Nepal

Gallery

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:31:11 +0000

Fair-well to ghandruk

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 01:42:34 +0000

After two nights stay in Ghandruk it was time to tear ourselves away from this beautiful village and trek back to Pokhara. The group found this a very special place with wonderful people and amazing scenery. Our afternoon in Ghandruk was spent in front of the laptop with a question and answer session. In the evening we again sat around a central open fire and chatted a good part of the night away.

After a good breakfast we headed off for our three hour trek to pick up the coach at the village of Nayapool. The walk was more like a easy stroll and as the trekking company that I work with provide trekking poles it was all made much easier. At Nayapool we decided to take a less used route which allowed us to cross a very long swing bridge. This also provided ample opportunity for some great photos.

When we arrived back in Pokhara it was time to get cleaned up and out for a birthday drink with Sharron. Every one was off to bed early as we had to get up for our morning flight back to Kathmandu.

In and around ghandruk

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:00:26 +0000

All the pictures on this page were shot in and around the Ghandruk area. As a photographer I could spend weeks up here and never repeat a shot. Ghandruk has real soul and you get a sense of well-being just walking around this place. I have been to Ghandruk many a time now and the locals always give me a warm welcome.

Himalayan adventure

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:07:46 +0000

After the early morning boat trip in Pokhara we set off for our trek in the Himalayas. It was a short coach trip to the start of our trek and only after a few hours of walking we arrived at the Annapurna Lodge where we would be spending our first night. The Annapurna Lodge sits just outside of the village of Birethanti and is in a idyllic picturesque setting. It makes the perfect setting to discuss photography and photoshop. After a nice meal we sat around a central open fire and shared the odd beer or two before retiring to our beds. The following morning it was up early, breakfast and on our way to Ghandruk, a five hour walk away.

Ghandruk is a beautiful village sittuated at a altitude of 2000 meters with spectacular views of the Annapurna range. The top picture of the group was taken high above Ghandruk at a Hindu temple.

Land of little communication

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:26:26 +0000

A short flight out of Kathmandu down to Pokhara has left us with no internet access so by the time these pages get uploaded they will be getting on for a week old. Much of yesterday morning was spent in the airport as our flight to Pokhara was delayed because of fog at Kathmandu . Once settled in Phokhara we took three small boats out on to lake Phewa for a afternoons fun shooting and the plan is to do the same the following morning.

The day before was spent in Bhaktapur (my second visit , the groups first). The pictures that you see here are taken in and around Bhaktapur. The very bottom picture is a shot of the sunrise on lake Phewa taken by Jo Hartwell.

our first day

Fri, 8 Feb 2008 17:05:15 +0000

Our first day was long and full on. It was time to meet the friendly people of Kathmandu and to take their pictures. I set the group free on their fist mission in the square of Patan. Patan is full of life and interest, great buildings, markets and of course people. We then moved onto Kathmandu Durba square and then through the old market place. All of the group were overwhelmed by the photographic opportunities and excited by the thought of going to Bodhnath in the afternoon. Bodhnath is a large Buddhist stupa the second largest in the world (pictured below).

Early Morning bhaktapur

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 10:22:17 +0000

Before my group arrives I was up early to head off into the city of Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur is about a hours drive from Kathmandu depending on traffic. I don’t know of any city In the world that you can compare to Bhaktapur, It’s as if time It’s self has stood still. I was lucky to arrive on a day that there was a Hindu festival and all these photos are shot from that morning. In two days time I will take the group to Bhaktapur to photograph more of the city. I hope to be posting some of their shots on this blog and maybe some of their thoughts.

This is all the time I had today to take photos as I now have to leave to pick up the first party to arrive at the airport. Tomorrow the shooting starts and I’m sure that the group will produce some stunning images.

My arrival in kathmandu

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 02:21:34 +0000

After a long and trouble free flight I arrived in Kathmandu. The flight into Kathmandu airport was truly amazing, as we approached the airport we had spectacular views of the himalayas in front of us. It took me about a hour to get through customs before been met by the tour group who whisked me off to my hotel. Driving through the streets of Kathmandu always puts a big smile on my face, frantic car horns, colours, sites and smells awake the senses. This is such a magical place that you can never lose interest in and there is always something going on, many a photo can be grabbed from the car window. After a shower a good stretch and a good nights sleep I’m now ready to take a wander around the old part of Kathmandu.

Ok I’m back now and here are the first pics, top pic is Katmandu shot from the monkey temple. Below a street trader and right a old friend of mine who I photographed last year. Tomorrow I’m off to meet the group and hope to post some of their future pictures on these pages, plus some of their comments.

The final pack

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 08:36:22 +0000

In less than a few hours I will be leaving to go to Manchester airport so it’s time to do a final check on the equipment that I'm taking. The last thing that I want is to go 6000 miles only to find that I’ve left my camera at home. Yes that’s me all over I’m the person that has to check the door three times before I can get in the car and drive away. Anyway you will see from the picture of my house that we have had snow again. We had snow in November the day before I left to go to India, lets hope this is not a pattern for the rest of the year.

The next time you will hear from me I will be in sunny Kathmandu. As I have said on the previous page the internet connections are not great, but I will try my best to keep you in touch to let you all know how we are all doing.

Nepal trip February 2008

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:08:22 +0000

I will be leaving to go to Nepal on the 4th of February to arrive ahead of the group that I will be taking. This will give me a chance to recover from the long flight and to catch up with my friends in Kathmandu. If you have read my India blog you will see a couple of changes to my equipment that I'm taking. The main difference is that I’m taking a Canon 5D with me. This will be the first time that I have travelled with this camera, the reasons for doing so is because it is light in weight and the image quality is of an exceptional standard. I’m used to using the 1Ds range of Canon cameras and will be interested to see how the 5D performs. I’ve used this camera in a studio situation and was blown away by the image quality. It shares the same full frame sensor as its professional brothers and is no bigger than a 20D ( 30D & 40D ).

The other main advantage of taking a light camera is it now allows me to take the heavy 24-70 mm f2.8 L lens. This lens is a particular favourite of mine and lives almost permanently on my 1Ds. It is a good all-rounder on a full frame sensor and is as near as close to optical perfection as you are likely to get.

Yes the Lowepro bag goes once again. I can’t say enough about this bag. It’s the next best thing to sliced bread. It’s small, sinks all my gear into it (including the Apple laptop) and is comfortable to wear on a long trek. The bag has a lot of pockets on the outside face so the gear that you use a lot can easily be accessed.

I must say one thing, unlike the India blog internet access is poor at the best of times in Nepal and I might be able to access it only once or twice on the whole of the two week trip. Also I’m writing this without the help of a professional writer but do hope you will still get a great sense and flavour for this very special country. Nepal is a magical country that once visited you will want to return time and time again. People first come to this country to see the Himalayas but return because of the warmth of the people.