Final Preparations for my trip to Delhi & Ladakh

I've spent the last few days getting ready for my winter trip to Delhi and Ladakh in India. Testing gear, charging batteries, picking out and cleaning lenses etc which is not easy with a 50C degree temperature swing on this trip. I will be having a few days in Old Delhi photographing Chandni Chowk where I been before. It's a stunning chaotic and vibrant part of Delhi, but the forecast for the days I'm there is 29 degrees C, and then I will have an instant drop in Ladakh to minus 20! Some temperature swing for a 1 hour 30 minute flight! So if you see a man in Delhi with a full winter Down Parka jacket in 29 degrees heat, there is a fair chance that it's me. I'd pack the jacket away, but it's so insulated for the extreme cold of Ladakh, that it will not fit into my luggage. Ah well!

I'll then be travelling through Ladakh to photograph a couple of religious festivals and staying predominantly in village homes. Really looking forward to it, and trying to travel as light as possible. So my gear list will include two full frame camera body's (two in case one breaks), a selection of lenses. Nikkor 16-35mm f/4.0 which is a great wide angle lens thats been a war horse for me. It's only f/4 though so useless in low light or indoors. I'll also carry my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 for long range compressed images. My photography love though is low light, people photographs so my best fast prime lenses will be coming with my. My Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 is an unbelievable lens for portraits, such as the one below from a previous expedition to Mongolia.

I'll also bring my Sigma Art 50mm f/1.2 with me, and this is the lens I'll have mounted around the backstreets of Delhi. A perfect lens for street photography. It's a wee beast to focus correctly wide open though, as it's so accurate any slight movement or misfocus will result in a poor soft focus image. Get it right though, and it's a spectacular lens resulting in stunning portraits. Last but not least and taking up the final space in the kit bag will be my Sigma Art 20mm f/1.4 lens. It's my widest angle fast prime lens, but it's a big and heavy beast. I feel this could come in handy for low light wide shots such as inside a monastery or even low light landscape wide angle compositions at dusk or dawn. I've also got a few ND filters in case the snow light is too bright. I'll carry a tripod too for landscapes but wont use that inside for portraits in low light. My fast primes will be just fine handheld. I cannot understand folk who go after indoor portraits with a zoom lens or any fstop like f/4.0 You really don't stand a chance without horrible flash, and I will certainly not be using that!

When on a shoot I use an FStop backpack which is brilliant but bulky. I have had issues getting it on a flight as hand luggage before and I refuse to put it into the hold as I am not losing all my camera gear. So for this trip my 5 season Mountain Equipment sleeping bag will go into the FStop backback and get checked in and I will take my camera gear (above) in a small cheap wheely case. The only issue with this plan is in India Airport security, when they insist every item must be scanned separately. Oh yes, this has happened and it's a nightmare as every lens, body and piece of camera gear has to come out and be scanned individually. Please do not stand in the security queue behind me! I could be awhile.

I have another two pieces of gear I cannot bring on this trip, and it's such a shame. Firstly Starlink Mini roam. It would have been amazing to have fast internet high up in the mountains but alas Mr Musk has still to receive clearance for it to be turned on in India, so it will stay at home. Secondly my Mavic 4 Pro drone is not allowed either due to border security issues in the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan and the regional drone ban. I would have got some stunning images of the snow covered monasteries and mountains, so I am gutted to have to leave it behind. So thats my kit along with ice crampons and assorted deep winter merino thermals, gloves, hats and mountain boots.

On arrival in Delhi I am staying in an old restored Haveli right in the heart of Chandni Chowk and will be wandering the streets in the evening photographing interesting people. I've been to this vibrant market area before and was even allowed in to photograph the amazing Sikh temple where they make 20,000 meals a day for the poor. It's an incredible place and I may well join the guys cleaning shoes again as everyone who comes to worship leaves with clean shoes and that was an experience last time helping out. This time I'll aim for the area around the Spice Market to photograph, and will try and find the famous restaurant thats over five floors, but only serves one dish to it's hundreds of customers, Butter Chicken!

The shoe cleaning crew at Gurudwara Temple in Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Worshipers inside the Gurudwara Sikh Temple in Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Making Chapati's in Chandni Chowk, Delhi.

After leaving Delhi I will be taking the 1 hour 30 minute flight up to Leh in Ladakh. I've always wanted to visit here in the winter. It's in the shadow of the worlds second highest mountain K2 on the border with Pakistan and close to Tibet in the Himalayas. At an altitude of 11,500 feet it will take me a day or two to acclimatise before heading out stay in village homes to photograph monasteries and two religious festivals. I'll be spending two days photographing the Stok Guru Tsechu Festival in Stok village the home of Ladakh's Royal family. I will photograph the festival itself together with the previous day as they prepare the costumes and get ready. I also plan to spend two days photographing the Matho Nagrang Buddhist festival at Matho Monastry near Leh.

Im also planning on visiting Shan Lodge in Uley at even higher altitude. Shan Lodge is the base of Tsewang and Morup Norboo who are talented wildlife spotters and I'll spend some time with them in the home of the Snow Leopard, Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagles and the Tibetan Wolf.

I'm really looking forward to this trip commencing in a couple of days. Tourists do visit this area in summer, but it's always been a dream for me to photograph it in winter. -25 degrees with snow and ice at 11,500 feet altitudes will be something special, and hopefully I will come back with one or two decent images. See you on the other side............