Recently I was approached by one of the participants from our recent Pixelchrome/EpicPhoto Tours tour to Gujarat. She had been reviewing her images and was feeling very nervous about sharing them with her peers on our group Facebook page.

With her permission, I would like to share the contents of her email and then comment at the end:

"I have selected a few photos I love in the categories I had preselected before the trip.  Faces, Working, Street Life, Hands & Feet, Sharing and after being on the trip a new one, Animals.  I am following the Facebook posts from the group and feeling a bit intimidated/nervous about posting my photos on Facebook and mentioning Pixelchrome/Epic Photo Tours; I am thinking only fabulous photos should be shown to showcase your company in the best light.  Without post photo enhancement software, the best I can do is crop and a bit of highlighting…whatever Windows standard software allows."

First of all I would like to commend Lois on her foresight and on her wish to tell the story of her journey through Gujarat. What a great idea to try and tell that story with each of those categories in mind. This is certainly a good way to organize one's thoughts and a good way to plan the narrative — not that it would preclude her from photographing all of those random moments that would crop up that would not necessarily "fit" into those categories.

Secondly, having looked through the following collection of images, if I were a newcomer to the photo tour experience may I suggest that I might be intimidated by what I have seen here. This is quite a collection of images, one which I would certainly be proud to share with my peers, and indeed with the rest of the world.

Lois came on this tour as a fledgling photographer, and having been given the myriad opportunities which our tour offered, she stretched her photographic wings and soared.

I have arranged the images in galleries in the categories in which Lois had divided them, and at the top of each gallery I have chosen my favorite image from each collection. I have explained why in the caption — oh, and the first four images below are my pick of the whole bunch. 

Please grab a cup of coffee and take some time to look through this body of work — one which you should be proud to have created Lois. Brava! (click on the images in each gallery to create a slideshow)

All images © Lois Brassart, 2015

Strong, bold colors, good composition and great use of shadows. Timing was a little off. I would have waited till there was a little more separation between the two men (see example). I would have also altered my position so as to create more of a diagonal with the kite strings (see example). As it is the white strings form a rather strong 50:50 division of the frame

I love the mood in this image and it is the "gestures" that are what really make it work — the woman washing her hair, the position of the hand of the woman standing, and the raised paddle as the woman beats the clothing — great timing! Great use of the reflection. Maybe get lower next time and include the whole reflection.

Fabulous portrait, great connection and beautiful light

Here I really like the use of the arms as the lead in to the image. The diagonals are very strong, the color is strong and all the elements come together to tell the story of this sale/trade. In a perfect world I would have moved my camera perspective slightly so as to get rid of the bright spot of earth in the lower mid frame.

Fantastic image. You know what I really like about it is the wonderful use of depth of field. The viewer is so drawn to the cows where the background could have been a great distraction — not so here.

Not sure what is going on here but whatever it is, I really like it. The textured "overlay" in the background is very complimentary to the image as a whole. The expression on the face of the man is engaged and the placement of the hand is very strong — the gravy is his red string bracelet.

I really like the unusual point of view. The light is nice and you have made a connection with the girl. Compositionally I would have included all of the ladle and given a little more breathing room between the tyre and the edge of the frame. The cut-off matchbox is not helping either.

Great shot. It fits beautifully into your category of hands & feet — a bonus having the woman in green in the background! Again in a perfect world there are a couple of things that I would have changed to make this perfect. A step to the right would have got rid of the merge of the womens' arms with the tree, and I would have preferred that the woman in the background had been one pace back so as not to be so close to the edge of the frame.

This image is really strong in part due to the mystery. What is it? Love the texture and pattern.

Great use of the telephoto lens to compress the image. Great colors

Nice barber shop image. It took me a second to see the reflection of the face in the mirror. I like the repetition of the hand gesture. A little step to the right and you could have had the reflection of the barber in the big mirror, and a little more space between the  edge of the frame and the reflection of the guy being shaved would also have been nice.

The plan was to head down to the shipbuilding yard at Mandvi, on the banks of  the tidal estuary of the River Rukmavati, to see where they were building the massive wooden cargo boats. It was evident that most of our group were soon bored with this so one by one they wandered off. Someone shouted back at me as I entered the hull of one of these wooden monsters, "come and check out the fish market!" I thought that in a moment, I would. 

A half an hour later I remerged from the skeleton of the boat and headed towards the market. What a surprise — one of the most colorful, most friendly markets I have ever been in — small and compact, yet bustling with people and vendors selling all manner of wares from fruits and veg to fish both fresh and dried.

A further lesson never to under estimate the photographic opportunities that sneak up upon you around the next corner. To quote my travel partner and friend, Herb, "I love this shit. This is why we travel!"

I have just returned from an Epic Photo Tours/Pixelchrome photography tour in Gujarat in India. For two weeks 11 participants, myself and Herb Leventon, and our super guide Pravin Dangera visited cities, tribal villages, mosques, temples, Royal Palaces and much more. 

It was a wonderful tour with a warm, compatible group, great weather and a huge variety of subjects to photograph. Below I have posted a few more images from the tour (see also here) — please enjoy them!

As we near the one week mark on our trip to Gujarat I wanted to share a few images. As always India is amazing and it never disappoints — a true travel photographer's dream. Enjoy the images!

Hailing from Canada, California, Connecticut, Caracas and points in between, 11 photography enthusiasts with a passion for  travel met in Delhi and took  the first flight out to Srinagar. Not known to most, this city in the far north of India straddling the border with Pakistan is Islamic, located on mirror like Dal Lake, and just re-emerging as a tourist destination to those in the know. With former chief of UN photography services John Isaac and intrepid photographer Jeremy Woodhouse leading, the group was immediately engaged and in the thick of it.

If you are a curious photographer and want to get an immediate jolt, the best places to start is  the market. The  group walked the narrow streets of the market shooting the men with henna beards, the old wooden storefronts, the baker, the butcher and the life of a city very alien to us. Some girls were shy and hard to engage but if you want to get to know people you need to join them and  a few of us jumped on a school bus loaded with girls in green uniforms and had an immediate interchange. These kids all pulled out their cheap Nokia phones and as we shot them they giggled and photographed us. All I could think of was how when you have a camera you have a passport to the world. 

After just a day and a half this Kashmir trip has been be fantastic, the people are friendly, the house boat we are staying on is full of ambiance (and a few spider webs), the muazzin's call to prayer is our clock, and  the beauty of Dal Lake puts you immediately at peace. Srinagar feels serene, not  sure whether it is because the people have been through so much hardship and are all depressed or they are a spiritual people whose goodness comes from their belief system.

I have now been to India three times over the course of the last six months and my friends at home joke that I am now commuting there to work. I am starting to believe that if you go to India it will help you become a better person. Seeing Indians living in abject poverty will not help you appreciate things back at home because once at home you immediately fall back into your routine and self absorbed lifestyle. What India does do is help you step outside of your self and observe things and see things differently. I believe that how, and what you photograph is changed because of this.

Today was spent traveling across the parched northern zone of Gujarat. A few simple interactions along the way made a long ride a source of laughter. After two hours in the car we stopped at a small village where many tribal people and non tribe merchants live and work. Walking down the dusty main street everyone seemed to be smiling at me and random people would pull up along side of me and say in broken one word english, "German", "England", "America" all wanting to know where I was from. One guy  made my day by asking me what village I was from. I said New York and he replied, oh, good village. 


When checking into the hotel I heard that the drivers room didn't have a fan and I asked the receptionist why not. With out a blink she said because of the earthquake. I smiled at her and told her that  that was in 2002. If this was back at home I probably would have asked her if she was crazy, here in India all I could do was smile. An hour later walking in beautiful, atmospheric Buhj the far northern city in Gujarat I stopped for an ice-cream. As I was eating it I saw two kids looking at me and I bought them ice cream as well on a day when the temperature hit 106. Within seconds about fifty kids were around me. I didn't buy them all ice-cream but did take lots of photos of them and they  all seemed to be happy. The ice-cream vendor  smiled at me and offered me another ice-cream and said it was an honor to give me  an ice-cream for free.

As anyone who has ever been to India will tell you electricians have turned wiring a room up into an art form. In my room near the bed were six switches, each wall had two more, the bathroom had four and  to figure out how to lower the a/c  you would need to be a mensa. After fifteen minutes of trying to figure how to turn the light off in the bathroom  without success and lowering the a/c  I reluctantly called the desk and a sweet, soft spoken girl came up and I asked her to help me. Five minutes later she called downstairs to get help as she couldn't figure it out either. Within minutes another  girl came up bearing towels. I told  her we needed help with the lights and not towels. She said she didn't know anything about the lights in  the room but extra towels always make guests happy. I think I will go sleep in a freezing room with the lights on.

Woke up at seven in the morning and walked around the beautiful gardens at the Balaram Palace where I spent two nights. Immaculate room, sub zero a/c that works and a breakfast that would get four stars in Zagat's. Gujararti cuisine is mainly vegetarian, seasoned not spiced and artistically prepared. 

As we were driving further north I saw  five camel carts with people and all of their belongings. I told the driver Jagdish to slow down and follow them. He smiled, laughed  and said we would soon be making new friends. The encampment that they stopped at and entered was populated by the Mir tribe. Not all Gujarati tribes wear nose rings and tribal garb but these people were definitely in style. They looked at me and I looked at them and then this boisterous women charged out as us and told Jagdish to get me out of the sun and that she loved my gopi cap. Within minutes I started taking photos. They laughed and fought over who was going to get into the shot. Jagdish ran back to the car and grabbed my laptop and I downloaded the shots. Within minutes about 100 Mir were crowded around the laptop laughing and poking each other. We drove off and found the closest kirana (grocery store) and bought a big sack of rice; turned around and  I delivered my gift of thanks. My tour operator Smita  from Delhi who is guiding me said that I just helped India - US relations

According to my mini travel thermometer it was now 103 outside. We were headed to our next photo tour destination, Dasada. The major roads in Gujarat are in better shape than the west side highway in New York and we made it there in great time. The Rann Riders lodge being our base for the next few days, it was great to check into this lodge that had a pool, huge outdoor dining room, internet and bhunga (round mud brick) rooms. Fresh lime sodas were the first order upon checking in. Definitely the drink of choice in India.

A twenty minute jeep ride took us to a mixed  Rabari, Metasar and Koli village. Photographing the women walking to the stream to wash clothes, dodging dung patties, watching women winnowing, sweeping in front of their homes, kids playing, men smoking their evening pipes, shepherds bringing their flock in all made for a great three hour late afternoon/ perfect light photo opportunity.

Gujarat is the real India, little changed, traditional village life very much intact. You feel very far from home but still warmly embraced. With the  prolific photo leader Jeremy Woodhouse leading the way you will return home with an incredible portfolio. This is definitely a "boutique" photo expedition and not the canned  photo tours being offered by others. This photo expedition is for the experienced photographer/ traveler.

Must be running on adrenaline I woke up my second day in Ahmedabed at six o'clock in the morning and immediately went outside to smell, taste and breathe the air. One of the guide books I have said it was one of the most polluted places on the globe but the air quality was excellent this morning. After eating a breakfast of foods that I can't pronounce but sure tasted good the road trip began.

First stop was the  Adalaj Vav step well located 30 minutes outside of the city. Great sign when you start a trip and you are the only car on the road. This totally intact, massive 4 story well was built in 1040 and the pillars and symmetry lent itself for some good architectural photography. Catching the right angle  with the correct lighting was difficult  but I did find a place where I saw some strong shadows. A few workmen were sweeping the structure and I brought them over and we had some laughs posing with our arms out or above our heads. The shadow shots came out great and the guys didn't want to go back to work and wanted to continue the photo shoot.

Next stop was the Hindu temple an hour away by the name of Bechragi. Our local guide said that the temple was interesting but I would probably find the Hijra's who spent their days there of more interest. This group of  people are called the third sex in India and are marginalized by Indian society. My guide knew the chief mother, Lila,  and introduced me as his Amercan friend. Not feeling comfortable focusing my camera on them I tried to engage them in a little small talk via the guide as a translator. Some had heavy chains on their ankles a few growled at me and  Lila let me know that if I wanted to photograph them the conversation would be over. I explained that I would be bringing a  photo group over in January  and doing a tribal tour and saw them as a tribe. Lila seemed to like the  way I put it and soon enough we were negotiating the plan. I promised to buy sari's  for the akha"community" and a small camera for Lila. I was then given permission to shoot some portraits of the group. Some smiled, some teased and some primped.

Gujarat is not on the  tourist trail so finding a lunch spot with  a western sense of hygiene was a chore. We eventually ate at the temple dining hall. Chapati, beans and potatoes and a prayer that I wouldn't get sick was on the menu. The lighting was great and the photo opportunities in the cavernous hall were terrific. Everyone smiled and wanted to have their picture taken while eating. You can call this food photography on a photo trip.

Next stop was the town near the Balaram Palace Resort where we  would be staying for two days. The barber shops, women in sari's, cattle in the road, the dust  and sand kicking up and the camels pulling carts all created a photo buzz. People kept on running over to me smiling  and saying "from where" 'from where". It was like I landed on the moon and was the first foreigner to ever be there. The only person who was really fluent let me know that they would  be talking about  me for weeks. No one asked for money for having their photo taken and the hassle factor was zero. They loved being photographed, especially the guys in the barber shops. It appears that Indians love going to the barber.

Sharing the road with cattle, watching the shepherds bringing their sheep in from pasture, and watching the tribal women balance water pails on their heads let me know that this was a great destination for a cultural immersion photo trip. 

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