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Life in the slow train words and photos by Angus McDonald A bus will get from Kalka to Shimla in two thirds the time taken by the train, whose maximum speed is a stately 25 kilometres per hour. But velocity, of course, is very far from the point. Nobody goes to the Himachali capital to … Continue reading
Thailand’s second city has a thriving yoga scene. Taking some classes provides an instant community and an entry into the culture. As many a traveller has found, there’s nothing better than yoga for ironing out those kinks in the body acquired in the course of a long haul trip. But finding a place to … Continue reading
EASY AS HONEY ON A STICK Heat, light, form, photography, travel. It all came together for Anders McDonald on a two-week glass blowing course outside Istanbul. A while ago, I don’t remember how or where, I saw something about a place called the Glass Furnace in Turkey that offers two-week workshops in glass blowing. Like … Continue reading
A SENSE OF PRESENCE David Roberts uses a view camera with a 1.6 metre bellows and a 21¼-inch lens to make richly detailed, hand-crafted images. In 2007 he was granted the rare privilege of a portrait session with the Dalai Lama during one of His Holiness’ regular visits to Australia. The photographs, enlarged to greater … Continue reading
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL WORLD by Angus McDonald In an age of digital media, the World Press Photo competition might seem like an anachronism. Yet it gets 100,000 entries and two million visitors. Moonpeak went along for a look. The first room of the exhibit is the comfort zone, with padded benches and pictures of wildlife and sport. A … Continue reading
A JUROR’S TALE Peter Bialobrzeski has sat on the jury of the World Press Photo three times and twice won prizes in the competition. He is Professor of Photography at the University of the Arts in Bremen, Germany, and has done a number of projects in India, as well as taking workshops. He spoke to … Continue reading
In the epilogue to Culture on the Edge, Phil Borges turns his lens inward. ‘I didn’t want to point an accusing finger. After a year and a half traveling across the Tibetan plateau and seeing the issues the Tibetans face, my finger ultimately came around to point at me.’ He is talking about climate change, … Continue reading
I went to a dance bar in Bangalore a few years ago, having harassed my friend Vijay into taking me along for a look. The scene was booming then, in the wake of a crackdown in Bombay. But what confronted us was a surprise after all the lurid press reports. Fully dressed women, most in … Continue reading
HISTORY DEMYSTIFIED The book starts with a dramatic moment. In the eighth century a brand new Tibetan empire burst out of the plateau, taking everyone by surprise when it captured the Chinese capital in 763. The Tibetans have never forgotten, and it’s unlikely the Chinese have either. The story of Tibet had actually begun a … Continue reading
These twenty stories are about people displaced: Australians wandering Asia in search of something. It might all be fiction, but it has the ring of truth. ‘She gave up writing straightforward accounts of her journeys years ago. She has surrendered herself to her love of fiction.’ This is Maria, an ageing backpacker washed up amongst … Continue reading
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