It’s quite late in the evening and we’re huddled inside a shepherd’s hut at a height of 3500m in Himalayas. My guide’s parents were temporarily camping out in the meadow to graze a flock of 500-odd sheep. This was their hut. The old man, my guide’s father, is 75 yet phenomenally active for his age. He has collected wild curry leaves from the meadow and that would be part of our dinner. Inside the hut, there is little light except for the flicker of the flame upon which our dinner will be cooked. Cows are tied behind in one corner and this man positions himself near the stone hut’s entrance to catch some light from the fading evening to clean and cut the leaves. As a photographer, I think this is a perfect environmental shot accurately portraying all that was going on in the shepherd hut that evening. But it’s also quite late, there’s hardly any light for me to make a perfect image. But I try! I bump up the ISO to 20000 and set the shutter speed at 1/20 at the risk of underexposing the shot with the hope that I could pull out the details in post processing. And here’s the result below - quite impressed with the tack sharp and natural quality of this image taken at extreme low light inside a dark shepherd’s hut.

In June this year, I spent few weeks in Uttarakhand testing a brand new mirrorless camera. Panasonic is the latest entrant into full frame mirrorless market. They sure took their time before jumping into the fray but they’ve come up with a solid product. Launched as the new Lumix S Series, two flagship full frame mirrorless cameras were announced last year, up for sale this year. LUMIX S1R and S1 are the two cameras, both with a 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor and an exciting L-Mount standard.(We’ll get to why this is exciting in a bit). The S1R is the top of the line camera with a 47.3-megapixel sensor while the S1 sports a 24.2-megapixel sensor. I carried the Lumix S1 paired with a Panasonic S 24-105mm f/4 lens with me.

Now in the interests of all fairness, I must disclose I haven’t used any other mirrorless systems yet, so there will be no comparison whatsoever. This post is purely based on my experience of using Lumix S1 alone, which was my workhorse for the two weeks I spent in Uttarakhand.

Lumix S1 - The ultimate hybrid for Stills and Video. Image courtesy: Panasonic

Panasonic’s Lumix S1 is the 24.2 Megapixel camera that is meant to be an all round professional camera for both videography and photography on a slightly lower price point (S1R is more expensive and targets purely professional still photographers btw). But priced at 2500 USD (body only), S1 is definitely more expensive than similar models of competing brands. However, there are some distinct advantages the S1 brings to the table.

An ode to my obsession
To love monsoon
Here are 30 Reasons.

#3 because thunderstorms light up the skies with an ardent fervour! A normal person would probably balk at the idea but I personally love it when I get to witness the freakish glory of nature's fury, like flashes of lightning and loud thunder piercing the stillness of the night.

#4 because it teaches us that life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain. Props to Vivian Greene for that great line! 🙏

#5 because it rains even in the desert and it is nothing like we've imagined. It's plain gorgeous!

#6 because wild flowers come into existence!

#7 because waterfalls big and small get a new lease of life and spring up everywhere, from mountain slopes to road sides.

#8 because the romance of going on a long walk a on rainy day and feeling the force of monsoons through the flimsy comforts of an umbrella is enough to make us forget all our blues!

#9 because rainbows are abundant this season and what's life without a bit of color in our skies? ;)

#10 because misty morning scenes set amidst lush greenery that seem straight out a fairy tale play out in the monsoon months.

#11 because when it rains, a gorgeous brook like this is just a stop-by-the-roadside away! No more hiking in dense jungles in reach a tiny trickle, monsoon magic at your doorstep if you will.

#12 because Sonki, a true blue monsoon special! 🌻
Oh my god, Sonki, these tiny yellow flowers literally carpet the entire Sahyadris during monsoons. I have never ever seen flowers mass bloom to this extent, they were everywhere during my trek to Ratangad one monsoon. Vast swathes of the upper reaches were packed with these flowers, so much that you could see streaks of yellow from a kilometer away!

#13 because it gives us a reason to let the inner child out. Look at me frolicking around that gorgeous tree without a worry in the world despite having a long ride in the dark waiting after this to the homestay.

#14 because there's no better time to go on a road trip!

#15 because the parched lands get a new lease of life and we only have the rains to thank for that!

#16 because you can see it happening, a trickle becoming a roar. That's how you know everything is coming alive around you, when it rains.

#17 because even dull and boring towns can look pretty when it rains!

#18 because even deserts sprout greenery when it rains. And the fact that it is ephemeral, makes it all the more surreal, like this oasis in the middle of a desert.

#19 because you can see that favorite mountain of yours is changing colors for good, soon it will all be glistening in a lovely shade of green that only rains can paint!

#20 because our little hearts overflow with joy at the very sight of heart-shaped lakes brimming with water! 😉

#21 because there's an unfathomable charm to scurrying away from pelting rain and thunderstorm to hide under a ridiculously small tree, seeking protection from the glorious fury unleashing above you!

#22 because 'tis the season for hiking! There's no better time to hike in the Sahyadris but monsoons, unless you are rock climbing of course. If the forests of Karnataka maintain some semblance of greenery even during harsh summers, Sahyadris are depressingly bone dry and barren brown in every other season except the rainy season. And what a blasphemy it would be to miss its glorious beauty when it rains!

#23 because petrichor! Need I say more? 😉

#24 because the sustenance we so need gets its sustenance during the rains, just look at those lush fields and the gentle flow of that seasonal river!

#25 because the abundant rains paint not only the earth green, but also water! Monsoons bring out the beauty in almost everything, don't you think?

#26 because monsoons show you a new side of a destination you didn't give a second thought to earlier but now you cannot believe you didn't see this beauty all along.

#27 because when a ghostly veil of mist ensconces the landscape, it hides the ugly gashes of civilization, making everything seem all the more alluring.

#28 because forts inundated in lush greenery have won my heart ever since Mani Ratnam showed the beauty of moss-ridden ancient walls in Bombay's "Tu hi re".

#29 because it is otherwise impossible to trace the contours of the deep chasms and ravines of our favourite mountains if not for the fleeting monsoon clouds that effortlessly slip in and out of these inaccessible geological features!

#30 because monsoons do not represent gloom and doom to me, like it does for many. It only makes me happy, immensely.

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