Take a hike: photo trek with Matt Brandon through Kashmir
Our bad ass guide for the Lidderwat trek, Abul Aziz.
I have received a couple of emails asking just how hard is the trekking portion on the Kashmir Photo Trek & Workshop. Before I get into that I need to define a term. Many North Americans are unfamiliar with the term trek or trekking. The term “trek” simply means to walk or to travel. I used the Digital Trekker as my brand name because frankly mattbrandon.com was taken and I was running a trekking company at the time called Frontier Treks & Tours. So the whole trekking moniker seamed natural. I mean, I was shooting a digital camera and knew way back then digital was the new future. So I became the Digital Trekker. Recently I thought why not add the trekker to my workshops. So I bought the domain IndiaPhotoTreks.com and there you have it, the birth of the photo trek. But it seems the down side to this is people think we will be backpacking all the time. Not always the case. But there will be times when we will do some hiking. That brings me to where we started this post.
On day six of the the Kashmir Photo Trek & Workshop we will in fact have a short walk through the Himalaya. Short is the operative word here – as in three to four hours. I have mapped out the trekking portion for you on Google Maps. But in many ways that just doesn’t communicate the terrain or the over all feel of the locations. We will be hiking along the Lidder river to a valley of the same name. In Kashmiri it is called Lidderwat. If you are reading these words there is a great chance you are a photographer and are by nature a visual person. As such I have decided to post a several photos from the very trek we are offering. If you want to come but don’t feel you have the stamina for four hours of hiking in a day (about one hour up hill) then you can always hire a pony and you can ride. Seriously. I have done it myself. It is actually kind of fun. But your bum will not thank you at the end of the day.
f/1.8, 1/2000 sec, at 85mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/8, 1/400 sec, at 85mm, 1000 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/3.5, 1/500 sec, at 85mm, 400 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/3.5, 1/200 sec, at 85mm, 400 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/9, 1/25 sec, at 22mm, 50 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/2.8, 1/200 sec, at 85mm, 800 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/2.5, 1/320 sec, at 85mm, 250 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/16, 1/60 sec, at 85mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/16, 1/15 sec, at 70mm, 200 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/16, 1/50 sec, at 85mm, 200 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/16, 1/50 sec, at 17mm, 200 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/2.8, 1/250 sec, at 100mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/1.8, 1/8000 sec, at 85mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/1.8, 1/1600 sec, at 85mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/2, 1/60 sec, at 85mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/6.3, 1/50 sec, at 50mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/3.2, 1/20 sec, at 50mm, 3200 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/9, 1/30 sec, at 85mm, 400 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/4, 1/500 sec, at 70mm, 200 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/2.8, 1/400 sec, at 150mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS 5D
f/4, 1/100 sec, at 22mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/8, 1/100 sec, at 18mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5.6, 1/200 sec, at 18mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/6.3, 1/60 sec, at 31mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5.6, 1/30 sec, at 18mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/22, 2/5 sec, at 24mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5, 1/200 sec, at 27mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5.6, 1/250 sec, at 50mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5, 1/200 sec, at 42mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5.6, 1/100 sec, at 18mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/5.6, 1/125 sec, at 24mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
f/10, 1/25 sec, at 18mm, 100 ISO, on a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Sounds like an awesome trip. Nice shots too. All the best!
Thanks Gary. It is going to be a great time. Wish you and Vivian vould join us sometime.
Would love to!