I’ve just returned from the Indian Himalayas. I’ve spent three weeks in Himachal Pradesh (a region in the northwest of India) and in particular visited the valleys of Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur. I was confronted with incredible natural landscapes – ranging from areas with very rich vegetation to high altitude deserts to snow-capped peaks above 6000 meters – but also with stunning buddhist monastries and a very welcoming and sincere rural population always with a smile on the face. Now the cumbersome but rewarding work of processing the 1100+ photos I shot awaits me… below a quick one I’ve selected from the bunch. It’s the mudbrick fort of Dhankar in the Spiti valley: now empty and used as stable, it once sheltered the whole population of the Nono kingdom during times of war.

I’ve just published in the Gallery a collection of photos taken in Kashgar during my trip to China in 2007. Kashgar was once the main crossroads of central Asia, famous for its markets full of goods and merchants from the east and west of the known world. Nowadays part of China’s Xinjiang region, the town is rapidly changing under the influence of Chinese Han and becoming more and more modern. Nonetheless, the charm is still there: especially in the old town, the Livestock Market (Mal Bazaar) and the Sunday Market (Yam Bazaar). Enjoy the shots!

If you have a passion for photography like I do, then you can hardly leave for a trip without your full camera gear. Travel and photography go hand in hand because new places and people tickle a photographer’s creativity, there are a lot more occasions for great shots and it’s a human desire to bring back home something more than memories. However, being that passionate also means that you long ago substituted that handy compact camera with a full-fledged D-SLR (digital single lens reflex) which is not the most comfortable gear to carry around, especially if adventure-traveling or backpacking. This post shares a few tips and lessons learned on traveling with a D-SLR from my trips and adventures. More »