Tag Archives: photography

Six Picks: highlights from India

21 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by in Golden Triangle, India, photography, travel photography

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I travel a lot but I find myself returning to India more and more. For a photographer there is nowhere more rewarding. There are surprises, some small and quirky, some funny or tragic, some vast and majestic, around every corner.

Recently I have been organizing some of my best material, compiling a single gallery of highlights from the many visits I have made over the last decade or so. It made me appreciate the distances I have covered and the variety contained in this extraordinary continent, in which the mountainous regions of the north, for example, are as different from the tropical jungles of the south as Norway is from Spain. There are common threads running through India, of history and culture, but the landscapes and traditions vary immensely from one area to another.

So far I have added well over 1,000 images to my India gallery, which is on my website at this link:

http://timbirdphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/India/G0000irlXmGr5Dyg/

I still have to add several hundred more images, from places like Varanasi, Srinagar in Kashmir, Haridwar and Mumbai, and complete the inclusion of key words and other info, so it’s a work in progress. I’m well on my way to making it one of the most comprehensive single galleries of photographs from India available anywhere.

Meanwhile, here are a few samples:

kanchenjunga

The peak of Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, illuminated at sunrise as seen from Darjeeling in Assam. The peak itself is across the border in Nepal but the mountain is a precious cultural icon to Indians, too. 

mamallapuram2

Fishermen on the beach at Mamallapuram. This small town, on the coast of the Bay of Bengal between Chennai and Pondicherry, is famous for its ancient temple carvings, but I spent more time photographing the fishermen early in the morning and in the evening than looking at the carvings.

jama-masjid-mosque

The Jama Masjid mosque in Old Delhi is reckoned to be the biggest place of Muslim worship in South Asia and was built under the rule of the 17th century Mughul emperor, Shah Jahan.

subrata

At its most colourful, there is no more dazzling country on the planet than India. This is my friend Subrata at her wedding in the state of Assam in the northeast. I wanted to photograph her all day, she looked so stunning. Sorry, Subrata!

amritsar-punjab-golden-temple

A Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. 

india-agra-taj-mahal

Like the Golden Temple, the Taj Mahal at Agra lives up to the hype. The cool marble changes shade and mood during the day and is especially mysterious in early morning mist and dazzling in the late afternoon.

I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of India and introduction to my photos. If you are interested in taking advantage of my considerable photo resources from India, please get in touch through my website at www.timbirdphotography.com  And of course, I would be delighted if you follow this occasional blog. Thanks for dropping in!

Six Picks: highlights of 2016 – my Christmas gift to you!

25 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by in Finland, India, lapland, photography, tourism, Travel, travel photography, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Christmas Day 2016 and I’m in a generous gift-giving mood, so for my review blog for the year I’m giving you not six, not seven, but EIGHT pictures. Well, that includes the header above, taken one November morning as the sun’s rays spread across the third highest mountain in the world, Kanchenjunga, from the West Bengal hill station of Darjeeling.

It’s been another exciting year with some amazing assignments and adventures. Here are a few highlights – well, seven to be exact:

crimboblog-6575

Reijo Jääskeläinen runs the Levi Husky Park near Levi in Finnish Lapland. In January I visited Lapland to write a story about how this part of Finland is becoming popular with film makers – with animals among the acting casts.

crimboblog-2750

In May I went to the one-time Finnish military island of Örö. It’s a spring tradition for myself and a group of friends to ‘conquer’ a different Baltic island. Because access was limited to the military for many years, Örö’s environment is especially pristine.

kaboki

My visit to Japan included a tour of the mountainous region north of Nagoya, where I went behind the scenes at a Kabuki theatre.

crimboblog-1850

Northern Kerala in India is the exclusive location of the weird and wonderful Theyyam ritual, a colourful spectacle involving several hours of make-up and an attempt by participants to become  inhabited or possessed by the deities they impersonate. Extraordinary.

crimboblog-9494

In the summer I found myself in Belfast in Northern Ireland for the first time, taking a tour in Billy Scott’s black cab around the city. This stop was at the Peace Wall which separates the Republican Falls Road and Loyalist Shankill Road communities.

sicily-volcanoes-tb-b-6463

Capturing this shot of the Stromboli volcano erupting  in October was something a ‘bucket list’ moment. I’ve seen volcanoes smoking and steaming in Asia and all over Central America but I’d never seen or shot a full scale eruption before.

crimboblog-1089

I was honoured to attend the wedding of friends Drahkya and Subrata in the town of Nagaon in Assam, India in November. The hospitality of my hosts was overwhelming and the occasion was touching and colourful, and an opportunity to make new friends.

So where next? Lapland again, a voyage on a working icebreaker in the Baltic, and another India adventure are planned so far, but new years always bring new surprises. Watch this space…! And best wishes to all ‘visitors’ for a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Six picks: the Theyyam in northern Kerala

22 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by in India, photography, travel photography

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

A lamentably occasional photo blog in which I share some samples from my archives at www.timbirdphotography.com .

Did you miss me? I’ve been away from here for far too long but I’ve had lots of adventures with my camera while I’ve been away. I don’t have a good excuse for not posting for a while apart from other creative distractions going on – more news of those to come. I shall try to make up for lost time in the coming weeks with some photo selections that I hope you’ll enjoy.

I’ve been sifting through my archives and amazing myself at all the extraordinary things I’ve seen and the places I’ve visited since the last time I posted anything. Top of my list is the Theyyam ritual ‘performance’, for want of a better word, which you’ll only find in the northern part of the Indian state of Kerala. This is very much a living tradition, a ritual of great significance to local people, not just staged for tourists. There are often several Theyyams being performed each night during the winter season at shrines, many of them in remote villages. Theyyams can continue through the course of a night from dusk to dawn, and sometimes even longer.

An important part of the ritual is the preparation, in which intricate make-up and elaborate costumes are applied to the ‘actors’, whose aim over the course of the enactment is to actually become the deity that they represent, not just play its part. The trance into which they attempt to enter is induced to the accompaniment of frenetic drumming. Only men and boys are permitted to represent the characters, and only members of the Dalit or low-caste community are allowed to serve as actors. It is a rare case of Dalits being held traditionally in great respect by members of higher castes.

I stayed near the small fishing town of Kannur and attended three different Theyyams during my visit.

theyyamblog-1680

Making up is very hard to do: face and body decorations preceding the Theyyam can take several hours and is a highly skilled art form in itself.

theyyamblog-1727

After make-up, dressing up. Costumes are very colourful, and very heavy.

theyyamblog-9435-2

A Theyyam character (there are hundreds of them) ready to ‘perform’.

theyyamblog-0118

The character ‘actors’ need plenty of stamina.

theyyamblog-1831

Some Theyyams involve dancing and the acting out of ritual scenes.

theyyamblog-1880

Assistants provide support as the characters ‘become’ the deities they represent.

If you’d like to see more of my Theyyam photos, click here to visit a gallery on my website.

All photos produced with Fujifilm X-Series cameras and Fujinon lenses.

Please follow this blog and watch out for the next edition!

Six picks: Motion Pictures – a travel photographer’s companion

12 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

eBook

My eBook – out now on Amazon

I’m returning to Six Picks after a long absence with the great news that my eBook, ‘Motion Pictures – a travel photographer’s companion’, is now available on Amazon. Here’s the blurb:

“Designed for viewing on colour devices, this is a richly illustrated, beautifully designed companion to anyone whose twin passions are travel and photography. The book contains tips, advice and anecdotes by experienced award-winning photographer and writer Tim Bird, illustrated with his own colour photos, and featuring sections by three top guest photographers. An entertaining and inspiring companion rather than a ‘how-to’ manual, this eBook discusses cultural issues encountered when using your camera in exotic locations as well as practical shooting situations.”

I’m hoping to follow up with Apple and Kobo versions, although the publishing processes of both platforms are presenting various frustrating obstacles to this. It’s available on different Amazon national sites, including the USA, Mexico, India, Germany, France and Australia. I’m donating a euro for every copy sold to the very worthy charity in Nepal, Moving Mountain School Bag.

The eBook will make a perfect companion for anyone joining my fabulous photo tour to Assam in April 2016. Still places available for what promises to be the adventure of a lifetime: click here and here to learn more and contact me at timothy.bird@kolumbus.fi when you’ve decided to join me!

Other great news includes my award from the British Guild of Travel Writers as Photographer of the Year 2015, presented at a gala dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London on the eve of the World Travel Market. It’s the second time I’ve won this award – the first was in 2012 – and I’m thrilled to be recognized by such a prestigious organization. This news was followed by more good news, namely that I have two photos included in the finalist list for the Travel Photographer of the Year awards and one shortlisted in Outdoor Photographer of the Year. The winners will be announced in December.

Here are the winning four shots from the BGTW award:

bgtw_15b003

Light installation at Amsterdam’s Light Festival.

bgtw_15b004

Festival of Arts and Culture in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Mending nets at a Longhouse community in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia.

Mending nets at a Longhouse community in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia.

Celebrating boy drummers at a Muslim festival in Jaipur, India

Celebrating boy drummers at a Muslim festival in Jaipur, India

Here are a couple of my own shots from the eBook, two of many from a richly illustrated design which is the work of my talented friend Ea Söderberg, director of Hapate Design:

bali

Working in a Balinese rice paddy.

Ceiling and frescoes of St Isaac's Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia.

Ceiling and frescoes of St Isaac’s Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia.

If you splash out the modest sum for my eBook you’ll see plenty more of my work and share some of my ideas and stories about travel photography. Feedback welcome, and if you do make a purchase, I’d be eternally grateful for a review on Amazon too.

Over and out for now – watch this space for more news about my photo tour to Assam!

Info for photo gear nerds (like myself): All photos made with Fujifilm equipment, XPro1 and XT1 bodies with various lenses, although mainly 18-55mm f2.8-4 zoom.

Six Picks: Presenting Bird’s Eye Photo Tours

23 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by in India, photography, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

A photo blog providing a quick distraction in the form of six images from the files at www.timbirdphotography.com

I’m taking the opportunity in this Six Picks to announce the launch of an exciting new venture, Bird’s Eye Photo Tours, which I am planning in cooperation with Intrepid Travel. The first adventure sets off in April 2016 to the state of Assam in north-east India. Initial details of the tour itinerary are listed at Bird’s Eye Photo Tours  – I’ll be adding to these later – and if after reading this you’re interested in joining our compact group of eight photo enthusiasts, just send me an email at timothy.bird@kolumbus.fi or contact me using the comment form below and I’ll tell you more. You need an adventurous spirit, an interest in and basic competence in the basics of photography, and a willingness to accept and embrace India’s special culture shocks. Here are some highlights to whet your appetite:

  • the colourful Bihu festival celebrations
  • the hidden side of Dibrugarh’s temples
  • meeting the residents of the world’s largest river island, Majuli
  • capturing images of colourful local tribes
  • seeking the one-horned rhinoceros in Kaziranga National Park
  • sunrise from river boats in Nameri National Park

I passed through a small part of Assam once on the way to the mountain state of Sikkim, but I didn’t spend enough time there to do much photography. But as my compact but loyal readership will know, I am a regular visitor to India. So in this issue of Six Picks I’m taking the opportunity to delve into the archives and share some previously unseen shots from Indian adventures hinting at the limitless diversity of cultures and geography that this extraordinary country contains. Here goes:

The ceremony of closing of the border with Pakistan near Amritsar has become a tourist attraction. The soldiers are staring towards Pakistan, where a similarly flamboyant guard contingent is staring back at them.

The ceremony of closing of the border with Pakistan near Amritsar has become a tourist attraction. The soldiers are staring towards Pakistan, where a similarly flamboyant guard contingent is staring back at them.

A bather in the Ganges at sunrise on the main day of the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival at Allahabad.

A bather in the Ganges at sunrise on the main day of the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival at Allahabad.

Rope for sale at the Sabai grass market in Odissa.

Rope for sale at the Sabai grass market in Odissa.

Goat herder - and goats - in the Rajasthan countryside near Jodhpur.

Goat herder – and goats – in the Rajasthan countryside near Jodhpur.

Sufi worshippers at the Nizamuddin Dargah or shrine in Delhi, my favourite place in the Indian capital

Sufi worshippers at the Nizamuddin Dargah or shrine in Delhi, my favourite place in the Indian capital

Fishing boat at sunrise at Pondicherry, the one-time French colony on the south-east coast.

Fishing boat at sunrise at Pondicherry, the one-time French colony on the south-east coast.

OK, I'm feeling generous, so here's a seventh, bonus shot of the spring Holi festival in Delhi. I needed a bodyguard to stop the guys throwing paint on my camera. My camera came out of the ordeal safely - I was covered in paint myself.

OK, I’m feeling generous, so here’s a seventh, bonus shot of the spring Holi festival in Delhi. I needed a bodyguard to stop the guys throwing paint on my camera. My camera came out of the ordeal safely – I was covered in paint myself.

I realized this is just the tip of the iceberg of my Indian archives so I’ll be doing this again! If you enjoyed dropping in, please do follow the blog and tweet, twerp and google, goggle, share and like!

Follow me on Instagram at @indifreak

Click here to find me on Google+