Hassan being a transit town doesn’t sound like an ideal destination for a photographer. Surrounded by scenic places like Sakleshpur, Chikmaglur, Belur and Halebid, Hassan isn’t going to get a lot of attention from photographers. But I was in for a pleasant surprise as friends and I were driving down to Halebid one early morning. Having stayed over at Hassan, we were on the road to Halebid by about 6 am when we came across some beautiful light bathing green fields on either side of the highway. Although our aim was to cover Halebid and Belur before the crowds got there, we couldn’t resist stopping the car to explore a small hillock. Much to our surprise, tucked away behind the hillock was a vast expanse of beautiful fields. Windmills towered at a distance, we we watched the morning light sweep over the grand vista in front of us.

There was no one around, and I took my own sweet time to compose and shoot many frames – just the way I like working on my landscape imagery. I used my Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS Mark II and Canon 17-40L along with Lee GNDs to create a variety of compositions. This frame was taken with the wide angle, and summaries the coming together of a beautiful sight, lovely light, and an undisturbed environment, all conducive for the creative juices to flow.