January 2005, Hyderabad.

Sterling 125 

Aachen 2005.

Berlin 2004.

Berlin 2004.

A work by one of my favorite sculptors.

December 2003, Amsterdam.

I finally bought a dedicated film scanner, a Nikon Coolscan V ED, which I received today. This is the first shot scanned with it. I’ve posted this particular photo before a long long time back, albeit in a modified form, here. This photo is from the first ever roll I shot with my then recently acquired Minolta Dynax 5, also my first modern SLR.

Berlin 2004.

Cologne, 2005.

400th photo here!

Carnival kicked off here today at exactly 11:11 am. The streets were awash with people half drunk, dressed in the craziest and zaniest of costumes and by evening the same streets had been marked by puke and scarred by broken bottles with drunk people tottering and stumbling everywhere. The road outside my lab turned into one huge street party. This lovable madness will end next Tuesday. So it is only appropriate that I post a photo connected to Cologne’s crazy carnival. But this photo was not shot today, it is from my first carnival in Cologne back in 2004. The ‘supergirl’ was my labmate. Finally, as they say here, ‘Kölle Alaaf’!

March 2004, Bruges.

Bruges is a town in the Flanders region of Belgium. It is perhaps my favorite place among all the places I’ve seen in Europe so far. It is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Western Europe. It has become very touristy of late but if you leave the crowded city center and wander off into the quiet and narrow cobbled side streets you will be surrounded by centuries old houses. You will feel as if you have been magically transported into the Middle Ages! I’ve pleasant memories of walking through deserted streets with only my camera to keep me company, of taking part in a silent Easter eve procession in the night surrounded by locals holding huge candles and taking a ride on one of these boats through the lovely canals.