The Secret to Good Travel: it's not about what you SEE, it's all about how you FEEL!

School Girls
Bhaktapur, Nepal - 2009

Preparing for a trip is fun; it's exhilarating to anticipate the thrill of being in a totally different physical environment, observing a totally different way of life. It allows us to step outside ourselves and our daily routines to gain a wider perspective on our lives and the amazing possibilities that stretch out before us. And it's that same wonderful feeling that we all work so hard to retain after our journeys are over and we are on our way home.

Trips are often scheduled around all the places we want to see - the Himalayas, the Piazza San Marco, the Potala Palace, the Uffizi Gallery, Machu Picchu. The list is endless.  However, when we head home and think back on some of the special moments we experienced, it's often the human stories unfolding before us that make the lasting impressions.

Without the crutch of language we learn to communicate with our faces and hands.  We express emotions more clearly with our bodies, without relying on words. I marvel at how universally welcoming a smile can be, how a shared laugh immediately bridges the gap between continents, and how we are all so effortlessly capable of spontaneous acts of kindness and generosity.

So this post is a tribute to all the wonderful people who have embraced me on my many trips. Rather than turn away from my camera, they've smiled into it and invited me, a total stranger, to share in that particular moment of their lives. And I seem to remember exactly where I was, and what I was thinking and feeling when I took every one of these photographs.

Proud Grandfather
Bungamati, Nepal - 2009

Pilgrims Crossing the Yarlung River to the Samye Monastery
Yarlung River Valley, Tibet - 2009

Family Outing to the Taj Mahal
Agra, India - 2007

Boy and His Bicycle
Village outside Lhasa, Tibet - 2009

Smiling Sadhu at Pashupatinath
Kathmandu, Nepal - 2007

Woman with Spindle
Zedang, Tibet - 2009

Smiling Monk in Doorway at the Temple of the Divine Madman
Wangdu, Bhutan - 2009

None of these photographs were staged, though I did ask if I could snap a photo just before I put the camera up to my eye.  Happily, they all agreed. 

Some of these photographs are included in a desk calendar titled "Himalayan Encounter", which you can find at my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/82102104/2012-desk-calendar-himalayan-encounters. All of the images posted here are also available for purchase as 8x10 and 5x7 fine art prints and A2 size greeting cards (all printed on archival water color paper) at http://DigitalYak.etsy.com/. Be sure to send me a message if there is something you'd like that you don't see listed, or if you'd like a custom size or item, as I truly enjoy creating one of a kind items that hold special meaning. Thanks!!