Saturday, July 30, 2011

I See Red, I See Red, I See Red...


In preparation for the Nepal Trek, I'm practising walking and creating, to get both my physical and photographic fittness up to speed. So I set myself a little exercise at lunchtime on Thursday, where I decided to focus on "Seeing Red"... I parked at Broadway and walked to Chinatown - it's a short walk, but filled with photographic possibilities... The 'Red' thing was recalling an old Artschool exercise, of defining a set of parameters before going out with a camera, placing limits on what you will focus on, to narrow down the seemingly endless possibilities when one sets out to 'create' in response to an environment. It was also interesting to me what a perceptive shift occurred in 'deciding to see red', because all at once, my awareness was heightened to things I had not noticed before, details I might have passed over in a blurr suddenly came into sharp relief. I noticed how much effort lots of people had gone to with their outfits, how they had sought to co-ordinate their accessories, and what that might say about their lives and dreams and aspirations - and even on a grander scale, how the whole city seemed to hum with this resonance of appreciated Redness, how there's a shared aesthetic that unconsciously arises within a culture. I guess we don't always 'see' the creation of that in our own culture, but it's part of what's so appealing about travel, that we bring fresh eyes to appreciate the rhythms and aesthetics of the places and people that we visit...

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

Writer's Trek in Nepal


Hello Writers, Colleagues, Friends and Friends-of-Friends of
Beth Yahp Writingworks and Sacred Journeys Nepal,

This year's Nepal trek and retreat is filling fast. There a few places left, but be quick!


Details of the tours can be found at http://bethyahpwritingworks.blogspot.com/Nepal
feel free to pass the word on to anyone you know who may be interested.

You can join one or both of these options, the itineraries are attached and the web-links are here:

1. 12-Day Writing Trek in the Himalayas: 9 - 21 October 2011 - US$3700
http://bethyahpwritingworks.blogspot.com/2010/12/writers-treck-in-himalayas-with-beth.html

2. 10-Day Writers Retreat in Nagarkot: 25 October - 4 November 2011 - US$2600
http://bethyahpwritingworks.blogspot.com/2010/12/writers-retreat-in-nepal-october-2011.html

There is a discount of US$200 for those who join us for both tours - the Writing Trek is for the more energetic (though there will be lots of rest stops and easy stages) and the Writers Retreat is just that: staying in one beautiful place with yoga and ayurvedic massage while we work on our writing projects, with a combination of masterclasses, small workshop groups and individual meetings with me to discuss your specific concerns.

These are not backpacker tours, but comfortable and relaxed travel, looked after by our highly experienced local tour manager and aimed at nurturing you as a traveller and creative being!

I hope you'll be able to join me for this wonderful adventure - and/or forward the info on to anyone who might be interested. These tours are strictly word-of-mouth, which is how we are keeping costs as low as possible.

Hope you are writing well, keeping well and staying warm (or cool)!

Thanks and best wishes,
Beth Yahp

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Manhole Cover

(a haiku + photo by Kyle Powderly 2011, with respect to Karl Shapiro, Poet Laureate to US Congress, 1946)
a man could be lost
in a hole like that, swallowed
by the universe...