The New Toy - An iMac

The iMac

I've been a PC user for as long as I can remember but when I needed to upgrade my home machine, I decided to take a serious look at what Apple had to offer.  One of the main reasons for looking at a Mac was the fact that I was into photography and Macs seem to be the best platforms for post processing. Also, I had never owned or used a Mac extensively.  Read on for more info on the Mac and how I lit the shot above.

Glassy Tiger

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The Glassy Tiger belongs to the Danaid group of butterflies, which includes crows and Tigers. It's habitat includes India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Burma. Two subspecies have been identified but neither of them are consistent in markings or habitat. More info and images inside.

Gloriosa superba

The Flame Lily (Gloriosa superba) photographed in Anuradhapura 

The Flame Lily is a tuberous climbing plant which is native to tropical central and southern Africa. It also grows wild in Sri Lanka and is also the national flower of Zimbabwe. Every part of this plant is extremely poisonous and can be fatal if ingested. It is called Niyagala in Sinhalese and is synonymous with suicide. Read on for more info and images.

White-throated Kingfisher

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

Amongst all the Kingfishers found in Sri Lanka, the White-throated Kingfisher is probably the most common. It frequents home gardens in urban areas and is often seen perched on telephone lines on the side of the road. More info and images after the jump.

Oriental Garden Lizard

An Oriental Garden Lizard

The Oriental Garden Lizard is widely distributed throughout Asia and has also been introduced to many other parts of the world. It is an insectivore which is often incorrectly referred to as the bloodsucker due to it's red throat. More images and info after the jump.

Portraits of two Kandians

A self appointed tour guide at the Embekke temple in Kandy

This post contains two portraits of people I met while I was in Kandy.

The photograph above is of a man who was at the Embekke temple when we visited in January. He was at the gate having a conversation with some other people when we walked in. A little while later he came  up to our group and started giving us a "tour" of the temple. It was a bit of a surprise to all of us as no one had indicated that we needed a guide.  

I took this photograph of him on our way out. I thought he had an interesting face and an impressive moustache (which was completely white). The sun, falling on one side of his face, accentuated the wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead. In hindsight, I should have used a reflector of some sort to lighten up the area around his eyes. I decided to convert this image to black and white as colour didn't really add anything to it. I also felt that a black and white image would highlight the different textures on his skin. 

The second portrait is after the jump.

Indian Robin

A male Indian Robin

The Indian Robin is a common bird found in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The males of the northern (Indian) population have a brown back which gradually reduces in extent southwards, with populations in the southern peninsular having a completely black back. More info and images after the jump.