Daily Passionate Photography Thoughts by Ramesh Menon - 30 July 2009

Daily Passionate Photography Thoughts by Ramesh Menon - 30 July 2009

Welcome all, to the world of Passionate Photographers.

I hope you enjoyed the slow and steady start we had. I know it takes time to gain momentum before we get truly passionate contributors to this wonderful group. It is therefore our common need to set a discipline before we gain that magical momentum. Let that be the topic for today.

You might have noticed the comment by Mr. R Vijayan on my new photo album – Temptations on the Move – Delhi Gaya Haridwar Rishikesh. Every one carries a camera these days and clicks several precious moments. But seldom take additional few minutes to keep them organised for viewing or any other use later on. Partially this is due to the lack of storage facilities or know-how related to the instrument one uses.

Discipline, personal and professional is very essential and I contribute a lot of my success in both the field due to my interest in photography. According to me a person who is passionate about photography is like a soldier. Like a soldier, who keeps his fitness at its peak and maintain his equipments war ready every time, a passionate photographer will keep his camera and his photographic intuitive mind ever ready for a golden moment. To this he has to:

• preserve his camera and accessories in its perfect environment condition

• keeps the batteries charged, carry additional spare batteries for emergency prolonged use

• keeps all the necessary data transfer cables and additional storage cards handy

• keep on reading and enhancing his knowledge about different types of photography techniques.

• Keeps on clicking without inhibitions pictures of objects that suite his interest. As he knows better that practise makes one perfect when a real opportunity arrives.

• Keep on exploring various features of his photography equipments under various conditions so that he is familiar with the instruments and well aware of what is the quickest way to capture a golden moment with the instrument he has at that particular time and place.

I consider all the above factors equally important. However, to the last one I give more importance because it gives an overall positive outlook to an individual. Like you develop an interest to get to know more about your photography instrument, by constant practise, you get to know also the finer aspects of your family, friends and colleagues with whom you interact frequently. A totally different outlook will evolve in your interactions within no time if you enjoy encouraging photography with passion. It becomes a duty and devotion to contribute towards the benefit of the society in many possible ways.

I am thankful to those members who joined Passionate Photographers group on Face Book. For all your information, as a matter of discipline I had to remove one member yesterday who joined and uploaded photos. Nothing wrong in it, but there was no connection to the themes given, there was no trace to interact with his Face Book ID either by comments or messages. As a person who encourages and promote interactive communications it is against our common perceived benefit of sharing knowledge. I hope the member comes back with his communicative ID and share his valuable expertise with all of us.

Please start contributing passionately at your own pace. Invite and encourage your friends and fellow photography enthusiasts to join Passionate Photographers. Let us collectively further the growth of this group to a knowledge enhancement forum for passionate photographers on this e-world.

I will be travelling to India tonight for about 20 days and will try and keep in touch with you through this wonderful interactive forum whenever I can.

God Bless and Have a great journey ahead.

Ramesh Menon
30 07 2009

Daily thoughts created for Passionate Photographers group on Face Book

Today in History - 30 July

1946 1st rocket attains 100 mi (167 km) altitude, White Sands, New Mexico

1935 1st Penguin book is published, starting the paperback revolution

1836 1st English newspaper published in Hawaii

My Letters - GULF NEWS - Encouraging insults

To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor

Today in History - 29 July

1952 1st nonstop transpacific flight by a jet

1927 1st iron lung installed, Bellevue hospital, New York

1920 1st transcontinental airmail flight from New York to SF

1914 1st transcontinental phone link made between New York City and SF

1899 1st motorcycle race, Manhattan Beach, New York

1858 U.S. citizens allowed to live anywhere in Japan

1786 1st newspaper published west of Alleghanies, Pitts Gazette

1655 Biggest townhall in the world opens in Amsterdam

Daily Passionate Photography Thoughts by Ramesh Menon - 29 July 2009

Daily Passionate Photography Thoughts by Ramesh Menon


Good morning all. A passionate response indeed to this new initiative of mine to bring together all those who are passionate about photography. As you might have noticed already, each member of this group holds equally responsible role for a steady growth and sustained knowledge share process. This is a thread started to share my experience as a passionate photographer. Let me take this opportunity to briefly introduce the volunteers:

Mr. Ahmed Kutty is a well known Press Photographer working with Gulf News in UAE. Photo journalism is not an easy task and those who read newspapers with interest will straightaway notice his photos even if there is no name mentioned below it. We are now blessed to share his creative collection through Face Book.

Mr. K K Moidu is film critic, an active blogger and established journalist working for Gulf Today. His reviews are popular amongst the film industry and the fans.

Mr. R Vijayan is an ardent supporter of creativity. More than that he has a great heart to say always a few words of encouragement or constructive criticism whenever he observes a creativity happening. Upcoming singer Rashmi Vijayan is his daughter.

Adur Pradeep is a well known journalist working for Khaleej Times. Famous for his sports reviews and write ups, he carries a no nonsense approach and his own bold style of constructive criticism. A comment or observation to be passed with a few words of encouragement will never miss from his side.

Sujit Sukumaran is an established Toast Master in UAE. Add a very good writer, a professional Resume Maker, a promoter of vegetarianism and Indian culture along with a ‘no physical or personal difficulties can hold me from moving on in my life attitude’; you will get a picture of Sujit.

Dr. Rajah Balakrishna is well known amongst Photography enthusiast in the Middle East. A living encyclopaedia of the subject, his experience that will be shared here in this group will be a bounty for all those passionate photographers to share with.

Rajashree Menon – my loving wife. Very creative in mind and dedicated to her profession as a Software Quality Assurance and Project Manager, finds time to check the quality points of my numerous creative pursuits. A spelling here, or grammar there or a stroke missed at another place will never be missed.

Last but not the least – Ramesh Menon – this humble me. Take a few minutes, visit my profile and also visit Photo Speaks, Letters to the Editor, Mind Speaks, No News, Achievements sections of my blogs and you will get to know me.

Welcome all the above volunteers and equally welcome yourself to this wonderful group we have.

My passion for photography started many years ago, when my father returned from Bombay to start his pharmaceutical business in Kerala. In his collection were some excellent books on photography published by Kodak with whom he was working then. I read them as many times as I could during my school days but a dream of getting hold of a camera of my own came many years after that. Imagine how lucky the present generation children are. The points noted from those readings remained strongly and will share that book with you all when I return from my holidays in India. This is the result of an important aspect of collecting and preserving valuables which I have maintained from my childhood.

Well, I hope you enjoyed today’s passionate photographic thoughts. Now, its time to move on from passion to profession. See you tomorrow and I humbly request you to start uploading your collection of photos as suggested in the theme for this summer. Please also upload links to your photo albums at the links section.

Develop the photographer in you, slowly groom yourself to click without inhibition and come out with a photo that speaks life around you.

God Bless and have a passionate photography day ahead.

Ramesh Menon

Today in History - 28 July

1959 Great Britain starts using postal codes

1940 Radio Orange, London begins

1933 1st singing telegram delivered (to Rudy Vallee), New York City

1851 Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph

Today in History - 27 July

1953 1st insulin isolated by F Banting and C Best in Toronto

1949 1st jet-propelled airline, De Havilland Comet, flies

1945 U.S. Communist Party forms

1944 1st British jet fighter used in combat, Gloster Meteor

1920 Radio compass used for 1st time for aircraft navigation

Today in History - 26 July

1957 U.S.S.R. launches 1st intercontinental multistage ballistic missile

1915 International School for Wijsbegeerte forms

1887 1st Esperanto book published

1848 1st Woman's Rights Convention, Senecca Falls, New York

1835 1st sugar cane plantation started in Hawaii

1775 1st Postmaster General: Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office

BALANCING WORK AND LIFE

BALANCING WORK AND LIFE

All too often success is seen in terms of materialistic possessions and financial gains. It is easy to fall in the trap of working long hours striving to achieve a good standard of living but in the process neglecting relationships, self development, leisure pursuits, and personal happiness.

Balancing work and life will help you understand what success means to you and explains how can live your life with renewed vision and purpose. You should make sincere efforts to focus on your true priorities and develop healthy attitude to achieve success in yourself.

As you begin to achieve a better balance in your work and life you will discover new levels of creativity, fulfillment and happiness.

To create a balance between the demands of your work and your life, you need to examine what success means to you. Start by classifying your values, purpose, roles and attitudes so that you have something to measure achievement against.

People often work hard to gain ‘success’ without knowing what success really means.
You may climb the career ladder but are you fulfilled with your work? Do you live a good contented family life? Ask yourself now, when was the last time you achieved AND enjoyed something at work? What about Achieved AND Enjoyed with your family; your friends? And how recently have you achieved AND enjoyed something just for you? We receive different messages about success – through the media, our families and our culture. But ultimately success comes from leading a balanced and fulfilled life.

To define success, start by classifying your values schedule times and think about what is most important to you. Put your values at the centre of your life so that you can retain greater balance, vision and happiness in every area of your life.

Success is an attitude, and not just a set of achievements or financial gain. If this was not the case, then every high achiever would consider themselves successful. But in fact many rich famous and accomplished people have material success but do not actually feel true success or fulfilled. So understand that success is not just found in outer things but is located within yourself. Cultivate success as a state of mind so that you stop chasing false goals and expectations and start living your life focused on what matters to you.

Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the coin of value in life. You can't have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only one side. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many "Successful" people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.

At work you can create your own best Work-Life Balance by making sure you not only Achieve, but also reflect the joy of the job, and the joy of life, every day. If nobody pats you on the back today, pat yourself on the back. And help others to do the same.

Your life is like a jigsaw. It is made of different pieces. Ensure that you make time for each important aspect of your life – Your work, your relationships, family, leisure time and self improvement and begin to focus on your life as a whole, then success will be yours. When you encounter success, make sure you celebrate it. Celebration boosts your confidence and helps make success a state of mind.

Recognize, reward, enjoy and share success in yourself with others. Remember that a good work-life balance is achieved through mutually supportive relationships at work as well as at home.

By Rajashree Menon

Photo Speaks - UAE on Summer Holidays

Photo Speaks - UAE on Summer Holidays

A casual walk through various streets of Abu Dhabi shows us that people have already moved for their summer holidays. Nature - dust and sand storms - does not know the problems these owners may face when they return. It is very likely that many of these vehicles, if noticed by authorities, will be fined and taken away.

My Letters - GULF TODAY -

To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor

Today in History - 25 July

1983 1st non-human primate, baboon, conceived in a lab dish, San Antonio

1981 Voyager 2 encounters Saturn

1946 1st bikini is shown at a Paris fashion show

1944 1st jet fighter used in combat, Messerschmitt 262

1933 1st Dutch live radio concert: Duke Ellington

Today in History - 24 July

1987 IBM-PC DOS Version 3.3 (updated) released

1935 1st greeting telegram sent in Britain

1934 1st ptarmigan hatched and reared in captivity, Ithaca, New York

1870 1st trans-U.S. rail service begins

1793 France passes 1st copyright law

Today in History - 23 July

1972 1st Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) is launched

1947 1st (U.S. Navy) air squadron of jets, Quonset Point, Rhode Island

1937 Isolation of pituitary hormone announced (Yale University)

1904 Ice cream cone created by Charles E Menches during La Purchase Expo

1880 1st commercial hydroelectric power planet begins, Grand Rapids, Michigan

1877 1st U.S. municipal railroad, Cincinnati Southern, begins operations

1877 1st telephone and telegraph line in Hawaii completed

1852 1st interment in U.S. National Cemetery at Presidio

1827 1st U.S. swim school opens (Boston Mass)

Today in History - 22 July

1962 1st U.S. Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off

Today in History - 21 July

1984 1st documented case of a robot killing a human in U.S.

1969 Neil Armstrong steps on Moon at 2:56:15 AM, GMT

1960 In Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) Sirima Bandaranaike is world's 1st woman PM

1959 1st nuclear powered merchant ship, NS Savannah, christened, Camden, New Jersey

1957 1st black to win a major U.S. tennis tournament, Althea Gibson

1955 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor launched-Seawolf

1928 1st woman to win an olympic gold medal - Halina Knonpacka of Poland

1884 1st Test Cricket match played at Lord's

Today in History - 20 July

2005 Canada becomes the 4th country to permit same-sex marriage

1969 1st men on Moon, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Apollo 11

1960 1st submerged submarine to fire Polaris missile (George Washington)

1960 Sirima Bandaranaike becomes 1st female premier of Ceylon

1960 U.S.S.R. recovered 2 dogs; 1st living organisms to return from space

1878 1st telephone introduced in Hawaii

1868 1st use of tax stamps on cigarettes

Today in History - 19 July

1984 1st female to captain a 747 across Atlantic (Lynn Rippelmeyer)

1967 1st air conditioned New York City subway car (R-38 on the F line)

1961 1st in-flight movie shown, TWA

1957 1st rocket with nuclear warhead fired, Yucca Flat, Nevada

1941 1st U.S. Army flying school for black cadets dedicated

1939 1st use of fiberglass sutures, R P Scholz, St. Louis, Missouri

1939 Dr. Roy P Scholz is 1st surgeon to use fiberglass sutures

1877 1st Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Spencer W Gore beats Marshall (61 62 64)

1860 1st railroad reaches Kansas

1848 1st U.S. women's rights convention (Seneca Falls New York)

Photo Speaks - A dusty day in Dubai

My Letters - GULF TODAY - The Joy of Sharing

To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor

Today in History - 18 July

1980 Rohini 1, 1st Indian satellite, launches into orbit

1974 World's tallest structure, 646-m Polish radio mast, completed

1968 Intel incorporates

1955 1st electric power generated from atomic energy sold commercially

1940 1st successful helicopter flight, Stratford, Connecticut

1931 1st air-conditioned ship (Mariposa) launched

1914 U.S. Army air service 1st comes into being, in Signal Corps

1766 Society of the Dutch Literary forms

1743 1st half-page newspaper ad is published (New York Weekly Journal)

Today in History - 17 July

1989 1st Test flight of U.S. stealth-bomber

1974 1st quadrophonic studio in U.K. is open by Moody Blues

1879 1st railroad opens in Hawaii

1867 1st U.S. dental school, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, established

1775 1st military hospital approved

My Letters - KHALEEJ TIMES - An Effective Mode

To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor

Today in History - 16 July

2007 Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear power plan releasing 300 gallons of radioactive water

1990 Ukraine declares independence

1945 1st atomic bomb detonated, Trinity Site, Alamogordo, New Mexico

1936 1st x-ray photo of arterial circulation, Rochester, New York

1935 1st automatic parking meter in U.S. installed, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1926 National Geographic takes 1st natural-color undersea photos

1661 1st banknotes in Europe were issued by Bank of Stockholm

1439 Kissing is banned in England (to stop germs from spreading)

Today in History - 15 July

1968 Commercial air travel begins between U.S. and U.S.S.R.

1954 1st coml jet transport plane built in U.S. tested (Boeing 707)

1952 1st transatlantic helicopter flight begins

1948 Alcoholic Anonymous founded in Britain

1929 1st airport hotel opens - Oakland, California

1783 1st steamboat, Pyroscaphe, 1st run in France

Today in History - 14 July

1993 Aeroflot starts non-stop flights between Moscow and NY

1959 1st atomic powered cruiser, Long Beach, Quincy Massachusetts

1951 1st color telecast of a sporting event (CBS-horse race)

1949 U.S.S.R. explodes their 1st atom bomb

1927 1st commercial airplane flight in Hawaii

1914 1st patent for liquid-fueled rocket design granted, Dr. Robert Goddard

1853 1st U.S. World's fair opens, Crystal Palace New York

1850 1st public demonstration of ice made by refrigeration

1845 1st postmasters' provisional stamps issued, New York City

Today in History - 13 July

1974 India's 1st one-day international (v England, Headingley)

1970 Building begins of Amsterdam metro

1945 1st atom bomb explodes in New Mexico

1930 1st-ever soccer World Cup competition began in Uruguay

Today in History - 12 July

1977 1st free flight test of space shuttle Enterprise

1962 1st time 2 manned crafts in space (U.S.S.R.)

1957 1st President to fly in helicopter - Dwight Eisenhower

1957 U.S. Surgeon General Leroy Burney connects smoking with lung cancer

1948 1st jets to fly across Atlantic, 6 RAF de Havilland Vampires

1933 Congress passes 1st minimum wage law (33 cents per hour)

1928 1st televised tennis match

1912 1st foreign feature film exhibited in U.S. - "Queen Elizabeth" - New York
City

1859 Paper bag manufacturing machine patents by William Goodale, Massachusetts

1817 1st flower show held, Dannybrook, County Cork, Ireland

1785 1st manned flight by gas balloon in Netherlands


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To read Today in History, bookmark and visit regularly:
http://team1uae.blogspot.com/search/label/01%20Today%20in%20History

Hope you all enjoy reading in brief what happened this day in history. Looking at each of those events, allow us to travel back many years and imagine what was done then and how far we travelled till this date. Thank you in advance to receive your comments, if any.

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My Letters - GULF TODAY - Simple lessons of life

To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor

Today in History - 11 July

1962 1st transatlantic TV transmission via satellite (Telstar I)

1801 French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons discovers his 1st comet

Today in History - 10 July

2005 Luxembourg accepts a referendum on the E.U. constitution

1981 CERN achieves 1st proton-antiproton beam collision (570 GeV)

1966 U.S. launches Orbiter 1 to the Moon

1962 Telstar, 1st geosynchronous communications satellite, launched

1958 1st parking meter installed in England (625 installed)

1956 U.S. performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

1949 1st practical rectangular TV tube announced-Toledo, Oh

1933 1st police radio system operated, Eastchester Township, New York

1892 1st concrete-paved street built, Bellefountaine, Ohio

1797 1st U.S. frigate, the "United States," is launched in Philadelphia

1629 1st non-Separatist Congregational Church in U.S. founded (Salem, MA)

552 Origin of Armenian calendar

Today in History - 09 July

1991 South Africa readmitted to Olympics

1957 Discovery of element 102 (Nobelium) announced

1955 1st black executive on White House staff, E. Frederic Morrow

1953 1st helicopter passenger service, New York City

1944 World's largest circus tent catches fire at Ringling Brother's - Barnum and Bailey 2nd performance, 168 die (Hartford Conn)

1916 1st cargo submarine to cross Atlantic arrives in U.S. from Germany

1877 1st Wimbledon tennis championship is held

1815 1st natural gas well in U.S. is discovered

1815 King Louis XVIII leaves Ghent for France

Today in History - 08 July

2007 Boeing launches it's newest aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

1933 Public Works Administration becomes effective

1900 1st night baseball, league game (Zanesville at Grand Rapids)

1889 Wall Street Journal begins publishing

1870 Congress authorizes registration of trademarks

1797 1st U.S. senator, William Blount of Tennessee, expelled by impeachment

1796 U.S. State Department issues 1st American passport

1654 1st Jewish colonist arrive in U.S. (Jacob Barsimson in Manhattan)

1497 Vasco da Gama departs for trip to India

951 Paris is founded

Today in History - 07 July

1986 IBM-PC DOS Version 3.2 (updated) released

1981 1st solar-powered aircraft, Solar Challenger, crosses English Channel

1972 1st women FBI members sworn in (Susan Lynn Roley and Joanne E Pierce)

1923 University of Delaware invents "junior year abroad" (at Sorbonne)

1891 Travelers checks patents

1802 1st comic book "The Wasp," is published

1550 Chocolate introduced

Today in History - 06 July

1954 Elvis Presley records his 1st hit, "That's All Right"

1924 1st photo sent experimentally across Atlantic by radio, U.S. - England

Photo Speaks - Branches of a Date Palm Tree

Photo Speaks - Branches of a Date Palm Tree

A signal break - i.e. a short wait at the traffic signal gave me an opportunity to take these photos. Ever ready as they as, like the 007 of the James Bond, my Sony T series camera comes handy many times. The photos below are the results of a sleek camera and an interest to explore the nature.

Today in History - 05 July

1983 Woman gives birth to baby 84 days after brain death in Roanoke, Virginia

1935 1st "Hawaii Calls" radio program is broadcast

1922 1st general election in Netherlands

1922 Women 1st vote in Dutch elections, Christian parties win

1841 Thomas Cook opens 1st travel agency

1643 1st recorded tornado in U.S. (Essex County, Massachusetts)

My Letters - GULF TODAY - Shun Negativity

To read my letters to the news, please bookmark and visit Letters to the Editor

Today in History - 04 July

1997 U.S. space probe Pathfinder lands on Ares Vallis Mars

1996 HotMail, a free internet E-mail service begins

1959 Cayman Islands separated from Jamaica, made a crown colony

1946 Philippines gains independence from U.S.

1931 1st fireworks are held at Cleveland Stadium

1931 1st trailside museum opens in Cleveland Metroparks

1914 1st U.S. motorcycle race (300 miles, Dodge City Ks)

1886 1st scheduled transcontinental passenger train reaches Pt Moody, BC

1884 1st U.S. bullfight held (Dodge City Ks)

1884 Statue of Liberty presented to U.S. in Paris

1876 1st public exhibition of electric light in San Francisco

1865 1st edition of "Alice in Wonderland" is published

1789 1st U.S. tariff act

Today in History - 03 July

1987 2 men became 1st hot-air balloon travelers to cross Atlantic

1939 Ernst Heinkel demonstrates 800-kph rocket plane to Hitler

1929 Dunlop Latex Development Laboratories made foam rubber

1928 1st color TV broadcast in London (John Logic Baird)

1886 1st New York Tribune printing using 1st commercial linotype machine

1886 In Germany, Karl Benz drives 1st automobile

1884 Dow Jones published it's 1st stock avg

1839 1st state normal school in U.S. opens, Lexington, Massachusetts, with 3 students

1819 1st savings bank in U.S. (Bank of Savings in New York City) opens its doors

Today in History - 2 July

1976 Formal reunification of North and South Vietnam

1972 India and Pakistan sign peace accord

1970 1st Boeing 747 to land in Amsterdam and Brussels

1957 1st submarine designed to fire guided missiles launched, Grayback

1867 1st U.S. elevated railroad begins service, New York City

Today in History - 01 July

1997 U.K. returns Hong Kong to China

1993 1 second is added to the clock

1967 1st British color TV broadcast, on BBC 2

1967 BBC starts their World Radio Club

1960 Ghana becomes a republic

1957 International Geophysical Year begins, ends December 31, 1958

1941 1st coml TV licenses granted-W2XBS-WNBT (NBC) and WCBW (CBS), New York City

1934 1st x-ray photo of entire body, Rochester, New York

1929 U.S. Immigration law of 1924 in effect

1923 1st permanent radio network-AT&T (WEAF New York and WMAF Mass)

1907 World's 1st air force established in the U.S. Army

1903 1st Tour de France bicycle race begins

1881 1st international telephone conversation, Calais, ME-St. Stephen, NB

1877 1st edition of "Amsterdammer" published

1875 Universal Postal Union established

1874 1st Chamber accept law against child labor

1874 1st U.S. kidnapping for ransom, 4-year-old Charles Ross, $20,000

1874 1st U.S. zoo opens in Philadelphia

1847 1st U.S. postage stamps go on sale, 5 cents Franklin and 10 cents Washington,
New York City

1820 1st edition of newspaper "Courrier de la Meuse" published"

1200 In China, sunglasses are invented