Shedani is a scenic place on outskirts of Pune. Located around 55 km to the west of Pune, it is a marvel during rainy season. Flanked by the backwaters of Mulshi dam on one side and tall rocky cliffs on the other, Shedani is a perfect stage for a superb picturesque landscape.
Shedani is a perfect place to do Monsoon and Macro photography!
One can learn photography during the monsoon workshops conducted at Shedani.
To reach Shedani, one has to drive over a small bridge by the side of the Mulshi dam. The steep winding climb gives a fair idea about the scenic drive one is about to experience. The above photograph is taken from the top of the climb. It shows Mulshi dam and part of backwaters. Photograph is clicked with a Canon 7D camera on Aperture priority mode.
The road to Shedani is not a very smooth ride. Road is full of potholes. A very narrow road with soft soil banking, overflowing waters speeding through the road and at many places even fully covering the potholes, gives the experience of almost dirt track driving. The rocky cliffs on the right side of the road show a series of waterfalls.
The above photograph is of one of these waterfalls. One can walk right up to the waterfall in about 10 min from the road.
The rapidly flowing streams are almost everywhere. From compounds of roadside houses, buttress walls along paddy fields are all overflowing. The adjoining photograph is that of one such stream. The shot is taken by using ND 8 filter with the basic 18-55 mm lens. The ND 8 filter drops the exposure by
three stops, thereby allowing slower shutter speed. The settings help creating the smooth, misty texture of the flowing water.
Apart from the streams and waterfalls Shedani also is rich in micro-organism world. There is a wide variety of insects, butterflies, snails. All these make excellent subjects for macro photography. Hanging water drops with remarkable reflections inside are also an endless source of captivating subjects for macro photography.
Driving directions to reach Shedani:
Drive from Pune towards Mulshi. Just before the Mulshi ghat, there is a place named Ghusal Khamb. Take the right diversion here and continue driving to Shedani. The same road goes all the way up to Lonavla, via the famous Amby Valley.