Photographic Workshop to King Island 15th-18th March 2013

Apr5

I have recently returned from a four day workshop on King Island with 21 participants. Two from country Benalla and nineteen from the Rosanna Camera Club. What a great weekend we had together and never a dull moment. It was lovely to see such a large group all working together and appreciating the great outdoors that only a place like king Island can provide with such amazing and changeable weather. I am sure everyone benefited greatly from the workshop judging by the comments made and came away feeling positive and with memory cards full of great images!

NEPAL PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKSHOP FEBRUARY – MARCH 2013

Mar23

Starting with a midnight flight out of Melbourne we arrive in Kathmandu after lunch to be greeted by our private van and taken to the hotel. Our accommodation is a boutique guesthouse in the heart of Kathmandu’s Thamel district. That evening we enjoy dinner and a discussion about the journey ahead.

The next day we start early to see the Monkey Temple (Swayambunath) at sunrise and later in the day we visit the Hindu temple and holy men of Pashupatinath and then immerse ourselves in the chaos of Durbar Square. Well find ourselves confronted by Sadu of varying holy authenticity, we’ll walk through the Thamel streets where residents buy their produce for dinner and have time to talk about the camera and light in preparation for the journey. After Katmandu, we spend a night in the city of Bhaktapur, one of the former kingdoms in the Kathmandu Valley. “The City of Devotees” still retains its medieval charm and we get a chance to explore the laneways and Newari architecture with afternoon and morning light. The past glory of the Malla rulers are reflected at the towns Durbar Square while traditional industries of pottery and weaving are on show to this day. At dusk and dawn the streets fill with local produce vendors selling their goods to residents, adding an intimate range of subjects for our photography.

The next day we have a long drive to reach the Pokhara Valley and the hill-top town of Bandipur on the way we follow mighty rivers, stop for a local style lunch of Dahl Bhat and finish in a boutique hotel in Bandipur. These are also Newari people. We drive to the town of Pokhara with a few scenic stops on the way. This is our base for preparing for the Annapurnas ahead, and we make arrangements to ensure all travellers have warm clothing and snug sleeping bags. You may wish to shop for a warm jacket or gloves for the cool weather ahead, and Pokhara is wall to wall with vendors to sell you some outdoor gear. We’ll enjoy a tandoori meal and fresh fruit juices. We stay in the Fish Tail Resort and hope for a clear morning so we can view the Fish Tail Peak (Machupuche) from the hotel. The next day starts earely with a spectacular flight into Jomsom, a village in the Annapurna mountains of Nepal located at 2800m. We spend two nights to the south in the charming town of Marpha to explore a few villages, moraines and scenic locations. These few days also help us to adjust to the mountain air and high altitude.

The next day we head further into the former Mustang Kingdom where the landscape presents ever changing views of the Annapurnas and their peaks. Dhaulagiri and Niligiri present themselves in various facades as we head north from Jomsom. Getting to Kagbeni is a tough day of jeeps, a short hike and some more jeeps. The trail is better suited to mountain trekkers than photographers, so hold onto your pack and enjoy the ride. Once we arrive in Kagbeni we’ll have some stunning sunrise opportunities, colourful vistas and a Tibetan monastery to photograph. Kagbeni sits at an altitude of 2750m. This is where things get a little tougher. Muktinath is where the jeep trail ends and you have to trek to go any further. It’s also at an altitude of 3800m so we have to go easy on the thin air. The jeep ride is about on hour and it’s rough and tumble all the way. We spend two nights here so we can explore the sacred temple that attracts both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrams, plus visit surrounding towns. The most prominent shrine is a Vishnu temple where 108 spouts, fashioned in the shape of cows heads, pour forth water that is considered to be holy. There are great landscape vistas to be enjoyed at sunrise, and also sunset if the skies remain clear.

We spend the morning visiting local villages around Muktinath, then return to Jomsom after lunch for a single night with hot showers and hot food. We have a favourite guesthouse here that serves great fresh crushed apple juice, fluffy pancakes and potato & cheese mo-mos. We rest up before flying out very early the next morning, but also plan to get one last chance to shoot the peaks of Nilgiri at dusk and dawn as Jomson provides excellent views of these ranges.

We have a travel day with two flights, luch in Pokhara and a rest period….time enought opt take a boat ride out onto the lake! ……before arriving back in Kathmandu in the mid-afternoon. It’s a mad dash through the traffic to photograph the “Sadu’s” at their best during the festival. The next day we start early to see a small Newari village beyond Kathmandu where chickens are sacred and goats trample the stupas. We finish the day with sunset at the Tibetan Buddhist temple of Boudhanath before a farewell dinner.

On the final day we are transfered to the airport around lunchtime to fly home. Our group flight returns to Melbourne the following day, with the first sector in the afternoon and the final sector overnight…. arriving in Melbourne about 1.15pm

Everyone had the most incredible time, with so many photo’s to process and sort. A challenge to participate but memories for a lifetime!

Warrnambool and Portland Weekend February 1st – 3rd 2013

Feb12

I was invited to Judge the Tyrendarra Agricultural Show Photographic section last weekend. This takes in quite a large area around Portland in Victoria’s South West region. A great response with over 300 entries and 14 sections of which 4 were for the juniors. I was very impressed with the overall quality of the work presented and many entries from the local camera club in Portland were extremely well represented. The club asked if I could give a presentation on Thursday night so I obliged. They had advertised my presentation in the local paper so the club had a few visitors for the night as well as most of the club members attending. With some time out on the actual show day between judging… I watched with interest the show jumping and shot a few images. Also had a little time on the friday to drive around and catch some lovely cloud images and coastline. Hope to arrange a workshop with the local club sometime next year.

The Portland club wanted to promote the evening I had scheduled with them and so they got their local newspaper to put in an article….. they also got the newspaper to come out to the show and again promote their Photographic Exhibition… I have attached both articles to this post.

Arnhem Land Photography Masterclass

Jan25

TODAY I AM ANNOUNCING A WONDERFUL AND UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE WISHING TO JOIN EWEN BELL AND MYSELF ON THIS EXTRAORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKSHOP…. FULL DETAILS ARE IN THE WORKSHOPS DROP DOWN MENU AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE….EMAIL MYSELF OR EWEN BELL FOR YOUR PERSONAL PDF FILE.

Wildlife and wilderness on a 5-day luxury masterclass. Rock art at Mt Borradaile and the remote charms of Davidson’s Safari Camp are the backdrop to an exploration of photographic expression. This is one of the most spectacular locations in Australia, a unique piece of the Top End to be enjoyed with professional wildlife guides and expert tuition from Ewen Bell and Ian Rolfe.

August 20-24, 2013
August 25-29, 2014
Includes all meals, accommodation, charter flight, permits, wildlife and heaps of fun!
Maximum group size of 8, priced at AU$5,500

Mitchell River National Park and Croajingalong National Park January 2013

Jan20

After planning to do some multi-day hikes with my younger son Jason in January, we left for the Mitchell River National Park last Wednesday early morning, despite the threat of hot weather and Bush-fires. After Parking the car up in the Northern Section of the Park, we had a quick lunch and loaded up our packs and headed off. The walk of course is beautiful. high escarpments on both sides with the mitchell river winding its way through South. Although its hot and the temperature is climbing into the mid thirties we make good time. Both of us are so glad that we are carrying over 5 litres of water, as its thirsty work walking the track as it winds its way up and down the right side of the valley. The river is low but still flowing nicely and I stop for a rest and the odd photograph. We make camp at Billy goat Bend and find that the water at the camp site should be boiled, so we hook up the stove and start making enough for the next day. Late afternoon sun is magic and the light sweeps across the valley in a golden arc. The next day we heap back North, another hot day and plans to head further East and spend time in the Croajingalong National Park. Cann River has a lovely rainforest Camping Ground so we set up here and do a rainforest walk nearby. The next day we have mapped out a walk that starts from Fisherman’s track about 40 kilometres into the National Park and winds its way 8 kilometres to the beach and then along the beach to Clinton rocks. Wildlife abounds with the spotting of at least 5 goanna’s with 2 of them over 1.2 metres in length. The beach on arrival is of course totally deserted and the aqua waters beckon us to undress, jump in and cool off. We spent all afternoon here and I photographed the amazing rock formations. Isolated and wonderful, this spot is typical of the great park that Croajingalong is. We headed home the next day as bushfire warnings were becoming more frequent and getting ever closer. Not a good idea to push your luck at this time of the year and its such thick wilderness.