Dennis Mammana

When you add 2 things you are passionate about, you actually get Passion*Passion instead of Passion+Passion. That is what happened when I started venturing in to AstroPhotography. The photos of planets I had posted earlier were taken by trial and error. I never had any formal training.

In January, I was delighted to learn that one of my favorite Astrophotographer, Dennis Mammana is offering a training session on "Night Sky Photography" in Anza Borrego desert which is an hour's drive from SD. Dennis Mammana is known world wide. He lives in Anza  Borrego during the Winter months (summer time temps rise above 112 degrees in the desert and only few folks stay in town).

I signed up for the course, hoping to learn some fundamentals.  I was expecting a big crowd for the course but was delighted to see only 6 people in the class. That means lot of personal one-on-one interactions.  The course was scheduled between 12 & 5. After dinner, the plan was to go out to the field and take photos of the sky with Dennis helping us.

When we broke for dinner at 5, I asked Dennis to suggest a good restaurant. To my surprise,  Dennis invited me to join him and his friend Ted for dinner. At dinner Dennis talked about his experiences around the world Dennis had visited for sky photography sessions. He appreciated that I am a volunteer coach for Astronomy at our middle school, making young kids interested in Astronomy.  We went back to the field and spent another 2 hours shooting the Sky, putting into practice all the lessons we learned.

with Dennis Mammana @ Anza Borrego Desert

The following photos were taken in our backyard.

Orion over the house.

In the photo below, you could see my favorite swing and hammock. It is pure bliss to just lie on the hammock and enjoy the blue skies during the day as well as watch the stars during the night :)

Ursa Major (சப்தரிஷி) rising over the swing

Checkout: Dennis Mamman's Website

Astrophotography

Watching the galaxies, nebulae, clusters, double stars, star constellations & the planets in the night sky through my telescope and photographing them is pure meditation. So many of my friends and relatives have seen Saturn's rings, Jupiter's cloud bands and close up of Moon's craters  for the first time through my telescope.

மூடுபனி

During the entire last week,  San Diego was covered in beautiful and mystical fog. The first thing I did after getting up was to open the window screens and peek at the hills in our neighborhood. Fog is ever fascinating and I love it as as much as the blue sky, the sunsets, the rain and the snow. Fog is very rare in our home town, except may be in மார்கழி. Even your usual and familiar places take on a completely magical and mystical look under the shroud of the fog. Equally beautiful is the time when the Sun comes out, burns and lifts the fog away.

தண்ணீர் துளி !

My first attempt at capturing a "Water Drop" @ the kitchen sink.

தண்ணீர் துளி !

Your Children Are Not your Children!

Recently all of us watched, laughed a lot and enjoyed the movie "3 idiots". Funny movie with a good theme - finding and living your passion in life. I was explaining to Swetha and Shreya how typical Indian parents influence their kids to study engineering or medical. Nothing wrong, if you like the subject. If you haven't watched the movie yet, please do.

As I was watching the movie, my favorite Khalil Gibran poem came to my mind.   I have forwarded this poem to so many of my friends. Here it is. Enjoy!

                          
                             Your children are not your children.
                             They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
                             They come through you but not from you,
                             And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

                             You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
                             For they have their own thoughts.
                             You may house their bodies but not their souls,
                             For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
                             which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
                             You may strive to be like them,
                             but seek not to make them like you.
                             For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

                             You are the bows from which your children
                             as living arrows are sent forth.
                             The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
                             and He bends you with His might
                             that His arrows may go swift and far.
                             Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
                             For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
                             so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Spectacular San Diego Sunsets

Sun Rolling down the hills behind our house.

Torrey Pines beach.

An explosion in the sky!

Silhouette