[Sandman689]

The 1st line of this travelogue puzzled me. No driving? Aren't you missing on a huge part of the fun? This is team-bhp.
But oh well there are some pretty awesome photos here. I particularly like the milky way galaxy. And the the photos taken at dusk.
Great photos Samba da.

Originally Posted by Samba

Am sure the Innova guy would have made till Team Bhp if he would have been better in his English.

He bought the car with ABS and Airbag. It had had reverse camera, Sony 2 din touch screen audio system which can play movies with six jbl speakers. Now he do not let any body close the door. Every time we used to get in and get out he jumps out from his seat and opened and closed the door for us with utmost care. He kept all the power windows locked from his door, so to put up and down we had to request him! In the bad stretches he drove so slow and carefully that his car will never have any suspension issues! While going it was slightly drizzling. As soon as we got off he promptly got down with a piece of cloth and started cleaning his car. That time i told him to buy a micro fiber cloth or else his cloth can put swirl marks to his paint. I once saw him cleaning the bonnet with his own t-shirt! He accepted my idea gladly and am sure he will buy that soon. It was a few months old Innova with 8k in the odometer. The car still had the smell of new car. The rest of us got fed up with his car obsession but again i was the scape goat and every one was comparing him to me. Other tourists may not like his behavior but i liked him.

It's always nice to see someone obsessed with their car.

[ARAY]

Another well written travel blog Mr Samba .
I had driven in the terrain almost a year back , link below.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...r-scorpio.html

But some how I felt that I was not able to invest enough time in photography .
If you are able to strike the perfect tuning between Driving /Photography in a trip i think that's one awesome tour . I see that you did not drive this time , as hard as it is to digest , how did you manage ?
I loved the milky way shot . Just so that you know we have less than a year left for the trip of our life time .
If you have some more pictures do share it .

[shomshree]

Originally Posted by Samba

By the way as far as i know gearhead_mait is also going to Kashmir around October 1st week. He can confirm you the exact dates. Mostly both of you should be in Kashmir around the same time. But i may be wrong about the exact dates. Both of you can check it out.

Chances are very less now. After observing current disaster, 99% we are planing to cancel the trip. Talked with Srinagar hotel & they are ready to refund the deposited amount.

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

It gave me a lot of info for my upcoming tour.

When you are planing for the tour? Please give me your schedule.

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by shomshree

When you are planing for the tour? Please give me your schedule.

Our tour is scheduled to start from 2nd October 2014.

2nd October - Jammu - transfer to Patnitop.
3rd and 4th October - Pahalgam
5th - 8th October - Srinagar (Day trips to Gulmarg and Sonmarg from here)
9th October - Leave for home.

But taking into the current situation, I am still unsure.
I will wait for a week before deciding on something.

[jesrani]

We travelled in Kashmir from 9th to 18th August. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful place in India. We found the people to be nice and honest generally. Did not have any problem anywhere.

Great picture of the starry skies. I wanted to take one myself but could not due to cloudy skies.

All your pictures are beautiful. Can you tell me some basic steps you used to correct the pictures, I am sure you have done post-processing to correct the skies.

Finally, really feel bad after seeing the news regarding the floods in the valley. It is a heavenly place with tourism being the lifeline. Let us hope it recovers quickly from this natural disaster.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by Sandman689

The 1st line of this travelogue puzzled me. No driving? Aren't you missing on a huge part of the fun? This is team-bhp.
But oh well there are some pretty awesome photos here. I particularly like the milky way galaxy. And the the photos taken at dusk.
Great photos Samba da.

Thanks and yes i did miss driving. How can a Bhpains not miss driving that too in hills? But need to sacrifice it some times due to the need of family. When my parents are travelling with me, i cant say them to travel with me till Kashmir by car, for me there comfort comes first. Hope you understand my situation.

Originally Posted by aritraray

Another well written travel blog Mr Samba .
I had driven in the terrain almost a year back , link below.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...r-scorpio.html

But some how I felt that I was not able to invest enough time in photography .
If you are able to strike the perfect tuning between Driving /Photography in a trip i think that's one awesome tour . I see that you did not drive this time , as hard as it is to digest , how did you manage ?
I loved the milky way shot . Just so that you know we have less than a year left for the trip of our life time .
If you have some more pictures do share it .

Thanks Mr.Ray. In the above lines i have stated the reason for not driving this time. May be a mega drive is waiting for us to do it together!

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

But taking into the current situation, I am still unsure.
I will wait for a week before deciding on something.

Originally Posted by shomshree

Chances are very less now. After observing current disaster, 99% we are planing to cancel the trip. Talked with Srinagar hotel & they are ready to refund the deposited amount.

I was following the HVK forum in Facebook. Situation started improving and both of you should wait for another 10 days before taking a final decision. Of-course if you visit in October the infrastructures will be weak and there will be sad sights but still it may be possible to continue the trip. Turn over of the tourists may boost up there financial crisis too.

Originally Posted by jesrani

Great picture of the starry skies. I wanted to take one myself but could not due to cloudy skies.
All your pictures are beautiful. Can you tell me some basic steps you used to correct the pictures, I am sure you have done post-processing to correct the skies.

Thanks a lot Jesrani.

Regarding the Milky pic-

Shoot in Raw and post process in CS5/6.

While taking the pic, please ensure there is no harsh light around, which can disturb the pic. While editing that can create a problem. In case still it happens you have to try out on cloning that area or select that particular portion and tweak the highlight.

Apart from that the basic tweaks will be on highlight, contrast, underexposing the bright area's. You can use the RGB to tweak the highlights and mid tone contrast too.

As high ISO is required so if you use a crop format camera you have to use a noise filter too, to subtle the noise.

Lastly you can take two pics with different exposure and blend them together to get the desirable result. Although my pics over here are from single shots.

Am attaching two tutorial links. Please read both the articles. They have explained it in details and in a easy way.


http://www.lonelyspeck.com/how-to-ma...ky-way-galaxy/

http://petapixel.com/2014/03/28/prep...aphy-tutorial/

Hope it helps. If you have any further queries please feel free to ask.

[us.dash]

Amazing pics and travelogue Samba.

I had planned a Kashmir trip from Oct 1 - Oct 6, but seeing the flood situation have to sadly cancel.

Your pics with their beauty has made me even sadder :(

[Samba]

Originally Posted by us.dash

Amazing pics and travelogue Samba.

I had planned a Kashmir trip from Oct 1 - Oct 6, but seeing the flood situation have to sadly cancel.

Your pics with their beauty has made me even sadder :(

Thanks but sad to know you are cancelling the trip. But if you have still not cancelled it, i will suggest you to wait for another week to see the scenario and then decide. And if possible you can postpone your trip by a month or so with out dropping the plan!
If you scroll up, you can find Gearhead_mait and Shomshree on the same boat as you are in. They also have plans for Kashmir in October 1st week but in dilemma whether to cancel the trip or not.

[us.dash]

Originally Posted by Samba

Thanks but sad to know you are cancelling the trip. But if you have still not cancelled it, i will suggest you to wait for another week to see the scenario and then decide. And if possible you can postpone your trip by a month or so with out dropping the plan!
If you scroll up, you can find Gearhead_mait and Shomshree on the same boat as you are in. They also have plans for Kashmir in October 1st week but in dilemma whether to cancel the trip or not.

Thanks Samba.

I did read about Gearhead_malt and Shomshree's plans too. I have not yet cancelled the tickets but will do so soon. My little boy (1.5 years old) is travelling with us, so want to be very sure before i travel.
My plans were made for the 5 day weekend, we have in Mumbai, so one month postponement is not possible.
I will keep checking your pics from time to time to see what I have missed

[jaaz]

Congrats !! Samba for the great Photos & Nice travelogue.

You were fortunate enough in evading the current hardship.

We bhpians are Lucky to have visual treat with the Pictures, which would've been less concentrated, had you been sitting on the Wheel. In any case, the Second time you can hit the roads with confidence, since you are now familiar with the terrain.

My heartfelt sympathies with all the Kashimiris, who are affected by the devastating Floods and hope and wish to seem them back on their feet soon. Have been following the developments closely on NDTV & Headlines Today, who are extensively covering the One of the Worst disaster in a Century.

The most neglected part in Kashmir is the Infrastructure. I can easily say they are 2 - 3 decades behind, India (Not World). When I had visited this place (Just 5 years back) , Only BSNL Mobiles were there and that too only Postpaid. No Roaming connectivity. Credit Card acceptance was limited to high end shopping only. But, When I'd compared to the Expenses for the tourists, it was just One Third of What we spend in Tourist Spots in South India.

For the Bhpians, planning trips next month - My advice would be to avoid - If you've children below 5 years of age. Or else, Srinagar should be back to Normal in another couple of weeks. Water flows there continuously and doesn't stagnate. Since, the following months are not Rainy Season, you can safely travel till the middle of December. And If you like to experience the Snowfall, you can enjoy till February.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by us.dash

I did read about Gearhead_malt and Shomshree's plans too. I have not yet cancelled the tickets but will do so soon. My little boy (1.5 years old) is travelling with us, so want to be very sure before i travel.

Oh with a 1.5 years old its better for you to skip the trip as of now. His comfort and safety comes first.

Originally Posted by us.dash

I will keep checking your pics from time to time to see what I have missed

Please do not get so much disheartened, if not this year you can visit Kashmir later too. By then your little one will grow up more. So he can also enjoy more that time!

And for this time i can say you, if not Kashmir you can plan for some other hill station's like Himachal or Sikkim or some other place!

Originally Posted by jaaz

Congrats !! Samba for the great Photos & Nice travelogue.

The most neglected part in Kashmir is the Infrastructure. I can easily say they are 2 - 3 decades behind, India (Not World). When I had visited this place (Just 5 years back) , Only BSNL Mobiles were there and that too only Postpaid. No Roaming connectivity. Credit Card acceptance was limited to high end shopping only. But, When I'd compared to the Expenses for the tourists, it was just One Third of What we spend in Tourist Spots in South India.

For the Bhpians, planning trips next month - My advice would be to avoid - If you've children below 5 years of age. Or else, Srinagar should be back to Normal in another couple of weeks. Water flows there continuously and doesn't stagnate. Since, the following months are not Rainy Season, you can safely travel till the middle of December. And If you like to experience the Snowfall, you can enjoy till February.

Thanks a lot.

Srinagar has changed a lot in these 5 years. Now any post paid works over there. Still BSNL has the best network coverage. Credit cards are accepted in most of the hotels and in big shops.

If any one is planning to visit Srinagar by flight in next month it wont be much of a problem but if any one is willing to drive may face much more problem due to few roads got washed away connecting Jammu and Srinagar. I have a constant touch with our driver who was with us for the 7 days. According to him situation's are improving and tourists planning to come in October wont face much difficulty. As of him Indian army is doing a great job and they believe that Army will bring back Srinagar to its own glory in a matter of time. His words seems to be assuring enough for the up coming tourists.

[BlackPearl]

Breathtaking pictures and perfect timing. A little late would be been a disaster like tbhpian A.G.TheRambler is facing in Kashmir now. Pahalgam is beautiful, too bad we missed it this time as well though we had originally planned to visit Phalgam. Thanks for the travelogue and that Innova guy is too good

[Samba]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Breathtaking pictures and perfect timing.Pahalgam is beautiful, too bad we missed it this time as well though we had originally planned to visit Phalgam.

Thanks lot. Yes Pahalgam is worth a visit and i would say Gulmarg is also no less beautiful than Pahalgam! Trying to tempt you so you might plan to do a hat-trick to Kashmir drive, just like you did for Sandakfu!

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

A little late would be been a disaster like tbhpian A.G.TheRambler is facing in Kashmir now.

Yes we had a narrow escape. Getting the news of A.G.TheRambler being stuck at Srinagar with no availability of proper food was really sad and disheartening. Thankfully he is now on safe hands of the Indian Army.

While leaving from Srinagar i took an ariel shot of Srinagar from the aircraft window and it looked like this-



Today from Google i came across another ariel shot of Srinagr. It looks like this.



Let everybody pray for a speedy recovery for the people of Srinagar.

[jesrani]

Originally Posted by Samba

Thanks a lot Jesrani.

Regarding the Milky pic-

Shoot in Raw and post process in CS5/6.

While taking the pic, please ensure there is no harsh light around, which can disturb the pic. While editing that can create a problem. In case still it happens you have to try out on cloning that area or select that particular portion and tweak the highlight.

Apart from that the basic tweaks will be on highlight, contrast, underexposing the bright area's. You can use the RGB to tweak the highlights and mid tone contrast too.

As high ISO is required so if you use a crop format camera you have to use a noise filter too, to subtle the noise.

Lastly you can take two pics with different exposure and blend them together to get the desirable result. Although my pics over here are from single shots.

Am attaching two tutorial links. Please read both the articles. They have explained it in details and in a easy way.


http://www.lonelyspeck.com/how-to-ma...ky-way-galaxy/

http://petapixel.com/2014/03/28/prep...aphy-tutorial/

Hope it helps. If you have any further queries please feel free to ask.

Thanks for the tutorial, will surely check them out. Trying some image editing nowadays, basically the same things you mentioned.
I have a Canon G1X Mark2. Really nice camera with very good IQ. Do you suggest I should use UV Filter all the time? Where to procure this from?

It is very sad indeed to see the devastation caused by floods in this paradise. I tried to get in touch with the people at the places we stayed in. Pahalgam is not affected it seems, also Gulamarg, only phones were down. Srinagar is very badly affected and could not get in touch with the people there. Pray for everyone's safety and recovery.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by jesrani

I have a Canon G1X Mark2. Really nice camera with very good IQ. Do you suggest I should use UV Filter all the time? Where to procure this from?

I use the UV filter just for protection. I open it while i shoot. Specially in low light, removing the UV filter gives better Image details.

For UV filter you have 2 options-
1) Buy a cheap one of any brand and open it while shooting.
2) If you want to have it all the time then go for brands like Hoya or Marumi or Canon or sigma.

Now before deciding please read these articles-

http://www.photopathway.com/using-uv...ight-or-wrong/

http://photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00bAKI