Fotoreise Nepal

Arrive for the first time in this new world! Stroll through lively Thamel and let yourself be carried away by endless photographic motifs. At dinner together, we will get to know one another and can enjoy the anticipation of the upcoming week!

Already during the journey from the airport to the hotel one would like to capture everything with the camera. The capital Kathmandu is a photographic sensory overload. After checking into the hotel and acclimatizing to the new world, there is the opportunity for a stroll through the narrow streets of the lively Thamel district. The immediate vicinity of the hotel already makes the heart of every travel photographer beat faster. Soy evening we can get to know each other over traditional Nepalese cuisine and talk about our passion, photography.

Beaming faces! Input on documentary portrait photography and the professional – i.e., sensitive – approach to photographing people. Take advantage of the stunning backdrop of Durbar Square as Portrait Studio.

Nepal is an Eldorado for portrait photography. Especially because the Nepalese have a very positive attitude towards being photographed. Nevertheless, there are important things to consider when photographing strangers. This knowledge and sensitivity is the key to authentic portraits anywhere in the world.

We visit the historic Durbar Square in the center of Kathmandu and let us be enchanted by its 50 pagodas, stupas, temples and palaces. Many of the temples had to be restored after the earthquake but are now back in use. The square is more than just a photo backdrop – it is the religious center of the city and is used by the population as a social meeting place and market. We will meet sadhus who will be happy to have their impressively painted faces photographed for a small donation.

After that we want to climb to the Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath). There we can not only orientate ourselves thanks to the great view of the city, but also capture many monkey portraits. We just have to take good care of our cameras so the thieving monkeys don’t steal them from us!

We have the chance to photograph what is surely the most colorful cultural festival in the world – the Holi Festival. This is certainly a very special highlight of the trip! Experiencing the Holi Festival authentially with the backdrop of Kathmandu is an experience of a lifetime!

After a good night’s sleep, we will set off after a street photography talk with tips and tricks for the safety of our equipment. Don’t forget to bring old clothes – we’ll all get some paint for sure. Now it’s time to get caught up in the action and let yourself be carried away by the high spirits of the people. What a joy to capture this exuberant mood. There’s dancing, singing, throwing paint and we’re right in the middle!

We’ll have to rest before dinner. Then it’s time to marvel at the treasures of the day and exchange the day’s haul on the projector. As always, there is also the opportunity to receive constructive feedback in one-to-one discussions.

Enjoy the quiet outside of the city. Document the Nepalese carpet weaving craft and ascend to a remote women’s monastery above the Kathmandu valley. In addition, an input on reportage and documentary photography, in which we work out how we tell stories with our pictures and combine individual pictures into exciting series.

After the day before in the reveling crowd, it’s now time to relax in the suburb of Budhanilkantha. There we will enjoy the tranquility of a temple complex away from the tourist crowds. Afterwards we visit the orphanage where our guide Sunil grew up and see how Nepalese schools teach. Meditation is also a subject here! The kids are looking forward to our visit and in return we will send them our photos later. We continue to the school’s carpet weaving workshop, where we can document how colorful carpet patterns are created from thousands of threads.

If you don’t want to go back to the hotel yet, you can take a short hike to a remote convent. Maybe we’re lucky and we can take part in the evening Buddhist mass and, if the visibility is good, look out over the entire Kathmandu Valley.

In Kathmandu alone, there are seven different UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We will take a look at the most impressive ones. In addition to the places that we visit as a group, there is also enough time to photograph another highlight or two on your own.

One of the most exciting sights we will shoot is the white Bodnath Stupa. This is one of the most important destinations for Buddhist pilgrims. In the morning, monks with shaved heads circle the impressive building in prayer. Here, portrait photography can be perfectly interwoven with architectural photography.

The Pashupatinath cremation site is also a particularly impressive place. Unlike in our culture, funerals in Nepal are public and not very intimate events. But with our camera it is still appropriate to view the ritual of the burning of the dead from the other side of the Bagmati River. Here we will meet friendly sadhus who live in asceticism but are still happy to have some change to pose for the camera. In addition to these suggestions, the day should give the opportunity to visit other highlights according to your own taste. In the evening we exchange ideas over a big dinner. Then it’s time to pack up to set up our new camp in Bhaktapur the next morning.

The World Heritage Site of Bhaktapur is the Mecca for architectural but also reportage photography. We are initiated into the Nepalese art of carving and can lose ourselves in thousands of temple carvings. In addition, this small town lets us experience life as it was hundreds of years ago.

Well rested, we will set off for Bhaktapur. After an exciting drive through the countryside, we will check into our exceptional hotel in the ancient center of this UNESCO heritage city. In the hotel’s own carpentry workshop we can admire Nepalese carving art. Of course, we will not miss the chance to document this craft! During the following city tour, we will lose ourselves in the rich detail of the woodwork of the numerous temples and observe the hustle and bustle of the place with our cameras. In the evening, the tranquil place offers a perfect backdrop for photographic walks. With the help of a tripod, the candlelit market stalls, shrines and house entrances can be captured particularly well. There will be inputs and experiments on photography at dusk and dark.

Nepali daily life is wonderful to observe on the streets of Bhaktapur. Overland we head towards the Himalayan Mountains. The largest mountain range in the world towers before us!

Waking up in Bhaktapur is something very special. The frolicking at the city fountain at dawn

takes us back many centuries. The water supply for a large part of the population is still

provided by public wells. These also serve as social meeting places and allow us to

experience the private life of Nepalis on the street.

Around noon we head towards Nagarkot. This place is known for its great views of the

Himalayan Mountains. In Nagarkot, we have the opportunity to enjoy the lush nature and

unobstructed view in front of our lens.

Starting the day with a sunrise over the Himalayas! How high does 8000m actually look? The penultimate day is all about selecting and post-processing. We will find time to structure the yield of the last few days so as not to come back home with thousands of unsorted photos. In the group we will find our personal photographic highlights and post-process them for further use!

We will get up very early in order not to miss the sunrise over the Himalayan mountains. This sight will not only be burned into our camera chips but also into our memories. It will be one of those moments where we will push the limits of photography – nothing sees as impressively as the human eye.

We want to devote the rest of the day to the ‘yield’ of the holiday, but there is also time for walks in front of the Himalayan backdrop. We have the opportunity to sort out photos, discuss series, delete them and expose digital ones, view them on the projector and print them. This important step in photography should not only be started at home. There will be inputs for selecting and post-processing images, and we will exchange information about the compilation of image series. We also discuss ways to develop, print, publish, and submit images to contests.

One last look at the Himalayan mountains before heading to the airport in Katmandu. Unfortunately it’s time to say goodbye!

It is said about Nepal: First you come for the country and then you come again for the people. Saying goodbye to the country and its people will be difficult… if you want, you can deepen your new knowledge of photography and explore the country individually! Everyone else can look forward to sharing their photographic impressions with friends, acquaintances, competitions, communities, forums and exhibitions.