Nature & Animal Planet

Nature photography focuses on landscapes, wildlife and plant life as they are found in their natural environment. Photographs of nature provides glimpses of animals, forests or mountains that may not be seen in person. Many nature photographers try to educate people about the beauty of nature, often with the hope that more people will be inspired to help the environment.

Types of Nature Photography
Nature photography encompasses all forms of photography where the main subject has something to do with nature. Some of the more common types of nature photography include photographing wild animals, plants and flowers, in their natural environment as well as landscapes. Other types of nature photography include celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars; insects and arachnids; and underwater creatures.

Nature Photography and Conservation
Nature photography and conservation often go hand in hand. Many conservationists started photographing landscapes and wildlife in an effort to help gain support for their cause. Nature photographers can see the impact their photographs could have, inspiring people to want to help the environment. Photographing wildlife living in their natural habitat has been a way to bring a little bit of nature to people's living rooms and teach people more about the other inhabitants of our planet.

Nature Photography and Art
What a painter does with paint, Photographer did with light, shading and focus, creating panoramic views that took people's breath away. Art is created with the intention to bring forth an emotional response. In terms of nature photography, it is hard not to see photographs of birds in mid flight, a mother bear and her cub, or a moose grazing in a field with out having some kind of emotional connection to what you are seeing.

(On the way to thenmala - echo tourism, Kerala - South India)

(Near Kovalam Beach - Trivandrum, Kerala)

(Above 3 images taken from Varkala-Kappil,Kerala, where beach meet back waters. A Good touristic spot with houseboat facility for an overnight cruise)

Perumathura - Pozhi

Another Beauty of God's Own Country...

Images taken from Madanvila and Perumathura

Perumathura Pozhi is 15KM away from Kazhakkoottam junction. If you seek a calm and cool place for spending a weekend this is the right place to be in.The water is calm. The sky a faint ocher, illuminating the coconut palms on the fringes of the land.Get one of the boatmen to take you to Perumathura Pozhi (estuary). The rate is negotiable. The sands at the estuary is all yours.

Major attraction
Soak in the cool, salubrious air in this natural oxygen bar. Soon, the nascent rays of the sun flood Kadinamkulam Kayal.Kakkathuruthu is a major attraction of the villages. Here you need the help of boatmen.Kerala State Road Transport Corporation runs buses between Perumathura and Poovar, an emerging tourist destination. There is a lone eatery at Kadinamkulam. Night stay is well nigh impossible.

The two villages are ideal to laze around on a holiday, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. When dusk falls, it is a short drive back – backbreaking for 5 km up to Kaniyapuram, and then zipping for 20 km on the National Highway 47 to the city.

Nature has endowed lavishly to the beauty of Perumathura. The golden sand beaches, Muthala pozhi, the backwaters, the traditional way of ladies spinning coir, the coconut groves, coconut trees with multiple trunks, snake boats and ‘kettuvallams’ are the most important attractions. This is a place free of environmental pollutions. So come to Perumathura, to savor the simple, clean life and the rich scenic beauty with which God has so lavishly endowed this land.

Place in history
An 1897 painting by C. Raja Raja Varma, on display at Sri Chitra Art Gallery in Thiruvananthapuram, has immortalised its scenic beauty. In the early 19th Century, the then Resident, Munroe, designed Parvathi Puthanar to link this lake with Veli. The work began in 1825. In three years, the canal became operational. Then, merchandise and travellers used to cross the lake. On one side of the lake is Murukkumpuzha.

Ponmudi

Beauty of God's Own Country...

Images taken from Ponmudi, Kallar, Golden Valley and Bonakkad

Ponmudi (The Golden Peak) is a hillstation in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala in South India. Its located 61 km north-east of Trivandrum city at an altitude of 1100 m. It is a part of the Western Ghats mountain range that runs parallel to the Arabian Sea.

Ponmudi is connected to Trivandrum by a narrow winding road offering scenic views on the way to Ponmudi. The climate is pleasant year-round. Trivandrum serves as a base for trekking and hiking. There are also tea gardens in the area.

Other attractions near Ponmudi include Golden Valley and a number of rivulets and rapids, some even across the road. The lush forest area has tropical vegetation. A variety of wildlife inhabit the hills. The Golden Valley offers vistas of the hills and access to the Kallar river. Flowing though a wilderness area, it has rounded pebbles, cool water, fish, and lush green trees.

Bonakkad (Bonacaud) is a small unpolluted village situated 55 km from Thiruvananthapuram city, deviation on the way to Ponmudi. It is a base camp for the trek to the abode of Agasthyakudam which is about 30 km from here. Tea estates, forests and water falls add beauty to this place. The place is ideal for trekking.