I’ve had a few days off from shooting. In fact I haven’t shot a single frame since last Friday. Some of you may view this as me being lazy, but its far from the truth. When I was at Kumbh mela I shot literally thousands of frames, often from sunrise to sunset. Needless to say the images in my ‘To process’ collection was mounting up and I was burning out, so many people, so much noise, so much to shoot, it never stopped, for weeks.

So I’ve taken this time not just to put my camera down and give my back and shoulders a rest from such weight but to work through my images and closely examine what I’ve shot and more importantly what I haven’t shot. I’ll be back shooting the the Kumbh mela shortly and I’ll go into it knowing what’s possible and what’s missing the shots I’ve already got. Photographers are spoilt a little by this event not only because there is just so much to shoot but because it goes on for so long, allowing time out to take stock. How many photographers are actually doing this I’m unsure.

I’ve been on the road now for 5 months now and I’m starting to miss some the creature comforts of home, reliable internet access and red wine are just to mention just two of them.

I’ll be in Mathura for Holi celebrations which promises to be another incredible experience, I shot this colourful celebration in the same location in 2007 and it was so good, I’m doing it al over again.

Its been quiet here, what with power cuts and frustratingly slow internet I’ve struggled to update the blog. But, not to worry, today you get a 2 for 1 deal on postcards.

The first one comes from Bodhgaya in the Bihar region of India. This is the holiest of places for the Buddhist community. Basically this is where it all began, under a tree over 2500 years ago, a young guy named Siddharta sat and meditated for 3 days before achieving  a state of nirvana. A few weeks later he gave his first teaching, and Buddhism was born.

Nowadays its not just a pilgrimage site for Buddhists but also for many a tourist.

I spend 4 days here and although it’s turned into quite a commercial place, it certainly has an certain spiritual essence about it.

The second postcard comes from here in Varanassi. I’ve only been here 2 days but its my favorite place by far. I first visited this city 3 years ago and have been wanting to return ever since. This is place is the stuff of dreams for photographers, a simple stroll along the river Ganges can reveal more than you thought possible, all bathed in beautiful soft light. This place is magical.

Today was my first day shooting and I shot this early on, back lit by the rising sun. I really like this shot and think it could be a wallpaper for January.

Well despite some difficult moments, Ive made it out of Bangladesh – and that’s not as easy as it sounds you know. You need a special permit to leave by land, that takes 3 working days !

So here I am in Calcutta, India, but leaving soon to Bodhgaya to shoot a story on the origins of Buddhism. Think robed monks, ancient temples, meditation, peace and tranquility. Expect to see the images here soon.

So here I am (or was) working away in my temporary office on a beach in the Trang province of Southern Thailand, its slightly cramped and there was no wifi, I mean seriously there was no wifi !

My hut was the light blue dot to the right at the top of the beach in the image below, a great place though and wish I could have stayed longer, perhaps forever.. Ohh and I’ve finally got a few blue skies too.

I’m now in Phuket and starting to prepare for the Vegetarian festival that starts this Sunday, the 18th,  and continues until Monday 26th. I hope to have some images up soon from this event as well as the stunning beaches here (although I haven’t seen any yet).

On a different theme.

This is my third visit to Thailand, the first two times I left feeling disappointed at what I’d seen. I left feeling the whole country had sold out big time and prostituted itself for the sake of the tourist. Many naturally beautiful areas have been destroyed due to posh resorts, restaurants, golf courses and the like popping up in what would normally be jungle territory. Not only this it felt like the tourists who came here weren’t interested in the Thai people or their culture, they just wanted beaches, cheap drinks, hot weather, parties and cheap sex. None of these are the reasons I travel and I think its harmful to the society in the long run.

However….. this time, perhaps because I’ve been to more ‘off the beaten track’ places, I’ve not felt this at all. I’ve not yet met one drunk, sun burnt tourist and only seen stunningly beautiful places. Saying that I’ve just arrived in the most touristy place in the country so I don’t know how long this feeling will last, but for now its all good.

Got a feeling I’m going to be giving away another book pretty soon, stay tuned.

Well I made it, I’m writting this from KL, although jet lag is well and truly kicking my butt. But I’ll pull through.

The weather here is pretty humid too and skies are bright white most of the time, I was lucky with this shot of Lord Murugan outside the Hindu temples at Batu cave in the North of the city. Tomorrow I’ve got a few shots on my list to cross off then I’ll be jumping on a night bus and heading into Thailand. So fingers crossed for some more blue skies tomorrow, I’ll let you know how I go.