There are so many things I love about travelling but it’s the interaction with the local people I find most rewarding of all. Nepal is renowned for the friendliness of its people and they didn’t disappoint. Walking around with a camera, no matter how inconspicuous you try to be, will always guarantee some sort of engagement with a curious native, especially if you’re caught taking their photo. The interaction this tends to generate is quite often priceless. I’ve been incredibly lucky to meet some truly amazing and fascinating people in this way.
Generally I like to try and take candid shots of people in their everyday environment. However, if you’ve travelled in Asia you’ll know this isn’t always possible. It’s fairly common to find yourself surrounded by people all wanting to see themselves on the LCD screen. The kids in this image were no exception.
I don’t remember the name of the village where these images were taken. In fact I’m not sure I ever knew the name as it wasn’t in the guidebook, but it was obvious not many tourists passed through. Well, this was my assumption as there wasn’t a guesthouse or shop, and for the fact that I seemed to be the centre of attention. I can quite honestly say that by doing absolutely nothing of any interest whatsoever, I’ve never been so interesting to so many people!
It was a fantastic rough and tumble little place. I must have spent a couple of hours wandering around, soaking up the relaxed atmosphere. If there had been a guesthouse I would have stayed for a night at least. It was so refreshing not to encounter another westerner. I did manage to capture some natural shots before I left the village. I applied a water colour filter in Photoshop to this photo. The effect complemented the colours and textures really well and added another dimension to the image.
