Part Two:
Environments
Each different environment introduces its own challenges for the photographer, both in the way we use light and construct images and in how we manage to be in the right place at the right time. The light in a rainforest is very different from that of a desert dawn; each particular environment will present the photographer with unique opportunities and problems. But often the photography can seem the easy bit; just getting around and sustaining yourself can be the toughest task. But when it all comes together, like watching the pink rays of dawn kiss the peak of Annapurna as the shutter clicks open, there’s nothing better.
Alexandra Fjord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic
• Fuji GX617, 105mm lens
In the Footsteps of the Inca
By the cold light of dawn I encountered Marina, a young shepherdess, tending her flock alone on the pampas, high above the Sacred Valley. We chatted away, unhindered by our complete lack of a mutual language. My Spanish is weak, but it would have made no difference, for she is Quechua, a direct descendant of the Inca. It was one of those encounters that refresh the soul. Machu Picchu, Cusco, the soaring Andes; all of these make this a breathtaking experience, but for me, Marina is the face of Peru.
Machu Picchu?
Quechua woman in the mist near Marras
Quechua woman at Chincerro market, near Cusco
Chincerro market, near Cusco
Marina, a Quechua shepherd girl
Farmland above the Sacred Valley nears Chincerro, nears Cusco
Children, Chincerro, nears Cusco
Chincerro farmer
Quechua woman at Chincerro market, nears Cusco
Women with hats and double pigtails, Chincerro market, nears Cusco
Old woman in the square, Pisac, Sacred Valley
Farmland above the Sacred Valley with the Urubamba Cordillera of the Andes behind
Woman tilling a field with baby in the morning mist, Pampasmojo, Marras
The Road to Zhongdian
How can you possibly sum up China, geographically huge and populously vast? Working there is challenging, at one moment exhilarating, the next depressing. But the menu for the photographer’s take-away is enticing: haunting, massive, varied landscapes, bustling streets, frantic markets, new-age cities and rustic villages; and peoples of a rich and varied culture, despite the years under a monolithic government. A few travel tips: don’t forget your thermals, take a bath plug and prepare to have all your preconceptions shattered.
Rickshaws in the snow, Beijing
The Great Wall
Cyclists in Tian’anmen Square, Beijing
Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) in the snow, Beijing
Children playing among drying noodles, Yunnan Province
Wase market, Er Hai Lake, near Dali, Yunnan Province
Cobbled bridge in Lijiang at dusk, Yunnan Province
Bai women in traditional costume, Wase market, Er Hai Lake, near Dali, Yunnan Province
Naxi woman, Yunnan Province
Jietang Songlin Monastery outside Zhongdian with prayer flags, Yunnan Province
