Monthly Archives: September 2009

Back in Doha

Well, I’m back home in Doha, and I hope to start posting about the trip soon. It was a blast. I learned a lot, and I got some great pictures. I’m going through pics right now to post with some little anecdotes. Watch for a new post in the next couple of days!

Postcards from Delhi

Well, we’re getting ready to start day two of the tour.  Yesterday was an intense day of walking the crowded streets of Old Delhi, dodging auto rickshaws, motorcycles, and cars while trying to capture some good images of the people and all of the shops along the side of the road.  We also  spent some time at Jama Masjid and Nizamuddin photographing the scenery and the people there.  Here are a couple of fun pictures from the day.

Lumen Dei 2009-107

Driving in Delhi

Today will be a lot like yesterday, and then we leave for Leh tomorrow morning at 4:00 am!  This could be my last post for a while, because the internet is not as reliable up there.  Until then!

Hello from Delhi!

Well, my flight landed around 3:30 am, and I think I finally got to the hotel and to bed around 5:30 am.  I was all ready to sleep in, but the overly helpful front desk at the hotel decided to call me at 8:15 to tell me that they were serving breakfast.  I thought about just sleeping through it, but I wanted to see if maybe people from my group were down there.

They were!  I already knew Matt Brandon, but I also got to meet David duChemin, and Ami Vitale, who will be our instructors and guides for the trip, as well as the rest of the group of participants.  I also met Gavin Gough, who is joining us for our time in Delhi.  It was pretty surreal sitting at breakfast with these great photographers and seeing how cool they are.  I’ve seen their work and have learned a whole lot from their blogs, etc., but they are totally down-to-earth and fun people.  I’m really excited about the next two weeks.

I went out with 3 of the guys that are participating in the trip today to get a little practice shooting.  We went to a Sikh shrine (can’t remember the name right now), and the weirdest thing happened:  people kept asking me to take their picture.  It was a great step into this whole thing for me, because I didn’t have to work up the courage to ask them if I could take their picture 🙂 I didn’t really know what to do.  Outside, I had people asking me to email them pictures, and a whole group of little kids actually swarmed me wanting my autograph!

Here are just a few of the pics I got today.  Remember, these are before Lumen Dei pics – I’ll be learning a lot over the next couple of weeks 🙂

This young boy came up to me to shake my hand while I was sitting down thinking about how to take pictures inside the shrine.  I then asked him and his dad if I could take their pictures.  This is one of my favorites.

300_2660

This kind old man saw me taking someone’s picture, and he asked me if I would take his.  He was very patient with me as I tried to get a good picture with the indoor lighting.  When I showed him the pictures, he thanked me.  It was unreal.

300_2691

This little 5 year old girl was hilarious.  Her mom kept trying to get her to sit still, but she just ran away and hid behind a column.  Here’s a picture I got before that happened, and I had just made come goofy face to her to try to get her to give a real smile.  I think it worked.

Smiling Girl

This is outside the shrine, where the Sikhs are drinking holy water that is said to have healing powers against things like leprosy.

Drinking the healing water

Tomorrow morning begins the first day of the tour.  I’m so excited.  I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to post before we leave for Leh in a few days, but I’ll do what I can.

Chance of a Lifetime

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a real post, so if you haven’t been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably don’t know that I’ve been getting more and more into photography.  It’s been a lot of fun and a great stress reliever.  Here is a small portfolio I’ve put together.  Also pretty soon, it’ll be a side job as I do some freelance work for Qatar Foundation‘s Campus Life, photographing their student events throughout this next year.  I already had a test run before they decided to hire me and photographed their Education City welcome event, Ya Hala.  What a great opportunity!

So, jump to today, I’m leaving tonight for a photography trek and workshop to Ladakh, India.  It’s called Lumen Dei, and it’s a 2 week trip where I’ll be joining 7 other participants and 3 professional photographers:  David duChemin, Ami Vitale, and my friend, Matt Brandon.   I’m super excited about this trip and can’t believe it’s finally here (I signed up for it at the end of last year).

Well, I’m all packed and ready to go, but I wanted to show the itinerary of what I’ll be doing over the next two weeks.  Keep in mind that the trip will be filled with instruction and wisdom-sharing from three amazing travel photographers.  It really is the chance of a lifetime!

Continue reading