Dood’s Photo of the Day

Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 2nd Sept’08

One particular shot I always wished to have in my photos was a close up of a spider & for long I didnt get a chance to click it. I tried many times with domestic spiders lingering on the walls in my house but none of them gave me real pleasure. Finally this spotted creature which had always eluded me got captured by my lens in a pretty decent shot.

Given the not-so-macro-savvy kit lens which came with my Nikon D80, the details in the shot were not so bad after all

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 1st Sept’08

Cactus apple or more popularly known as “Tuna” in this part of the world, this fruit came quite as a surprise to me for more than one reason. Firstly the only Tuna I always knew was the fish, so when my friend first asked me if I wanted to try Tuna, my answer was a plain NO. Secondly I had never heard of a fruit from cactus. I knew people eat cactus but it also bears a fruit & that too such a tasty one was really a pleasant surprise.

These juicy, many-seeded fruits can be seen growing on the tips of huge cacti all over Mexico. They really look beautiful against the blue background of Popo.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 9th Aug’08

Ohh I really love silhouettes. I think I have posted many silhouettes on my blog in form or the other & here comes one more.

A barren, dry, dead tree, standing in the front yard of a church against the Grey evening sky. Abandoned by its greenery, its leaves and everything which was essentially a part of its existence, this dead log of wood had enough strength to stand straight and announce – its still far from over.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 8th Aug’08

Imagine the world without colors. It would be like living in a black & white movie. You dont have to stand in front of the wardrobe every morning choosing which trousers will match which shirt. Which shoes will match with the dress you are wearing, what color should your bag be so that it matches with your dressing. It will remove many unnecessary inequalities in the society cauz the skin coloro would be something non-existent. At the same time it will make our lives so bland. Everything will look of the same tone and we’ll loose all the diversity.

Anyways, thats all philosophical thought process. These small balls of wool reminded me of the colorful world around me. They told me that my life is beautiful not because of only a single color, but due to the beautiful combination of all differnt shades which creep into my life every now and then.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 7th Aug’08

Ocotlán (from the Nahuatl ocotl (“pine tree”), meaning “place of pines”) is a city in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, located in the centre of that state within the conurbation of the state capital, Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl. The Basilica of Ocotlán, dedicated to the Virgin of Ocotlán, a 1541 Marian apparition, is a renowned site of Roman Catholic pilgrimage.

I had a chance to visit this church last weekend. The place was beautiful and had a festive atmosphere on a Sunday morning. I explored the church from inside and then savored on the local delicacies which were being sold in small shops around the place.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 6th Aug’08

This is the sight of the delicious lunch I had last weekend. This dish is called “Chiles en nogada”. It is made up of Poblano chiles & is usually filled with a mixture of chopped meat and fruits. The white sauce covering it is made of walnut (nogal in Spanish) & cream. Finally, the red grains of pomegranate fruits sprinkled on it gives the dish the three colors of the Mexican flag – Red, White & Green.

Keeping in mind that I am a vegetarian, my friend’s mother made this particular chile without any meat. It had a combination of some special Mexican apples & dry-fruits stuffed inside. It tasted fabulous & I missed the chance of having it again just by a whisker

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P.S. I took this picture with my N95 & it came with amazing clarity

Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 5th Aug’08

This is the view of the ceiling of Ocotlan church in Tlaxcala. Due to some high end contacts, we managed to enter a room where access is denied in normal course. The room was glittering with the fine golden decoration it had on all the carvings on its walls and ceiling. There was a table in the center of the room, which supposedly had traveled to many important museums around the world before landing in this church. This room was like the sanctum-sanctorum of the church. It is prinicipally used as a back-end access to the “virgin’s” statue whenever it needs to be dressed and flowers need to be offerred on special occassions.

Being at the place was really an experience to cherish. Click on the image to see the fine artistry. It is really amazing.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 4th Aug’08

This cute little female dog is a pet of my friend in Mexico. Her name is Zuca or “Zucarita” as my friend calls her in typical Mexican style. I only spent a couple of hours with her but that didnt stop me from falling completely in love with the cute animal. Each time she used to see me, she would come running towards me and climb on my legs. Then she would start making cute noises if I dont pay attention towards her.

Though she was looking like a big rat to some people around me, she was looking a perfect cute little doggie to my eyes.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 3rd Aug’08

“Quesadilla especial” is a different kind of quesadilla which is filled with a heap of vegetables and then covered with cheese. Quesadilla as you must be knowing is a famous Mexican dish made of tortillas and cheese. The most common form of this dish is a simple combination of cheese and salsa spread on a tortilla.

The one which you see in the image above is a special variety of the same and looked really tempting. Though someone cheated me and didnt allow me to eat it, I am pretty much satisfied that I got this nice shot

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 2nd Aug’08

I’ve been eating walnuts since I was a child. But this time when I ate them in Mexico, I never knew that they existed in such a form too. In India we have the same in terms of appearance but very different in terms of taste. The walnuts in India are a bit dry while their Mexican counterparts are much softer and juicy & white in color. In India we just break them and eat the fruit, while in Mexico they take out the tender fruit from inside, remove the thin layer from the top of it and then eat it.

I took this photo at a local market where a lady was selling them along with other sweets and candies.

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