Dood’s Photo of the Day

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 26th Oct’08

Nevado de Toluca is a large volcano in central Mexico, located about 80 kilometres west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is generally cited as the fourth highest of Mexico’s peaks. There are two crater lakes on the floor of the basin at about 4,200 m, the larger Lago del Sol (Sun Lake) and the smaller, but deeper, Lago de la Luna (Moon Lake). A road runs into the caldera to the lakes, making this perhaps the most accessible major Mexican peak.

The one you can see in the photo is the small lake - Lage de la Luna. I trekked all the way up to the volcano and then down to the crater in around 4+ hours. The place was cold, silent and perhaps one of the most beautiful natural settings I have ever seen.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 25th Oct’08

This photo was taken just near to where I clicked the “Train in the fields”. After clicking the train I was returning to the car when I thought that it would be a nice photo if I could go to the center of the highway and see how it looks from there. I sat on the divider and started shooting the road on the either side. Then I turned back and saw this pattern of the road signs mounted on the curvy road. I took some shots and this is the one I liked the best.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 24th Oct’08

Halloween is a week away but it’s creepy signs are all over the city. You go to shops, malls, houses and even offices and you can see these pumpkin shaped ghost heads (Jack-o’-lanterns) in all different sizes scattered all over the place. Some are carved out of real pumpkins while some like in the picture above are made of plastic, porcelain or even clay. I found these two huge pumpkin heads at my friends house and I knew that they would make a nice picture.

BTW, I am planning to carve one out of a real pumpkin, that would be something new & fun and most of all, something I have never done before.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd Oct’08

I saw a big flock of white birds perched on top of corn plants in a field while driving back to Puebla. I stopped to take some photos but due to the distance of the field from the main road, I wasn’t able to get a nice view. So, I decided to enter the fields and take a shot from a bit closer to the birds. But I wouldnt have even stepped ten steps forward when somehow the birds sensed me and started flying in panic.

Though I couldn’t shoot them sitting in the fields I got some shots with them spread all across the sky

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd Oct’08

This basket full of colorful eggs immediately caught my attention in a local market. I have seen white eggs, I have seen brown eggs, even some spotted eggs, but never have I seen blue and yellow and red eggs. I stopped at the shop ans asked the owner that how come these eggs are so differently colored. Guess what she would have answered …

“These eggs are of colored hens, hence they are colored”. I nodded my head, clicked some photos and walked away giggling inside.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 21st Oct’08

I had spotted this particular field of cabbages some time back, so this time when I knew that I was going to pass by the same fields I decided to stop and click some pictures. I love seeing fruits and vegetables in fields and gardens. Nothing can match the taste & joy of plucking fresh vegetables and then feasting on them.

I wanted to pluck one cabbage from among the hundreds which were growing there but somehow resisted the temptation because there was no one around to ask for the permission to do it. So I kept myself content with capturing them in my camera and went ahead with my journey.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th Oct’08

Cilantro or more commonly known as “Coriander” is one of my favorite garnishing options for tasty Indian curries. I usually buy it at the local Walmart every week. But from this week onwards I think I will be a bit extra careful while eating it. That is because what I saw when I clicked this image.

This group of men had plucked these bundles of coriander leaves fresh from the field and were probably getting it ready to be sent to the market. They had the leaves tied together to make big bundles and were washing them in the stream of water before putting them on the heap. If you look at the heap, the leaves look quite attractive and clean but the water in which they were dipping and washing it was almost black with dirt. Next time I’m gonna eat it, I’ll make sure I wash it at least for ten minutes under a stream of “fresh & clean” water.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 19th Oct’08

I was passing over a bridge on the way to Tlaxcala when I noticed a railway line piercing through the lush green fields. My friend was kind enough to stop the car at a distance so that I could go back and take some photos. By the time I walked back to the bridge, I could see a train crawling on the tracks. I ran towards the center of the bridge to get a nice angle. Among all the shots I took, this one is my personal best.

I really liked the scenery as a whole - perfect green fields, a railway track with a train on it and a curved road merging with the track at a distance. If you observe carefully, there are many things to notice in the picture.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 18th July’08

These white cone-shaped buildings can be seen at many places across rural Mexico. They can often be seen in rows of three to four and are scattered near the farming areas. These buildings are actually used to store corn. It is an ancient Mexican practice but is still followed in many places across the country.

I searched for it’s name in local language on Google, but couldn’t find it. I will surely edit this post and include the name as soon as I get it.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 17th Oct’08

These cute little birds have such an expression of innocence on their face that it just melts your heart the moment you see them. Mother nature has given them a strong sense of inherent beauty which just grabs your attention and makes your sight get glued on them.

But the greed and selfishness of humans spares none. To quench his taste-buds he can go to any level of cruelty without showing any signs of empathy. I clicked these birds cramp-packed in a movable trolley when a man was selling them in a local market. Most probably waiting to be killed, sliced and grilled, these little birds seemed so oblivious of the obvious truth - the truth of our heartlessness.

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