Monthly Archives: October 2011

Hampi Travel
About Hampi:
Hampi is a very famous village, situated in the Northern Karnataka state of India. During the 14th century empire it was the kingdom of Vijayanagar. Now it is nestled within the ruins of Vijayanagar empire, hence sometimes it is also known as ‘Ruined City’, which is spread over an are of 26 sq km. Adorned with majestic hills and valleys it houses more than 500 monuments, which are listed as ”Group of Monuments at Hampi”, by UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Attractions at Hampi:
With its heritage monuments and temples it attracts a lot of tourists and pilgrims every year. Some of the major attractions at Hampi are:

Shri Vijayavitthala Temple:
This is an excessively beautiful temple, dedicated to Lord Vitthal (Lord Vishnu), that makes everyone speechless with its charismatic architecture. The construction of temple was started in the vicinity of King Krishna Deva Raya in 1513 AD, which continued till 1565 AD. The temple reflects the best example of Dravidian architecture style.

Stone Chariot:
Stone Chariot is located inside the Vijayavitthala temple complex. It is believed that the chariot is supposed to be carved out of a single rock. The complex carving work of the chariot is seen nowhere in the world. The chariot looks like a model of temple chariot, which is being used during a traditional procession.

Shri Virupaksha Temple:
Shri Virupaksha Temple is located in the foot hills, known as Hemakuta Hill. The temple is also called Pampapathi Temple, which is one of the most important as well as the holiest temples of the region. The origin of the temple dates back to 7th century, which houses a shrine of Lord Shiva, Lord Pampa, Bhivaneshwari Devi.

King’s Balance:
King’s Balance is also known as Tula Bhara or Tula Purushadana, which contains two lofty granite pillars of 15 feet each, supporting a 12 feet stone beam. It was used by the kings of Vijayanagara to weigh on certain occasions such as – Lunar or Solar eclipse.

Stepped Tank:
Stepped Tank is one of the most applauded remains, located in Durbar area. It is a small tank of around 22 sq m and 7 m deep, which is built of chlorite schist. It was used by the members of royal families.

Other Attractions: Akka Tangi Gudda, Anegondi, Badava Linga, Ugra Narsimha, Zenana enclosure, The Underground Temple, Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple, Hazari Rama Temple etc are the other attractions at Hampi as well as one of the most important part of Karnataka travel.

Travel Photography

Everyone loves taking travel photos to document and remember their adventures, but travel photography means more than just holiday photos, especially for the professionals. Many professional photographers, no matter what their area of expertise, often find themselves trekking around the world to explore different peoples and cultures. Here are some of Australia and New Zealand’s top photographers whose jobs take them all over the world.

Urs Buhlman – Advertising

Urs specialises in photographing cars for some of the biggest automotive companies in the world. He started travelling around Australia in his early years before beginning his international work. “In 1988 I started shooting ad work, and have eventually specialised in automotive work which took me to many countries whilst assigned on international accounts,” he says.

Stephen Dupont – Reportage

Stephen’s passion to tell the stories of marginalised people in some of the most dangerous countries in the world, has seen him travel to countries like Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Israel and Japan, to name just a few.

He says a great tip for taking photos on the go is to not underestimate compact digital cameras as a fantastic lightweight cameras you can keep in your pocket at all times while on the go.

Yervant – Weddings

Wedding photographer Yervant loves his job – and we would too if we got to have this much fun every day!

“I have to admit I love my job!” he says. “Beautiful girls, happy days, all smiles and I can shoot to my heart’s delight.”

Not to mention the opportunity to test out and experiment with the greatest EOS digital SLR cameras every day! He also says travel is a big part of his work, which is an enviable added bonus. “I am very fortunate to be able to see many parts of the world through my assignments and seminars.” You can visit his website to see what other fun he has on his photo shoots.

Chris McLennan – Travel

Chris, of course, gets to do a lot of travelling. “For the past 15 years I have been travelling the globe on numerous commissioned shoots, photographing some of the world’s most amazing people, places, wildlife and cultures in more than 30 different nations,” he says. See his internationally acclaimed work by visiting the Canon EOS Masters website.