Sunset on Annapurna

This sunset shot was taken just outside the window of the restaurant at our lodge at Ghorepani. Taking a shot like this is pretty tricky and you can't really rely on the camera's metering to get it right. I shot about 4 shots, slightly under- or overexposing each one a little just to get it right. The camera by default tends to expose for the foreground, causing the bright mountains in the background to turn out all white and washed out. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Poon Hill pose

Tourists wake up before 4am and start a 2-hour climb up Poon Hill in the dark just to catch the sunrise over the mountains. From this vantage point, you can see most of the peaks in the Annapurna region, including Machapuchare (fishtail) and many others. Unfortunately, at this time in the morning, it's bitterly cold, and if you're not careful, you can freeze your ears off. This shot was taken by SC, by the way. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

The grassy knoll

Here's a tip: zooming in to just the mountains is boring, so always try to include something interesting in the foreground to lead the eye into the photo. This was taken with the aid of a tripod, since light levels at sunrise were really low. A relatively small aperture of f/8 was also needed to keep both the foreground and background in focus. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Top of the world

A view of a mountain (can't remember the name but it's one of the Annapurna peaks) as the first rays of the sun hits it. Taken from the top of Poon Hill in Ghorepani. ISO200, Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Poon Hill Panorama

This is a joiner created from 4 images I shot for this specific purpose. While it is always preferable to use a tripod for a panorama like this, it's just too slow for situations like this, it's just too slow to set up and the people would have moved by the time you're ready for the next shot. In this case, I just locked the shutter and aperture on my camera and then shot handheld, as I slowly turned for each shot. It's really too bad that Blogger can't display these shots larger because it's really interesting to look closely at the shot and see what each and every person is doing! The original is actually HUGE, at 10530 x 2488 pixels -- that's equivalent to a 26megapixel image! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Maoist propaganda

Nepal has been going through a lot of political upheaval since the death of the last King, and Maoists have taken advantage of the instability to spread their propaganda everywhere. While they are often armed and dangerous, they have not so far hurt any tourists. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Going out for a walk

This photo was taken while we were taking a breather on the way down from Ghorepani. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Waterfall

There were lots of waterfalls to see during our trek. While it looks inviting and there were thoughts of jumping in, it was always too cold to actually do it. :p Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Himalayan flower

One of the very few times when I could pull out my macro lens and indulge in my hobby of shooting flowers. The problem with switching lenses in Nepal was that it was often windy and sometimes dusty, and you run the risk of getting dust in the camera if you switch lenses in these conditions. This was taken at an aperture of f/11 to get just the right amount of depth-of-field to cover the flower and my flash was used off-camera to provide the lighting. Lighting always looks more natural when you position your flash above the subject, rather than positioning directly in front. Nikon D200, AF-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8

Corny

Corn is grown extensively all throughout Nepal, and corn can be seen hanging or drying out in the sun almost everywhere we went. I assume since it's dried, the corn is destined to be turned into cornflour or cornmeal. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Feeling blue

I like the contrast between the blue door and the rich dark wood panelling of this lodge we stayed in. Doors in Nepal are always brightly coloured -- either blue or dark rust red. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR

Where sky meets water

SC and I noticed the reflection of the mountains in the water. I shot a few and this is the most successful one I think. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mmVR

Magnificient desolation

Temples and houses are dotted sporadically along the road to Kagbeni. It's amazing how people can eke out a living at so high and altitude. By the way, apples are grown here, introduced by Germans over 50 years ago. Fresh apples are taste great, by the way. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Mountain taxi

Tractors in the Himalayas are used not only for ploughing the fields, but also as a taxi, believe it or not. How did the tractor get up here? It was airlifted by helicopter. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Long road

The road to Kagbeni is windy, dusty and dry. At this point in our trip, with nearly 100km traversed, our legs were really feeling the pain. This shot was taken about 2-3 hours before we actually arrived at Kagbeni. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Desert brush

Doesn't this just look like a scene from a cowboy movie? Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Misty mountain hop

The road to Kagbeni was dusty and dry (and still very cold) -- the wind, however, was so strong that it blew a lot of dust around, and after awhile, I decided to stow my camera back inside the bag, as dust was beginning to get into my lens. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Little Tibet

As you can see, the architecture in Kagbeni is distinctly Tibetan, with whitewashed walls and red windows and doors. And it's pretty cold. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Perpetual motion

This little girl was quite happy to pose for us, although she rarely stood still long enough to get a sharp shot! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Kagbeni

A view of the rooftops in Kagbeni. The thing about Nepal is that as you get higher, the architecture looks more Tibetan. To me, it actually reminds me of a small cowboy town, complete with high mesas and desert all around. The rooftops here are actually connected to one another, and I can imagine neighbours visiting each other by walking from one roof to another! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Up the stairs

Nothing great about this shot, except that it sets the scene for the next few pictures -- this is a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the small town of Kagbeni. Notice the prayer wheels on the right. Generally temples in Nepal are to be climbed using the left side of the stairs, and you come down on the right side. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Through the doors

A quick grab shot. While I got the shot, the light levels were so low that there's a bit of camera shake here-- so it's only good enough for the Web, but won't stand up in print in terms of sharpness. :( Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

High Nirvana

A shot of the interior of the Tibetan Buddhist temple in the small town of Kagbeni, just before Muktinath. There were quite a number of tourists here, so it was a challenge to shoot without the intrusion of a tourist in the shot. Since this is a place of worship (with loads of chanting) I shot this quickly and without flash to be as respectful and unobtrusive as possible. In fact, this shot was just taken from the front door as I felt it was just too much for me to go waltzing in, snapping away with the camera. ISO was set at 640, in case you're wondering. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Road to Shangri-la

By the second-last day of our 12-day trek, our legs hurt so much that for this (relatively) short but very high stretch of our journey, we decided to hire ponies. It may look like a gentle slope, but what I can't show you (because I was afraid my camera would get in the way) was the road up while we were riding the ponies -- the track was often so narrow it was only large enough for a person (or a pony) to pass and on one side, it was a sheer cliff! In fact, if you look at this picture, just behind the little hill in the middle of the picture is a sheer straight drop. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Horse handler

A portrait of the boy that was responsible for minding our ponies. While he often shouted encouragement to the horses to go faster, he wasn't actually holding on to them -- we had to control the direction of the horses ourselves, something which worried me a little, since I had never handled a horse myself before. Oh yes, notice the lady behind the boy, who's making the scarves you see below. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR