Proud as a peacock!

On that particular day in Barcelona at the zoo, there were a few proud peacocks (Pavo cristatus) strutting their stuff to very disinterested peahens! Growing up in India, the peacock was a relatively common sight, and their plaintive calls at sunset time during summers usually heralded possible rain!

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Bible stories in Barcelona

Details of carvings on one of the gigantic doors on the passion facade of that Antoni Gaudi classic – La Sagrada Familia. The carvings portray different stories from the bible. This structure has been under construction since the 1880. More fantastic pictures from this basilica to follow soon!

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Details of carvings on the door of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Please click on the picture for more viewing options on Flickr.

Red anemone

As promised, a picture of the red anemone flowering at home and complimenting the blue anemome that I posted previously.

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Click the photo for more viewing options on Flickr 
Camera settings: f/5.0, 1/80, ISO100
Lens Settings: f/2.8, 105mm Sigma macro lens
Camera: D7000

Christmas Cactus

This Schlumbergera truncata in my home is still flowering, well into April when I was expecting this to begin to set new branches for the coming year!

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Schlumbergera truncata – See Flickr for more viewing options

Technical details:

f/7.1, 1/30 second, ISO100, 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens, Nikon D7000

Now you see it, now you don’t

Now here’s an experiment at removing those irritating lines and wires that make their way into every photo (especially those in cities). Having read about Snapheal CK, I bit the bullet and bought a copy of the license. And the results are below to compare. Snapheal makes removing lines, wires and other unwanted features from a picture a doddle. Interestingly enough, the algorithm underneath the hood does a brilliant job and understanding the background patterns so that there are no ghosts left from the removal! Of course, nothing is perfect and one shouldn’t expect miracles and nothing can rescue a badly composed photograph.

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The photos above are of Casa Bruno Cuadros (a famous umbrella shop in the La Rambla area of Barcelona), and show the photos before and after treatment with Snapheal CK.

View from a bullring!

The Les Arenes Bullring in Barcelona is now no longer a bullfighting arena but instead has been converted to a shopping centre and a great eating place on the roof. The view from the top provides lovely views of Placa Espanya and Palau Nacional (that houses the National Museum of Art). Some views below.

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View of a park near Placa Espanya.
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Palau Nacional and Placa Espanya
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Palau Nacional and Placa Espanya, Barcelona