15000 images later...Aperture 3

© Gunther Deichmann - Hand made paper production,
Kathmandu Nepal, March 2010

Three days after the release of Aperture 3... I left for Nepal and India starting a 4-week journey including my Workshop in Rajasthan these are my honest and first impression of Aperture 3.

I just got back 10 days ago and like to give you now some serious feedback how Aperture 3 performed…straight out of the box.

You might ask, oh… that is a bit risky using this new and not tested latest software for a major trip like this
Not really, I have been using Aperture since day one, made my Hardcover book Journey Through Color & Time using Aperture 1.0 360 pages with tons of images from scanned tiff’s to the very first digital ones.

So when Aperture 3 was released only days prior my departure I felt confident in using the new release without any hesitations.
I installed Aperture 3 almost on my way to the airport, well almost some 48 hours prior my departure, had a quick look and from then on I used Aperture 3 shooting some 15,000 plus images.

© Gunther Deichmann - and there was light...
one of those moments... lasting only few minutes
Kathmandu, Nepal March 2010

Did I encountered some problems? Not really except for one or two glitches which got fixed with a Software update half way through my Journey, I installed that one in New Delhi. (3.0.1) And now only few days ago we received another super update, Aperture 3.0.2

Let me describe some of the new features I used for most of the time during my recent trip, they not only impressed me but made my editing on the road so easy… just awesome, sometimes pushing my MacBook Pro and Aperture 3 to the limit.

• Switching between Library’s is a breeze, now I can have for e.g. a Library for different Countries or what ever I see fit at a click of the button. It was good timing with the new release of Aperture 3, I created a brand new Library for my recent trip (actually two, one for India and one for Nepal) but can always go back to my previous ones at a mouse click. (Note: you might have to reprocess your images if they had been previously processed in Aperture 2, but that is also not a big deal if you choose only one or two photos. If you like them all to be reprocessed then depending on how many images you have this could take some time) For me this is a great new feature when dealing with thousand s of images, less strain on your machine.
• I love the new Import panel with all its options to choose from, including creating a back up already during Import. Check it out and set up your import panel to suit your workflow.
• Seeing your adjustments when you use the all-new Quick Fix in new Preset panel is very cool. Very nice is also the quick adjustments for different light conditions, changing the White Balance to tungsten, flash, fluorescent , etc., very easy now. I used it under some mixed light conditions in Varanasi, India. Also easy access to the adjustment panel right next to the Preset panel. Plus creating your own presets is real awesome…I use my own for sharpening, tailor made now for my Camera models.
• Switching your Machine to 64 Bit at the start improves Apertures performance, the only drawback is that other software might not work and you have to go back to 32 Bit, but soon or later others will follow and make it compatible also for 64 Bit.
• I love the all-new full screen Browser, bringing your editing to another level and speed.
• I also noticed a vast improvement on the RAW conversion, an excellent improvement, less tweaking and time required for image corrections now. A real time saver.
• Due to my type of Photography I don’t use the new build in Faces so much, but the new Places has some real benefits in particular if you have a GPS unit attached to your Camera. On my trip I used my iPhone to record the info and later imported the data into Aperture 3. I guess now I have to get my GPS attachment to avoid this work-around.
• Wow…the "Z" Key, a very cool improvement changing your zoom capabilities from 100% up or down, then hitting Z again to go back to full screen, very nice touch.
• Oh these Curves…gorgeous Curves…now they have been added, something which I missed in previous versions.
• Of course the new color-coding is very handy and useful, I started to use it now during my fine-tuning and more precise editing.
• Very nice touch: More information is displayed above your Metadata panel (this info is only visible when you click on the Metadata Panel), see screenshot below.

• I use the activity Monitor a lot especially during export, again more information is now available.
• During my Photo workshop in India all participants installed Aperture 3 and after a short intro they where all up and running without any major problems…in other words the learning curve or upgrading from Aperture 2 to 3 is relatively easy.
• We had two Lightroom users in our Group, both of them where very impressed, as a matter of fact one of them has switched now to Aperture 3 and the other is following shortly.
• Now, if your SLR has a Video function look no further, Aperture 3 will import all your Videos, with or without sound and you can edit all of that right in Aperture 3 creating awesome slide shows/presentations on the fly without ever leaving Aperture 3. Once finished you have all the export functions at your fingertips. BTW... The new slide show is so slick with a lot more new additions.

I am working on a nice presentation right now and in due time you get to see it on my Blog and You Tube/Vimeo.
To top it off you can also get this magic frame from your Video you might have missed in your still shot, just select New JPEG from frame and you’re done. (see screenshot)

Using for demo purpose a Video still from my iPhone

If you like to change the music you have easy access to your iTunes Library and you can import even previous Movies you have on file into Aperture 3, creating some awesome looking presentations mixing stills with videos. Yes, you have that magic Media Browser at your fingertips in Aperture 3.

Is that all? Oh no there is so much more… like, new Brushes, Chromatic abrasions (our underwater Photographers going to love this one) Flags, more adjustment tools etc., etc. and in due time I introduce them to you too.
I only mention some of the new features I used on my recent trip and of course the others which have always been part of Aperture.

The coolest part about Aperture is that you can customize your workflow the way you like it or the type of Photography you do, Aperture 3 has just become even more flexible.
Shooting a lot of images like I have done on my last trip, Aperture 3 performed just AWESOME!

Tip:
For those of you who have problems remembering some short cuts, here is a tip how you can customize your keyboard to suit you:

For example:
Commands with more than two or three keyboard shortcuts are sometimes difficult to remember e.g. like the Highlight Hot and Cold areas.
The default: Option – Shift – H
I use this one a lot, but on a bad day I sometimes get mixed up with this short cut so I changed it to S
How can you do this? Very easy…go to the top left hand side click Aperture and after that you see the drop down menu, click on Customize, a keyboard will show. (see screenshot) now you can customize your shortcuts like I have done with the Highlight Hot & Cold Areas.

Aperture is very customizable, it all depends on your need and type of Photography.

In my next Post I introduce you to the behind the scene images and a new Gallery with photos from the participants which where taken during our recent GD Photo Workshop in India.
Until soon,
GD

Déjà vu in Nepal…



© Gunther Deichmann - a mixed bag of just about everything
including a Monkey skull & Fossils, all for sale.
Kathmandu, Nepal

Déjà vu in Nepal…some of you might remember my passion for fossils, which goes way back during my time in paleontology.
Whenever I travel to different destinations in the world I always keep an eye out for those creatures long gone but been part of our evolution and my earlier life.
Last month on my first day in Nepal I strolled like so many other times before the Bazaars and local Markets in the narrow streets of Kathmandu.

I guess it came as no surprise to find many Ammonites and other interesting fossils on display wherever I went. Mixed with other religious and bizarre souvenir items; ugly ashtrays…cool looking masks, Gurkha Knifes (that be a challenge to get them on the plane) false and real gemstones, Buddha Statues, Prayer Wheels and lots of items made from Pashmina Wool…plus so many other obscure items, the list goes on and on. (Pashmina refers to a type of fine cashmere wool and the textiles made from it.)

© Gunther Deichmann - Ammonites & other fossils some of
them still enclosed in the Geode
Kathmandu, Nepal

Fossils always have been part of my life and I do have a very good understanding of them, their origin, age and the process of being fossilized.
What was new to me after some research; I discovered that these fossils are for sale mainly to the locals, their Believe in those fossilized creatures was something very different I found out.

Most of those fossils on display where broken but if luck is on your side you might spot a complete Ammonite.
I had a real great time with the Vendors to show me the good ones...
Trying to sell me the damage ones first… I persisted and soon enough they showed me the good stuff. Hey Guys …I do know my Fossils.

© Gunther Deichmann - everything you might desire...
Kathmandu, Nepal

Word got out fairly quick that there was this strange foreigner with a camera who had a keen interest in Fossils…and soon I had just about every Vendor on Durban Square chasing me, showcasing their very best Ammonites.
Sure I would have loved to buy a whole bunch of them…but these Rocks are very heavy and Excess baggage is expensive, so I contended myself with a couple good specimen.
Read on below, how Ammonites are treasured in Buddhism and Hindu faith throughout Asia

And for those of you who are interested in Nepal, why not joining our PhotoWorkshop in October, for details go to the
GD PhotoWorkshops site or click this LINK.
GD

Ammonite Fossils

The name Ammonite comes from the Greek ram-horn God called Ammon. Ammonites are the most widely known fossil; they are cephalopods and first appeared in the seas 415 million years ago, in the form of a straight shelled creature known as Bacrites. During their evolution three catastrophic events occurred. The first during the Permian period (250 million ago), only 10% survived. They went on to flourish throughout the Triassic period, but at the end of this period (206 million ago) all but one species died. Then they began to thrive from the Jurassic period until the end of the Cretaceous period when all species of ammonites became extinct.

Ammonites were animals that lived in the sea. They are now extinct except for one of their cousins the Nautilus, a truly living fossil found in the deeper part of our Oceans today.

Their name is derived from The Egyptian God Ammon. Ammon's sacred animal was a ram, and an ammonite looks like a ram's horn. Pliny the Elder called ammonites the Horns of Ammon.
Ammonites were cephalopods. Living cephalopods include octopuses, cuttlefish, squid and nautiloids. Extinct cephalopods include belemnites.

Ammonites found in the valley of the Gandaki River in Nepal and northern India are called Saligrams.
Because saligrams sometimes contain fragments of pyrite and quartz crystal, some people claim that there is gold or diamonds inside the fossils. Those sparkling black fossils are what gave the Kali Gandaki (Black Gandaki) its name.

They are considered the direct symbol of Lord Vishnu, as one of Vishnu's avatars (incarnations) was stone (Sri Saligram). Saligrams have markings called 'chakras', resembling the discus held in one of the six hands of the god Vishnu. Vishnu's chakra is a Hindu symbol of absolute completeness, with the eight spokes indicating the eightfold path of deliverance. The radial chakra markings in saligrams are actually the ribs of the ammonites. The fossils are kept in temples, monasteries and households as natural symbols of Vishnu and water in which they have been bathed is drunk daily.

For many people who have faith in the Hindu religion, the ammonite is one of the many forms of their Lord Vishnu. They keep the fossil in their worship room and worship it. Saligrams are mentioned in Sanskrit texts dating back to the second century BC.

In Account of the Kingdom of Nepal (1819), F. B. Hamilton described saligrams as objects of mystery and magic, respected throughout South Asia.

Resources: More LINKS and info below on Ammonite Fossils and their connection to various believes and religions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonite

http://www.shaligram.org/shaligramselection.html

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=355158

http://www.artbit.co.in/index.php/122/128

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/fossils/ammonite.htm

My gratitude & thanks to all participants
for taken part in our recent completed
GD Photo Workshop in India.




© Gunther Deichmann - "The Group shot"

I only got back a few days ago, but today I like to take the opportunity to thank all participants who joined my recent Photo Workshop in India, at the same time I like to thank also our fantastic Driver who took care of us where ever we ventured, he made certain that our Journey was a safe one.
Thanks also to our Guides at different locations from New Delhi to Jaipur in Rajasthan. In the coming weeks when I have received some images from the students I post some of their photos on my GD PhotoWorkshop site but also an Album again from behind the scenes...there are some real funny ones.

Furthermore once I am done with my editing I create another Album from my recent trip to India and Nepal, which you're going to find soon under a "Small Taste of the Latest"... currently featured Cambodia.
My gratitude to Shroff International Travel for a superb Job, organizing this difficult but rewarding Journey, thank you so very much. More info about recommended Hotels and accommodation from India and Nepal will also follow soon.
Please stay tuned for much more in the next few weeks...for other Aperture 3 Seminars & Photo Workshops in 2010 please click this LINK.
GD

© Gunther Deichmann - Mug shots during our encounter in Jaipur with a street
Photographer using a 150 year old Camera



© Gunther Deichmann - Lots of fun on our first day in old Delhi


Just one more...thank you India!



© Gunther Deichmann - Varanasi, India

Kopan Monastery Kathmandu Nepal...



© Gunther Deichmann - large gathering of Buddhist Monks
at the Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu Nepal

The Journey has come to an end...the last Blog post from on the road, but more to come when I am back in the Philippines. And don't forget to check out the Calendar dates on my GD Photo Workshop site, Introduction into Aperture 3 plus some cool Aperture & iLife '09 Seminars at the Power Mac Center Manila.
For questions and special requests, you can call 729-7087 or 88, or email at:
training@powermaccenter.com

Learn and see how Aperture 3 can help your workflow,
"15000 images later...working with Aperture 3 using images from my last Journey"
March 19, 2010 Introduction to the all New Aperture 3
Power Mac Center in TriNoma

Also our GD Photo Workshop in Nepal during October 2010 is filling up fast, only four (4) spots available, please go to the GD PhotoWorkshop site for more info @ October 15 - 22, 2010 (DATES CONFIRMED)
"ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS NOW”

© Gunther Deichmann - eyes that seem to follow you...Kathmandu, Nepal

Now back to my post... Monastery Colors in Nepal,one of my last visits in Kathmandu was at the Kopan Monastery a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Boudhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal.

© Gunther Deichmann - a Monks office...

I have always been fascinated by Tibetan Buddhism and the Kopan Monastery was high on my list, today I like to share with you a few images...colorful and graphic & no manipulation has been applied in any way using only at times the Quick Fix in Aperture 3.

© Gunther Deichmann - I Love Tibet!

Since I am still on the road I keep the text brief and let the images speak for themselves.
Enjoy the "Monastery Colors"

© Gunther Deichmann - Monks Books



© Gunther Deichmann - gathering of Buddhist Monks
at the Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu Nepal



© Gunther Deichmann - Head gear



© Gunther Deichmann - the yellow table...



© Gunther Deichmann - Tibetan Tea pots and Monks



© Gunther Deichmann - taken notes...



© Gunther Deichmann - blue reflections in oil lamps



© Gunther Deichmann - who open the door?

Just one more...



© Gunther Deichmann - Pashmina Wool from Nepal

Excepts from Wikipedia on Pashmina Wool:
The fiber is also known as pashm (Persian word for Wool) or pashmina (Persian / Hindi word driven from Pashm) for its use in the handmade shawls of Kashmir, India.The woolen shawls find written mention in Indian texts between 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD. However, the founder of the cashmere wool industry is traditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who introduced weavers from Turkestan.
In the 18th and early 19thcentury Kashmir (then called Cashmere by the English), had a thriving industry producing shawls from goat down imported from Tibet and Tartary through Ladakh. The down trade was controlled by treaties signed as a result of previous wars.The shawls were introduced into Western Europe when the General in Chief of the French campaign in Egypt (1799-1802) sent one to Paris. The shawl's arrival is said to have created an immediate sensation and plans were put in place to start manufacturing the product in France.
More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashmere_wool

Until next time...GD

An afternoon at the
Bouddhanath Stupa in Nepal



© Gunther Deichmann - Prayer Flags and Shadows
at the Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Nepal

The Journey is coming slowly to an end, 6 more days before I am hitting back home, I have not written many Blogs during this Journey one of the major factors been...I have been very tiered spending long hours shooting and some limitation with the internet connection.

© Gunther Deichmann - Cleaning oil lamps at the
at the Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Nepal

I make up for it once I get back... over 15,000 images by now, Aperture 3 loaded straight out of the Box before my trip performed absolutely flawless all RAW images have been stored on my external Lacie Drives as reference files. I encountered no problems and my editing has become even faster now using the new preset adjustment tools...Quick fixes takes care of most issues.
We arrived in Kathmandu a couple of days ago and went out this afternoon to visit one of the biggest Stupas called Bouddhanath located in Little Tibet, when refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many decided to live around Bouddhanath.
A very special mention I have to give to our our Guide Lil Tapa who has been a book of knowledge together with a great personality and sense of humor, thank you so much Lil! Everything this afternoon reminded me so much of my time in Tibet in 2006 and I sincerely hope for a free Tibet one day.
GD

© Gunther Deichmann - a lone Bird, Prayer Flags and Shadows
at the Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Nepal



© Gunther Deichmann - inside the Monastery
at the Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Nepal

See below some excepts from Wikipedia:
Boudhanath (Devnagari: बौद्धनाथ) (also called Bouddhanath, Bodhnath or Baudhanath or the Khāsa Caitya) is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is known as Khāsti by Newars as Bauddha or Bodh-nāth by modern speakers of Nepali.[1] Located about 11 km (7 miles) from the center and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu, the stupa's massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal.[2]
The Buddhist stupa of Boudhanath dominates the skyline. The ancient Stupa is one of the largest in the world. The influx of large populations of Tibetan refugees from China has seen the construction of over 50 Tibetan Gompas (Monasteries) around Boudhanath. As of 1979, Boudhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Stupa is on the ancient trade route from Tibet which enters the Kathmandu Valley by the village of Sankhu in the northeast corner, passes by Boudnath Stupa to the ancient and smaller stupa of Cā-bahī (often called 'Little Boudnath'). It then turns directly south, heading over the Bagmati river to Patan - thus bypassing the main city of Kathmandu (which was a later foundation).[1] Tibetan merchants have rested and offered prayers here for many centuries. When refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many decided to live around Bouddhanath. The Stupa is said to entomb the remains of a Kasyapa sage venerable both to Buddhists and Hindus, for more info go to: Wikepedia

A morning on the Ganges at Varanasi, India



© Gunther Deichmann - Sadhu, Varanasi India

Thanks again to Jamie who has taken the writing burden of me for the moment, our few days in Varanasi have been very interesting to say the least.
Strolling around the Banks of the Ganges yesterday afternoon a very excited Bebet came running over to me...hey GD do you you know who this guy is over there? Oh man it is Steve McCurry! Well, why I am not surprised...Steve does some Photo Workshops in India and has travelled this part of the world a lot.
I said...wow cool and before we know we where standing at the shorelines of the Ganges and having a quick chat with Steve before we departed in different wind direction doing what we all do best creating images.
Thanks to Bebet insistency and before we parted ways we had a quick photo taken of the three of us, indeed a small world even for indian standards.
GD

A brief encounter with Steve Mc Curry, at the banks of the Ganges
River in Varanasi India, March 2010

Gunther Deichmann - Steve McCurry - Bebet Gaudinez,

Tomorrow we 're leaving via land to our next destination Nepal with a stop over at Lumbini, located in Nepal and is considered the birthplace of Gautam Buddha., after Lumbini we continue on to Kathmandu where we spend another 5 days or so.

© Gunther Deichmann - Varanasi view from the Ganges,

BTW...if you have not done so download the latest Version of Aperture 3 (Version 3.01). I am getting close to some 8000 images and Aperture has been performing just fine, no major glitches. FYI...I am working exclusive with Reference files stored on my external Rugged Lacie 360 Gig Hard drive plus I am using an identical hard drive for backup.

See below excerpts on Lumbini from Wikipedia:
Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who as the Buddha Gautama founded the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha lived between roughly 563 and 483 BCE. Lumbini is one of four magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath.

© Gunther Deichmann - Varanasi India



© Gunther Deichmann - early morning bathers Varanasi India

Varanasi: Holy land of spiritual rites and rituals, cultural and religious centre, renowned learning hub, home to 4 universities and centuries old architecture. Up till now, I’d always secretly thought of Varanasi or ‘Benares’ as Florence and Venice put together. Perhaps I was swayed when I read that Mark Twain said: “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”
But Varanasi is no Venice. Nowhere else do I feel able to say that that today is yesterday, tomorrow is today, and yesterday will be tomorrow. (GD will say that I’m tending towards the inclinations of becoming a sadhu..). Like many places of worship, Varanasi has given me great insight, but short of turning GD’s photography blog into a book on metaphysical musings, he has kindly asked me only to write of the essence of our experience here so far. (and not with-holding the fact that the tailor is also waiting for me to try on my superbly handmade silk Indian Alibabá pants: in all 10 colors!)
The highlight of our 3-day stay here was centered on the famed River Ganges, which true to its good standing is rich with daily rituals of life and death, myth and legend.

© Gunther Deichmann - colors of Varanasi India

We left the Radisson hotel promptly at 5:30am this morning glad of the chill in the moist air (the afternoon humidity accentuates the acid pong of omnipresent urine) and arrived at the bank of the river in less than 20mins. The driver was not a bit surprised to be battling giant busloads of tourists on the narrow dust-lined streets: We had passed the harmonious phase of the lull before the storm, which we were told was meant to crack at daybreak, when the frenzy of yesterday takes place all over again.
There was already a flurry of activity as we edged towards the bank of the Ganga: sadhus painting their weathered faces into cracked mirrors, flower sellers mulling about while mendicants braced themselves for another day, and shop keepers literally shifting the dust from one place to another with feather-dusters.
A shout and our boat arrived as a sudden scuffle between two boys over a piece of naan bread begun. Most of the out-of-towners like us were here to go boating on the river at sunrise; with the only difference being that GD had specifically requested a motorized vessel instead of the usual row-boat, not that there was any speed to the finish but riding against the current was not going to be easy without technology, even on holy waters.

© Gunther Deichmann - early morning bathers Varanasi India

Taking in the length of the river, GD was unruffled by the bustle (that’s cos he hadn’t had his coffee yet! haha), while Bebet and I prepared our cameras, all of us waiting for first light to awake to a slice of river life and an abundance of prayers. The silence was broken only by the motor’s humming, GD’s occasional observation about the light, Bebet’s anthropological reflections and one particularly curious devotee, sashaying on a lone rock a foot at a time and crooning at the top of his lungs. Kumar our guide, explained that he was praying for himself, for success and good health, to which I thought: fair enough, at least he knew he didn’t have the slightest prayer to make it to Bollywood, if that was remotely on his wish list.

© Gunther Deichmann - cleaning the small temples along the
Ganges in the morning, Varanasi India

© Gunther Deichmann - an early morning head shave in Varanasi India

In no time the sun was up and out. We clicked our cameras like drum beats in symphony to the chattering motor. Throngs of men and women were standing on the steps and bathing in the river, soaping themselves and brushing their teeth just a stone’s throw away from where some others were squat, depositing their breakfast or dinners on the starched soil. Naked children shivered on the banks with frowns on their faces, uncertain whether this was altogether fun or not. The townsfolk scrubbed their laundry in the greenish waters and beat them against the rocks. Women rung out their multi-colored saris and draped them upon the ground. We noticed others crouching higher up on the steps in the distance shaping cow dung into flat patties to sun bake them for later use. Yoga enthusiasts and sadhus sat crossed-legged in meditation upon higher ground.

© Gunther Deichmann - colors of Varanasi India

The sun continued her journey while the people offered their prayers to the morning, cleansing their minds and spirits along the holy river until we arrived back to the ghat where we begun our morning and disembarked. With one backward glance at the blurred hubbub against the sandstone walls I left the river Ganges with one thought: this was yesterday and this is tomorrow.
Jamie

The Incredible Colors of India...



© Gunther Deichmann - Jaipur Rajasthan, India Feb. 2010

We just arrived back in Delhi from Rajasthan and Agra...now I am fighting with the connection and I am very tiered, some of the Photo Workshop participants have to catch the plane back home about right now, they just had enough time for a quick shower in our Hotel.
Hey we're going to miss you guys!
I am leaving with Jamie and Bebet tomorrow afternoon for Varanasi and then overland back to Nepal, another 12 or so days to go before hitting back home.

© Gunther Deichmann - Jaipur Rajasthan, street vendor selling
colorful powder, India Feb. 2010



© Gunther Deichmann - Jaipur Rajasthan, India Feb. 2010

The colors of Incredible India; only a few images today need to do a lot more editing when time permits, but many more to come in due time, plus I put up a nice Gallery when I am back home.

© Gunther Deichmann - Holi Festival Jaipur Rajasthan,
India Feb. 2010

© Gunther Deichmann - Holi Festival...the roads are covered with
colorful powder,Jaipur Rajasthan, India Feb. 2010



© Gunther Deichmann - Jaipur Rajasthan, amazing colors
during the Elephant festival India Feb. 2010

Gunther Deichmann - Jaipur Rajasthan, amazing colors
during the Elephant festival India Feb. 2010

In the next few days I have no internet connection but try my best to stay in touch once I get to Kathmandu in Nepal, until then enjoy the images.
GD

Happy Holi from Jaipur in Rajasthan India...

© Gunther Deichmann - Happy Holi in Jaipur

The GD Photo Workshop Gang or better known now as "Baba G and the Shutter Bugs"... thanks to Tony who took out the copyright on the spot for this new tagline.

© Gunther Deichmann - Happy Holi in Jaipur

© Gunther Deichmann - Bebet is really
in the Mood... our onboard Sadhu.

After spending "2 hours" in the shower and trying to get all those beautiful colors off my body...never mind the clothes I have found the Time to wish everybody a very Happy Holi... India's most colorful Festival...& where everything goes.
The whole Gang... except for two using now Aperture 3, we installed it a few days ago in New Delhi, the performance is great and I had no complaints so far. But now back to Holi...an amazing festival as Jamie will explain below, thanks Jamie that you volunteered to do the main write up tonight...giving me a welcome hand and break.

© Gunther Deichmann - Some of the Gang Members...

Bonfires, twigs, pyres and leaves
Evil spirits burn as Holi proceeds!

With a shake, a nod and cheery Happy Holi! greetings from everyone to anyone who was anyone and ‘no-one’, it would appear that the Indian caste system literally dissolved into a puff of rainbow powdered dyes and colored water today.
Rajasthan was alive with a different spice and we daren’t say we weren’t pre-warned. We were told that on Holi, everything and anything goes. And they weren’t joking either.

Jaipur was vibrating with wild celebrations, drum beats of Indian rock and roll ala Shankar and its stimulating sisterly companions, raving bashes not only of the carnivalesque kind but apparently even veiled beatings and the none too unusual vengeance murders that ‘happen’, but as we were reassured, those only ‘happened in other cities and very rarely in Jaipur so not to worry Ma’am and Sir’. Well homicides or not, I’d secretly pocketed my pepper spray under my white cotton shirtdress, just in case the crowd got a little too piquant for my taste.

© Gunther Deichmann - Jamie is getting her "Make up"
applied by a local



© Gunther Deichmann - the Boys having fun in the streets of Jaipur

The crew was ready and itching to go shoot some color. Truth be told we’d been primed the night before, armed with hair oils, super skin moisturizers, caps, camera “condoms” in all shapes and sizes, throwaway t-shirts, shorts and the lot.

Ok, ok I confess I was the only one with the excessive concern for hair oils, cream based moisturizers, shower caps, disposable cotton underclothes, emergency eye drops, SPF 50 lip balm and goodness knows what else I had stashed in my sling bag. Another one bites the advertising dust! Newspapers (and Tony) had been playing up the dehydrating effects of the dyes on skin and hair, and GI Jane as I may be, I’d certainly had no wish to walk around Incredible India with post-Holi skin lesions or a kerosene scrubbed frizz.

© Gunther Deichmann - Tony is getting his picture taken
by a 150 year old Camera



© Gunther Deichmann - Amazing, old meets new...
the "shutter bugs" & the local street photographer

The glow of the warm afternoon sun didn’t let us down, and neither did Bebet’s smooth cone shaped crown – fondly Pink city’s extremely popular pink duomo of the day! Luis was busy keeping out of trouble while GD, his usual monkey self, got the children squealing around him, unable to decide whether they thought he was funny or scary or both.
I didn’t blame them – a seriously hot magenta, violet and salmon colored faced GD is quite a hair-raising sight! The rest of the crew stayed on track, a yellow-green Joerg staying cool and entertaining the locals with amusing conversation (or was it the other way around) while a blushing red Tony kept the beggars from pulling our clothes and cameras. Hubert was cool as a cucumber sauntering back and forth across the streets, side stepping the cows like a weathered local.

© Gunther Deichmann - 150 years later...but still in use,
the processing is done right on the street.



© Gunther Deichmann - Jamie's turn in front of the
old Plate camera...but please don't move...

And suddenly “150 rupees only, 150 rupees just you look Sir top quality photograph black and white please you look only”. No thank you no thank you no thank you no no no no no and then we stopped. We’d gotten so used to the mendicants following us around for the past 2 hours, pushcarts, trolleys, gypsy children and all across town that literally the replies (as polite as we attempted to remain) just came out of us naturally.

Right on the yellow powdered street hung a few carpets on a stairway which acted as a backdrop in front of (lo and behold) a 150 year-old plate camera, impressive in size as well as quality and sharpness . We later found out that the owner and his brother had inherited it from his ancestors and they have been in the photography business since ‘a very long time Ma’am’. Old meets new!!

Thousands of dollars of equipment strapped to our necks, I found it oxymoronic that for 150 rupees ($3 USD), each of us were as excited as kids on Christmas morn and happy as pie with our old fashioned black and white photos that were washed and developed in a pail of water on the street, ready in less than 10 minutes, and hey, it came with a negative too. Now since the digital age, we haven’t been that pleased with a self-portrait in a long time! What better way to end a picture-perfect day?
Holi Hai!

© Gunther Deichmann - back at the Hotel for some cold
Beers before the "two hour" shower.

Happy Holi...



© Gunther Deichmann - the start of Holi a priest during last nights
Pre Holi event blessing everybody with multi colors.

I am in a bit of a rush today...need to get out in the street again with my students to celebrate the Holi Festival the most colorful of all Indian Festivals in Jaipur Rajasthan India.

© Gunther Deichmann - Holi has started...

So please forgive me if this will be a very short Blog today, we're having a great time and the highlight will be later tonight, yesterday we went crazy at the Elephant festival which was so fantastic. Today we're going to get covered in color from top to bottom and last night we participated at a Temple the pre Holi event, with huge fires lit up all over town.

© Gunther Deichmann - the night before Holi

Sorry have to run now...but so much more later, thanks also to Aperture 3 uploading has been easy and fast, I am already at some 4000 images.

© Gunther Deichmann - it is going to get a lot worst today...

GD