I’m going to India for three weeks, and all I’m bringing is:

Tomorrow I leave on a three week trip to India with my girlfriend and our mutual friend Jamila.

I’ve really been looking forward to this trip for months now….since Summer really, when we all booked our tickets.

I used to travel a lot when I was younger.

In fact I made it to many corners of the world…in the years leading up to me becoming a photographer. I vowed never to travel abroad again until I was a photographer, a real photographer, and capture what I experienced to share with others.

Now, years later, I find that my job as a photographer has kept me in the United States. I have made a lot of progress in the last few years, but I never fulfilled my wish of using my photography skills outside the United States (except for a brief stint in Sweden and Norway a few years ago.)

I’m heading to India to relax, think about the year ahead, and come back to the United States with a refreshed sense of direction, new goals and hopefully a beautiful set of photos and/or videos.

preindia1

My whole kit for three weeks. Seattle, WA. 2008.

3 Shirts, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of shorts, hat, Ray Bans, toiletries, small Mole Skine journal, pen, plug converter, flashlight, money belt, Canon intervalometer, Sony T500 + accessories (for 720P HD video,) lens cloth, lens cleaning swabs and fluid, battery charger, Canon 5D, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 17-40mm f4, 24GB of CF Cards, my passport, two novels and last but not least, a small Kata backpack given to me as schwag at last year’ Aurora Photos meeting in Maine.

As you can see I am traveling super light. No more than what can fit into a small school bag. I hope to lose myself in the experience and follow where the story takes me.

More updates to follow, as internet access allows.

-Kirk

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Similar Posts:

This entry was posted in India adventure, lo-fi and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

11 Comments

  1. Posted January 4, 2009 at 10:48 pm by Puja Parakh | Permalink

    yah!
    i’d suggest one more thing:
    bug repellent.

    where in india?

    [Reply]

  2. Posted January 5, 2009 at 10:35 am by Romer | Permalink

    How come I didn’t see deodorant in that shot? Have a great trip and tell me about it over wings the next time your in town.

    [Reply]

  3. Posted January 5, 2009 at 10:38 am by Glenn Landberg | Permalink

    cant wait to see some images from over there. I would think that will be a great trip.

    one of my friends from school just moved over there and he set up a blog to share.

    http://elifrancovich.blogspot.com/

    [Reply]

  4. Posted January 5, 2009 at 11:42 am by Laila Maria | Permalink

    Kirk I am so excited for you! I cant wait to hear and SEE all about it.

    [Reply]

  5. Posted January 5, 2009 at 12:49 pm by Kirk Mastin | Permalink

    Puja-

    We are flying in to Bombay (Mumbai.) From there we are heading south and making a loop I think. No firm plans yet, other than to stay off the tourist trail when possible. I’ve heard of Cobra catchers/milkers near Chennai that I want to find.

    Romer-

    I produce my own natural deodorant. It’s my super power.

    Glenn-

    Thanks for the link. I like that he’s keeping a solid record of his time in India AND Holland. A great habit to have!

    Everyone-

    Thanks for the warm wishes. I’m really looking forward to this and I will try to update this blog as I can.

    [Reply]

  6. Posted January 6, 2009 at 5:40 am by _sahirs | Permalink

    Depending on which part of the country you’re going to, you might consider packing a light sweater, and a deodorant, as well – though both can be easily procured on arrival. Some eyedrops would be good too – you’ll find the dust and smoke irritates your eyes as much as the camera lens.

    [Reply]

  7. Posted January 6, 2009 at 2:01 pm by ... | Permalink

    Enjoy. I look forward to your next couple of posts. Also, I really have been enjoying the new layout.

    Mateo

    [Reply]

  8. Posted January 7, 2009 at 1:43 pm by Diana | Permalink

    Way to travel light. My husband and I always laugh when we show up for a trip with one carry on bag to share, and the other people going on the same trip check one or two large bags each. Is that a gorillapod I see? I love them!

    [Reply]

  9. Posted January 7, 2009 at 5:52 pm by Anonymous | Permalink

    Hey! India is the place!!!! I wish you all the best. I was there just some weeks ago.

    Do the yoga completely and fullfill all the dreams about indianfood.

    Namaste Helena

    [Reply]

  10. Posted January 8, 2009 at 8:41 am by Andrew Querner | Permalink

    Have a great trip Kirk. Can’t wait to learn about your reaction to this country.

    [Reply]

  11. Posted June 11, 2010 at 12:11 am by ankit | Permalink

    hey
    its good that you are coming to india
    and south is like heaven,dont forget to go to kerala’s beaches and those beautifull boats on which you will feel real nature. south is a good chapter in india. but take care of some things
    do not eat or drink even water during journey from fellow passangers
    have some light clothes,spray,mosquito killer, some important numbers of local authority,

    [Reply]

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>