Morning in Goa – Siolim

Early mornings in Goa are were like nowhere else in the world. Not long ago, Goans arose to a serene landscape serenaded by birdsong. We took the quietude and beauty of our surroundings as our birthright. But good things don’t last long (especially in today’s India). The assault on Goa‘s environment by builders & miners in cahoots with local politicos, and the unsustainable influx of outsiders into Goa have lead to a calamitous depreciation in what was perhaps the last surviving idyll in the land. In this series, I shall attempt to convey the visual essence of the Goan morning as we have known it, now on its last legs.

The present post features images made earlier this month from the bridge on River Chapora in Siolim. This is a magical locale, one that I have staked out numerous times. As the position of the sun changes through the year, so do the crepuscular atmospherics leading into sunrise. February mornings bring low hanging mist to the terrain. For a different take from another time of the year, see this.

Since the height of my tripod barely exceeded the height of the fence ringing the bridge, I had to perforce shoot handheld. As luck would have it, on this particular morning a fishing vessel appositely moored provided foreground interest to the composition. Upon the sun’s arrival, the first rays illuminating the coconut trees behind me in the village of Chopdem was another sight to savour.

Sunrise over River Chapora in Siolim
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50mm f/2 Makro Planar + Singh-Ray Reverse GND Filter

Mornin' in Siolim
5D Mark II, 135L

Coconut fronds lit by the first rays of the sun
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50mm f/2 Makro Planar