Author: travel67

The “Elephant Festival” Jaipur, India

Published by travel67

The Elephant Festival in Jaipur was meant to be meant to be an unmissable event. I love to document major festivals, therefore I’d timed my trip so I’d be in Jaipur on March 26th. Unfortunately, on the day before the festival, there was strange rumor being whispered around the city. By the evening, a piece of paper stuck to a hotel window confirmed our fears, this year the Elephant Festival would be elephant free. I completely understand and applaud the organizers, if they believe that it is no longer appropriate to use elephants to celebrate a festival. If the elephants have to be conditioned into a state of docility and obedience by violence then I’d hate to condone the behavior by photographing, and therefore promoting, the event. What was frustrating was that this decision had been taken weeks if not months previously, and yet it was only announced the day before the festival. This became obvious when, on arriving at the event, all the banners and printed materials called it a Holi Festival and there …

Life is Sweet by J Muzacz

Published by travel67

J Muzacz is an artist and a traveller. He’s spent most of the last year working as a sugar cane farmer on Ishigaki, and drawn his encounters with the island’s people, and wildlife in his sketch books. Very cool, inspirational guy. Check out his work here. I know J from his earlier project Japan 365 where he drew an image of Japan every day for a year.

Torii Gate & Sugar Cane

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Brian Hobson 7th Dan Okinawa Shorinryu Kiyobukan

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After photographing Seiei Nakaza sensei, I took a few shots of his senior student, Brian Hobson. It might seem strange to call a 7th dan black belt a student, but even those who have studied karate for decades often visit Okinawa to learn from the masters of the art.

Jantar Mantar – Jaipur

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Between 1728 and 1734, Jai Singh had a passion, if not an obsession, for knowing the time. The result was the creation of the amazing astronomical devices, at Jantar Mantar in Jaipur.

Seiei Nakaza 9th Dan Okinawa Shorinryu Kiyobukan

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Seiei Nakaza 9th Dan Okinawa Shorinryu Kiyobukan, the latest local legend to be photographed as part of the Karate Masters Portrait Project.

Pre Holi Celebrations

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On the day before Holi festival, some locals couldn’t resist opening up their bags of dyed cornflower, and making the world a more colorful place.This group of men were quite reserved with their pink / yellow combination. Things would be a lot wilder the following day.

Snow Dog

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Feeling the heat? Take one white background, hit it with a bit of light, and you have a winter wonderland for a husky.

On Pink Streets – Jaipur, India

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Leaving the blue walls of Jodhpur, I headed east to Jaipur, the pink city. A few portraits of men on the street before the craziness of Holi begins.

Andrea Conn – Location / Studio Session

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Last week I did a location / studio session with bodybuilder and servicewoman Andrea Conn. Andrea has been training for the Pacific Muscle Classic Show on June 2nd, and wanted photos of herself while looking and feeling at her peak. After an hour on the beach we headed over to the studio and I shot both fitness portraits, and some softer beauty shots. This gave her a nice selection of images for both her own albums and to send to family back home. All in all, a fantastic shoot with a lovely lady. I’m sure she’ll knock it out of the park at tomorrow’s competition.