Bioluminescence – Living Lights

Bioluminescence - Living Lights

Across the various beaches of Karnataka coast, the waves at night are showing a strange glow, due to bioluminescence. For many of us, the only awareness of bioluminescence—the emission of light by living organisms—is the sight of fireflies. For others, the magic moment is a “phosphorescent sea,” where myriads of microscopic sources emit flashes of … Read more

Lema Leaf Beetle

Lema Leaf Beetle

I saw this leaf beetle in my backyard feeding on the leaves of the Cheilocostus speciosus (Crepe Ginger). It has 4 tiny dark spots on their hard wing cases (elytra), two on each elytron. This corresponds to the description by Martin Jacoby back in 1908 The Fauna of British India V1: Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, this beetle … Read more

Abode of Gaudi – Barcelona Part 7

Plaça d'Espanya Panorama

Returning from our trip to Montserrat, which I had covered in my last blog we reached Plaça d’Espanya. Plaça d’Espanya is one of Barcelona’s most important squares, built on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, held at the foot of Montjuïc, in the Sants-Montjuïc district. One of the city’s biggest squares, it is the … Read more

Demystifying Flash Duration

Demystifying Flash Duration

The Flash Duration for any flash is technically is the length of time that the flash tube emits light for a single burst. Unfortunately, the flash manufacturers don’t tell you how long the actual flash duration lasts. Instead most manufacturers confuse you in their literature as the t0.5 or the t0.1 flash duration specification. The … Read more

Abode of Gaudi – Barcelona Part 6

Montserrat Mountains

Our last day at Barcelona trip, we wanted to visit Montserrat. Montserrat is a mountain top monastery in Catalonia, Spain. Situated atop an unusual rock mountain, it is very popular among Catalans, and Catholic pilgrims come from far and wide to see the Black Madonna. At 1236 meters above the valley floor, Montserrat is the … Read more

Abode of Gaudi – Barcelona Part 5

Sagrada Família

The third-day in Barcelona was covered in my last blog. During the afternoon we headed out to visit Gaudí’s greatest creation – Sagrada Família. Online Ticket was tough to get as it was being Sunday, there was quite a rush of tourists. So around 6 PM local time we could get into the church. We … Read more