Across the desert regions of the American Southwest there stretches a wilderness still unclenched by the fingers of urban modernity. A place where you can look for miles and never see another human being.
In the midst of that wilderness is where I spent the last several days, celebrating the Christmas holiday with family who make their home there. It’s a refreshing thing to separate from the trappings of city life and enjoy a bit of quiet, and I’m now convinced that we don’t spend nearly enough time in silence, what with the incessant barrage of noise and television and busyness constantly pressing in on us…
Anyway, sorry I digress. Perhaps we should all take some time this week to get away from the noise of life and find some silence. Until then, enjoy these photos.
The image above is a 360 degree view of “The Ranch” as it is affectionately known, and the images below are from the daily walk around the property.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I hope you enjoyed feasting, family, and whatever other traditions you have for the holiday. Above are a couple snaps of our dinner preparations for the day. Great food as always! Thanks to my grandma, mom, and aunts for that! And now that Thanksgiving Day is quickly coming to a close, I’m looking forward to spending the next few days enjoying my long weekend. I’m also going to be playing with the video function on Nikon’s D90 for the weekend, which I’m seriously looking forward to. I’ll post some footage later for ya.
Okay, have a great weekend!
Due to popular demand, I now have postcards for you from Kashmir, India! Like the Ladakh cards, these come in packs of 20, each pack including 10 different images (2 cards of each image). They’re 4×6 with a beautiful gloss finish. $25 per pack. Keep them for yourself or share them with someone else!
To get yours, just click the button below, which will take you to PayPal for your online payment. You can use a credit card or a PayPal account if you have one. Enjoy!
I’ve had several requests for postcards of my images, so today they’re here! I’ve created this first set using images from my most recent trip to Ladakh, India. They come in packs of 20, and each pack includes 10 different images (yep, when you do the math that means you get two cards of each image). They’re 4×6 and printed with a gorgeous glossy finish. You can frame them, write notes on them, use them as postcards, give them as gifts, or anything else you can think of. $25 per pack.
Instructions: The button below will take you to PayPal, where you’ll do your online payment (you can use your PayPal account if you have one, or just pay with a credit card). Your order will be printed and put in the mail within four days. Enjoy!!
Well, I’ve just returned from Photoshop World and I have to say that Ladakh to Delhi to Phoenix to Las Vegas in four days is kindof, ahem, insane. I spent three days mostly trying to hide in the hotel and conference center to shield myself from as much of Vegas as possible. I had a great time at Photoshop World, though, and it was definitely worth all the head-spinning!
The first day of the conference, I got to have lunch with David duChemin, Matt Brandon, and Chris Orwig – author of Visual Poetry, instructor at Brooks Institute of Photography, and all-around cool guy. As the four of us, gathered from our different corners of the world, sat together in Las Vegas, we discovered we have more in common than we thought, and we just had to marvel at the smallness of the world we live in. Anyway, I’ve sat in on a couple of Chris’s talks at Photoshop World, and he never fails to inspire me. This is a guy who speaks from the heart and really feels deeply about his work. Do yourself a favor and wander on over to Chris’s site at www.chrisorwig.com.
On another note, at last year’s Photoshop World, I was lucky enough to be given the Vincent Versace Guru Award for Photographic Excellence, presented by photographer Vincent Versace and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Since this blog didn’t exist back then and since you’d probably like some photos around here right about now, here are some pics from the awards ceremony…
(By the way, that’s John Paul Caponigro up there with me. Vincent Versace wasn’t at the conference due to a family emergency, so JPC presented the award in his stead at the Photoshop World opening keynote.)
At each Photoshop World, one attendee is selected for this honor and showered with an unbelievable amount of prizes. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Tom Bell!
For my last Lumen Dei post, I’m going to leave you with some shots of me and my fellow travelers. As you can tell, we didn’t have much fun at all….. 
Photo of me by Fabrice Herpain
David duChemin – with his nice face on
The fearless Ami Vitale
Aww… Matt Brandon
The diffuser panel… an endless source of fascination for young monks
And… goats on the highway…
Alright! Well, that’s it for now. I’m headed to Las Vegas tomorrow for Photoshop World. Should be a great time! See you when I get back…
There’s a place in Ladakh, near Pakistan, known as the Nubra Valley. To get there, you have to drive on narrow roads full of switchbacks and steep dropoffs (without guardrails). That is, you have to drive through the Himalayas. Not to mention over Khardung La, the highest driveable road in the world.
But once you get there, you find a landscape that is as surreal as it is breathtaking. Encircled by sky-scraping Himalayan peaks, blanketed by moon-like rocks, and bathed in high-altitude sunlight, it’s a landscape that few can forget.
It was here, in this incredible landscape, that we did one of our last and most memorable photo shoots. I call this one Camels in the Sand. Um… for obvious reasons.
Hope you enjoy these.
On a trip like this, the days are packed and each becomes a whirlwind of activity. In one day we visited two monasteries in the morning and did a photo shoot with several Ladakhi dancers in the afternoon.
Like I said, I was surprised by the number of tourists in the area, and the monasteries were no exception. Almost everywhere we went, we found ourselves among others who had come to see the same exotic culture we had, and as I sat in these tiny, sacred Buddhist prayer halls, on either side of me were inevitably scores of other foreigners pointing and clicking away with their cameras. I’m not sure exactly what to do about this reality, but I can’t help but wonder about the way we travel. Whatever we do, may we make every effort in our power to respect people and avoid being intrusive.
Despite the level of tourism, however, I found the monasteries to possess a wonderful tranquility. Not to mention the stunning beauty of these ancient structures, full of color and beautified by age. The monks in these images were kind enough to allow our group to photograph them as they did their morning prayers. It was a beautiful experience and one I won’t soon forget.
In the afternoon we had the unique opportunity to photograph Ladakhi dancers wearing traditional wedding attire, and I have to say that the costumes were as charming and delightful as the people.
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Oh and, uh, just for kicks… here’s one of the always-classy David duChemin. Nice, David!
From Delhi, we got on a plane, took a breathtaking flight over the Himalayas, and landed in a whole new world: the Ladakhi city of Leh. Near both Tibet and Pakistan, the international borders of this region are disputed, and there were rumors of impending conflict the day we arrived. There turned out to be no actual conflict, though we did find what was, to me, a surprising number of tourists. We were clearly not the only ones who had come to experience the beauty of this place.
We spent a morning and evening photographing at a nearby Buddhist monastery. It sits on a high hilltop overlooking the town, as if standing guard. I’ve found monasteries in Ladakh to be uniquely serene places, and as I sat there on the mountainside overlooking the city, prayer flags softly blowing against my face in the wind, and surrounded by the snow-capped Himalaya, I couldn’t help but look around and smile in wonder. What a place!
After photographing, we walked down the side of the mountain into town. A whole different experience for the lungs at 11,000 ft. elevation! Definitely worth it, though.
Well, I’m officially back from India and doing my best to fight off jetlag (I have to say, the jetlag is winning). It was a FANTASTIC trip, and I’m still blown away by the amazing people I got to spend the last two weeks with. I miss them already. There’s something about traveling together that brings people closer, and I’m coming away from this trip with 11 people that I now count as friends. I was also lucky enough to learn from and work alongside our three incredible leaders: Matt Brandon, David duChemin, and Ami Vitale. A huge thanks to them for all that they gave on this trip. They are amazing people and, not to mention, three never-ending sources of inspiration to me.
Alright, now it’s time for photos! I’m going to be posting a recap of the trip in several posts over the next few days, so keep checking back for more. Okay, now for days 1 & 2…..
We all met up in Delhi, where we spent two days walking and photographing. We were also joined by photographer Gavin Gough for these two days, which was definitely an added bonus! Check out Gavin’s site here.
For those who have never been to Delhi, it is one chaotic place. I spent my two days there trying to photograph while also constantly doing my best to avoid being run over by bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, cars, busses, pedestrians, and cows. If you’re an introvert, Delhi is the place to go to be overwhelmed. But for all its craziness, Delhi is visually rich. No matter where you are, there’s something interesting around every corner. These images are from an area known as Old Delhi…
by nicoleg
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