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Stories and photos from my trip to Ladakh and Kashmir, Indian Himalayas


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http://elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/

These are photos and stories of my trip to the Himalayas in India, including Ladakh and Kashmir.  You'll get to meet my Kashmir and Indian families, see the last of the pure Aryans living in a remote Himalayan village in Ladakh, see night sky, star trails, and Milky Way photos, and much more. 

Shanti Stupa Dream by Ken Lee

Shanti Stupa Dream, Leh, Ladakh, Indian Himalayas

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Monk at Hemis Festival - photo by Ken Lee

Monk at Hemis Monastery during the Hemis Festival, Ladakh, Indian Himalayas

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Leh Palace Milky Way by Ken Lee

Leh Palace Milky Way, Ladakh, Indian Himalayas

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The Last of the Pure Aryans - Dah Village, Ladakh

In the Valley of the Aryans, these isolated Himalayan people call themselves the last of the Aryans.  Theories abound, but no one seems to know how they got there for sure.  Ladakh, Indian Himalayas.

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Kashmir, Dal Lake, coming from the mosque - Himalayas, India

Women returning from a day of prayer at the mosque, Dal Lake, Kashmir, Indian Himalayas.

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Dinner with my Kashmiri family, Dal Lake

Dinner with my Kashmiri family, Dal Lake, Srinagar, Indian Himalayas

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NOTE:  As always, you may interact with me concerning all things photography (or discussions of why hummus and falafel rule, what's the best beer to pair with Indian food, night sky and star trails photography, long exposure stuff, best places to travel, etc.) on my Facebook page, which is http://www.facebook.com/kenleephotography.  Please stop in and say hi, kick off your shoes, and stay a while!!!!  :D

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Etienne Rambert wrote:

 

 

Fabulous pictures! What camera did you use?

 

Ladakh is a place that might be ground zero for World War III.

 

 


 

Thanks!  I appreciate your encouragement!

As for China, wlel, they're at it again.  The Chinese Army had a small incursion past the Line of Control into Ladakh just before I arrived.  They've done this several times now this year.

http://www.firstpost.com/world/china-incursion-in-ladakh-the-lesson-india-has-not-learnt-945679.html

Since I first visited Ladakh in 1997, Ladakhis have been concerned about China punching into Ladakh.  It's a legitimate concern.  They have the high ground and the big giant troops.  And as well, they have the unwavering, unquestioning authority, facts be damned.  Few large countries are better than Beijing at rewriting history for the "benefit" of their populace.

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I used a Nikon D7000 or a Nikon D90 with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 (mostly for portraits or close-ups) or a Nikkor 18-200mm (for general use or obviously telephoto; most of the Hemis Monastery photos were taken with this).  I brought the wheezy old D90, which has really been through a lot, so that I would not have to constantly switch lens, so a lot of the ones taken with the 18-200mm lens are taken with the D90.

But really, the camera doesn't matter so much because, for instance, you can't really tell which photo is taken by which camera even though the D90 is a pretty old camera by digital camera standards (it's a 12.1 megapixel camera that I believe was introduced in 2008, so it's a seven year old camera) and the D7000 is fairly new and is still currently on the market.

What mostly matters, in my opinion, is the glass and the photographer.  

It's really quite a bit like a recording engineer, where the performance, tone, signal chain, room, and the recording engineer make a larger difference on the fidelity and quality of the recording than the medium you use to record (tape, DAW, whatever).  

* The signal chain - microphone, converters, mic preamps - are a lot like the lens, which capture the information.

* The recording engineer is a lot like the photographer.

* The sounds being recorded are a lot like the subject being photographed.

* The room or ambient surroundings are a lot like the light, and like a bad room where a good engineer can compensate for it with acoustic treatment or placement of microphones, a good photographer can create compensate for the light or create or reflect light if faced with poor or low light situations.

This is a crude analogy, and like all analogies, you can focus on what is dissimilar, but hopefully the point has been made.

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Ken,

 

Great pics.  You have a super eye and it sounds like an amazing trip.  If you go to the link I sent you in the past I have some pics of my trip last month to Estonia, Finland and Russia.  But they really don't compete with yours. 

 

Keep snapping,

Take care

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rjt wrote:

 

 

Ken,

 

 

 

Great pics.  You have a super eye and it sounds like an amazing trip.  If you go to the link I sent you in the past I have some pics of my trip last month to Estonia, Finland and Russia.  But they really don't compete with yours. 

 

 

 

Keep snapping,

 

Take care

 

I will check out the link when you have a chance.  I am really interested in seeing those places, particularly the first two.  

 

Thanks for the encouragement!!!

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