area of 75 sq. km. The Western Ghat region comes under the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is an integral part of the Wayanad Elephant Reserve under Project Elephant.

The Kakkayam Reserve Forest, the vested forest of the Kombium beat and the Kalpudian beat of Peruvannamuzhy range and the vested forest of Achooranam and Kuriachermala of the Kalpetta range will form part of the sanctuary,The sanctuary would strengthen conservation of biodiversity and the catchments of three important reservoirs.

Are you troubled with high contrast metering...???

at field we find many difficulties in taking a good photograph.. one of the most faced problem is metering problems in high contrast.. that is when you take a photograph of an object in bright background you will miss either foreground or background..
for example if you are taking a photo of an bird in very bright sky you will miss either sky or bird..
there are many solution for this.. most easy methods from my experiences are
1) taking photograph in morning and evening.. this will provide you low contrast..
2) providing sufficient light to object.. this will help you to bring object to high brightness and in camera you can reduce the EV and take good photograph..
3)mixing the two photographs metered at foreground and background.. simply take the 1st photograph metered to object.. adjust the EV to object.. without changing the frame take the second photograph metered to background.. paste these photographs to a photoshop window erase the unnecessary parts carefully.. this is very simple..
try these tips ... i got these from my experiences..

Parambikulam... paradise of wildlife photography

Parambikulam is one of the largest and most protected wildlife sanctuaries of western ghats..
it holds many type of vegetation, forests and a very diverse fauna.. wild animals can be seen very easily if you go with enthusiasm..
we visited this beautiful place in march 2010.the first thing which attracted me the most is parambikulam offers infinite scope for photography.. if you own even a compact camera you can make good photographs.. but i prefer a slr with telezoom lens.. sure you can do miracles if you love animals and photography... from my experiences, in this summer season it will be better to take a solar filter with you.. because, there is no abundant foliage there, so the chance of sun glare is very high except in dawn and dusk..
please carry a tripod also with you.. you will get much time to do photograph and there is no difficulty to place a tripod in this forest.. if you go to evergreen part monopod will be better..
with these beautiful fauna and Flora.. landscapes, dams also gives good frames..

and also it offers a great opportunity to study the mammals and birds.. my favourite fauna groups..

I WANT YOU to leave me alone...

I am thinking everytime that...,,,

why you cant love me..???
why you cant leave me...???

why i cant love you and..???

why i cant leave you....????
may be this is love..

that we cant express..!!!!
may be this is our fate

that we cant explain..!!!!!????

Kenneth Anderson... why obscured..????

this is a summary of an artice published in frontline magazine..

let us have some knowledge about kenneth anderson and why this legend obscured even he lived in south indian forests and wrote many master piece books..

MORE than half a century ago, when the forests of southern India were lusher with vegetation and wildlife abounded in the jungles around Bangalore, there lived a hunter and writer of jungle tales called Kenneth Anderson. That was a different era; the landmark Wildlife Protection Act, which forbids hunting, was passed only in 1972. Anderson wrote eight books and close to 60 stories, mainly about his hunting exploits. Each book consists of short accounts of his encounters with man-eating tigers, leopards and rogue elephants in the jungles

Anderson was born on March 8, 1910, and died on August 30, 1974, of cancer. A group of nature lovers, who have been inspired by his works and are organised in a society called the Kenneth Anderson Nature Society (KANS), are working towards renaming a stretch of the reserve forest in the Melagiri range in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu after Kenneth Anderson to mark his birth centenary. They also want this stretch, where 20 of his stories are set, to be converted into a wildlife sanctuary and named after Kenneth Anderson, a la the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, which is named after the famous hunter and writer.

The brief biographical information about Anderson available on one of the Jaico books reads:
“The author [Anderson] was born at Bolarum [near Hyderabad] in the former Nizam’s Dominions, on 8th March 1910. From a young age he was fond of adventure and of the bizarre. He has wandered in many out-of-the-way places, particularly in the jungles of India, where he met with many strange experiences and encountered many unusual characters. His love of hunting and wildlife, together with his fondness for writing, enabled him to publish four books on man-eating tigers and panthers and other wild animals and these have been translated into several languages throughout the world.”

Anderson has contributed immensely to the literary genre commonly known as shikar literature in India. But while Corbett is known world-wide for his works, Anderson remains relatively obscure although the popularity of his work has soared tremendously after the publication of his collected works in two volumes by Rupa (The Kenneth Anderson Omnibus Volumes 1 & 2).

One of the reasons attributed to his relative obscurity is that his claims of having killed several man-eaters are viewed widely with scepticism. Several people who were acquainted with him dismiss his claims that he killed tigers, leopards and elephants

Academic researchers have perhaps ignored him for this reason, whereas several books have been written on Jim Corbett. The most recent one, On Jim Corbett’s Trail and Other Tales from Tree-Tops, published in 2004, is by A.J.T. Johnsingh. (This veneration for Corbett is being examined critically by academics such as Prasanta Das who, in an article titled “Jim Corbett’s ‘Green’ Imperialism” in the April 2009 issue of Economic and Political Weekly questioned the widespread assessment that Corbett was a “compassionate man who had exceptional environmental awareness”.)

S. Theodore Bhaskaran, Tamil film historian and wildlife conservationist, argues that shikar literature was a concomitant of the British imperial class obsession with hunting as a sport,Bhaskaran is sceptical of shikar literature and feels that all hunting tales are exaggerated accounts. “Rather than reading shikar literature and learning to love the forests, it is better that young people read authentic accounts of the forest by writers like Harry. G. Champion, M. Krishnan, Salim Ali, E.R.C. Davidar and Humayun Abdulali,” he says

Another reason for Anderson’s relative obscurity could be, according to Jayaraman Kakarla, secretary of the KANS, that “Jim Corbett was close to the centre of imperial power and was well known among the British ruling class”. It is true that Corbett’s services were often solicited by the government of the United Provinces, and thus his hunting of the man-eaters of Kumaon became a public event sometimes. Besides Corbett lived in another era; he was born in 1875 and left India in 1945 to settle down in Kenya, where he died in 1955.

Another interesting difference between the works of Corbett and Anderson is the number of humans that these cats would kill before being hunted down. While it was usual for Corbett to go after man-eating tigers that had sometimes killed hundreds of victims (between them the Champawat tiger and the Panar leopard had killed 836 human beings while the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag had killed 125 people before Corbett hunted them down), Anderson hunted tigers that had killed a few people. The feeling that one gets from Anderson’s writing is that he had a wide network of informants in the forest hamlets of southern India. Anderson often visited these villages in his trusted Studebaker during his forays into the forests. The informants kept him posted on marauders.

No documentation of Anderson’s exploits are available – Corbett’s killings have been well-documented – although archival evidence available at the Forest Department library in Bangalore clearly shows that there were reports of man-eaters in the forests of southern India in the 1940s and 1950s.

Anderson’s works can be useful source material for researchers of sociology and social practices of the tribal communities although there is a faint whiff of orientalism in his understanding of these societies. He had a good knowledge of the tribal communities inhabiting the jungles and was well-versed in the field craft of the jungle. His writings are useful to wildlife enthusiasts. Even an amateur reader of Anderson’s stories will acknowledge that he has an amazing felicity with language, especially when describing the forests.

While Anderson’s skills as a raconteur are well known, the problem really begins when one starts critically analysing his claims of having killed scores of man-eating tigers apart from leopards and elephants. Does the work of Anderson extend beyond factual accounts and are his claims exaggerated? While the claims of his stories are hard to verify, it is intriguing that there is no serious work done on the life of this writer. Another question that needs to asked is whether what he wrote needs to be verified at all. Why should anyone spend time examining his claims when they make for excellent stories?

In assessing Anderson’s legacy, perhaps we need to shift the focus from analysing his claims to examining the impact he has had on the tradition of shikar literature in India and the extent to which he inspired individuals to involve themselves in conservation work.

Anderson may or may not have hunted big game and some of his accounts may be fictitious. But there is no doubt that he was a great lover of the forests. He has written in his stories about his concern for the depleting animal population.
In his introduction to Tales from the Indian Jungle, Anderson writes: “He [Anderson] appears to be of the jungle himself, and we get the impression that he belongs there. This is the home for him and here is the place he would want to die; the jungle is his birthplace, his heaven and his resting place when the end comes.”

Hope you all are got some ideas about kenneth and understood why he obscured.. there are many legends like this.. dont let them forgot and please dont make doubt on their claims.. try to understand the forest of their stories.. through them you can love your mother nature..

World forestry day.. save forests..

What we can do on world forestry day..?
We remember and celebrate many days.. new year, x mas, vallentines day,etc.. but howmany of us are celebrating world forestry day.. think, what we can do on this day.. forests are the lungs of our nature.. it gives everything we want.. life exist on this earth only because there are forest in the earth.. do some trekking in to a forest.. plant some trees.. try to learn something about forest.. help the persons those who conserve the nature... bring the conservation to the need of political economy... let us save forest..

What is World Forestry Day?

World Forestry Day has been celebrated around the world for 30 years to remind communities of the importance of forests and the many benefits which we gain from them. The concept of having a World Forestry Day originated at the 23rd General Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971. Later that year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation gave support to the idea believing the event would contribute a great deal to public awareness of the importance of forests and agreed that it should be observed every year around the world. March 21, the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere was chosen as the day to be celebrated offering information about the three key facets of forestry, protection, production and recreation.

World house sparrow day.. march 20

There are how many house sparrows in your nearest street???.. you may give me an approximate number.. in the future you will give me the exact count "0". but in thge past it was countless.. do you remember... small birds on the electric lines.. ?..

The cheerful house sparrows, once commonly seen flitting around the neighbourhood, are vanishing from the centre of many cities and rural areas. Their recent decline has put them on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List category.

According to the latest sparrow census put together by various environmental organisations, there has been an 80 per cent decline in their numbers during the past decade. The disappearance of sparrows in India has been widely reported, but responses have been quite muted so far.

To draw the attention of government agencies and the scientific community for more conservation measures and research on common bird species and urban biodiversity, March 20 will be celebrated and marked as World House Sparrow Day

House sparrows are used to build their nest bellow roofs of tiled houses, and pockets in the walls etc.. now due to urbanization and change in style of architecture the are not getting places for nesting..

They are on the way to follow cheetah, and passenger pigeon.. let us save them..

Elaeocarpus tuberculatus and Nilgiri marten..

Observations suggests that the Nilgiri marten prefers the bhadraksham tree Elaeocarpus tuberculatus. It was assumed that the surface of the tree provides hollows and other suitable resting places for the animal. The medium sized tree with its liberal sprinkling of saffron coloured mature leaves is common along river banks in evergreen forests and its presence usually indicates a water body nearby. It is the proximity of the waterbody, which offers better hunting opportunities rather than the tree itself, the preference for tree is more likely for gaining a better vantage point for hunting and also as a safe resting place. Thus frugivorous diet may have also developed as a result of this..

There are thousands of association like this in a forest.. then, when you cut a single tree , what will be the effect in an ecosystem..???????

The great photographer and his little carnivore.....

N A Naseer writes about Nilgiri marten of pambadum shola National park.

"Lightning never strikes the same place twice or so it is believed. for me my experiences in the pambadum shola forest in kerala proved otherwise. It all began 20 years ago when i saw a nilgiri marten" Martes gwatkinsii" during my novice years in these parts of southern western ghats. i was too green then to understand how fortunate i was to sight this endemic rarity. for me it was just one among the multitude of small and big creatures to which our dark and mysterious forest are home.."

N A Naseer have acquired a decent reputation as a wildlife photographer and naturalist, both the life and his researches are much more inspiring like our corbett, anderson etc.. and I am too happy to share that i am a fan of him. when i reported a Nilgiri marten from the eravikulam national park, there was no one to hear me or to believe me, i was having a clear sight but unfortunately there was no one to report that i had a sight.at that moment i fixed the photograph of nilgiri marten taken by N.A Naseer in 2006 to my heart and i determined to take a photograph of that little amazing endemic carnivore...

he describes the second sight as

" it had only been a few minutes when we saw a small mangoose like animal with an incongruously long tail, rubbing its head and neck on the grasss and rocks along the path. its skin had a yellow patch that, in the morning sunlight almost appeared as if the animal was holding a dazzling gold bar close to its chest. it was a nilgiri marten and amazingly enough it was in the exact spot i had had my first sighting 20years ago.

An endemic mammal.. Nilgiri marten...

Like the Nilgiri tahr and rhododendron of the southern western ghats, the nilgiri marten is the south indian, estranged cousin of the Himalayan yellow throated marten . There is very little documented information on the Nilgiri marten and most of the recently recorded sightings are from forests in Kerala's western ghats.

Sighting indicate that it prefers high elevation forests with a strong inclination towards southern montane wet temperate forests. the omnivorous Nilgiri marten is known to forage on coffee beans but locals vividly describe it as an expert hunter of hare, squirrels ,barking deer, mouse deer..there have ben reports of four martens eating the carrion of a wild gaur and of a pair chasing the domestic dogs of firewood gatherers.

new species..Goniurosaurus catbaensis

A rare and endangered leopard gecko
Cat Ba leopard gecko (Goniurosaurus catbaensis)
The extraordinary technicoloured Cat Ba leopard gecko
(Goniurosaurus catbaensis)3 known only from Cat Ba Island
(a National Park) in northern Vietnam, has a mesmerizing
pattern adorning the entire length of its body. Relatively
large, orange-brown ‘cat-like eyes’ are accompanied by
a head pattern consisting of a dark marbling; this leads to
leopard stripes on the body and five immaculate contrasting
black and white bands on the tail. A creature that certainly
appears to be from another world, the lizard’s long and thin
legs, digits and claws add to its fantastical appearance.
The scientific name emphasizes the importance and
uniqueness of the Cat Ba Island, the largest of 366 islands in
the 285km² large Cat Ba Archipelago. The primary habitat
within the National Park is tropical moist forest on
limestone, which houses a number of endemic and rare
species, foremost amongst which is the Cat Ba Langur
(Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus). Scientists believe the
high level of endemism might be due to the long
separation of the island from continental Vietnam. The
island was formed 7,000-8,000 years ago with the melting
of glacial ice.
Unfortunately, the other eleven known species of
Goniurosaurus have become valuable commodities in the
herpetocultural trade and the potentially limited distribution
of the new species G.catbaensis makes it especially
susceptible to over-collecting. Scientists believe that the
species should be classified as a rare and endangered
species, proposing its listing in the Red Data Book of
Vietnam as a first step. They are also recommending that the
Vietnamese government put sanctions on the collection of
Goniurosaurus species in order to protect populations and
the habitats in which they occur.

..collected from internet

Sanctuary-RBS Wildlife Photography Awards 2009

pleas visit sanctuary asia awards at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com..

നിങ്ങള്‍ സ്വതന്ത്രനാണോ?

എന്താണ് സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം? വലിയ അര്‍ത്ഥങ്ങളുള്ള ഈ ചെറിയ വാക്ക് നിങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മുന്‍പില്‍ വാരി വിതറുന്നത് എണ്ണിയാല്‍ തീരാത്ത ചോദ്യങ്ങളാണ്..

ജനിച്ച നാള്‍ മുതല്‍ സ്വതന്ത്രനാണെന്ന് കരുതുന്ന നാം ഒരിക്കല്‍ പോലും സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം എന്തെന്ന് അനുഭവിക്കുന്നില്ല. നാം ആരെയൊക്കെയോ ഭയക്കുന്നു.. ജാതി,മതം,സദാചാരം,എന്നോകെ എത്രയോ സുന്ദരമായ പദങ്ങള്‍ നമുക്ക് സുപരിചിതമാണ്.. അവ സ്വര്‍ണച്ചങ്ങലകളാണ് .. അണിയുമ്പോള്‍ ഭംഗിയുണ്ടെന്നു തോന്നുമെങ്കിലും അവ കൂട്ടികൊണ്ട് പോകുന്നത് അസ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിന്റെ ഇരുട്ടിലെക്കാണ്.

നിങ്ങള്‍ ഒരു ചിത്രകാരന്‍ ആയിതീരുവാന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നോ..? എഴുത്തുകാരനാവാന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നോ..? പാട്ടുകാരനാവാന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നോ..? ഉണ്ടെങ്കിലും നിങ്ങള്‍ ഡോക്ടറോ എങ്ങിനിയരോ ഒക്കെ ആയിത്തീരുന്നു. നിങ്ങള്‍ സ്വപ്‌നങ്ങള്‍ ആര്‍ക്കാണ് പണയം വച്ചത്.സ്വന്തം സ്വപ്‌നങ്ങള്‍ നെയ്യനുള്ള അധികാരം നിങ്ങള്‍ ആര്‍ക്കാണ് നല്‍കിയത്..

നിങ്ങള്‍ ഒരു പെണ്ണിനെയാണോ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നത്? അതോ അവളുടെ ജാതിയും മതത്തെയും പണത്തെയുമാണോ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നത്? ഈ നീലാകശതെയും നക്ഷത്രങ്ങളെയും പ്രണയിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ജാതി ചോദിക്കാറുണ്ടോ..

വര്‍ഗ സമരങ്ങള്‍ വര്‍ഗീയ സമരങ്ങളായി ...

നിങ്ങള്‍ സോളിടരിട്ടിയെ മറന്നു .. ചാരിറ്റി മുദ്രവക്യ്മാക്കി

അറിയുക നിങ്ങള്‍ സ്വതന്ത്രനാണോ..

ചിന്തിക്കുക നിങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം വേണോ..

Hey... noon photographers....please read this..

U are very lazy to wake up in the morning.. but not the sun.. he will come at time and heats up the earth.. what will be the result if you go for a snap late in the day.. over light, dust,

contrast between sky and objects prevent you from taking good photographs.. so what you can do..? Get up early - The light at dawn (and a few hours afterwards) is often the best of the day, so if you want your landscapes to have that magical look, get up early.. and there is less chance of wind in the morning which helps you to do without shake.. whenever you go for a snap you will find many unwanted things in the frame, morning is the best time for less disturbance to the symmetry and beauty of the frame.. and usually mist, Tyndall effect and colorfull sky add new dimensions to your photographs.. so don't be lazy.. to do a clickkkkkk.........

Photography; a layman's art...?

Do you believe photography is a layman's art. definitely not... To become a photographer, first all you need to have interest in photography.. a thirst to do work which get you up at the crack of dawn with fire in your belly... the second is general idea about using a camera and which will be enriched in the future by experience. third is a camera.. if it is a digital SLR, it will be better.You need to have a genuine interest in nature not just because they are good for beautiful wall ornaments. You have to love nature itself and not just a photograph of nature.Professional photographers always say that you have to know your subjects well in order to capture its essence. This applies greatly on digital nature photography also for a very practical reason. If you like to make wildlife as your subject, you have to at least know something about biology and other related natural sciences. It is important to know the difference between a Savannah and a rain forest to better manipulate lighting effects and choose the appropriate equipment to use.It is difficult to take a photograph of a flock of seagulls if you do not have any idea when they would actually arrive. If you do not know the difference between a cheetah and a leopard, you will miss the chance to capture their distinctive qualities. The art of digital nature photography entails all that. You do not just take a picture of a leopard. You have to take a picture of a leopard stealthily anticipating a prey as it lounges on a treetop.They say that in photography, equipment is the least important consideration you will have to make. It is partly true that you can take pretty nice pictures of wildlife with a mere black and white Polaroid but with the latest technology available, you get more freedom with your shots and in the long run, be able to develop your own styles and techniques.And i think a photographer can influence the political economy to conserve the nature than a scientist do...
.sachin.k.aravind
sachinkaravind@gmail.com
college of forestry
Labels: photography.