Beautifully shaken and stirred
In my 200+ days a year of travel I get to see and experience a lot of amazing places, but I have to say; I just had the adventure of a lifetime.
The place?
India
Its magic has to be experienced, as no words or pictures can quite describe it. That said, this is my blog so I guess I have to give it a try:
India is not a place you visit or see. India is a place you feel.
Arriving to India I entered into a world like no other, greeted by a complete sensory overload. The visual and auditory stimuli are overwhelming and at times uncomfortable, and it is in this discomfort India become so fascinating. It rips you out of the western mindset and comfort level and tosses you into a world of captivating contrasts that made me feel strangely alive…
To me, it is in these contrasts India is to be felt;
Its crowds can suffocate you but the people creating it have a great openness about them. The auditory chaos of traffic is relieved in the quiet presence felt in the old temple grounds and the history of the country.
The rituals of the lifecycle, celebrating both life and death, are one of the more powerful experiences I have been a part of. I witnessed the burning of bodies one minute and the most enchanting ceremonies honoring the elements of life the next.
It was all experiences that made me uncomfortable one minute and gave me life-affirming goose bumps the next.
Being in India is nothing short of a mythical jolt to the system, opening you up to life, and I hope this feeling of India stays with me. That I don’t just fall back into my western comforts but carry this sensation with me for a while…
Recently our travels through India came up in conversation. One of the guys I talked to mentioned something interesting; He said he never thought he would go back to India after his first visit, but after a few years there was something that pulled him back.
It has only been a month since we got back home, but the pull of India is already there. As I look through my images and relive some of the experiences I have to say; For emotional impact there is no place like India.
So I’m sure I will be back to this majestic and mythical country for jet another life affirming jolt to my senses and emotions…
Below are a very few of the vast amounts of images captured during our 3 weeks of travel.
This experience I had travelling through India would not have happened, nor been the same, without my heart, Andrea Bogart.
I also want to give thanks to International Yoga and Andrea Marcum who traded photography with Yoga and took us along for a beautifully organized 2 week trip through 5 cities of India.
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Erik, those are some phenomenal pictures. After looking at the first 5 pictures, I had to keep going. Great work!
Thank you Ted!
Much appreciated.
E.
OMG, I’m absolutely in love with your pictures. I think, I’ve never seen such great pictures of indian landscape, which capture the atmosphere and the myth in any way like this!
Would it be possible to get the first picture in a larger size, so it can be used as background for my computer – I want to see it all day long *.*
Nice to see the towers at the Taj are still under renovation 10 years after I was there last. Beautiful work, especially the last 2 in this post.
I have been to India many times… and to the places you have shown here… seeing your interpretation of them takes me back there with a brand new set of eyes!
Awesome Erik, as always…
beautiful work Erik, I have to say you have expressed the art in the way you see life, as everyone can do similarly. Fantastic work..Keep going ahead best
Just read this post of yours. I wish you come back here and I would love to show you places you would never see as a tourist. India is quite magical. Look up for vineet vohra on Instagram for a completely mind boggling street photography work in India