Click play to see all of Art’s favorites from Kerala, or click HERE
India is just such a colorful and amazingly diverse country. We’ve been traveling in Kerala, home to vast tea plantations, and then in the arid border regions of Kutch. One tribe has beautifully painted homes—these people are artisans who stay in one place. The others live in huts made from sticks, hides and plastic and are truly nomadic, looking for forage for their herds of cattle and camels.
For the last couple weeks I have been traveling in India with some very good friends. As a last minute change in our itinerary, we decided to head off to Kanha, where we enjoyed seeing the abundant wildlife and the adjacent villages. Then we headed off to Mumbai and the Dhobi Ghat (the world’s largest laundry), which couldn’t be any more different than the bucolic countryside.
Click the play button to see all the photos, or click HERE
Though I am on my way to Thailand, I am able to share some photos from Sri Lanka before take off. While staying in the beautiful Southern Province I fell ill with a terrible head cold. A few days out capturing the beauty- the rest of my days were spent close to the hotel. As you can see- it wasn’t such a horrible sick chamber! (Click the play button below the photo to see them all.)
Art was able to travel to Kenya and visit with the Maasai during their Emorata ceremony. A circumcision ceremony is the most vital initiation of all rites of passage in the Maasai society. This initiation is performed after puberty in a large group of young men called an age-set. Young men are eager to be circumcised and become warriors. Once the boys become warriors they resume responsibility of security for their territory. Circumcision, or emorata, initiation elevates an individual from childhood to adulthood. In order for the boy to be initiated he must prove himself to the community. The boy must exhibit signs of a grown man, by carrying a heavy spear, herding large herd of livestock, etc. The boy must endure the operation in silence. The healing process will take 3–4 months, and boys must remain in black clothes for a period of 4–8 months.
Art is just returning from a quick trip to the Galapagos Islands. He was really looking forward to getting great images of the Marine iguanas- which it appears was a success! Also some images of the rich landscape as well as the enormous Galapagos tortoise.
With the news of the storms sweeping across the North Atlantic I was very concerned about our chances to see the northern lights. We were lucky to get a break in the weather this week. We really only had one viable opportunity for the Northern Lights, two nights ago the clouds unexpectedly cleared after rain and clouds all day. My best image is a fairly rare shot that shows the Milky Way with the red and green lights, shot at 1 am.
As an unexpected bonus we were guided by two mountaineers up onto a glacier for a 3 hour trek to an ice cave. Using ropes, crampons and ice axes, we followed a small river down under the edge of the glacier on hands and knees until we came to large opening that provided the only light. We were over 100 feet below the ice surface which was covered in ash and it was nearly pitch black. I was cold ,wet and struggling with helmet straps that prevented me from effectively using my glasses. All in the name of “art.”
All in all, an excellent trip; the weather held until we were done shooting and now it is snowing; it’s a good thing all those adorable Icelandic horses have grown their shaggy winter coats!
We are having a great trip in Iceland. I brought this group here for the northern lights, but since it has been cloudy we have been enjoying the spectacular landscape and, of course, the ubiquitous horses. It should be clearing up tomorrow and there has been great solar flare activity, which bodes well for seeing the aurora.
Locations: New York City; Amazonas, Brazil; British Columbia, Canada; Katmai National Park, Alaska; Astoria, Oregon; Vava’u, Tonga; Auckland, New Zealand; Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana and South Africa
Mashatu has been an amazing and productive trip as I had hoped. We had some wonderful opportunities with elephants, lions, and especially leopards. Now off to MalaMala!
