Painting Elephants in Udaipur

“Come in Miss, come in! I show you to paint with a squirrel hair!”

A man stands in the doorway of a tiny art shop, grinning at me. It’s only just breaking light here in Udaipur, the city of lakes in India’s northwestern region of Rajasthan. The cobbled streets are almost deserted and there’s a slight fog, making the maze-like alleyways down near the ghats seem more magical than usual.

I hesitate. Stacked in frames against the front window of the shop are beautiful paintings, none bigger than a postcard. Each artwork is a detailed glimpse into the wonders of Rajasthani culture: palaces, forts, lakes, snarling tigers, and dancing serpents.

But after a month of travelling in India, I am more than a little cynical about grinning men. I start to walk on.

“No sell, I provide you art class!”

They say there’s a sucker born every minute, and when you’re travelling, you are re-born every day. So, I give in to India yet again and turn around, squeezing myself and my backpack through the narrow entrance and down some chipped white stairs.

Read the rest over at Trespass.

There are very few things more exciting than that suspense you get, anticipating a batch of freshly printed photos from a long forgotten camera film.

As a rather impatient person, I generally don’t get too many thrills from waiting, but there is an exception to every rule, and this is mine.

I discovered the film last week and got it processed today, and oh! so many surprising shots and moments to remember.

:: Sydney-siders at play + beaches along the Bondi to Bronte walk

:: going slowly down the Ganges on a fishing boat

:: Winter sunrise on Pembury (near Barraba, NSW, Australia). I love the way the fish-eye lens makes the light refract and reflect and reverberate across the sky; it’s almost magical.

some of my pics from India: unfortunately my camera was stolen right at the end of my trip, but here are a few of the cherished remains! Visit my flickr to see more.

The beautiful photography of Haran Kumar.

So so so excited about my trip to India - I leave in exactly one month !!!!!