Dad says I always only show beautiful pictures, tell awesome tales but hardly ever speak about the difficulties, tough choices & sacrifices it takes to chase an insatiable mountain dream from the sea.
So OK, here’s my Himalayan face very few had seen from 2014. We were caught in the blinding blizzard on the way down from Everest Base Camp route to celebrate my birthday on the World’s Highest Hotel – Hotel Everest View.
Mom & I were badly burnt by the snow & sun. We had accidentally packed our sunscreen in the main bag that had already gone off with the porter. (Mom would kill me if I posted her face here! :P) I blame it on the the altitude because during those days, I was always & forever sick. Hopefully, not anymore like today!
Similarly with my photography, I learned that it is a whole different level to be an adventurer photographer. I failed miserably last October in Nepal, then February in NZ Mountaineering school. In Nepal, it was always too cold, too tired, wrong lens, wrong setting etc etc… and nothing happened except this one. Then in NZ Mountaineering school, the course itself was too intense to even think about taking pics! And so I am going to try again this upcoming trip.
I have been doing some reading & here’s a really good article about it all.
The Guide to Mountain Photography:- https://bit.ly/2YYnpZZ
The article describes the exact struggles I had along the way that I didn’t think about before I went & also the approach. Everything should have a standard operating procedure. Then, it is a matter of finding the synchronicity between the process & the your personal style to make magic! At least I got a few things right like my hardware – camera, a Sony A6300, batteries, SD cards, solar charger etc. I was very impressed that my camera did not give up on me at -20C but I gave up on the camera. Then, this was the only outcome closest to my galactic dream.
Well, sometimes I make mistakes, it hurts, I learned the hard way, I tried, I failed, I cried, I succeeded, I celebrated but whatever it is as long as my heart stays true, I will never give up! (Of course, I try not to die along the way!) 😛
“A commitment to climbing mountains means a commitment to failure… A failure by traditional standards, but the best lessons are sometimes learned when your acute discernment is put to the test.”
Cory Richards
It is M-2 & here I go again to the unknown, the unaccomplished & hopefully reach new heights. ❤
