Nepal: Aliens Invade

Our youngest female alien. We were climbing the 1000 steps to the top of the hill and Annika was racing to catch up with everyone else after we had taken a cool picture of a worm. She is only alien in the sense that she is not Nepali.





Robin Seyfert, Sarah Peaceblade, and Marita my lovely wife.





This is my only youngest son, Shourov or Riley, whatever you like as long as you don't call him baby.

Nepal: Evening Sun

I was moving swiftly down the path hoping to get to supper by nightfall and I looked up and it almost took my breath away . . . the sun hitting this shack from around the corner with me on the shady side of the mountain. The washed out sky spited me but a photo could never have done what the real thing did to me. I am just glad I captured as much of it as I did.






Ah . . . no comment other than the fact that I love this photo and want it framed in my . . . good question . . . in which room would it best hang? I vote for the entry way. Do you think that it would be better if I would straighten it up so that the vertical lines are more verticaler?

Nepal: Art on the Walls

I love the light and the shadows. It sort of made this face look like a pudgy Zorro. The color in the original took away from the effect . . . believe me.





I didn't know that you were allowed to do this. If I ever build a brick home, I plan to make some of the bricks and do all sorts of cool stuff like this.





I will probably outsource the doors to the wonderful craftsmen of Nepal . . . using non-endangered wood of course.





I love this monochromatic vignette of an urban sketchpad. The broken window and the non-window is the icing on the cake (for me).





Must be a political symbol of sorts because I found him (the buffalo) again. I guess politics and art have never been too far apartNote the symbol inside the buffalo that the Nazis stole from the Hindus and inverted and perverted. Honestly, I don't know what it means to the Hindus and I was a bit disturbed when I first saw it all over the place.

Nepal: Doors and a Doorway

The thing that compelled me to take this picture was the monochromatic subject matter being imposed upon by the red and blue of the blanket and baby barrel (not full sized). What keeps bringing me back to this photo is the leaf streamers and their shadows. I never did figure out why they hang these things outside of their houses. I don't think they are just drying pretty leaves.




Ah, the beauty of a carved door.





I chose black and white because I love the pattern in this image. It almost reminds me of an austere Klimt. I would like to stick my own arbitrary colors into this photo. In fact, maybe I will.





Wood is so beautiful. I like it in the forest and I like it as a door. I'm a hugger. A tree hugger and a lumber hugger.





Finally the lack of a door, otherwise known as a doorway. A cigarette advert. Bricks playing peek-a-boo, Ganesh, and an oblivious goat.

Nepal: A Few Faces

I love the lavender and red together. Not a combination that I would usually jump for but it seems to work.




Ahh! The wonder of a child . . .





. . . and the wisdom of age.




John Deere colors with a little princess and some tree shadows and sunshine thrown in to give it all a sense of wonder and quirky nostalgia.

Nepal: Sustenance

After a few days of eating at our guest house we asked if there was another place close by with good food. Our kind host sent us here. An eclectic dive with lots of art and really good food at reasonable prices. The best part was that they had real coffee. The lemon pancakes were delectable and they served the crispy rice dish in handmade bowls.






Crispy rice in a handmade bowl.





Because we are are trying to use corn as an alternative meal for the Bangladeshi poor I was quite interested to see so much corn. It also made me nostalgic thinking of Iowa and Ohio. It is also quite photogenic if you ask me.









Begoon, aubergine, eggplant or brinjal . . . is there a difference? Anyhow, it is one of my favorite veggies on the sub-continent especially if it is fixed sub-continentally.





Turnips/radishes . . . photogenic but not my veggie of choice . . . I'll take the background long green beans any day . . . even raw . . . especially in green papaya salad.

Nepal: Worship Artifacts

The bell and the red cloth remind me of Christmas and yet not . . . because Christmas decorations are brought out once a year and don't really have time to gain the beautiful wear and tear that these items have.





I had to take a picture of this hole in the stone because I did not understand it. There was this collection of tridents that someone picked one out of and then he closed his eyes and threw the trident towards the stone as if he were trying to hit the bulls eye. It all seemed very fairy tale to me. I wonder what would have happened if he had hit the mark . . . three wishes?






Is this Kali? She seems very plastic as if it was a bad photo, but bear with me and look at the flower. It really did look this unreal.





I totally washed out the sky but hey I got the prayer wheels all in a row at Namobuddah.





A prayer flag wrapped around bamboo at Namobuddah. I love how you can see the landscape through the flag. I also like the idea of writing prayers on cloth and letting them flap around in the breeze. A very visual reminder that God is always listening . . . and flags are just plain cool and fun, teasing the child within.





Here is one hefty prayer wheel. It was the only thing inside the building, taking up all of the space. I should have put a Coke bottle at the bottom for reference, but why ruin a picture when I can ask you to use your imagination?





Here is the collection of tridents. This picture is my personal favorite out of this batch. I simply love all of the contrasts. The soft cloth, the hard steel. The blues and the pinks and reds. The harsh vertical lines of the steel and the soft curving lines of the cloth. I'd better stop . . . it gets better every time I look at it

Nepal: Fauna

If I were a bird I don't think I would ever land.

I like crows . . . in photos.





Would this be the crows' counterpart?

I feel a story coming on . . . and the crow is the good guy.





My son Jensen, the cow-herd.





My son Riley, the animal lover.





Not my son, but just about as colorful as one of them.

Nepal: Awe and Wonder

The deep greens of the forest always take me back to Northwestern Ontario. On this "short" trek to Namobuddah I saw this sight and was awed. I can still smell those pine needles. The hundreds of shades of green beckon to me, inviting me to enter into the mystery of their community.




The following two images were quick snaps as I was hurrying back along the trail wondering if I would be home by supper time to see my family. On the first snap, I focused on the mountains and then centered the picture and on the second I focused on the sky. Two totally different feelings. If I get enough time someday, I'd like to marry the first hills with the second sky in the chapel of Photoshop. (Okay...don't laugh...groan!)








In real life the little patch of green in the bottom right of this picture just about took my breath away the way the sun was hitting it. In the photo . . . let's just say that I probably won't hyperventilate anytime soon.




What is more beautiful: Clouds or Mountains? I'll take both . . . I'm getting goosebumps.

Nepal: Leaves, Walls and the Colors Orange and Sepia

Sometimes I hate the artificiality of painted bricks but sometimes the chalky distemper paint does the trick. The leaves on the other hand are the handiwork of a master.






I tried converting this picture into black and white and it looked so otherworldly that I figured nobody would believe that I found it on this planet.





These walls kind of reminded me of the American southwest. I would hate to live here because I would hate to take this much beauty for granted . . . yes, it would probably come to that.





These complementary colors just jumped out at me. There was no fear in the person painting this little restaurant. (I think it would make a great clay studio myself . . . the food would stay of course)





This bowl made from leaves is another work of genius. I think that it serves a religious purpose because I found it in the courts of an outdoor Hindu temple. If you look closely you can see the toothpick-like stitches which I didn't notice until I was breezing through my photos and halted astounded. Somehow sepia did the trick for me although I cannot articulate why.