After reading Deb's posts that so articulately tell interesting stories about our travels it is a bit of a challenge to add my 2-cents worth without sounding a bit like a pauper playing second fiddle to a queen. So, in an effort to actually add something I thought I would say a bit about the picture taking process I've been experiencing over the past months. As the guy who wears the camera on his hip and gives up the reigns every once and a while to Deb, I've come to understand the challenge of taking good pictures while you're trying to keep on trekking, avoid being run over by a car, or just look too much like a tourist.
The "point and click" Canon Powershot 1115 15 that we have has an 8x zoom and lots of settings to help counter some of the bright or dull scenes that we're shooting it, although we consistently say that the photos do not do justice to the scenes and images we are seeing in person. As we see others carrying around lots of camera gear, especially up the mountains, I can appreciate why but also am glad to have a little pouch on my hip that I can "draw" at a seconds notice and have it back in the holster before anyone has even noticed.
As we walk, the challenge I have recognized, with help from Deb, is to actually NOT take a lot of pictures but really choose the scenes or subjects that may get used for the blog and do represent the most memorable things we have seen. The problem is that some days there are so many incredible, different, new, hard to imagine images that the camera could be running all the time; I've actually taken a couple of videos lately of the trip into Kathmandu and the political gatherings, that may get published at some point...internet speed willing.
So, to all the photographers out there...and everyone is these days, my new approach is to think of my camera as having film in it and every shot has to be a keeper or it will simply be a waste of film. Wish me luck.
On another note, some of my most memorable moments in Nepal relate to, as deb said, the experience of the Singing or Healing Bowl and creating a sound that penetrates one's being and fills your soul from within. My experience in shopping for the bowl, which included several demonstrations, proved to me that the bowl really does have the power to heal. I know....sounds a bit crazy but I could feel it.
The other experience playing the DHAMNGEN with Dhechen, the son of the instrument maker, was again magical in that it felt like I was sitting around the table at Jim Martin's place in Big Bay playing tunes with the boys (and girls!) . Dhechen's jamming abilities and humour made my time with him very special. Unfortunately, I could not see buying one of his instruments and shipping or carrying it home....the memory, and photos is all I have. There's something about the musical experience that sticks in my mind like no other.
Next to music, the art of the THANGKAS, specifically the Kalachakra Mandala also has had a profound impact on me. Those that know the image, it is a detailed view of a "stupa" from above that is so full of detail that you need a magnifying glass to see all that is going on. The students and masters/monks who paint these pcs spend all day everyday sitting and painting. We visited several studios on our search for the right Thangka and once again began to appreciate the role that art, particularly painting the Thangkas places in the lives of the artists and the people who display the pieces. We now have one.
Finally, on our flight from Kath to Delhi today I was reading in a flight mag about "Expressive Art Therapy" or Arts Based Therapy (ABT) described as "using art (music, theatre, art ) in an integrated way is far more effective than using them in isolation...the use of artistic media is the centre of the healing process". The story went on to describe the impact that using a combination of art forms to assist the learning and healing process is getting more and more recognition from the scientific community as a legitimate part of the therapeutic process. This is all noted in the context of a great Skype chat we had with Ruby the other morning as she talked about her interest in what is clearly.....Arts Based Therapy....ABT...Feel the Music....and the love. xoxoxoxbar
PS...I will publish this post and attempt a video upload in a new post...wish me luck, might get messy...90MB.
The "point and click" Canon Powershot 1115 15 that we have has an 8x zoom and lots of settings to help counter some of the bright or dull scenes that we're shooting it, although we consistently say that the photos do not do justice to the scenes and images we are seeing in person. As we see others carrying around lots of camera gear, especially up the mountains, I can appreciate why but also am glad to have a little pouch on my hip that I can "draw" at a seconds notice and have it back in the holster before anyone has even noticed.
As we walk, the challenge I have recognized, with help from Deb, is to actually NOT take a lot of pictures but really choose the scenes or subjects that may get used for the blog and do represent the most memorable things we have seen. The problem is that some days there are so many incredible, different, new, hard to imagine images that the camera could be running all the time; I've actually taken a couple of videos lately of the trip into Kathmandu and the political gatherings, that may get published at some point...internet speed willing.
So, to all the photographers out there...and everyone is these days, my new approach is to think of my camera as having film in it and every shot has to be a keeper or it will simply be a waste of film. Wish me luck.
On another note, some of my most memorable moments in Nepal relate to, as deb said, the experience of the Singing or Healing Bowl and creating a sound that penetrates one's being and fills your soul from within. My experience in shopping for the bowl, which included several demonstrations, proved to me that the bowl really does have the power to heal. I know....sounds a bit crazy but I could feel it.
The other experience playing the DHAMNGEN with Dhechen, the son of the instrument maker, was again magical in that it felt like I was sitting around the table at Jim Martin's place in Big Bay playing tunes with the boys (and girls!) . Dhechen's jamming abilities and humour made my time with him very special. Unfortunately, I could not see buying one of his instruments and shipping or carrying it home....the memory, and photos is all I have. There's something about the musical experience that sticks in my mind like no other.
Next to music, the art of the THANGKAS, specifically the Kalachakra Mandala also has had a profound impact on me. Those that know the image, it is a detailed view of a "stupa" from above that is so full of detail that you need a magnifying glass to see all that is going on. The students and masters/monks who paint these pcs spend all day everyday sitting and painting. We visited several studios on our search for the right Thangka and once again began to appreciate the role that art, particularly painting the Thangkas places in the lives of the artists and the people who display the pieces. We now have one.
Finally, on our flight from Kath to Delhi today I was reading in a flight mag about "Expressive Art Therapy" or Arts Based Therapy (ABT) described as "using art (music, theatre, art ) in an integrated way is far more effective than using them in isolation...the use of artistic media is the centre of the healing process". The story went on to describe the impact that using a combination of art forms to assist the learning and healing process is getting more and more recognition from the scientific community as a legitimate part of the therapeutic process. This is all noted in the context of a great Skype chat we had with Ruby the other morning as she talked about her interest in what is clearly.....Arts Based Therapy....ABT...Feel the Music....and the love. xoxoxoxbar
PS...I will publish this post and attempt a video upload in a new post...wish me luck, might get messy...90MB.
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