Bhutan with a Rangefinder

J

JHenry

Established
Local time
8:49 PM
Joined
Nov 2, 2009
Messages
115
Location
Washington, DC
View My Gallery
Last October, I traveled to the Bhutan. The Kingdom is an absolutely unique and vibrant landlocked country nestled between China (Tibet) and India, and a place I had wanted to visit for years. The group I was with traversed the country west to east for 16 full days, stopping whenever a photo opportunity arose. We also had a couple of private festivals put on for us, which offered incredible photographic possibilities.

I traveled with, of course, too much gear, but I thought it would be a once in a life time trip. I mainly shot with my Leica M9 (almost 5,100 images), though the Canon 5Dii did get some use (2,100 images) when I needed a long lens or autofocus. A full list of the gear I took can be seen here on my blog, if you're interested.

Wanted to share a few of the images I captured while in Bhutan. I'm actually heading back in April/May for another go, so will be able to try a few new things on the upcoming trip (more film, I think, on the upcoming trip). More images are on my site: www.pixelsandgrain.co. Comments, criticism and suggestions welcome, as always.

Cheers,

Jeff

2011-16984_PS_Edit.jpg

Tiger's Nest, near Paro; M9 and ZM 25mm f/2.8 Biogon

2011-18347.jpg

Punakha Dzong; M9 and CV 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heilar

2011-19787.jpg

Ogyen Choling; M9, CV 75mm f/1.8 Heliar Classic

2011-18358_HDR_PS_Layers_Pano_4-Edit2.jpg

Punakha Dzong; M9 and CV 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heilar; HDR Efex Pro, Pano with CS5

2011-21954_PS_Edit.jpg

Mongar; M9 and ZM 25mm f/2.8 Biogon

2011-21994.jpg

Ganesh, one of our drivers, lighting candles for his grandmother, who passed away a year ago. M9 and ZM 35mm f/2.8 C-Biogon

2011-21305.jpg

Bhumtang; M9 and ZM 35mm f/2.8 C-Biogon

2011-17564.jpg

Thimphu; M9 and CV 75mm f/1.8 Heilar Classic

2011-22072.jpg

A room full of masks and drums, near Trashigar; M9 and CV 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heilar

2011-16680-Edit_PS_Layers.jpg

Paro; M9 and ZM 35mm f/2.8 C-Biogon; Silver Efex Pro and CS5

2011-23397_PS_Edit.jpg

Trashyigang; M9 and CV 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heilar
 
I really liked these, apart from my fascination with Bhutan.

You can always tell a competent photographer if they know how to effectively use a wide or superwide lens...those shots were very guardedly made, almost to the point where you didn't realize it was a wide angle shot.

I'm not at all a fan of HDR but these too were done with restraint (which is a huge compliment as far as I'm concerned!). Beautiful images, sensitively made.

Was it hard to get a visa for Bhutan? I've heard it's very costly, at least.
 
I had a very nice Bhutan trip in November. The third world isn't the third world anymore! Everybody has cell phones and all the younger people speak english. Roads still suck. Lots of pretty young women, dashing young men, and old people with history written in their faces. Most people are flattered and happy to have their photos taken. Bhutan is a good place to get over fear of taking close photos.

You can see some of my (non-rangefinder) images at: http://www.photokinesis.info/Travel

I shot mostly with a Pentax K5, and sometimes with velvia on a Pentax MZ-S, when the high-altitude sun was softened by grey skies or warmed by late afternoon. The festivals have very busy backgrounds, which makes it a challenge to simplify the images. I had good luck by sitting down low and using a wide angle; well 20mm on APS-C sensor isn't all that wide, but on 35mm film it was nice. In other words, be sure to have 28mm, 24mm or 21mm options available.

The audiences at the festivals are full of locals, but also many Europeans with their camera lenses and bright parkas. A good tip: most of the foreigners tire of the festivals by the afternoon.

The country is very safe and very photogenic. I would have enjoyed my Leica gear for landscape and architecture shots, but for the festivals, my Pentax DSLR autofocus failed to keep up with the fast moving dancers. This is one time I wish I had a pro Nikon or Canon.

I saw one guy with a Nikon 105 or 135 DC lens; that would be a killer choice for isolated portraits.

IGP1947-M.jpg
 
Thanks for the kind words on the images. While I consider myself a "35mm" kinda guy, I found that my 25mm Biogon and 15mm Super Wide Heliar got good workouts while in Bhutan. The wide vistas and the tight interiors led me to use those lenses much more than I thought I would.

In fact, the 25mm Biogon is literally about to fall apart. The "Zeiss wobble" arose during the trip, and I'm about to send it off to get repaired.

Have gotten a few private messages regarding the visa process for Bhutan. It actually isn't that hard. The main thing to remember is that you must either go on a tour or book private travel through a tour company. Only they can get you the visa. The visa "cost" USD 250 per day in 2011, and I believe it is up to USD 300 per day this year. I put "cost" in quotations, because that cost includes basic accommodation, food, guide, visa. You can't get airline tickets on Druk Air until you have a visa issued.

This daily "tax" is basically the minimum you can pay to visit Bhutan each day; the government uses this approach to get high-value, low-impact tourists (keeping all the backpackers out), and as an attempt to raise revenue while protecting the culture. You might choose to stay at higher end lodging, or eat better food, so this cost per day coud go up.

It's also worth mentioning that some tour operators will charge the daily rate, but then put you in lower class accommodation; they then pocket the extra. So, go with a known and reputable tour company.

Cheers,

Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom