Jaspal Jandu Photography

Happy New Year

Just a quick one to wish you all a very Happy New Year wherever you maybe. 

Here’s to an even more adventurous and rewarding 2007!

Warmest regards
Jaspal

Jaspal Jandu Galleries - Exhibition Update

Jaspal Jandu Galleries held a sell-out commercial exhibition in December 2006.  The event showcased a collection of fine art, limited edition prints at the Grand Hyatt in Amman, Jordan.

The exhibition centred upon on both the large- and small-scale views of our collective world and was sponsored by Cube Lounge and Play Radio. Whilst the first two nights were reserved for collectors and VIPs, the show also played host to the general public for a period of 2 weeks.

Jaspal noted: "Exhibitions are a great way to share my passion for the natural world with a wider audience.  Just reading through the guestbook has left me in no doubt that all the collectors and attendees enjoyed the show immensely. The fact that many were emotionally inspired by the prints is a wonderful accolade.”

All of the Prints are based on the current on-line gallery and sales enquiries can be addressed via the website.  Commercial organisations can request further information on the exhibition and possible future events via email.

Kind regards
Jaspal Jandu Galleries

Chile Thoughts

You wouldn’t necessarily think that travelling between the longitudinal extremes of any country would involve a lot of travel. Well, this is Chile and I’ve just covered 4300km (yep) doing exactly that. 

It has taken just over 6 hours to fly over this ridiculously thin country between Punto Arenas in the South and Arica in the North. Ample time, in fact, for me to reflect on this beguiling nation…

Ex-President, Augusto Pinochet, passed on this week. It is clear from the on-going riots and demonstrations that the country is still heavily bifurcated over his actions.  The rising economic tide - fuelled primarily by copper exports to China - has left a country yearning for historical justice and future progress at the same time.  Although I will keep my comments brief (this is not the correct forum for heavily politised debate), I can say that the Chilean people are amongst some of the most progressive, accommodating and hospitable I have encountered on my travels.

As for the natural world, well, you probably know the deal.  With one foot in the tropics and another in Antarctica, you couldn’t wish for a more picturesque country. As a photographer, I have suffered from a severe embarrassment of riches and have often found it more difficult deciding when not to shoot than the other way around.

Environmental issues abound in the country.  From eco-tourism to foreign mining operations, the country seems to be struggling between progress and sustainability.  It will certainly be interesting to see how Chile faces both current pressures on top of those relating to global warming and an increasingly depleted ozone layer…

Life isn’t all ha-ha-hee-hee

If something can go wrong, it will; especially when you’re on a round-the-world trip and a million miles from no-where. 

I’m sure the saying goes something like that.

A nameless airline has lost our luggage, my camera took a, um, `fall` yesterday and our trusted computer has decided to give up the ghost. We are in Patagonia at the moment and I reckon that England have a greater chance of retaining the Ashes than we do of getting all this equipment fixed out here in the sticks.

The reason for this blog is to highlight that life isn’t all ha-ha-hee-hee when you’re on the road.  After some personal debate, I decided that if one is attempting to describe the numerous wonders of our travels then it is only fair to document some of the more difficult times too.

Considering the tumultuous nature of today’s world, I’m sure our problems - when placed in context - are not totally insurmountable. After all, I’m sure we’ll manage to get through this patch a lot better than the so-called ´best-cricket-team-in-the-world´ will over the next month…

The Torrid Zone

It comes as no surprise to me that the ‘tropics’ are also referred to as the torrid zone.  We’re in Northern Argentina at the moment and the heat and humidity are conspiring against our sanity.

Lugging around a heavy back-pack in the burning midday sun is one thing but doing so in a totally saturated ambient environment is quite another.  I’m not sure how many Zip-lock bags are in my possession but I estimate that I may have bankrolled the packaging company for the next few months.

Problems also arise when moving camera equipment from cooler, less humid temperatures into the heat.  A combination of a rapid temperature change and high humidity can cause condensation to form within the camera, its optical system and storage media.  One solution is to give the camera time to slowly adjust to changes in temperature to avoid forming condensation.

Anyway, Iguazu Falls have kept us endlessly distracted in the meantime.  I’ve been to a lot of waterfalls in my life but nothing quite as dramatic as Iguazu. The waterfall system consists of about 270 falls along 2.7 kilometres (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River with some measuring up to 82 metres (269 feet) in height.

Whilst most visitors head straight for the various viewpoints, I have been mindful to explore some of the supporting jungle/wildlife areas.  However, as soon as the mercury has risen its been a straight cat-fight to get close to the falls where the immense spray acts as the most blissful cooling system known to man…