My Floral Photography

I love to take photographs f nature, flowers, flora and fauna. Since my wife is a profound floral lover, she is busy round the year planting some of the best plants and flowers available in town. Once fully bloom, these provide me an excellenet opportunity to shoot these beautiful flowers. I am sharing some of my best photographs that were also picked up by the Explore on Flickr.

I will continue to share more photographs in my future posts.
Photos: Jalalspages (Flickr)

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Photography as a hobby

Whether one says it loud or not, one wants to be photographed. Ever seen people wanting to be “shot” if you take out camera and point at a group of people standing? Well most often than not you would find even the serious ones trying to say cheese silently so that they appear good in a photograph they would probably never see. It is often true for the tourists who take shots of people and often experience this feeling. I think everyone wants to be seen and captured no matter who is shooting and why. This allows a photographer, novice or professional, to find willing subjects at no cost, and no obligation of course.

When once asked why people photograph, Seth Resnick, an experienced and pro photographer replied, “You don’t make pictures for the average person. You make pictures for yourself.” And I think he is right in saying so. We photograph from our angle and our lens as it suits and pleases us.

Photography has been and is one of the widely adopted hobby by people of any age basically as a pastime and preserve moments of joy at family reunions, outdoor activities and while camping and fishing. Photography was once a very expensive hobby as first the cameras were very expensive to buy, and secondly buy and developing films required additional costs. Therefore hobbyists were very selective in shooting and in the process focused only on friends and families.

The yesterdays of photography, limited to its cost effects, made few good photographers as only people with money could afford the hobby. But today, with the availability of cameras in one’s cellular phone, the hobby is widespread. People, who would have otherwise never taken a shot in their entire life, are now able to photograph their families and friends and even make videos of the events.

The easy availability of a photography gadget in one’s hand has also allowed many people to go beyond shooting people and photograph nature, events and anything worth watching and seeing. And the good thing about photography today is that one doesn’t necessarily need a print out as the results can be seen instantly on the cell phone or a digital camera and can be viewed on a computer screen.

I have been photographing for quite a while now but haven’t leaped into the world of the professionals. I photograph as a pleasing pastime and hobby and love to share my photographs with friends and others. The digitization of photography has injected more fun into the hobby as one can take countless number f shots of a same subject or event and select the best result after sifting from the scores. The photograph above was taken by me awhile ago and is also shared at Flickr and part of the Explore.

The various software available, like the Photoshop and many others, allow adding extra effects and tones to make an otherwise poorly shot photo into a masterpiece.  I am sharing some of my photos here but my best selection is shared at Flickr, which provides a forum for all photography lovers to share their work for others to see and get feedback to improve upon.

I will continue to share basics of photography, tips for good photography and share others views and input on photography, which may serve as inspiration for the beginners or those wanting to get more out of their cameras.

My Novice Photography: Jalalspages (Flickr)

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The Fine Art of Blogging

Before the world of internet, expression of one’s inner voice and persuasion of literary stride was an unthinkable for most of the people. Only those who could afford to publish their literary work were listened to by the world. The cheapest forum was the newspapers, magazines and tabloids, but access to these was very limited since the editors had a choice to accept and reject.

Then came the internet as we know it today. It was easily accessible and provided a limited platform to the writers to use it to express their work. It was not till the beginning of the 90s, when the blogging thing appeared and it came with such a bang that today more than anything it is the most favourite of all ages. Even children have a flare for blogging and are adding their young inquisitive thoughts to the World Wide Web.

Most of the bloggers start blog as a hobby, but the concept of making money now seems to be overtaking blogging for mere pleasure sake or sharing one’s thoughts with others. Today more and more bloggers are interested in how to make money rather than using it for their literary pursuits. Perhaps one of the most favourite question being asked from the SEOs and the “successful” bloggers is how to make money. Although there are many companies that assist the bloggers in doing so, it remains still a million dollar question as everyone has one’s own strategy in this regard.

As per different surveys taken to know why people blog, one of the analysis I found worth quoting. As per the survey, a majority (about 49-50%) blog for personal pleasure and pass time, while the remaining 50% is spread over making money and to promote business, either own or that of the employer.

Blogging in general remains explorative, as more and more bloggers join in the blogging community each day to explore their writing skills and polish their literary techniques. The platform provided by many free service providers, like the Blogger of the Google, can be used to one’s convenience from the comfort of one’s home or work place. Blogging is also challenging as it provides a contesting place as people read blogs and leave imprints, both negative and positive. I once read a blog by Peggy Payne, the Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog, in which she describes her blog as “a conversation designed to encourage creativity, spunkiness, and audacity of the most profound, delightful and deeply fulfilling sort.” And how aptly has she described the fine art of blogging which served as inspiration for me and I am sure for countless novices vying to express their voice through blogging forum.

 There are many ways to fine tune one’s blog and we will talk of these in our coming posts. A friend of mine has a blog with a beautiful caption, which is now the caption of my post. Yes the Fine Art of Blogging by my friend Shirazi is a wonderful platform to fine tune one’s blog. I will post excerpts from this blog in future, but for the time being, if you have time, have hop over to his blog and enjoy a professional’s input to better your blogging skills.

Related Reading:

History of Blogging (Wikipedia)

Fine Art of Blogging

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Hobby Types – Outdoors

While indoors hobbies like collecting stamps. coins, dolls, postcards and matchbox covers and cooking and scale modeling attract people as individuals or those not wanting to venture outside and wander into wilderness and suffer the rigours of the weather. But those who love adventure no matter how severe the weather or the terrain is, there can be no comparison in indulging into outdoor hobbies with those inside. Although some of the indoor hobbies also allow investments, outdoor hobbyists not only enjoy the nature more closely but also improve their health, physique beside attracting and making lot of like minded people and friends.

There is a long list of outdoor hobbies and some are really challenging. Bungee jumping for instance is both fun and adventure, requiring a very high standard of physical fitness and a fearless heart. For those who want to gaze far beyond the horizon into the sky above, astronomy is one of the most likeable outdoor hobbies. Coupled with camping, both hobbies provide an excellent combination of adventure and sky gazing.  The recent occurrence of the lunar eclipse attracted a large number of sky gazers around the world to spend hours in watching the moon to change its colour till it become red when fully eclipsed. Sky and bird watching also bring the hobbyists close to the nature and watch the awesome changing cloud formations and watching majestic birds flying overhead. Adding taste to camping is the love of fishing in a nearby lake. Those who go out camping, bird watching or fishing, usually take their cameras along to catch some memorable moments while adding skills and colours to their hobby of photography.

Hot air ballooning is another most favoured outdoor hobby for those who love birds and want to hover over the land and watch the world from an elevated platform. Over the years, this hobby has become an international event and hobbyists from around the world now participate in these competitions to prove their skills and satisfy their love of flying.

Mountaineering is yet another outdoor hobby which coupled with trekking, skiing and hiking makes it one of the widespread choices of hobbyists around the world. The hobby usually starts from hiking and trekking and then takes one to the cliffs and vertical climbs either for the love of skiing or the quest to conquer the virgin peaks.

The motorcycle and car racing is for those who dare to handle machines to their extreme design limits. To this drag car racing has also been added recently. Despite the hazards of the fatal-accident prone hobby, those who dare still go to test their machines and driving skills inside race tracks or in the deserts of Africa and Sahara. Likewise e boat racing is yet another challenging pastime out there in the sea or rivers. For powerless machine lovers cycling is the easiest but a challenge that brings about physical strength of the hobbyists.

And as if that is the end of the list. There is so much more to it that we will discuss each in coming days.

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Hobby Types – Cooking

Man cannot live without food and eating. But it is not the food one eats that matters, it is how the food is really cooked that matters the most. That is why so much care is taken by housewives and chefs around the world to cook meals and food for the people you really love and care about. Cooking thus is one of the most favourite hobbies the world over. Exclusive TV channels for teaching cooking and preparing new dishes throng the cable world, besides lot of magazines available on bookstalls related to cooking.

Cooking cannot produce delicious and yummy foods unless one puts one’s heart into one’s cooking. That is what makes cooking as a widespread hobby around the world. Cooking encompasses all types of methods and tools, combination of different ingredients to induce aromatic flavor and taste into one’s cooking. Besides, even with the same amount of ingredients, the taste would be different as the method and modalities differ from people to people. And of course unless the heart is there, the taste would be pathetic and ordinary.

One always loves the food cooked by one’s mother as there is no substitute to northerly’s love which she puts into the food she cooks for her off springs. And the same goes for the food cooked by a loving wife for her husband and the rest of the family. One can straightaway feel the difference in taste and know the mood of his mother or wife.

Housewives, cooks and chefs around the world innovate their styles to produce mouth watering dishes for their loved ones. Each country and region has its own taste and style depending on the indigenous aesthetics, types of agricultural produce, economic and religious considerations and constraints. One really has to adapt to the food of an area one is moving to. For example foods of Pakistan and India are very rich in spices and are often termed as “hot” by majority of the people around the world visiting these two countries as use of red chilies is very restricted in foods around the world.

The traditional cooking is often labeled as continental, oriental, Asian, Arabic, Mexican and Italian, beside others. One can find restaurants which specialize in a particular type of cooking or cooking belonging to a region. But whatever is the style or type, cooking is the way to express one’s love and affection for the loved ones.

We will talk of types of cooking, cooking methods and some recipes in the following posts. Till then bon appétit.

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Collecting Antique Dolls

I once thought dolls and small girls go together well. But that was too naïve of me, as I later found out that like collecting stamp, coins, postcards, buttons and many other things, collecting dolls is also a very likeable hobby and is certainly not restricted to girls and teenagers.  As for me, I do not know anything except the Barbies that throng the show cases of stores and rooms of daughters of friends. But as I started knowing about this hobby, I was amazed about its vastness.

While there are many types of dolls, antique dolls are something special and different. To collect these dolls, you have to have a taste for these as these porcelain made dolls would look quite different and lifeless. But those who like them find them fascinating and charming. These dolls are otherwise a worthwhile investment as these fetch a good price in auctions. I have seen some dolls with price tag of over $ 1,000 and much more.

The Antique Dolls have an exclusive collectors’ community and are therefore not easy to find, just like other dolls. Special auctions are perhaps the best place to buy these dolls, provided you want to invest and have a pocket full of green bills. Likewise there are special dealers who deal in the antique dolls. If you are not into collecting antique dolls, you will have to do a little research and spend some time on the net to find where and how to get these antique dolls to add to your existing collection.

The antique stores and garage sale are the places to find these exclusive dolls. And one last place – ask your grandma when she is cleaning her junkyard and help her to do so. You may find some relics hidden in some wooden treasure box she hadn’t opened for decades.

Antique Dolls Photos Courtesy: Porcelain Dolls (Dolan Gallery)

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Bird Watching

Nature around us is to powerful and compelling that it takes us out in jungles and wilderness to witness its truth and grandeur. Birds are Nature’s sweetest Vuvuzelas which attract bird lovers around the globe to walk into dense jungles to find them and enjoy their melodious sounds. Along with many other hobbies, bird watching is one of the most widespread hobbies around the world.

Man has always wanted to fly by getting inspiration from the birds flying high in the sky. And this attracted the man to the birds and appreciate it ability to fly. The varying verities and their beautiful cloak attracted people to watch them and appreciate their beauty. This quest further when the quest to find newer and newer species. Since bird watching can only be done in complete silence and stillness, only those who love the peace and tranquility start to bird watch as birds would disappear in a jiffy if these sense even the slightest movement on ground or listen to a faintest sound not familiar to them. The best thing about the hobby of birding is that one doesn’t require a special gear for watching bird. At best one may need a pair of binoculars and water proof boots if one is thinking of venturing into the water.

And when one ventures into it, it is whole lot mysterious, surprising, informative and soul satisfying. One may never know what kind of bird one may find on a particular birding day. The small digital cameras with zooming facility come handy in taking photographs of the unknown species and adding the photos to one’s own database.

For beginners, bird watching, which also called birding, is simply the observation of birds with naked eye or through binoculars. One starts to learn to quickly recognize what group a bird belongs to. This can be done by becoming familiar with the general shape, color, and behavior of birds, and by keeping a running tally of what kinds of birds are generally seen in ones locality or area at given time of the year. As one learns the basics, then bird watching becomes a study of birds and identifying the birds even by listening the bird calls.

No matter how birding is practiced, bird watching is mainly an outdoor recreational activity for personal pleasure and social reasons. The bird watching differs from the ornithology, which is the study of birds using more specific scientific methods and is the job of professionals called ornithologists.

Pakistan is one of the lucky countries where each year hundreds and thousands of migratory birds arrive from the cold regions of Siberia, CARs and Europe to find comparatively warm waters to spend their winters. These birds start to arrive in early November and stay here till March-April, when they start their homeward journey. This provides an excellent time for the bird watchers to satisfy their birding hobby and watch some of the beautiful birds of the world.

I am myself witness to such a site in Sind desert where I found countless migratory birds resting on the green waters of an artificial lake near Sandh and Gabbar. When my jeep engine broke the silence of otherwise calm that prevailed in that remote desert lake, suddenly the entire lot took off and it turned the bright sunny day into almost total darkness as the sky was filled with those majestic birds, specially the black swans, and my favourite.

Besides black swans, Houbara Bustards, Flamingos, Swans and many other species of birds like the Marbled Teal, White-headed Duck, Eurasian Spoonbill, and Dalmatian Pelican throng the wetlands in Pakistan.

My next post will encompass details on bird watching sites and wetlands that attract migratory birds each year.

Related Reading: Come November – the guests season starts (JahoJalal)

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