Author: travel67

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, one of the largest and most impressive forts in India. It’s quite a hike to make your way from the old town, up through maze of walls and gateways, to the top of the fort. It is worth remembering, that some who attempted this jaunt ended up impaled on spikes, showered with boiling oil, shot with arrows, and / or  hacked, cleaved or decapitated.

Jodhpur Kids

Spent most of my time in Jodhpur wandering through the twisting alleyways of the old city. Local kids were pretty inquisitive, so it wasn’t too difficult to get some street portraits. Pentax K-5 IIs Pentax SMC-DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited

Noguchi-gera / Pryer’s Woodpecker / Sapheopipo noguchii

Up early again today. Jumped in the car and met up with birder Ichiro Kikuta to check out another family of Pryer’s Woodpeckers. It was misty and rainy, but the hole in the tree was low to the ground and close to the road. I set up the tripod in the back of the car and shot from cover out through the open window. (Jack Reacher would have approved.) Every few minutes the female, or the more flamboyant red-capped male, would return to the nest with a beak full of insects.  Ichiro said that the chicks were almost ready to fly as the parents didn’t even have to go inside to feed them. Pentax 645D with SMC PENTAX-FA★645 300mm F4ED[IF] and 1.4x Rear Converter