Jodhpur streets

My flickr contact ChoongChing posted this wonderfully rich image of a street in Rajasthan, India taken with his Ricoh GR.

The residential area is pictured at dusk at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, April 5, 2015. Jodhpur, also known as the blue city, was originally home to the highest caste of Hindus, setting them apart from the rest of the population.

It is thought that Brahmins – members of the priestly class – first took to colouring their houses blue (yet perhaps it should really be called indigo) to signify their domicile and to set them apart from the rest of the population.

Soon, however, the rest of the population followed suit. History does not tell us which brave non-Brahmin was the first to do it, yet it happened and since that day the people of Jodhpur have steadfastly maintained this tradition.

Kyrgyz along the Karakoram Highway

My flickr contact ChoongChing posted this amazing image of Kyrgyz children along the Karakoram Highway taken with his Ricoh GR.

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is one of the world’s most scenic mountain roads. It connects Xinjiang region of China and Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan.

Halfway through the journey, we made a stop at a small Kyrgyz settlement. A group of Kyrgyz children spotted us and ran towards our vehicle. One of them tried to sell us some souvenirs while the rest just stood there smiled at us.

The vast dirt emptiness of its surroundings left us in awe. “These are some of the toughest humans on Earth!”, says Asthon from Melbourne.

Lakeside in Pushkar

My flickr contact ChoongChing posted this great scene taken on the banks of the lake in Pushkar, India taken with his Ricoh GR.

All the various people and the cow are so beautifully distributed, it’s like a setup but no doubt isn’t. Great stuff. As I mentioned in my comment to him, the Ricoh GR wide angle adaptor might have made this scene even more dramatic.

Taklamakan Desert

My flickr contact choongching took this amazing shot with his Ricoh GR while riding a camel in the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China.

Kashgar markets

My flickr contact choongching took this amazing image in Kashi, Xinjiang, China.

While the image may be out of focus with exposure issues it is so incredibly fascinating I had to post it here.

The baby, the bag (grandma) is holding on the scooter, the women driving the scooter but a man’s face with sunglasses in the left rearview mirror, the young girl with leggings, the young (girl?) pulling up her pants, grandma, the little boy seeming to spot the camera through the crowd, the guy on the right gesturing, the Prado sign. What a great mix of things going on here.

Note: One of the many reasons I love Flickr is that I have contacts and connections in all corners of the world. The images that these folks post are not put through a photojournalism filter, they’re just scenes from lives in different places. It’s brilliant and I’ve been watching many of these feeds for close to ten years. Flickr remains my very favorite social network and the only one I take seriously.

Silk Road – Taklamakan Desert

Flickr member choongching has posted this fantastic image of camels in the Taklamakan Desert in China taken with his Ricoh GR.

Kyrgyz yurt along Karakul Lake

Flickr member choongching has posted this amazing night image of a yurt in western China/Mongolia taken with his Ricoh GR.

This is an incredibly remote place.