ದೀಪಾವಳಿ - Festival of Lights

Trying out Macro's

After seeing most of the macro photos of ants,insects..etc, this also inspired me to try some macro photo shoot of ants, insects. Here are some which i got it!!!

Not upto the mark, but satisfy myself.

Mekedatu: ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು

Mekedatu ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು means Goat's leap in Kannada, along the river Cauvery in Kanakapura. We can drive 95km to Cauvery and Arkavati Sangama from Bengaluru. Before reaching this place we need to cross Sangama where two rivers meet Kaveri and Arkavati. This is the place where both the rivers join together and flows ahead towards Tamilnadu.

We need to cross the Sangama by walking in the water when there the flow is less or need to take a coracle ride to the other side of the river. While crossing the river...kids enjoy it by playing in the water.

After crossing the Sangama, we need to travel around 3.5km in the forest or follow the downstream through a deep gorge gouging pits in the rocky riverbed.The climb down is steep and the rocks slippery, making it very dangerous to swim in the river.

There is bus ride for 50/- up and down. or else you can walk in the forest for your own and reach the place Mekedatu.

Jumping Spider

Jumping spiders are among the easiest to distinguish from similar spider families because of the shape of the cephalothorax and their eye patterns. Jumping Spider's possess the unique ability to jump or pounce onto their prey. They are distinguished by their unique eye structure, usually composed of two rows.

Their eye pattern is the clearest single identifying characteristic. Most diagnostic are the front row of four eyes, in which the anterior median pair are more dramatically prominent than any other spider eyes apart from the posterior median eyes of the Deinopidae. There is however a radical functional difference between the major (AME) eyes of Salticidae and the major (PME) eyes of the Deinopidae; They have eight eyes, as illustrated.; The large posterior eyes of Deinopidae are adapted mainly to vision in dim light, whereas the large anterior eyes of Salticidae are adapted to detailed three-dimensional vision for purposes of estimating the range, direction, and nature of potential prey, permitting the spider to direct its attacking leaps with great precision.

The rear row of four eyes may be described as strongly bent, or as being rearranged into two rows, with two large posterior lateral eyes furthest back. They serve for lateral vision. The posterior median eyes also have been shifted out laterally, almost as far as the posterior lateral eyes. They are usually much smaller than the posterior lateral eyes and there is doubt about whether they are at all functional in many species.

Jumping spiders range in size from a body length of 1 mm to 22 mm. The spidy got used to my lens and started posing as like this:

Malabar Grey Hornbill : Ocyceros griseus

Myself and 3 friends planned for a weekend trip and again landed up driving towards Sivamoga.

Reached Śivamogga in early morning, then drove towards Sagar where we had planned for the stay.
We need to cross the river Sharvathi, there was a launch which would carry vehicles from one side to another.





We reached the bank of Sharvathi and waited for the Launch to start his first morning trip, which was at 8am. Then we loaded our car into it the launch.
After getting settled in the home stay, we came out to see a lot of Hornbill's flying around the home stay...this was the chance for me to take out the camera and shoot some photos :-)







My wish also got fulfilled to shoot the Malabar Grey Hornbill, this was the first time watching them so closely and shooting them.

Malpe:ಮಲ್ಪೆ

ಮಲ್ಪೆ (Malpe) is a natural port about six kilometers to the west of Udupi, Karnataka, India. Its an important port and fishing harbor on the Karnataka coast, ಮಲ್ಪೆ(Malpe) is situated at the mouth of the Udyavara river.Malpe is part of Kodavoor Grama. It is a suburb in Udupi city.





Malpe Fishing Harbour situated at Sea shore of Arabean Sea and it is a natural Port and Mainly for Fishing and Boat Anchoring. This is Malpe's main business centre and its economy depends on this business.







St. Mary's Islands also known as Coconut Island, are a set of four small islands in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Malpe in Udupi, Karnataka, India.There is a very interesting story behind the name of this group of islands. According to folk lore, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498 during his exploratory voyage to India. He fixed a cross on one of the islands and named it El Padron de Santa Maria, as a dedication to Mother Mary. The current name stems from this very title that Gama gave to the islands.






Its a 20minute ride in sea from Malpe fish harbor, and it looks like :







While on the island, tourist can collect shells, walk along the coast or simply sit on the rocks and gaze over miles and miles of the azure limitless ocean. The western coastline of the islands is a seashell paradise with shells of assorted shapes and sizes littered along the shore. The islands defy the conventional definition of a beach as a place to swim and laze around. The whole area is scattered with basaltic rocks and flat slabs to sit and enjoy the serenity of the place. Security guards keep vigil on tourists to ensure that they do not
venture beyond safety zones.