Momentary stills...

... from the Stream of Life.

...

These are a bunch of stuff that's been idling in my photo collection for a while. They all have something to do with nature - sky, birds, clouds and the radiant light of the sun itself. They are the lil things in life that have the wondrous power to trigger a smile.. that is.. if you'd care to spare a moment to observe them and enjoy.

* As usual the following images can be expanded with a CTRL+ Click

Sky... is the Limit.




Even a heartless concrete pole gleefully bows before the glamorous morning Sun. For it knows without this giant star.. Earth would have been yet another lifeless planet snuggled amidst countless galaxies.. where life visibly not exist.


While his piercing eyes scan the green canopy, her razor sharp beak gently preens its jet black plumage... and thus begin another fine day of the raven couple.. dwelling at the border of the Habarana Jungle.


Every time I stare at this vast blue heavens.. I feel so tiny.. like a nanobot. The world so large, so vast, so boundless.. even one streak of a cloud straddling so high up.. dwarfs these lofty tropical giants on the land.


To rain.. or not to rain.. do not take so long to ponder.. shed your tears and let us quench this lifelong thirst. Oh mighty regents of the heaven, we that dwell in this arid planes are forever at your mercy.


When a scalloped gray cloud wears a golden silhouette.. there's a blazing fireball hiding behind those fluffy tufty clouds. Time to time it'd take a sneak peek at the tiny world beneath, where life revives every morning with the rays of hope.. it beams.


That hazy glow of the horizon is neither a sinister grin of the rumbling Zion nor a blaze exuding from a crevice in Hades. It is only time for the weary sun.. to take a dip in the blue ocean.. far beyond these rolling hills.. and call it a day.


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I had lots more to be posted here but I guess this is enough for today. ^__^

Magical Moments - THE Sequel

Didn't have much time so this is going to be a quick post before I get back to the half finished Somawathie series.. after a few days time.. hopefully. ^__^

....

Exactly 17 days after the first Magical Moments was witnessed there was this staging of its sequel! O__O I know this can't be, within the same April month how could the sky give me two heart attacks?!! O__o Oh well.. the shock was well worth it, since I did capture every moment minute by minute.. almost.

I saw it by chance too as I was snapping some beautiful clouds on the 20th of April 2010, of course it was around home, and the time was past 5pm. At this time I was standing right at the edge of the paddy field and was snapping in all directions (of the sky of course) despite the curious looks and smirks of a couple of my neighbors, who luckily (or not) happens to be my relatives. They were chatting with my mom not too far from me and time to time gave me the looks.. like this.. O__o *sigh*

I simply ignored their inquisitive eyes and kept snapping the beautiful sky and then.. suddenly saw a strange glow, like a bold brush stroke, right across the sky. My instincts made me follow the sun ray all the way around the house and there I caught it.. no.. not the tail but the third magical moment.. that the blue heavens thought to bestow upon me. *well.. I already lost my 1st chance back at the Kandy town if you recall, so how can I possibly waste my 3rd chance?*

And here's the portion of the performance me and my cam witnessed...

Let the magic begin...


@ 5.40pm


@ 5.41pm


@ 5.41pm (lateral view)


@ 5.42pm (lateral view)


@ 5.42pm


@ 5.43pm


@ 5.44pm


@ 5.44pm (lateral view)


@ 5.46pm


@ 5.47pm


@ 5.48pm (lateral view)


@ 5.49pm




I did miss the 5.45 shot though, and now can't remember why I didn't snap it. -__-

Anyway thank you for enjoying this heavenly performance that comes up on stage only once in a blue moon. The End. ^__^

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PS: I didn't tweak a single pic, just to bring you the magic as it is. ^__^

Signs of prosperity in the Dry Zone

Yep, another set of pics from our 28th trip will be unloaded here. I've only used 'Auto Level' or tweaked their brightness and contrast .

Today you will see nothing but paddy fields.. from the chocolatty mud spreads to the lush green carpeted fields.. and even farmers in action.. and covering almost all seasons in one go. And as an added bonus, some of them have stunning blue/ gray/ white dry zone skies wearing silky/ fiberly/ fluffy/ stormy clouds.. and you'd see some known critters too.

PS: Sorry for their fuzziness. I snapped them *all of them* while twisting my neck 180 degrees this way and that way while our cab was driving/ flying at high/ warp speeds as I demonstrated here. -__-

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9.00am | Endless blue sky and acres of cultivated land

9.00am | Arabian oasis and water filled paddy fields

9.33am | Hardworking farmer and his thriving paddy field

9.34am | Azure sky and fiberly clouds

9.52am | Chocolatty paddy fields and fringe of palm trees

2.23pm | Fluffy gray clouds and muddy paddy terraces

2.32pm | Narrow drain and solitary tree

2.32pm | Trimmed paddy and bundles of straw

2.43pm | Thatched hut and heap of rice straw

2.43pm | Stormy clouds and the golden paddy

4.06pm | Bright sun and the dark land

4.15 pm | Lonely bull and swarm of egrets

Twilight Moon, Night Moon

Found these 2 unusually clear sky photos in my photo collection and couldn't resist the thought of sharing. I called them unusual since almost everyday I'm seeing so many cloud patterns, and so a sky without clouds was indeed unusual. *it happens when you become an avid cloud hunter*

I've no idea why or how the sky got so clear during those times *probably it was during the parched summer season* but... oh well.. who cares.. as long as I've got 2 unique photos to talk about. *pictures speak a thousand words, someone said so, and so.. I'll let them talk about themselves*

They were taken around a month apart at times falling around an hour apart! O__O Coincidence? *probability of an alien intervention = 99%*

If I remember right I didn't tweak their contrast or brightness *you can never trust my memory though* and only slightly cropped one of the pics. *got rid of a tree branch that made a conspicuous blot on one corner*

...

Twilight Moon

Subject: Crescent Moon *waxing moon, as per this calendar*

Date: 22nd March 2010

Time: 06:17 pm

Night Moon

Subject: Full Moon

Date: 28th February 2010

Time: 07:01 pm

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PS: That lil white dot on the 2nd pic right below the full moon looks fishy right..? Who says that was a firefly? I bet it was a UFO returning from Earth to their moon base.

PPS: If I remember right it might have been the brightest star around that time. If not.. then it was reeeeeeeeeeeally a UFO! ^__^

Truth is out there..!

I want to believe...!!

Cloudy Couture 2010

Who says only humans are fashion concerned? I think even the clouds believe that in this day and age for them to be noticed by us *humans* they need to stick to haute couture.. coined as cloudy couture by their exclusive fashion designers.

All their countless designs basically belong to a handful of common types with tongue twisting names like stratus, stratocumulus, cumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, cirrus and cumulonimbus. *I know you didn't even bother reading the names =P*

You can click here to see some of their samples.

On a clear sunny day.. you may catch these cloud models doing the catwalk on their runway.. the endless blue sky. Don't believe me? Alright.. why not see for yourself.

* CTRL + click to expand images


Cloudy Couture 2010 Guide...

It all begins with a line.. and ends with a line.



But if you care to take a peek..



you may see a flock of sheep..



or a jellyfish with long tentacles..



or finely sieved flour, ready to make a batter..



or a mirage before an oasis, that doesn't even exist.



And when the sun smiles upon you..



the wind will blow away your blues..



and let you soar high up in the sky, like a hawk.



For they are ready to dance like an ocean wave..



and flutter in the zephyr like a fluffy feather..



and even paint a picturesque portrait of the world.



So even if the world cracks up..



fear not..



for they will always be there to add color to your life..


..and let you smile a while. ^__^


...

Disclaimer: Cloud names exclusively from ucar.edu

Magical moments of the heavens

Today I'm posting some photos I've captured on 3rd April 2010. One glimpse of the sky and the spur of the moment triggered these snaps.

Cause sadly a week or two back when something similarly magical appeared before me I missed the chance. *more like I gave up before even trying*

You see, I was in the middle of the Kandy town.. an hour or so before sunset.. hurrying home after shopping with my arms full of bags.. walking along a jam packed pavement with people buzzing about in warp speeds.. like in the midst of a giant ant colony. So.. pulling out my cam phone and aiming at the sky at a time like that... was more like.. out of the question. -__-

Least I've a blurry imprint of it. And I was totally surprised when I saw 'Eye of Sauron' in K's blog, cause what I saw was something similar.. but with more creamy toned fluffy clouds with dazzling golden silhouettes and vivid orangish glow just at the spot where the sun was hiding.. and there was a zigzag beam emitting from the sun looking as sharp as a laser beam. It also had silky-white-paper-fan-like-rays taking up more than half the sky's territory.

Too bad I missed it but.. nature was kind enough to present me another chance to snap from just outside my home.

Only one or two pics here have been cropped and none of them have been fine tuned, just to bring you the magic as it is. They're also posted in the same order I took.

And here they are.. the magical moments of 7 minutes!

* CTRL + Click to expand


Let the Magic begin...

Notice...


as you go through these pics...


how each passing moment...


makes a wonderful difference...


in the plain blue sky you see everyday...


suddenly...


turning into something spectacular...


if only you care to look...


absorb...


and enjoy...


the endless enchanting moments.. of nature.