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My New Girlfriend

My New Girlfriend
After a very long and bumpy bus journey leaving the Himalayas behind, I arrived at Thakurdwara on the boundary of the beautiful Bardia ...
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My New Girlfriend
After a very long and bumpy bus journey leaving the Himalayas behind, I arrived at Thakurdwara on the boundary of the beautiful Bardia National Park which resides in the southern lowlands of Nepal close to the Indian border. The Tharu people are the main ethnic group in this area, mainly growing wheat and rice, living in timber framed houses with mud walls and thatched roofs. The Tharu are still using traditional farming practices which go back thousands of years. The bullock pulls the wooden plough with it's iron iron blade which seems to turn the soil effortlessly. The farmer guides the plough and steers the bullocks up and down the field. This is skilled back breaking work and you need to have a good relationship with your ox.
Being surrounded by pristine jungle which throws up more deadly problems with tiger and leopard attacks on livestock and people, elephants who love to eat the rice crop coming into conflict with the villagers often leading to negative results for the elephant and the farmer. Climate change is affecting farming here with unpracticable weather like the flash floods effecting this area for the last few years. It seems that the people who have the lowest impact on the earth suffer the most from climate change. The 21st century is snapping at the heels of the traditional farming way of life, the Ox and plough is slowly being replaced by the mechanical tractor and electricity is in a large proportion of the houses now. As much I love to see this low impact natural way of tribal living and romanticise of much less complicated way of living than in the west, I realise access to healthcare, education and infrastructure will help the Tharu and create much needed jobs in the area.
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NIKON D750

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 160 Shutter 10/1250 Focal Length 780/10

location

Nepal

Feb, 2021

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Awards

Top Shot Award 21

Spring 21 Award

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Superior Skill

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Behind The Lens

Location

A small Tharu Village In Thakurdwara on the boundary of the beautiful Bardia National Park which resides in the southern lowlands of Nepal, close to the Indian border.

Time

The photo was taken between 6:30 am and 7:00 am, the sunrise was around 6:00 am.

Lighting

The lighting was great as the sun hadn't got to its full strength which can lead to unwanted shadows.

Equipment

The camera was a Nikon d750 and the lens a standard Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR.

Inspiration

I love capturing rural living in parts of the world where traditional tribal cultures still exist but the 21st century is snapping at the heels of these dwindling communities. The man ploughing a field with a wooden plough and Ox which has been used for thousands of years is wearing a western style T-shirt with My New Girlfriend printed on the back. A great example of prehistory colliding with the 21st century.

Editing

The only post processing I did was to trim a small plastic red bucket out of the top right corner which I couldn't see when I took the photo.

In my camera bag

Due to the nature of my photography it's done whilst backpacking so I try to keep as lighter bag as possible and depending where i'm going. So if possible I would have in my photography bag a Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR lens, Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-S lens, 3 x lens caps, cleaning kit, 3 x batteries, tripod, charger, auto shutter release trigger and a flash. The Nikon d750 is a heavy full frame anyway without the weight of the supporting equipment, it's a lot on your back when your trekking.

Feedback

My favourite time to take photos is just after dawn as the light seems so much more warmer and everything is just waking up and seems more natural. I am not what you would call a technical photographer as I'm dyslexic so manuals and text books on photography just confuse me. It's been a lot of trial and error over many years with photography but thanks to youtube which has been a godsend. Most of my travel photography is not pre planned like this photo. I got up early put my Nikon around my neck and went walking hoping to see early morning rural Tharu village life. As this is a cooler part of the day farm work begins early so it's a great time to get those working shots and a great time to see wildlife. You learn very quickly that light plays a big role in photography and can set the mood, like the golden hour in the morning where the daylight is redder, softer and gives a slower and a more natural feel to the photo. Take more than one photo of the subject using different camera settings and save setting to program as you can always tweak them a bit.

See more amazing photos, follow matt.d.selfegmail.com

matt.d.selfegmail.com

matt.d.selfegmail.com

My New Girlfriend

My New Girlfriend After a very long and bumpy bus journey leaving the Himalayas behind, I arrived at Thakurdwara on the boundary of the beautiful Bardia ... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow matt.d.selfegmail.com

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My New Girlfriend
After a very long and bumpy bus journey leaving the Himalayas behind, I arrived at Thakurdwara on the boundary of the beautiful Bardia ...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.