Leonid Plotkin | Mysterium Tremendum

Photo © Leonid Plotkin - All Rights Reserved

"Mysterium tremendum et fascinans" 

Mysterium Tremendum is a Latin phrase meaning fearful mystery, which was coined by Rudolf Otto who is best known for his analysis of the experience that, in his view, underlies all religion.

This is how Leonid Plotkin -a photographer whose work I've featured a number of times on this blog- titled his photo essay of Buddhist rituals and of ceremonial dances made in the remote regions of Ladakh and Zanskar.

Some of the photographs are of Cham dances; the masked and costumed ceremonial performances associated with Tibetan Buddhism performed during Buddhist festivals. These dances are accompanied by music played by monks using traditional Tibetan instruments. The dances offer moral instruction relating to compassion, for good to defeat evil and bring merit to the performers and the audience.

Leonid Plotkin is a freelance documentary photographer and writer. His work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, The Observer, The Economist, Penthouse Magazine, Student Traveler, Budget Travel, Discovery Magazine, MSN.com and others.

Julie Higelin | Thisksey Gustor Festival

Photo © Julie Higelin-All Rights Reserved

Julie Higelin brings us her images of the Thiksay Gustor festival which usually takes place during the month of November in Ladakh. It is held from the 17th to 19th day of the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar. This short (two-day) festival is held at three different Ladakhi monasteries—Spituk, Thiksey and Karsha Zanskar.

The festival commemorates the assassination of the 9th Century Tibetan apostate king Lang Darma by a Buddhist monk. The assassination is re-enacted during the festival by burning effigies symbolizing evil. Morning prayers are offered to bring divine peace to those who take part in it. After the two day celebrations, there are a ritualistic events and dances by Black Hat dancers. 

Julie Higelin is a Belgian self-taught travel photographer who, rather than pursuing a full time career in physiotherapy, traveled the world and developed a passion for a nomadic existence, learning photography at the same time. She started off her photographic career by taking on an assignment for an NGO in Madagascar, and her road map was set. 

She has photographed in India, Ladakh, Madagascar, Romania and Guatemala amongst others. She generally uses a Canon 5DMark3, and a Canon 24-70mm F2.8 L and a 16-35mm F2.8 L.

France Leclerc | Nomads In Ladakh

Photo © France Leclerc-All Rights Reserved


"I have always been a traveler and a wanderer. Travel for me is not about vacations; it is my way to learn about a world that I care deeply about."

Here's the latest from a peripatetic photographer, who's unflinchingly merging ethno-photography, pictorial anthropology and travel photography together in interesting and informative blog posts and galleries.

France Leclerc has been everywhere, and puts other seasoned travel photographers to shame in terms of their geographical coverage. Let me try to list where she's been: India (including Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Assam, Nagaland, Maha Kumbh Mela, Kolkata and Varanasi of course), Philippines,  Myanmar, Ethiopia's Omo Valley, Namibia, Cambodia, and yes, even Paris.

Based in Chicago (when she's not on the road), she developed a passion for photographing the more remote regions of the world, and sharing her experiences visually and in her writings. A self-taught photographer, she describes herself as a traveler and wanderer, and is turned by photographing people...not just portraits but what she calls 'snippets' of their lives...sort of environmental portraits that tell stories about the people.

Her latest blog entry is Nomads in Ladakh; about the Changpa (also called Champa), a semi-nomadic Tibetan people she encountered whilst traveling in the Rupshu valley, a high altitude desert in the southeast of Ladakh. They are high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats. Though only 100 miles or so from Leh, the Rupshu valley is only accessible by driving many hours and travel over the Tangla La at an altitude of over 17, 000 feet.

Mostly a color photographer, France seems to have adopted the monochromatic look for her latest work of Ladakh. Let's see if that trend continues.

Bijoyeta Das | The Last Aryans (Al Jazeera)

Photo © Bijoyeta Das-Courtesy Al Jazeera

"Now we charge $5 from tourists to pose for photos and more to wear traditional clothes and a lot more if you want to shoot videos"- Thinely Aryan, a Brogpa.

The Brogpas (also known as Drogpas) live in Ladakh, as well as in India-administered Kashmir. They claim to be the last of the Aryans. Out of the 5 Brogpa villages in India, two have are open to foreign tourism.  The villages of Dha and Biama are entirely populated by last remaining remnants of the Dards who are considered as last race of Aryans confined to Indus Valley. The Dards practice an ancient pre-Buddhist religion known as Bon-Cho, and have remained in total isolation for over 2000 years until 1947. 

Al Jazeera In Pictures features a gallery of photographs of Brogpas by Bijoyeta Das.

While no one knows for certain if the Brogpas' claim of belonging to an Aryan race have any merit, and whether their origins are true, the tourism industry is endeavoring to capitalize on these claims, and bring tourists to the area. These villages are about 170 km from Leh, so it is a hardy tourist that goes there...but it seems that it's picking up.

According to entries in Wikipedia: In the 19th century, the speakers of the Indo-Persian or Indo-European languages came to be called the "Aryan race", to differentiate them from what came to be called the "Semitic race". By the late 19th century, the notions of an "Aryan race" became closely linked to Nordicism, which meant Northern European racial superiority over all other peoples. 

Bijoyeta Das is a journalist and photographer. She has reported from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea and USA and holds a masters degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, USA and a photojournalism postgraduate diploma from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

Arko Datto | Ladakh In Monochrome

Photo © Arko Datto- Courtesy Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera is not only an Arab television network, but occasionally also features excellent photo essays by established photographers of far flung regions of the world and of obscure festivals.

Ladakh, also known as "land of high passes, is a region of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir that lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the Himalayas to the south. It's inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent, and is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir.

It's also one of the few regions in India that I have yet to visit.
Arko Datto's Ladakh: Life on India's Northern Frontiers monochrome photographs of Ladakh dispense with the vivid colors associated with Ladakhi cultures, religious dances and way of life.

Arko Datto is an Indian born photo journalist, whose work has been published on BBC World, BBC India, Le Journal de la Photographie, The Times of India, Deccan Herald, DNA, Mumbai Mirror, Photojournale, Galli Magazine, Private Magazine and Kindle Magazine.

Terri Gold: Where Earth Meets The Sky

Photo © Terri Gold-All Rights Reserved

"No matter where I am, I am always happiest with a camera or three in my hands…"

Terri Gold is an award-winning photographer and artist based in New York City, and has built an impressive reputation for her rituals, rites of passage, festivals, celebrations and portraits from all over the world. She specializes in infrared imagery, which is her signature work.

She has just returned from Ladakh and has posted a new series of infrared imagery in a gallery she titled "Where The Earth Meets The Sky", which is just fabulous. He infrared treatment of her photographs gives the already ethereal moonscapes of Ladakh a unique look and feel. 

Ladakh is the mountainous region in northwest Jammu and Kashmir in north India and in the area known as the Trans-Himalaya. Called by some as The Last Shangri-La (although a fistful of other regions and areas have been called that as well), its capital (or major town) is Leh. Ladakhis people are equally mixed between Buddhist and Muslim, but the majority of the tourist attractions are in the east and relate Tibetan Buddhist culture.

Terri describes Ladakh as a different world...and that certainly is an apt description, especially with her imagery talents.

Sharon Johnson-Tennant: Diffusion & Magical Mystery Tour

Pilgrimage Home (Ladakh)- © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

Kitchen , Stok Monastery-© Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

Morocco-Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

Morocco- Photos © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

di·aph·a·nous/dīˈafənəs/

Adjective:  Light, delicate, and translucent.

Here are a number of photographs by Sharon Johnson-Tennant, a multi-faceted award winning photographer in Los Angeles and a participant in my 2010 Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition.

These photographs are part of a larger number she sent me in connection with her forthcoming exhibition named DIFFUSION; a compilation of 9 years of Sharon's work from travel all over the world. She describes the photographs in this exhibition as "images that seem to have stopped in time, things in plain sight but not always seen" such as the two top ones made in Ladakh, a remote area of India. Apart from India, her travels have taken her to Malaysia, Burma, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and the Philippines.

The exhibition's opening night is March 3, 2012 (7-10 pm) at the Robert Berman Gallery, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. The exhibition will continue until March 31st.

As for the lower photographs, they're part of Sharon's larger body of work (still in progress) which she calls Magical Mystery Tour. Those were recently made in Morocco at twilight. That time of day in terms of light, coupled with the natural reticence of Moroccans to being photographed pushed Sharon to alter her techniques to meet these challenges.

On my blog, I frequently describe photographs as powerful, emotive, and/or well composed.  For Sharon's new photographs, I happily add diaphanous and ethereal to all these adjectives.

For further examples of Sharon's talents, visit her new website...you'll see the versatility of her work.

Ania Blazejewska: People of Ladakh

Photo © Ania Blazejewska-All Rights Reserved

To start the week on a pure travel photography note, here's the work of Ania Blazejewska. She is a freelance travel photographer based in Poznan, Poland. Having graduated with a degree in political science, her embrace of travel and photography led her to Asia and northern Africa.

Her work was recognized in various Polish and international photo contests, and her  freelance photos and articles were featured in a number of Polish-language travel portals. She has photographed in Cuba, India, Ladakh, Laos, Oman, Morocco, Srl Lanka and Nepal...to mention just a few.

Many of her travel photography is of people, and photographed in portrait mode...in vertical format. I chose her Ladakh gallery to feature here, but don't leave her website until you've explored her many other galleries. One that I particularly liked as well is her Living As A Burmese Monk photo essay.

Incidentally, Ania is one of the many photographers who uses PhotoShelter for her website and galleries.

If you want to learn how to sell your prints, PhotoShelter has issued a free downloadable PDF guide to help you out.

William Widmer: Between Giants

Here's Between Giants, a feature on a small community in Ladakh by photojournalist William Widmer.

The Changpa are one of several groups of indigenous nomads who inhabited the high plains of Ladakha for generations, and are finding their traditional way of life threatened by modernity and influx of tourism.

William Widmer is a freelance photographer based in San Francisco, who's interested in shifting concepts of community. While most of his work is focused on subcultures within the United States, he also produced photo essays (including multimedia) of India and others. He also works at liveBooks, a company that provides customized, editable websites for photographers.

Don't miss his Soundslides essay on SOFOSH, an NGO involved in childcare, adoption and foster care for children.

Dennis Cordell: Ladakh

Image Copyright © Dennis Cordell - All Rights Reserved
I found Dennis Cordell's remarkable portraits of Buddhist novices at the Gyudzin Tantric Monastery School in Ladakh on Flickr, the popular online photo management and sharing application. However, I haven't found much information on Dennis apart from a few words indicating that he's a Tibetan translator. I hope he reads TTP and provides me his biography and background.

I did find the Gyudzin Tantric Monastery School's website, where I learnt that there are no major centers of Buddhist teaching in Ladakh, and that this monastery fulfills that role. Students receive instruction in general subjects up to 8th grade and are trained in Tantric ritual tradition along with learning of tantric texts. After completing this course the monastery provides instruction in five major branches of Buddhist teaching. Those are Paramana, Vinaya, Madhyamika, Abhidharma and Prajnyaparmita texts. Students shall then have the options to persue a further five years study in tantric teachings to receive a Geshe Nagrampa Degree.

Dennis's Flickr page has many more of these portraits of novices, along with portraits of Indian sadhus. Well worth a visit!