January desktop wallpaper and New Year wishes

The first free desktop wallpaper of the year shows the often overlooked Humayun’s Tomb in Nizamuddin, Delhi, India.

Humayun’s Tomb has similar Mughal stylings to the Taj Mahal although its construction was completed over sixty years before Shah Jahan began to sketch out plans for his monument to enduring love. If you ever visit Delhi and can persuade a tuk-tuk driver to meet you before dawn, not a difficult task if you promise to buy the chai, then you may get to Nizamuddin before the sun rises and the tourist hordes descend.

If the Gods are feeling especially gracious, you might even get to the entrance of Humayun’s tomb half an hour before the gates officially open and, for the price of another cup of chai, be able to persuade the security guard to let you into the grounds where you can spend those precious thirty minutes in complete solitude. Indeed, for those golden, cherished minutes on that particular day, I was the only person to see the first light of the day light up the magnificent tomb. In its five-hundred year history, I had thirty minutes alone with it. And now you can spend a whole month enjoying the solitude of Humayun’s Tomb. Free desktop wallpaper downloads for January are below.

Here’s to at least one more such serendipitous moment in 2009 for each of us!

Humayun’s Tomb:

Canon EOS 1Ds MKII, 24-70mm L @ 24mm, 1/125 @ f/8, ISO200

January 2009 Wallpaper (1024×768)
January 2009 Wallpaper (1280×800)
January 2009 Wallpaper (1280×1024)
January 2009 Wallpaper (1920×1200)

Finally, I was recently asked to write a foreword for the Travel section of the Digital Photographer Yearbook and thought I’d share my brief thoughts on Travel Photography. A kind of Mission Statement if you will, it seems like a good way to kick off the new year.

“As a travel photographer your studio is the world outside your door and the only equipment required is a camera and a willingness to look for new perspectives. Lighting comes courtesy of whatever is available; sun, sky, tungsten and neon - travel photographers have access to it all. We are not restricted by subject or location, only by an obligation to record the world we see with honesty and compassion. More than just exotic locations and wild adventures, travel photography is about seeing your surroundings with fresh eyes and childlike enthusiasm.”

Happy New Year!

A Year in Pictures: December 2008

How best to conclude a pictorial summary of 2008? I think this is appropriate. 2008 has been a year of change and readjustment for me. It concluded with me planning several exciting projects for 2009 and I think the final entry in next year’s blog promises to be really interesting.

One of the projects I have been working on has been something of a departure for me. I’m used to showing the sunny, smiley side of exotic locations and I love bringing out the best in a place. However, I’m also aware that there are deeper, more personal stories to be told. This was brought home to me in quite a stark fashion recently when I heard a young lady relate her experiences as a Falun Gong practitioner in mainland China. She spoke calmly and eloquently about her life and the reasons why she eventually decided to flee China, leaving her home and family behind. I have met with the lady on several occasions since, recording interviews and taking photographs in the hope that I can do some justice to her story and perhaps bring it to a wider audience. I will post the result of our efforts here soon but in the meantime, here is one of the images I’ve taken. You may see something much softer in this interpretation but having heard this lady’s story I have called this photograph “Determination”.

A Year in Pictures: November 2008

November saw me starting an association with the Bangkok Refugee Centre, an association that I’m sure to expand upon in future blog posts. For now, suffice to say that I’ve taken pictures at several events at the Refugee Centre and am never failed to be impressed. I’m impressed by the commitment of the volunteers who work and teach there and even more impressed by the tenacity and good-humour of the people who find themselves there having fled their home countries. These two girls were wearing their traditional dress as they rehearsed for an open day.

A Year in Pictures: October 2008

October found me in Bhutan for what proved to be the most memorable month of 2008. It’s difficult to choose just one image from Bhutan but despite looking for a more obscure or abstract photo to illustrate my trip, this one keeps popping up and is difficult to ignore. It’s perhaps because it was one of those serendipitous moments where things come together at the right time. There’s a classroom behind the windows and the novices had been taking turns to poke their heads through to see the strange man in the floppy hat who had climbed the stairs on the opposite side of the courtyard. I’d snapped quite a few frames but when this young man appeared I knew I had the shot I was looking for.

A Year in Pictures: September 2008

“You can’t come to Thailand and not photograph elephants”, somebody told me recently. Quite so. This elephant is employed in Ayutthaya, carrying tourists around the central temple complex. I never quite get over the fact that something as large and powerful as an elephant can seem so apparently friendly and docile. They really are the most improbable and fascinating creatures. The eyes are all-important in portraits of people and it seems the same is true of elephant pictures too.

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