May is expected to bring Spring season! it did.. though it was pretty cold and unusually cold for that time of the year, it did not stop the flowers from blooming, it did not stop the birds from coming out and singing, and it did not stop me from going to Holland, Michigan to enjoy the Tulip Festival.
I had rented a Nissan Altima for this trip, and I loved driving it... had not driven a car so smooth and so responsive yet! Totally totally loved it... and had just the right company in Joy along with me... Pritam, Sunil and Golu joined us from Minneapolis later in the evening after we checked into our motel near Holland!
Photography would have been a challenge for sure, because I do not know what to do when I am supposed to take pictures of flowers... I personally came back satisfied with the pictures I took that weekend though! enjoy the moments and some photographs from Holland below... This might just be one of the most colorful months of 2009!
The right set of people makes a trip so much better! I am so grateful to have good travel companions all the time (I also take credit in that though! I chose who I travel with, most of the time)
Artist's tables are one of the most interesting things that I know of... they shout out loud of creativity!
I have also been fascinated by wheels and rims for a long time... but I do not have a liking for such loud rims! I like them subtle... like Radha!
Holland in addition to the Tulips, is also famous for wooden shoes! And yes, you can wear them!
I also drove a Jeep Commander... Big SuV... loads of space! and Jeep :)
We managed to find a lovely local Italian restaurant for lunch and then a decent Indian restaurant for Dinner... had to rush and drive fast to reach the Indian one in the night before it closed, but we did manage... 
Another very interesting thing we did in Holland was go on a Sand dunes safari... it was a crazy sand ride with adventurous twists and turns in a 1979 dodge truck!
The Big Red light house in Holland... This place was exactly opposite to Milwaukee on the other side of Lake Michigan...
We also managed to check out a local market in Holland before we headed back to Milwaukee.
I love huskies! Period! This one had such beautiful blue eyes!
Also visited a winery on our way out of Holland... Experienced a bit different US there... very quiet, non-concrete, natural America... lovely it was!
And more flowers near home!
The third car I drove in the month of May was a Mazda 6. Radical design, but another beauty to drive! I had rented it to get Ma Pa from the Chicago airport! Cannot explain that feeling in words... going to an airport to pick up mom dad after their first ever flight! very precious memory!
In May itself, I drove to Minneapolis and Chicago with Mom Dad!
This is a view from the 14th floor apartment in Minneapolis... my home away from home in America... the famous or rather infamous 1409!
See you with some pictures from June soon!
Hey Bro
ReplyDeleteevery pic is so wonderful, amazing in fact, how do you click such bful pics? have you edited them in any picture software or they are direct from the camera? I'll be buying a new camera in few days that is why I am so exited watching your pics,
my budget is around 30k would i able to get any good camera in this budget? which camera to buy? PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS reply ASAP
thanks
Rohit
http://rohittripathi.blogspot.com
rohittripathi60@gmail.com
i wish you had a caricature drawn of yourself, maza ata!
ReplyDelete@ Rohit
ReplyDeleteThanks! All of these pictures have been worked on in Piknik. Its a free image editing software available online via flickr… for the most part its just a contrast adjustment that I do in the images because of a personal liking for high contrast images…
I think you should be able to get a decent camera in 30K and if you are starting afresh, my recommendation would be to start with a prosumer camera like a Canon SX20IS or a Canon G11 or a Panasonic Lumix FZ28 or a Sony DSC HX1. These cameras give you almost everything a dSLR does at a price which is fractional of the costs you would need to invest if you need all the range in a dSLR (in terms of investment into new lenses etc)
Also referring to your other comment on the photoblog, Camera is a tool that will help you take pictures, however a good camera does not necessarily ensure that all pictures that you take with it would be good! So along with the tool, the necessary knowledge of being able to use it properly and apply that knowledge to take or make a picture also starts playing a very important role! Buying a camera is just a small but very important step when it comes to photography.
I hope this helps!
@ Burf
aise hi nahin banwaya bhai… someday!
perhaps we are the ones who chose to travel with you :))....doesn't really matter cause ...the travel is still super fun...
ReplyDeletelove the photograph of deepak laughing....
your flower photographs are, and not just here stunning...so keep thinking you can't photograph them...cause the result is spectacular like this.....
i remember some very nice photographs taken of you on this trip...they would have gone well here...
Lovely photographs..loved them all!!
ReplyDeleteI love those flowers.. specially that blue one!!its spectacular..nvere seen anythin like it before!!
@ J
ReplyDeletechalo jaise aap bolo…
I really like that photograph too!
I did not understand your comment on the flower pictures!
and yes… I almost forgot about my photographs that you had taken in Holland!!! they were so good!!! I loved them!
@ Vaishali
glad :) thanks Vaishali!
lovely picture of the artists table...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Prashant. I was waiting for it.. curently i have a sony w220 cybershot but i think i need another one for better pictures. i do agree with you about u r comment that camera is only a tool.. I'll give my cybershot to my sis since she need it for her trip pics etc, whats u r suggestions for nikon p90?
ReplyDeletesorry...thoda ajeeb sa sentence likh diya..
ReplyDeletemeant to say....your flower pics are stunning....if these gorgeous pics come from the thought that you can't photograph flowers....to yeah thought achha hai...aise he sochte raho...and we wille enjoy the out come.
@ Nirja
ReplyDeletethanks!
@ Rohit
I am not so sure of Nikons as I use Canon myself! I would recommend reading through www.dpreview.com to get more info… and some other reviews..
@ Joy
ah! oh!