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Dec,08


 
 

On the Road

5,200+ miles in 8 days - From the big cities back to the plateau.


*Make sure you continue to check out the mobile section of the site.  I’ll be live blogging (as much as possible) from the beginning to the end… just because I figure you guys deserve to know exactly how cold I am.

Tonight at 9:30pm(7:30am CST) I depart for an 9 day 5,000km+ trip from my home in Qinghai to two of China’s largest cities and then crossing through Sichuan and to one of the coolest places in the world – KangDing.  After visiting KangDing for about 3 days I’ll continue overland from Sichuan to Qinghai in time to get back home for Christmas on the plateau.  A little work, some important visa meetings, and some fun.

I anticipate being cold – really cold.  Why’s that? Mostly because China is just kinda cold in the winter…especially the last 4 days of my trip in the Kham regions of Sichuan and Qinghai.  I’m especially excited about the last few days because it’s a good opportunity to see parts of the plateau that I have yet to see – specifically Kangding.

So why is Kangding so cool?  Check it out:

Kangding, known as Dartsendo དར་རྩེ་མདོ། / Dardo དར་མདོ་ in Tibetan, is the capital town of Garnze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture དཀར་མཛེས་ཁུལ་ located in western Sichuan province. Kangding sits at 2,600m and has a population of around 100,000. Part of the traditional Tibetan region of Kham ཁམས་, Kangding has always been the gateway to the Tibetan world. The town itself is roughly 40% Tibetan, 40% Chinese with the remaining 20% being other minorities such as Qiang, Yi and Hui. Everything east of Kangding is inhabited primarily by Han Chinese while everything west of Kangding is predominantly Tibetan.

There are over 20 mountains the rise over 20,000 feet within 40 miles of downtown Kangding.  Dartsendo, known in Chinese as Kangding, sits at 8600 feet above sea level in a very narrow valley with the large Gyeto River flowing down the middle. The town is surrounded by mountains – with the highest, Mt. Dentok, rising to over 17,000 feet.

Check out the mobile section of the site.  I’ll be live blogging (as much as possible) from the beginning to the end… just because I figure you guys deserve to know exactly how cold I am

 
Dec,06


 
 

Between Here and There

A quick preview of sites between Lhasa and Kathmandu (and some silliness)


Though the circumstances and factual aspects of my claim are a bit hazy and all but confirmed. I do however stand by this statement – Coming with Matt Brandon and I in April might be your best chance to see an actual yeti in the wild… just don’t hold us to that claim.  We will however provide the opportunity to take your own “I saw a yeti at Everest” picture which is sure to impress.

If you haven’t figured out by my obsurd ramblings about Everest, I’m really excited about our upcoming workshop!  I’m stoked for this years Lhasa to Kathmandu Overland trip (and here) with my good friend, Matt Brandon. I’ve been to this area several times but this will be my first time to cross the border into Nepal, and I must say, I’m looking forward to actually travelling the entire Friendship Highway.

Posted below are several pictures taken from the area between 2005 and 2010.  Pictured below are images from Lhasa, Sera and Drepung monasteries, the Barkhor kora, Gyantse, and Shigatse (with more to come in the weeks ahead).  These pictures are some of the best examples of the unique Himalayan culture (and some wildlife) that those who come on the trip with us in April will get to see first hand.

Give it a look and we hope you can join us in April!

A huge thanks goes out to ThinkTank and BlackRapid – our incredible sponsors on this trip.  We continue to be excited at the continued support of such amazing sponsors that help make amazing trips like these continually possible.  If you have a second go and check them out!

continue reading…

 
Aug,06


 
 

Thangka Painters of Rebkong Valley

Time with the extremely talented artists of Rebkong valley


As some of you saw in my last blog post, I was lucky enough to spend last weekend at the LaRu festival in Rebkong valley.  Rebkong is extremely famous throughout Tibet and is the artistic heart of the area.  At the center of that heart is the Thangka (pronounced ‘tanka’).

Thangkas are traditional hand created paintings that represent many different things in Tibetan Buddhism, many of which serve as a sort of history of the people as well as religious purposes.  Thangkas are made in several places throughout the plateau region, but the most sought out are decidedly from Rebkong valley.  Rebkong valley thangkas are in virtually every monastery in Tibet.

I was able to stay at a friend’s house whose family includes well-known thangka painters.  It was amazing to see them working and see the sheer quality of the craftsmanship that has been handed down from generation to generation.  I was absolutely blown away by the detail that goes into these thangkas.  I more than once saw them painting with brushes that literally only had a few hairs on them.  On top of that some of these thangkas are huge (30 meters wide and long). Some can take over three years to produce and although they aren’t necessarily sold just as art, they can sell for more than $100,000 USD.

The craftsmanship of these thangka painters is truly amazing.

continue reading…

 
Jul,26


 
 

2010 WWFW-Language is your best friend

The local language can help your photography


Our Kelby World Wide Photowalk this year was amazing.  I was just about to post my pictures and say “Hey! We had a great time on our photo walk… here are some pictures!” …only because I’m tired and it’s 1:05am, but instead I’m going to breach another subject.  Why?  Well, this photo walk reminded me of something that has undoubtedly improved my photography.  Speaking the local language.

First, we did have a great photo walk at Kum Bum/Ta Er Monastery.  It had been about three years since I had been out to this particular monastery – needless to say I didn’t get the memo that it had changed from a relatively quite and important monastery into Disneyland.  It was insane.  I got there and there were Chinese tourists literally as far as the eye could see.

In avoidance of tourists, I ended up spending 2 hours with a bunch of Tibetans who were renovating several of the buildings at the monastery – where no one was supposed to be allowed in.  But here’s the thing, I could speak some of the local dialect (read: 6 sentences – very little).  I’m not talking about Tibetan or Chinese – I’m talking about what they speak. I asked in the local dialect about what they were doing and if I could come in and take a look.  They were so blown away that they let me just wander around — my own private personal tour of the innards of one of the most important temples at the monastery.  As a 6′5″ American photographer, the local language breaks the ice even if I can’t carry on a conversation in it.

Not speaking the local language is not a death sentence in this type of situation, but it continues to open opportunities for me and have seen it do the same for other photographers – I’m not breaking any new ground here.  People like to speak their mother tongue, right?  They are usually extremely proud of it – significant pieces of the culture live in the language and if you can manage to utter ANYTHING , the doors start flying open.  We are now free to interact however we can – it doesn’t just break the ice, it takes 100 pounds of C4 to it.

So what are the benefits?  The main benefits that continue to show themselves to me are as follows:

  • I get access to places I’m not generally allowed to go.
  • People literally and instantaniously brighten up and are incredibly surprised and happy to hear a foreigner speaking their language
  • The subjects are usually more excited to get their picture taken.

Heck, I could write an entire blog about the benefits.

With that, I leave this to you –  What are your struggles, experiences, and perceived benefits of language in photography?

(all the following shots are from this years WWPW)

 
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Brian Hirschy Photography