Mountain Consult Photography Training
Photography Training for Mountain Consult’s Climbing Sherpas
Feb 13th, 2012
The first session of Mountain Consult Photography Training got underway today. An initiative of Mountain Consult’s Photography Department and School of Creative Communications, this training session will see the participation of 13 climbing Sherpas from Mountain Consult. These hard mountain sherpas who regularly travel places that are next to impossible for ordinary folks to reach will be trained to take professional shots of the spectacular places they visit. Among the participants are Everest and other 8000+ peak summiters. The photography workshop will run for seven days, during which participants will be taught the basic and given theoretical and practical lessons by Deependra Bajracharya (Program Officer, School of Creative Communications ), Nadia Neupokoeva (Head of Photography Department, Explore Himalaya) and Namgyal Sherpa (Head of Photography Department of Mountain Consult). This photography training is jointly supported by Nepal Tourism Board, HATT (Himalaya Academy of Travel & Tourism) and School of Creative Communications. Mountain Consult organizes such photography training to the interested mountaineers as well as trekkers every year. This program is introduced for the development and progress of the mountaineers and trekkers in joint association with NGO and INGO. The training such as videography has also been provided to our members since 2010 and is still on the way. Anyone related to the trekking field can participate in this session before every season. The number of persons is limited to 15 in a session.
Happy Dipawali from Mountain Consult!
Happy Dipawali from Mountain Consult!
What a great night it was, yesterday! It’s getting better and better every year. The lights, the music, the people, a great time to be in Nepal!
And if you’re not quite familiar with this great festival, here’s a small intro:
The Nepali festival Tihar is also known by many names such as Dipawali or Bhai Tika or Laxmi Puja or as a festival of lights. It is a five-days festival, which comes soon after the Dashain Festival, and Tihar is all about worshiping of different animals such as crow, dog, cow, and worshiping of the Hindu Goddess of Fortune or Wealth (Goddess Laxmi), and cooking great meals at home, brothers and sisters shopping for gifts, flying kites, decorating homes and streets, playing cards with friends, resting and relaxing, and finally ending the festival with an exchange of a special temporary mark on forehead (tika in Nepali). The last day of the festival is known as Tika day or popularly known as Bhai Tika day (Bhai in Nepali means Brother). To sum up Tihar festival, Tihar is the festival when sisters wish a long life to their brothers (Bhai)!
Project Push
On week further since the last update, but project wise suddenly we’re much further.
It was badly needed though; several proceedings stopped or were canceled.
There have been negotiations with a TV channel, specifically focused on Everest news, to make an appealing documentary to broadcast the piece to at least 15 countries. Potentially very interesting of course for both parties… However the negotiations finally collapsed on (what’s new) money. During the project a lot of parties, organizations, NGOs and individuals were positive after being consulted to sponsor. Some became very inspired and excited to cooperate or even had approached the team themselves to get involved. However, when it comes to payments, it’s peoples nature to become less and less enthousiatic, like the exciting thrill is suddenly gone. We’ve seen and still experience this most of the time and start to get used to it. Nothing is final, up to the first paisas, unfortunately!
The coming 72hours will be very important for the breakthrough of this Clean up Expedition Project.
The project have been waiting for a very long time to get support from the Ministery of Tourism; a major prerequisit for the main sponsors to secure their support. Quite a struggle! Although always to be expected, it still surprising how much urge for power and individual visibility is involved, even in these kind of charity programs (or maybe better to say especially!). Anyway, although not completely confirmed, the Ministery has agreed to proceed in their support (yes, step by step, little by little; it tests your patience 
).
Anyway, the main sponsors have now agreed to start their first payments these days. Excellent news, since many equipment and services for which deposits were paid, can now be finally collected/arranged and paid off. It enables the team to send the first 1000kg to Lukla already early this week.
At this moment we are waiting with 4 persons to fly to Lukla, to secure the first arrangements. Have been hanging around unsuccessfully at the national airport already the entire day yesterday, and continue hoping, reading, even more reading today. Hope to bring you the next news for a higher altitude!
Also upcoming is the press conference for this Clean up initiative. Already scheduled for weeks before, but now ready for the Big Bang… To be expected Tuesday; stay connected!
Administrator
Eveline Wessels
