Kerala Tourism Guide

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Fascinating Facts:-
Kerala, the southern most state of India stretches for 550 km along the southwest coast of India.

The sole state of India which is famous for its tranquil back waters, that are the lifeline of the state.

Kerala famed worldwide for its ancient form of treatment know as Ayurveda.
It is home to the various ancient dance forms like Kathakali, Koodiyattam etc.

Another fascinating fact about Kerala is that it has the highest literacy rate among all the Indian states.

Introduction:-
Kerala, the paradise for travellers is a land famous for its tranquil backwaters, ancient temples, verdant valleys and vast plantations of cloves, cardamom and coffee. It is a land embellished with coconut groves and exotic beaches, which is sandwiched between the Arabian sea and the dense forests of Western Ghats.

This serene state of South India is also referred as the God’s own country as every part of the state has some exquisitely carved temples that are highly revered among the Keralites. Even Kerala is blessed with myriad of culture which are very well maintained by both the State government as well as people of the state.

Location of Kerala:-
Kerala which is one of the hot spots of honeymooners in India is positioned at the southwestern tip of the Indian mainland on the Arabian sea. It is bound by the Arabian sea on the west, Karnataka on the north and northeast and Tamil Nadu on the east.

The climate of this serene state is tropical. The weather in Kerala is never to chilly which is the main reason behind its emergence as a hot tourist destination.

Charm of Kerala:-
Kerala has an unique charisma of its own which is a totally different from other Indian states. There are an endless list of exhilarating things that can captivate your mesmerize by their beauty. Kerala has wide range of tourist attractions such as backwaters, ancient temples, wildlife sanctuaries, hill stations, beaches and many more alluring things.

Tranquil backwaters:-
This serene state has over 900 km of interconnected waterways, rivers, lakes and inlets which are the main constituents of Kerala backwaters. If you don’t get the opportunity to visit Venice city and Gondolla ride, than you must come to Kerala to have the same experience. Most of the towns of Kerala serves as the starting and end points of backwaters cruises as well as hosts many renowned boat races. These towns are a blend of historic and modern world. Globetrotters from each and every nook and corner of the world comes here to enjoy the scenic beauty of these backwater destinations. Even they are also famed as an ideal honeymoon hot spot. Some of the famous backwaters towns of Kerala are Cochin, Alappuzha, Kasargod, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kumarakom, Kuttanad, Thiruvallam, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Exquisitely Carved temples:-
As Kerala is fondly referred as God’s own country, here you will get to see numerous exquisitely carved temples which has the ability to transform an atheist into a religious person. The beauty of Keralites temples are unparalleled to rest of the country. The architectural design of the temples of this state is in accordance with the natural resources and climatic conditions of the state. Each and every town of Kerala has at least one or more temples that trace their origins to antiquity. Some of the most revered temples of Kerala are Padmanabha Swami Temple, Sivagiri Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Guruvayoor Temple in Trichur, Sabarimala Temple, Pathanamthitta, Tiruvalla Temple, Mannarshala Temple, Ambalapuzha Temple in Alappuzha and many more temples.

Salubrious Hill Stations:-
Another most sought after hidden treasures of Kerala are its salubrious hill stations. These enchanting hill stations are nestled in the lap of the Western ghats and Blue mountains. Hill stations of the state are the ideal destinations to have a rendezvous with oneself. These hill resorts are so cool and calm, that they will surely mesmerize you by their simplicity. Kerala hill stations are home to the vast tea, coffee, cardamom, pepper, vanilla and rubber plantations. Munnar, Wayanad, Idukki, Ponmudi, Devikulam, Nelliampathy, Wagamon etc are some of the well known hill stations of Kerala. These panoramic hill stations are the best place for nature photography, trekking, mountain climbing, birding, spice tours, lake boat cruises etc.

Verdurous Wildlife Sanctuaries:-
Positioned amidst the lush canopies of Western Ghats, Kerala has 12 wildlife sanctuaries and 2 national parks. These wildlife sanctuaries and national parks has a rich collection of diverse flora and fauna. These abodes of rare wildlife has the ability to beckon the nature or wildlife lover from far and wide place. An elephant ride will be an appropriate one to explore the verdurous wildlife sanctuaries and national parks of the state. This wildlife tour will enable you to get more closer to the various wonderful creations of the Mother Nature. Some of the luscious wildlife sanctuaries and national parks are Peppara Wildlife sanctuary, Neyyar Wildlife sanctuary, Shenduruni Wildlife sanctuary, Periyar Wildlife sanctuary, Idduki Wildlife sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary, Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Silent Valley National Park,
Eravikulam National Park and many more. These wildlife resorts are apt for jungle trekking.

Exotic beaches:-
Among various other charming aspects of Kerala, beaches are one of the major attractions of the state. Kerala has 600km long shoreline embellished with some finest and world class exotic beaches, lagoons, natural harbors and sheltered coves. These beaches are the favorite resorts of both the International and National tourists. Kovalam beach, Poovar beach, Varkala beach, Alappuzha beach, Cherai beach, Fort Kochi beach, Kappad beach etc are some of the popular beaches blessed with breathtaking beauty. These beaches are the best place for enjoying a leisure vacation. But if you are an adventure enthusiasts, than you can indulge yourself in various water sports like swimming, scuba diving, surfing and many more.

Ayurveda Treatment:-
Last but not the least, Ayurveda treatment is another important attraction of Kerala. Ayurveda is an ancient form of treatment, believed to be originated in Kerala. Many vacationers comes to Kerala with a desire to cure their illness with the aid of ayurveda, which is assumed to be one of the best way of treating without undergoing any surgical operations or intaking heavy doses of costly medicines. So, whenever you visit Kerala, don’t miss to check out the various Ayurvedic centres of the state. Some of the famous Ayurveda center of the Kerala are Rajah Healthy Acres in Palakkad district, Manasa Sarovar Ayurveda Mandir at Trivandrum, Karakathi Beach House at Kovalam etc.

Access to Kerala:-
By Air: To aid both International and National tourists, Kerala has three well developed air ports such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. From these airports even international flights also ply regularly. International destination which are joined to Kerala are Colombo, Maldives, Abu dabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Bahrain, Doha, Ras-al-khaimah, Kuwait, Riyadh, Muscat, Fujairah and Singapore.
By Rail: Each and every place of Kerala is very well connected to each other by the extensive network of Indian Railway. Even with the other parts of India. There are nearly 200 railway stations present in Kerala. Long distance express trains connects Kerala with the four metropolitan cities of the country such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata.
By Road: A vast network of smooth roads connects every region of Kerala with each other. National Highway 47, 17 and 49 joins Kerala with rest of the country.

Underwater Wedding Photography Ideas

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Underwater wedding photography ideas sometimes cross the mind of the bride when looking over fantastic pictures online. The imagery is astounding and the brides look like underwater fairies that take nymphs to a higher level.

Achieving the same effects in a real wedding would be harder though and as a photographer it is best to put the realities of the shoot into their proper perspective before the bride and the groom makes a commitment and get the shock of their lives.

Simply going underwater with the P.A.D.I. certified pastor or photographer will not produce the nymph like pictures that could be seen in the samples. The reality of blurry pictures and untidy looks is all too real with underwater weddings.

A photographer experienced in underwater wedding photography should be contacted and a good discussion of what happens should be done. Usually, the professionals cost a whole lot more, but if money is not an object, then the pictures take would be worth every penny paid.

For one thing, these professionals would not just take the pictures off hand underwater during the wedding; they would instead insist that separate pictures be taken before. They would have to discuss and show the bride how to be dressed and made up for an underwater shoot and they would have to spend a lot of time underwater for that perfect shot.

The photographer would probably have a fibreglass clear tank from where the bride could go in and pose in front of the camera that is outside the tank. All the while there would be adjustments made and as this could take a lot of time, it could sometimes take hours getting wet before the final wrap up.

Another to consider would be the willingness of the groom to do exactly the same thing. As men in general may find this idea appalling, most of the great underwater photographs would just be of the bride. But at least, the resulting portraits would be fantastic enough to display in full in the foyer or in the living room where it could be a focus for discussion in the near future.

Think carefully before embarking on this endeavour and choose the right photographer who has experience with these types of wedding photography.

Top 5 Different Types Of Wedding Photography

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When you begin your search for a wedding photographer, youre going to run into a lot of terminology discussing styles that you may not have heard before. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they simply hire a photographer and thats the end of it. Unfortunately, if you dont know what type / style of photographer youre hiring, you may not get the look in your wedding photos that you had been hoping for. By doing just a small amount of research youll be able to hire the photographer that shares your vision of the perfect wedding album. Here are the different types of wedding photography that will be available to you.

Artistic

This type of photography can be given to interpretation. Photographs may be saturated with color, given special effects or may even be hard to decipher as wedding photographs. You may want to find a photographer that utilises this style if you plan on hanging one or several of your wedding photos on the wall.

Candid

While professional photographers do utilise candid photography, its most often the type of picture-taking that you see from amateurs (unless the photographer has bought along a ‘second’ to take care of these particular shots). A bit of a point and shoot approach that doesnt have subjects primping and posing. This type of photography is most often used for more casual weddings.

Contemporary

This type of photography may be a combination of all the other types or a type that utilizes whatever style of photography is currently in vogue. Look through some popular photography magazines or even bridal magazines to see what’s popular.

Documentary

Photographers using this style attempt to convey a true feeling of the wedding and reception through their photographs. Looking through the wedding album will allow you to relive the day as it happened without the use of words or captions. This type of photography is also called photojournalism.

Formal

Sometimes called traditional, these are posed shots where everyone is looking at the camera. Group shots of the wedding party, the couple with their families and the couple on their own are popular.

Its very important that you convey your wishes to any photographer that you are planning on hiring prior to your wedding day. You aren’t gong to get a chance to have them retaken another day (hopefully!). Ask your potential photographer for references and look at their sample albums – many have galleries online to peruse. If they don’t seem to be understanding exactly what you want, move on to the next. Many professionals have a range of styles in their arsenal and should be able to give you several different types of photographs in one album. If the person you are interviewing can’t give you the look that you desire, chances are the next can. Get the right wedding photography for your wedding and you will have photos to cherish forever

Dslr Cameras

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DSLR, expand to form Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras are the digital cameras that direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera through the implementation of mechanical mirror system and Pentaprism.

DSLR Cameras: Most preferred by Professional Photographers

These cameras are widely preferred by professional still photographers as

They allow accurate preview of framing close to the moment of exposure.
Allow its user to choose from a number of interchangeable lenses.
Allows accurate preview of depth of field.
Larger sensors in contrast to compact digital cameras that allow for similar depths of fields and picture angle to film formats, and even high signal to noise ratio.

Digital Point-and-shoot Vs DSLR Cameras:

The reflex design scheme is what primarily differentiates a DSLR from a digital point-and-shoot camera that exposes the sensor constantly to the light projected by the lens and allows the cameras screen to be used as an electronic viewfinder.

HDSLRs: The High Definition DSLRs that were introduced in 2009 had a video mode in addition to the still photography mode. The video mode allowed its user to record high definition motion video. The Nikon D90 was the first DSLR camera to shoot and capture HD video.

DSLR Timeline:

1991: Kodak was the first to release the commercially available DSLR camera, Kodak DCS-100.
1999: Nikon D1, the first DSLR camera to replace film cameras in the professional photo journalism and sports photography field.
2000 (January): Fujifilms Fine Pix S1 Pro, first DSLR camera to have been marketed to non-professionals.
2004: Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D, first DSLR with in-body image stabilization.
2009: Nikon D90, first DSLR camera with video recording.

Market Share: As of 2008, Canon and Nikon had a whooping share of 41% and 40% respectively whereas Sony and Olympus each had only 6% market share. The duopoly of Canon and Nikon is often referred to as Nikanon or Canikon on online forums.

Popular Brands: Canon, Nikon, Kodak, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung, Konica Minolta, Fujifilm and Sigma.

What Do You Know About Stock Photography

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Stock photography, groups of photographs that people take, grouped and licensed for selling purposes. Instead of taking new pictures every time they need pictures, many people use the stock photography method. People that work for magazines, as graphic artists, and advertising agencies sometimes use public pictures instead of hiring photographers for individual projects.

Alternate names for stock photography is picture libraries, photo archives or image banks. Typically, in order to use these pictures, although publicly available, there is a small fee or a purchasing of usage rights that comes with a fee in order to use the pictures. Sometimes a membership purchase allows you to have access to a particular group of stock photography.hy.

Saving time and money, stock photography is a great way to enhance newsletters, blogs, advertisements, company brochures and more. It is obviously less expensive than putting a full time photographer on staff and takes less time if you need images of something specific. Many times, it is as easy as using a search engine or checking an email.

Sometimes full rights and usage is available for purchase. Other times, full rights are limited. In those cases, photographers might be requiring that they receive a certain percentage of sales and or royalties of usage. Agencies usually hold the images on files and negotiate fees. With the technology and easy access that the internet provides, negotiations are quicker and easier.

The cost of using stock photos depends on how long the pictures will be used, what location the images will be used, if the original photographer wants royalties and how many people the photo will be distributed to or seen by. Prices for stock photography can be anywhere from one dollar to two hundred dollars.

There are several different pricing arrangements. Royalty free stock photography allows the buyer to use photographs multiple times in multiple ways. When you buy royalty free pictures, there is only a one-time charge for unlimited usage. When the images you purchase have a royalty free section, the agency is able to resell the image to others. If an image is rights managed, there is a negotiated price for each time that it is used.

Sometimes a buyer of stock photography might desire to have exclusive rights to the images. In that case, no one else will be able to use the pictures once exclusive rights have been purchased. It may cost thousands of dollars to purchase exclusive rights because agencies who handle the sales have to make sure that they are making a profitable sale. If a photograph would make more money staying in circulation, they would lose out selling exclusive rights.

Stock photographers sometimes work with agencies producing images for them alone. Different subjects and categories might need multiple varieties of images. Sometimes contributors work for multiple agencies selling their photographs for a fee. They work out arrangements for royalties or they sell their shots for full rights. This has proved to be a big business for photographers around the world.

Stock photography started in the early 1920s. It especially grew as its own specialty by the 1980s. Galleries hold hundreds, thousands and even millions of pictures available for purchase. Stock houses sprung up in many different places. By 2000, online stock photography became microstock photography, which we call photo archives online. Companies like istock photo and bigstock photo offer you the opportunity to purchase so many pictures and when you use them up you can add more credits for another fee. Photos that are distributed online are typically less expensive than those that are sold hard copy.

Websites like www.shutterpoint.com and www.fotolibra.com allow stock photographers to upload and sell their images. It is a great way to market pictures and earn money with photography. You can also purchase images at those websites as well. With all the stock photography sites available, one may find pictures you never even heard of before.