Daily Inspiration #457 by Maarten Duijvestijn

Hello Steve,

I’ve been a fan of your website for some 4 weeks now and keep coming back for more ‘daily inspiration’.

The work of enthusiast alike makes me get my camera out when I am in or leave the house!

This summer I was on a motorbike trip with my dad to the high Himalaya in northern India. I took a Sony A57 and some lenses.

My trusted Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, Sigma 85mm 1.4 HSM and the classic Minolta 50mm 1.7

With this combination I shot over 1500 images in 4 weeks time (many more in the trashcan!). The colors in high altitude, we reached passes over 18000ft, is incredible. even at noon you can make colorful and contrast images.

Although the Sony A57 has a panorama mode, I made handheld panorama’s, with the Tamron, later stiched in PTGui software. Amazing how much resolution these images can hold from a >1000 dollar camera/lens combi.

I had a small pack of family portraits (of my own wife & kids) with me that I showed to people we met. In this way these people let me take their picture, some of them giving me such strong memories!

From all the pictures to pick only 3……….. I’ll try. (All of the shot with the Tammy)

All the best with your website.

Many greetings from Holland,

Maarten Duijvestijn

DSC00036 Panorama Zanskar17klein

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16 Comments

  1. Hi Maarten.

    Many thanks for the lovely pictures ! I’m not sure it you were in Leh, but it looks like it. I was there some time ago. Absolutely stunning

    Izzy

  2. Hi Maarten, greetings from India ! Leh and Ladakh on a motorcycle is an amazing and very tough and physically demanding journey. The bike you used looks like a Royal Enfield Bullet Thunderbird 350 or 500cc . I live in Nagpur, right in the centre of India and I have a friend who hails from the same city, who has done Leh and Ladakh three times on his Royal Enfield Bullet, one of them solo.
    For those who haven’t experienced Leh and Ladakh, ( I haven’t either!) get a glimpse of the terrain and its beauty, by clicking on this link which features my pal Anukaran Singh and others ……
    Incidentally, Maarten, I’ve visited Holland, your friendly and very lovely country twice.
    http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/road-trip/on-a-road-trip-to-ladakh/214467

  3. Thank you all for you comments! Yes I do use Lightroom to touch-up some highlights and shades. Colours of the mountains are amazing up high in the himalaya no matter what camera!

  4. Was the third shot done with HDR? Or does the Sony have 50 stops of dynamic range. Where’s the shadows?

  5. Really love that third shot.

    For some reason when I saw it it looked like Fuji colors to me. I was wrong. The colors in that picture really are nice.

  6. The shot of the bike and the mountains is not only beautiful as a picture, but to me it defines the reason you were there in the first place. Nice work.

  7. Great shoots! Like them all but the last one really is a masterpiece!
    Greetings from Austria

  8. Excellent photos. It is really worth clicking on them and see them at their full size. Breathtaking.
    You will also notice that the rider of the moto has his feet in the air to try to keep them dry!

    Best regards.

  9. Way to go Maarten – don’t you love it when you look up and the sky overhead is deep violet.

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