- Edward Abbey
1. Vibhor Taneja
Having been on all of the photosensitive treks I can gladly claim the accolade of being a senior member. And yet I eagerly wait for our new expeditions like a child. To me the workshops are not only informative but also liberating. Even after having fair enough idea of the techniques I pay close attention during the intro sessions on day 1 as brushing up is always great and there is something new to be learnt each time. The whole experience is not at all that of a workshop as you are not only learning, practicing or exercising the craft...u are also rejuvenating your senses. And this really inspires me as I'm away from the hustle bustle enjoying solitude mixed with creative energies and interaction. My most memorable memories are those of the first trek when I was terrified with the terrain and obstacles and I'm glad I took that leap over fear...and now am gearing up for the next.
2. Merideth Lacina
I have the time to sit down and give my feedback with a bit of care so here goes. I am not an English major, so even I am prone to some grammatical errors...I thought the pace of the trek was good. I enjoyed the longer treks (those that needed a packed lunch) because they took us through a larger variety of places to photograph, and more changing light conditions. The packed lunches were a good compromise to missing a sit down lunch.
When one is walking around the woods with your camera right at the ready, there are more happy accidents. That being said, when we did have the rest days the first camp with the river/rocks and then the camp near the peak were ideal because they had plenty to photograph in close proximity to the tents.
The tents were perfect. No leaks during the night and inside the sleeping bags (which were very clean) I was warm enough at night (Although I did sleep with many layers on). The camp staff was very pleasant and took really good care of us, I really liked the two guides. The food was excellent. High in protein and they did a good job preparing it. In India I have gotten sick quite easily on food that probably wasn't properly prepared, but the cook this trek was great (no sickness). I especially enjoyed Chai at 6am!
As far a specific photography instruction, I found both of you very approachable and very knowledgeable especially with all the different equipment and gadgets available. You did a great job answering questions and creating impromptu classrooms when someone would find something interesting and not know how to shoot it. It was also nice to see a variety of cameras and lenses because then we could see other equipment in action. (The slide show after the trek is also an excellent way to continue this discussion, I am glad that is part of the trek) The slide show on micro photography was good, although perhaps more useful if sent to the participants before the trek, if they wanted to purchase any equipment (you did send the list of suggestions, but easier to justify the money if one knows what you'll get out of having the item). Perhaps there should be a pre-trek meeting when everyone brings their camera equipment/bag/and the shoes they want to wear. Or if?it was too hard to get everyone together, then maybe some specific suggestions on shoes and backpacks (the intro-email touched on the topic, but still there were some questionable shoes and backpacks that were too heavy or not built with enough support).
Ok, there are my thoughts. If I think of anything more I will email it. But I also wanted to say Thank you to both of you. The trek has been a highlight of my time here in India. I felt very lucky to be included in the group and felt very welcomed. I wish the trek was my first week in India and now I was spending six months here. I feel truly lucky to be a part of photosensitive!
3. Mansi Midha
What a trip!!!
One week later...And I still can't stop raving about how well it went...
It was....
It was...
It was...
In one word... "AWESOME" (the preferred lingo of the trip :) )
There really isn't much that I can write about the experience, it was the best ever.
We climbed mountains, crossed rivers, woke up at 5 am! --- for the love of photography...
The first ray of the sun, the bird that never quite sat still, that tiny orange bug that crawled all over and the circular pattern of the star trails... all captured on film! Some of the photographs produced by the group were definite Wow's. It wasn't just that, each of us have a special memory attached with the trip...be it the cheesy humor (Pallavi!!! Vibhor!!!) ha-ha, the fact that we made it from one camp to next, the...'hop accrosses', the sole-less people, our doctor-ji, the camera that was never charged, the medicine tablet used to keep the shutter open to capture the star trails (all the 'jugads' one could think of), and the shoes that never dried!!!
The mini lessons and continuous guidance taught me lots and I think is all towards improving my skills at photography. Landscape is something I had always wanted to try my hand at...and what better location did I get for my firsts!!! Macro was fun as were the slllll-oooo-www shutters at the river. The icing on the cake (pun intended) was however the last night shooting the star trails! It was SO cold but I think for a first shot the trails were pretty cool :) and worth it!
We missed out Beas Kund (next year guys?) but the extra day at Bhakker Thatcch was spent well exploring macro...
Now I understand that it is all about what the photographer wants from the photograph...or saying the same thing differently I would say that a photograph is what the photographer wants it to be...
So when I take a photograph... why did I use those particular settings? Why did I shoot at f4? Why did I not use a smaller f-stop? Why did I not shoot from that angle instead? Why did I not use a fast shutter speed on that one...? Or WHY did I use a tripod?
One must be able to answer those questions...
Each photograph is a creation on its own... we all must be able to analyze the why's....and that's what this trip helped me to do...Or as I just came across Ansel Adams who said ' you don't take a photograph, you make it'...that's what I'm trying to say... :) and that is what I understand now...
Beautiful surroundings, "awesome" guidance and great company...Can't say enough thank-you's to those who made it possible....All I can say is...Let's do it again! Let's make more 'magic'!
4. Shubhra Chaturvedi
I have had good interaction with both of you on the trek and most of what I think is known to you but still I will pen it down in a structured format:
1. I think the trek was well thought out and very well planned.
2. The people organizing were nice and that made it really worthwhile.
3. One thing which i thot could be done was to assign the tents and sleeping bags from day one. Maybe a number or something...so that entire trek at least u are in the same sleeping bag. I think mid way i got the sleeping bag which Tim or Vibhor used and it smelled of cigarettes. Not too much of an issue except that this is how we did in the last trek and it helps.
4. Lastly though I reliase that the idea was that the trek was to be easy to concentrate on photography, but i feel it was too easy especially the last leg where we could have easily done some more hiking. Just my view.
Overall as u wud know already i had a great time. learnt a lot of new things and refreshed a lot of old stuff... and as shailan sir wud put it, my next trek i will be talking of this one and not nanda devi one...
Thanks to both of u for making this happen.
5. Gurmeet Singh
About the trek, the first long trek I've been on...it was an enriching experience. Firstly learning about macro photography, and then having an extended experience of going into the field with it. The landscapes, the variations in light...the use of filters and an up close and personal chapter on apertures and focal length. Overall it has helped me gain more knowledge in the field.
Again it was fun to be part of the group...Joginderji and Shailanji have conducted the trek with good synchronization, efficiency and finesse.
6. Ari Ramani
There's just one thing i would like to include in the whole trek. We could have spent one extra day at the Hotel, relaxing and sharing all our work with available resources. Probably next time you should recommend everyone carrying their S-Video cable or an AV cable to directly skim through the pictures shot. I understand there would be a time constraint to this, but having a presentation later is almost tempting to spend another 10k to just touch base at Delhi. Felt the trek with good by all standards.
7. Soven Parker
I never thought the trip would be like it was. I thought it would be really boring but I had a lot of fun. I have written a poem about the trip
I didn't want to go, I made a fuss
But on the way in the bus
I loved every second
My seat number was the second
In the Solang Valley hotel we played football
Until the lunch call
The lunch was delicious
At dinner we were told about a vicious
creature who lived in the forest
And fed on eggs in a nest
The trek started the next day
And I heard my father say
That we were going to the mountain with snow
I thought to myself that I would throw
Snow balls on everyone
And above us was shining the sun
at last we reached the campsite
Dhoondi where I lost all my might
The snow was still far
I wanted to go by car
Before the trek
Was the bag check
In no time we were at our destination
It felt like a wonderful vacation
but it was a whole lot more
for we learnt a lot more
while our sirs helped our spirits soar
with our cameras beautiful pictures we shot
ok ok not all we caught
was great but we hope to do better on our next trip
which i will surely not skip
come hail come snow
i will make sure we go
8. Kunal Shingla
the quality of the tents, food, sleeping bags and a lot of other things was much much better....but i think the team we got last time was better than this one....these guys worked hard but somehow we had more fun n enjoyed more with last year's team....they were younger.....more playful....meals were fantastic like always....in fact it was better the trek was a lot of difficult this time....i was fitter for this one than the last year trek...but in the end.....over all it was still on the positive side... :-) we all came back smiling.... :-) learning bout new cameras and equipments....the whole group was wonderful like before....people of all ages....dinner time used to be fun....looking forward to the slideshow....