Recently I mentored a limited seat workshop from Darter.in called Monsoon Magic in the Western Ghats – A Photography Workshop . The idea of the workshop is to enjoy rain and capture some precious moments of rain in the lap of Western ghats. Deciding the date and place was not so easy but after a lot of study and debate we were able to put up a plan that would work. But lot depended on the weather god but I was hopeful as I am born and brought up in similar location.
When we were arriving in Thirthahalli I was all eyes looking outside the bus window for any chance of rain. Little relieved when I saw all clouds and wetness around. The next three days just flew by and we all returned with plenty of good photos, experience, learning and some nice memories. Here are the highlights of the entire trip and so many wonderful photos from all of us. Be sure to hit full screen view !
After a heavy Akki rotti breakfast at Vihangama resort, Thirthahalli my first session started. I shared all my knowledge on taking care of the gear and our self while shooting in rain. I also shared some ideas on what camera settings to use, the type of light we are going to get but most importantly how to enjoy the monsoon and monsoon cultures in the ghat region. Then we headed out to Agumbe but we stopped at Kundadri hills for a quick walk. And guess what, this time we started our first outdoor session with a group photo! So that is the team Swathi, Yogesh, Prajwal, myself and Kishore. We had two last minute cancellations too bad they missed the fun.
Agumbe welcomed us with fog and rain! we had a quick coffee , Kashaya and started shooting.Weather turned out little predictable after 10 minutes. Fog would cover for 15 minutes and then comes the rain. After 10 minutes of raining the fog disappears. Now there is a gap of ten to fifteen minutes before fog covers again. And then repeat!We walked for next two hours exchanging tricks and ideas how to shoot in the streets of Agumbe. I really had a hard time to bring back everyone to the vehicle. These pics would say that for sure. Background pic by Kishore
[hcode_blockquote blockquote_icon=”1″]Even today Agumabe has that ‘small village look’, the one we saw in the award winning , popular series “Malgudi Days” By the legendary Shankarnag .One has to feel Agumbe rather just visit and look for attractions. It has no such attraction apart from highly overrated sunset point. To feel Agumbe you should stay in Agumbe. You have to walk around and talk to the people.[/hcode_blockquote]
Day two
It was raining heavy after we checked out in the morning. Our idea was to stop wherever we find opportunity on the way and we did . We stopped at Jain temple complex in Varanga. There is one Jain temple in the center of the lake where we went on a boat. We walked along paddy fields and experienced one very heavy rain in which I got drenched fully ! Here are few photos we made on the way to Karkala.
After a heavy, tasty local Konkani style lunch at Prabhu canteen of Karkala town we checked in to our rooms . But I should appreciate the everyone’s energy , they were ready for next location right away . We walked through the wet steps of Chaturmukha Basadi and Gommeteshwara temple complex.There was no rain after we left Varanga and we were started getting bit impatient when it is going to rain. When we were wandering on top of Gommeteshwara Hill , out of nowhere the dark clouds started gathering. Within five minutes it slowly started drizzling and for next thirty minutes rain gods showed how powerful they are! Probably this was one of the best rains I have enjoyed in my life. My umbrella broke and water was everywhere! Background pic by Dinesh Maneer
Food
That was a eventful day for us! We had such a nice weather through out the day and it rained when we most anticipated. We got soaked but our cameras were always protected and ready to fire! When I travel I never forget to taste the local food. I really appreciate how the team was open for everything right from a local make shift hotel Chai to heavy lunch in few of the Karkala’s most traditional food makers. Following is a collage of the food we tried. Kishore did excellent job in capturing these !
The Last day
The day started with some good light. As per plan we headed to this beautiful lake “Ramasamudra ” just five minutes from our hotel. I already knew this place is loved by local swimmers. There is a 67 years old guy called Babu who teaches swimming free of cost. He uses dry coconut as a float and rarely uses tire tubes. He believes that dry coconuts are the best to learn swimming quickly. He also cleans the lake every day and locals have very high respect for him. When we arrived there to our surprise there were people already swimming including ladies. Ladies would go across the lake like a Pro which is quite unusual considering our cultural background. Soon the place got populated by kids and our cameras never stopped. The crystal clear water was so tempting , I had no choice but to take a good swim myself !
We wanted to have some local breakfast again but we realized the local hotels close on Sundays . After completing my last session we checked out at noon and decided to have lunch in Udupi. While searching a good restaurant we noticed a event poster on ‘monsoon games’ in Udupi town so immediately after lunch we headed to that place. For me also this was first time seeing this energetic event so pretty excited to shoot this. When we arrived I was surprised to see right from little kids , everyone were playing in mud. Many competitions were being held such as tug of war, running in the mud. Weather was perfect and we all were happy with the type of photos we managed to shoot.
That was impressive isn’t it ?! The last location before we departed was Kapu beach. Beaches in monsoon give us a wide view of sky and if we are lucky a great drama is assured. When we started walking along the beach it was almost five in the evening but no sign of rain. In-fact I could see some blue sky as well! We decided to have some snacks and come back to shoot sunset instead. When we came back huge set of dark clouds were slowly coming towards us. I could see people taking there umbrella out and some people even started leaving. The locals knew it is going to rain crazy! We kept everything ready and that rain really looked scary! Here are some shots of that evening and the final set of photos! Background pic by Dinesh Maneer
That was the end of the workshop and I would rate this as my best workshop experience so far. I bet we learnt a lot from each other and made some nice , interesting photos. Thanks for all the participants for such a wonderful company and all those discussions , debates we made during our sessions. Thanks to Darter.in for conducting such a unique workshops and I would look forward to see more in coming days.
Love- Dinesh Maneer
Check info regarding my other workshops here
Yogesh Mokashi
“I have always wanted to see the beauty of Karnataka especially the Malenadu area and the erstwhile Dakshina Kannada . What better time than the monsoons to visit these places to be enchanted by the beauty nature has bestowed on us. The workshop was a treat for the eyes, mind and for the palate. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Prajwal JN
” always thought how photographers take such beautiful pictures during rain 🤔. After being part of darter’s Monsoon Magic tour with Dinesh, have gained confidence in taking out my camera during monsoon. Dinesh has great insight on settings, composition, creative ideas and very approachable. The complete workshop was an memorable one.
Swathi Iyengar
“Monsoon Magic – Quite an apt name for the workshop. As a beginner, it was a wonderful experience where in each individual was getting some tips on how to capture a perfect picture. Dinesh being mentor for the workshop has a very vast experience and every segment from this workshop was very well planned. Experiencing the rain with our cameras out was great enjoyment all to together. Looking forward to many more events like this…
