Author Archives: Somendra

White Throated Tits (Aegithalos niveogularis) of Yamunotri

We reached Janakichatti on a clear and crisply cold December evening at 4pm, about and hour and a half before sunset. Janakichatti is the road head for the trek to Yamunotri, the source of the Yamuna river, and one of the four major centers of Hindu pilgrimage in Uttarakhand (The other three being Gangotri, Kedarnath [...]

Posted in Birding, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Treking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Rushing Torrents: Some abstract black and white images

While traveling in the Himalayas one is never very far from flowing water; every valley has a river, even the smallest have their own personal streams. The sound of flowing water, be it the soft murmur of a brook, the conversational babble of a stream or the full-throated roar of a waterfall, is a constant [...]

Posted in Galleries, Galleries - Abstracts, Himalaya | 3 Comments

Har-ki-dun, a trek in the Govind National Park, Uttarakhand

This trek was the result of another off beat assignment. I was asked by a relative, who is also a publisher, whether I would be interested in working on a coffee table book covering the Forest Rest Houses of Uttarakhand. I jumped at the opportunity and volunteered to shoot the remote and less accessible Forest [...]

Posted in Birding, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Travel, Treking, Uncategorized, Wildlife | 2 Comments

Darjeeling : Still the queen of the hill stations

A chance conversation with a friend resulted in a short visit to Darjeeling, the “Queen of the Hills”. The idea was to commemorate a course I had attended at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling many years ago. Because of the incessant monsoon rains early September is not a good time to visit Darjeeling. But as [...]

Posted in Himalaya, Travel | 8 Comments

With the Palihas, Oraons and other tribes in the jungles of central India

Forest clad hills, huge trees, clear bubbling streams, strange bird calls, springs trickling from dense bamboo groves, men with bows and arrows; we are at Sarai Deeh, a small sleepy village populated by the Paliha tribe, deep in the jungles of central India. Sarai Deeh can only be reached in a 4×4 jeep with a [...]

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Demoiselle Cranes of Kheechan

We reached Kheechan by first light and made our way to the terrace of a building next to the “Chugga Ghar” (literally feeding house) in the semi darkness. It was a typical cold and silent pre-dawn of a desert village. After ensuring that we had a good vantage point, Ram Narain, our guide went downstairs [...]

Posted in Birding, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Travel, Wildlife | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Portfolio: Interesting dining areas

This portfolio contains images of beautiful dining areas. These images were made over a span of many years while photographing professionally for my clients.

Posted in Dining, Portfolio | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Birding in the Raksham Chhitkul Wildlife Sanctuary, Baspa Valley, Kinnaur

A tributary of the Sutlej, the Baspa river originates at a point near the tri-junction of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tibet. It flows due west for about 60 kilometers before joining the Sutlej at Kharcham. This is the Baspa valley. A part of the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, the Baspa valley lies in the [...]

Posted in Birding, Himalaya, Travel, Treking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Exploring the Zanskar Valley

It was late in September 2011. I was in Leh on a dream assignment. The assignment was open ended. I was to make my own itinerary and travel to places of my choice at my own pace. The idea was to make a nice portfolio of images from Ladakh. I was alone in my trusty [...]

Posted in Himalaya, Travel | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Shooting tigers in the Bandhavgarh National Park

The Bandhavgarh National Park boasts of the highest tiger density in the world. It is also tourist friendly, easily accessible, has good visibility and has well made jungle tracks. In short, it is the best place in the world to see tigers in the wild. During the last couple of years I have had the [...]

Posted in Galleries, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Travel, Wildlife | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Looking for Argali (Marco Polo Sheep, Ovis Ammon) in Tso Kar

While in Leh, in September 2011, during a chance meeting with an officer from the Forest Department, I asked him whether it was possible to see wild Argali (Marco Polo sheep, Ovis Ammon) in Ladakh. It won’t be easy, he said, but it is possible. He told me that there was a small population of [...]

Posted in Galleries, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Travel, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Looking for the Ladakh Urial (Ovis orientalis vignei)

I started  from Leh at about 8 AM. I was alone, as nobody was ready to join me on this wild goose chase. My plan was to head to Gurudwara Pattharsahib and look for Ladakh Urail (Ovis orientalis vignei). During a chance conversation, a forest officer in Leh had informed me that there were a [...]

Posted in Himalaya, Travel, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Jal Mahal – Jaipur

The Jal Mahal (literally “Water Palace”) is a beautiful Mughal-Rajput style palace located in the center of the Mansagar lake a few kilometers to the north of the city of Jaipur. Designed a pleasure resort, the Jal Mahal is an approximately 60m square multistory building which has chhatris on each corner. When the lake is [...]

Posted in Galleries - Architecture, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Abstract Ice Sculptures from the Spiti Valley

I made an early season trip to the Spiti Valley (Himachal Pradesh) in April 2011. The plan was to survey the valley for Bharal (Pseudois nayaur) and Ibex (Capra ibex). We did have some success with our mission. You can see some images of Ibex from this trip in the “Ibex (Capra ibex) in the [...]

Posted in Galleries - Abstracts, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Portraits of Himalayan Birds

The Himalayas are one the few truly wild spaces left in the world where one can spend weeks without coming in contact with civilization. I try and escape into the Himalayas for a few months every year. Trekking, mountaineering, birding, observing wild animals or just driving through. Some of the most cherished moments of my [...]

Posted in Birding, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Nepal, Wildlife | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Ibex (Capra Ibex) in the Pin valley – Spiti

I made a short trip to the Spiti valley, in April 2011, before the summer tourist rush started. The plan was to survey the valley for Ibex (Capra Ibex) and Bharal (Pseudois nayaur). If lucky we might get to see some before they started moving to higher altitudes. If not we would at least have [...]

Posted in Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Moods of Shakti – Portraits of Indian women

“Moods of Shakti” is a tribute to the epic struggles and the eventual triumph of ordinary Indian women. Loosely translated, “Shakti” means power or energy in Hindi. “Shakti” is also the name of the divine female principle which provides energy to the whole universe. This gallery houses a collection of portraits of Indian women. These portraits attempt [...]

Posted in Galleries, Galleries - People | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Kalapathar – Everest base camp – Image Gallery

During the Everest base camp – Kalapathar top trek we were treated to two spectacular sunsets. This gallery contains images captured on these two evenings. According to our guide, spectacular sunsets on Everest are quite rare. The best time for a good sunset is late November or early March. We witnessed the first sunset while [...]

Posted in Galleries, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Nepal, Treking | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) at the Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary

It began with a chance meeting in Sarahan with the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr. B.L. Negi. When I told him that I was a keen birder he casually asked whether I would be interested in doing some research on the Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) ? Off course I would be interested in doing research on [...]

Posted in Birding, Himalaya, Treking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Reflections in water – the transience of being : Abstract images of flowing water.

Flowing water is one of the oldest, and to my mind, the most apt metaphors for life. The constant movement, the transient forms, the impermanence, the unity, the apparent confusion, the unstopable progress, the inevitable immersion into the ocean … one could go on for ever. Movement in water fascinates me. Sometimes, when I look [...]

Posted in Galleries, Galleries - Abstracts, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes | Tagged , | Leave a comment