MountainWorld Photography

Drokpa, or Tibetan nomad

A drokpa, or Tibetan nomad, woman with her baby tied to her back outside of Ditrul Phuk Gompa on the kora, or circumambulation, of Mount Kailash, Tibet.

I could see them, dressed up in their finest clothes, as we approached the entrance to Ditrul Phuk Gompa, a monastery on the north side of the sacred kora, or circumambulation, of holy Mount Kailash (AKA Kang Rinpoche). A group of drokpa, or Tibetan nomads, sadly a rapidly disappearing group on the high plains of the Tibetan Plateau.

I approached cautiously, not wanting to scare them off with my camera. A polite clasping of hands in the prayer position coupled with a soft greeting of tashi delek eased any tension that was there. They were beautiful people, tall and proud with wide smiles splashing across high cheekbones. After chatting a bit with my extremely limited Tibetan language skills and hand signals, I asked, in rudimentary Tibetan, if I could take a picture of them: Para gyabna digi-rebay?

They nodded a polite yes, the men posing austerely and the woman grinning sheepishly. I snapped about 20 photos on my Nikon D200, bracketing exposures in the knowledge that this scene might not present itself again. When they seemed to have had enough, I spun the camera around, went into review mode, and showed them their picture on the monitor. Smiles again...surprise...disbelief. They most likely had never had their picture taken, let alone actually seen it in front of them.

We zoomed in, zoomed out, and went through the various pictures still stored on my memory card. Then, it was time to go - to dinner for me, and to continue the sacred kora for them. As I always like to do, I gave them a small bit of money to say thanks - as a professional photographer, I feel it is only right to compensate my "models" in some way.

And, with that, two worlds, joined together for a brief moment, went their separate ways...

Bamboo Fence, Japan

A simple bamboo fence arcs into the forest of Yoyogi-koen Park near downtown Tokyo, Japan.

As my client and I strolled along the quiet pathways of the Yoyogi-koen near downtown Tokyo, Japan, we were amazed by the Stark contrast between the glittering neon and thumping sprawl of the Tokyo metropolis versus the serene peace and quiet of the Yoyogi-koen.

The park seemed to exude a Zen-like peace: hushed, deliberate, planned. As we strolled down one path, I noticed a stunning bamboo fence running away into the forest. The lines were perfect, a slight bow in the fence drawing the eye into the distance.

I leaned against a small tree to stabilize myself for the slow shutter speed necessary in the dark forest on an overcast day. A wide open aperture setting allowed the background to fall out of focus while keeping the foreground sharp and crisp.

To me, the scene seemed quintessentially Zen...What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Equipment: Nikon D100, Nikon 24-120 lens

King Penguins

King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) bickering at Gold Harbor, South Georgia Island.

I had just finished co-leading a team of adventurers from Geographic Expeditions in Sir Ernest Shackleton's footsteps across South Georgia Island with my friends Dave Hahn and Dierdre Galbraith in 2004. After a successful crossing, we continued traveling around the island by ship, stopping at the notable destinations like Grytviken, Stromness, Salisbury Plain, and Gold Harbor.

At the latter, I took off with my camera for a stroll amongst the King Penguins which were in abundance along the shore. Wanting to get a better view of the azure waters, snow capped peaks, and stunning scenery of South Georgia, I climbed uphill into the grasslands and followed a group of male Kings trying to figure out where they were going and what they were doing.

Eventually, we came to a hilltop with the stunning background you see in the image. Apparently, the King Penguins could not get along very well, and almost immediately started bickering. To me, they seemed like little boys taunting one another. One King, without warning, just reached out and slapped his friend in the beak. Stunned and irritated, the victim launched a counter attack, seen here, with flying flippers and squeals. Soon enough, the whole argument passed, and off they went in peace.

Shot with: Nikon D100, Nikon 24-120 zoom lens.