Morning Light

Four of the five Panchachuli peaks lighted up with morning light.

Most people only get a view of Panchachuli from the western side i.e. Munsyari/Kausani/Choukori and similar hill stations. The eastern side, i.e., Darma Valley is untouched territory mostly for hiking parties. Till recently there was no road and it required a multi day trek from Tawaghat to get there.

This picture was taken during a bike ride I did in 2019 to Darma valley and spent two night at Dantu Village. On the first morning, the sky was cloudy and I was quite disappointed at missing out on the sunrise. I decided to stay another night and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise on the next day.

Some more pictures from the same ride: https://lokeshshah.wordpress.com/2019/10/29/wandering-the-kumaon-backroads-selected-pictures/

Technical details: Pen-F + 12-40mm | F/4 | 1/160s | ISO200
Date: Oct 19, 2019 | 0615

Panchachuli Moonrise

HDR of Lunar alpenglow over the Panchachuli as the Milky Way stretched across the sky

Most people only get a view of Panchachuli from the western side i.e. Munsyari/Kausani/Choukori and similar hill stations. The eastern side, i.e., Darma Valley is untouched territory mostly for hiking parties. Till recently there was no road and it required a multi day trek from Tawaghat to get there.

This picture was taken during a bike ride I did in 2019 to Darma valley and spent two night at Dantu Village. I wasn’t expecting to see the Milky Way and was not prepared with low light lenses. As luck would have it, the band of Milky Way stretched just above the peaks of Panchachuli. And as the moon started rising, the Lunar alepenglow illuminated the top of the peaks rendering them bright orange.

This picture is an HDR of 2 pictures, merged manually. First one is for the stars taken with an exposure of 60sec. You can see a bit of star trails because of a long exposure. With a faster lens I could have brought it down to 10sec. The second one is for the moonlight on the peaks taken with an exposure of 122sec.

Technical details: Pen-F + 12-40mm | F/2.8 | 60s, 122s | ISO800
Date: Dec 18, 2019 | 2045

Future

Two students going to school on a foggy morning in a remote area of Champawat district in Uttarakhand.

Watching kids go to school and prepare for a better future is one of the most amazing sights in the hills. It means they have the opportunity to get educated while staying at home. For decades, parents have sent their children to large towns away from their homes to study. This means additional financial stress and separation of families. Most of these children never return and settle down away from home. As a result many villages have become completely empty – the ghost villages.

This picture was taken on the last day of my Darma Valley bike ride, when I was on the way to Devidhura – the town famous for its stone pelting festival. It was a lovely morning with sun filtering through the fog. I had left early from Lohaghat, where I spent the night. The ride, though the lower Himalayas, was beautiful going through small villages and towns.

Somewhere after Pati Town, as I turned a corner, I saw these two girls walking up the hill thorough the fog. Stopping, I waited for them to get closer before taking this picture.

Technical details: Pen-F + 12-40mm | F/4 | 1/160s | ISO80
Date: Oct 21, 2019 | 0735