Travel Photography

The documentary with the working title of Somarpho was shot last summer has cleared another hurdle.  I now have Fiscal Sponsorship through IFP Seattle.  With this Somarpho will be under IFP’s nonprofit umbrella and can solicit donations and gifts all with tax benefits to donors.

Somarpho shares with the world a look into the lives of Balti porters high in the mountains of Pakistan.  It was shot and now needs your help to get to the screen.  The Balti are wonderful warm people living in one of the most militaristically, politically and turbulently charged areas of the world.

It is all coming together quickly.  Please stay tuned for details and feel free to contact me regarding Somarpho and how you can help get it to the screen.

Here are a few quick shots of some of the wonderful people of Pakistan. The Balti people of the Northern Areas are ethnically different from those of the south.    The region known as Baltistan and the people living there are influenced by Tibet in everything from the language to the way they build and paint their homes.

This is typical of native Balti dress.  A Kurta, wool vest, and the rolled wool hat which is unique to the region.

The city of Skardu while a main hub for the Northern Areas of Pakistan.  It seems small tucked away into the mountains at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar rivers.  Due to time constraints as well as the focus of my journey to Pakistan I wasn’t able to shoot as much as I would have liked in Skardu.

The porters on our journey to K2 were mainly if not all Balti men from the surrounding villages of Hushe, Askole, Skardu, Hunza and Gilgit.  They are nimble on their feet considering their loads.  Each porter carries around 45 pounds or 20 kilos plus their own food, stoves and water.

Like most places outside of the industrialized world you hitch a ride wherever and however you can.

There are a few things I found that the Pakistanis and Americans do that are similar.  One of which is they both like to advertise their faith.  In the USA it comes in the form of a fish on the bumper or a cross from the rear-view mirror.  In Pakistan it’s all about Allah in big letters.

In that same vein like Americans–Pakistanis really like their trucks.  Here we may have ‘Yosemite Sam’ or  the Mud Flap Girl.  In Pakistan it seems to be all about spangles and pressed metal.

While I was in Pakistan working on a documentary for UrsusFilms I was able to shoot a few rolls of Astia for kicks. It was really fun to just click away as I wanted in bright light for a change. I was armed only with my Nikon F5, a 28mm and a 50mm. Which was more than enough since I rarely felt like I wanted to get in close.