Welcome to Cochin Shooter!

I'm an enthusiastic amateur photographer. I set up this site to give my photographs an online home. Click on the links on the left sidebar to view my photos. I like shooting insects, butterflies, and street scenes. Butter Licks (from butterfly and limerick) features insect photos with limericks (!), Street Licks features street photography, and Travel Licks travel photos. I live in the port city of Cochin (Kochi is the official name) in Kerala, India. Street Licks paints a portrait of the city with photos.

A few words about Butter Licks. I sweated blood over many of the photos. Most were taken with a Canon point-and-shoot in macro mode, and I had to get close to the target to fill the frame. This was incredibly difficult sometimes; my approach was incremental: I would first take a shot from a distance, then take a few steps forward and shoot again ... the goal was to shoot the insect in macro mode with the camera lens inches away from the insect. I now have a Nikon with a telephoto lens (update: and now a tele-macro lens too), which makes the process much easier. Again, most of the insects I've shot were found in the city. I've not been on any butterfly-hunting expeditions.

For each insect featured on Butter Licks, I'll post a companion limerick; or shall we say, five lines with the limerick's rhyming scheme. Why? Well, I love to play with words, and I'm fascinated by limericks, so I thought I'd unite the two interests. And there is the differentiation angle: How many blogs are out there that bring together insects and verse?? But the real reason is to express the emotion I felt on taking the photo; taking photos of insects requires lots of patience and hard work. What could be more natural than to celebrate the joy of having taken a good photo with some verse? (Update: I'm feeling the strain of having to compose a limerick for each insect photo, and so might have to pass on some photos. Your understanding is appreciated. :-))

Don't think much of my compositions? Please feel free to compose your own own verse and send it to me. If I like it, I'll publish it under your name. Suggestions to fine-tune my compositions are also welcome.

Some of the insects in Butter Licks remain unidentified. I'll be grateful for anyone who can help with the identification.Feel free to comment, be it to praise, advise, criticize, or even condemn, via the contact form. Let me know if you'd like to use any of my pictures.

A word about the header photograph: it was taken at dusk from the main Ernakulam boat jetty. Colors often clash violently during sunsets in Cochin and bleed all over the sky and into the waters of the lagoon.

Thanks for stopping by.