DanielKeulemans
Heavenly reflections
Lake Namtso, meaning "heavenly lake" in the Tibetan language, is located in the north of Tibet (220 km from Lhasa). It's the highest lake in the world and an important pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhism. The water of Namtso is supplied by melted ice and snow from the surrounding Nyainqntanglha Mountain and has an amazing deep blue color. This image was taken at sunset, allmost from the opening of our tent on the shores of the lake. How heavenly can it get....!
The eyes are a...refl
Visiting Tibet was definitely one of my most astonishing travelling experiences. I spend around 5 weeks trying to absorb as much as possible of the Tibetan people, their traditions, and the incredible isolated landscapes. One can drive for days without meeting a soul and in the middle of absolutely nowhere spend the night in a small village, surrounded by curious and kind villagers. The Tibetan people have adapted their lives to live in isolation and under harsh conditions, the high altitude being one of them. I am allways intrigued how people can find happyness and balance under such extreme conditions. I am sure that their religion, Tibetan Buddhism, plays a key factor in the way they find guidance and celebrate their lifes. On the way back from Mount Kailash we came across a valley, again in the absolute middle of nowhere, where the villagers were happily engaged in a religious ceremony. The people were dressed up in traditional costumes, the elderly men drinking heavily, others making music and at the same time everybody was enjoying a small parade of horseback riders. When I took this picture I already knew this image would help me to allways remember this awesome journey......
Please join me!
The Gunung Leuser National Park in Northern Sumatra is an absolute must if you like to meet and great these great animals of the forest. When I roamed around this awesome rainforest with my local guide June, I never anticipated to see these Orang Utan from so close......I really love this picture.....the sunlight is filtering through the leaves, making this mother with her child even more colorful....the child holding on tight to the mother....and the mother herself reaching out her hand as if she is inviting me to join her on a tree swinging adventure.....woooohoooooo......Me Daniel, not Tarzan.... maybe next time.....because one thing is for sure....I will revisit this magnificent place!
Lion so you think you
Addo Elephant National Park is a great place to observe all sorts of great wildlife, especially elephants ofcourse. You need to be relatively lucky to meet and great a lion in this park, because they are still a very limmited edition....This male lion seems to realise his special position...not only did he pose like a professional model, but he also choose a spot with a perfect frame....!!
Antigua reflections
Antigua, located in Guatemala, has a very friendly ambiance and is a great place to walk around, especially in the late afternoon when the sun starts to set. This image is of a public washing place, the light just emphasizing one of the washing facilities with the refelection of Volcan de Agua (still visible in the background) in the water....
Volcan de Agua,...Ant
Antigua, located in Guatemala, has a very friendly ambiance and is a great place to stay if you like to brush up on your Spanish. I spend a week in Antigua with a local family and registered with one of the local language schools. Because I didn’t feel like sitting in a classroom, I had suggested to my teacher that it would be better for my Spanish skills to learn and study outside the classroom and to spend our classroom hours strolling around the city. And that is what we did….we visited markets, musea, had coffee in small cafe’s…we talked for hours about life, family, daily routines and at the same time I was carrying my camera around. This must have been the best schoolweek I have ever had! This image is of Volcan de Agua, taken in the warm light of a setting sun in the streets of Antigua……
This is why I am the.
The thrilling and chilling sound of a lion roaring....it's probably one of my favorite sounds....especially when you just entered your tent, got comfortable in your sleeping bag, feeling all safe and comfortable.....untill suddenly, out of the dark, this roaring sound alerts you that it might be a better idea not to move anymore for the rest of the night....Late afternoon the following day we spotted this beautyful lion....I am not sure what tempted this lion to show it's might but one thing is for sure...I'm glad I didn't leave my tent the night before!
Sichuan Opera on fire
For me it's allways a nightmare to try to get a performance on photo, especially when the light conditions are not optimal. But luckily, my sweet camera manages to capture moments in unexpected and surprisingly clear and detailed ways. This is one of those moments, taken during the Sichuan Opera in Chengdu, China.
Playtime!
The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda was established with the cooperation of the World Wildlife Fund and runs a successful program. Despite severe damage of the facility by the 2008 earthquake, there are currently around 150 panda's living in the Wolong Reserve. As I mentioned before, when I visited the Research Center, there were around 20 baby panda's raised by the staff. Needless to say, they take care of these panda's like their own children and it was a marvelous experience to see these cute animals eat, play, toy around and at times they were extremely naughty! In this image the panda's are getting together for about an hour to interact, roam around and...play!
I am the cutest!
The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda was established in 1980 and is part of the larger 200.000 ha Wolong National Nature Reserve in the Qionglai mountains (Sichuan Province). It’s not an easy ride to reach this facility from Chengdu but for me it was absolutely worth it. When I visited Wolong the program housed around 20 baby panda’s. The program gives an educational insight in the life and natural habitat of this endangered animal and a chance to view these beautyful anymals up close....and are they cute!
The Sichuan Opera in.
When I embarked on my trip to Tibet, I decided to start my travels in Chengdu (China). At night I visited the Sichuan opera, a colorful spectacle filled with music, dance, acrobats and acts in which the performers change their mask within a split second. This beautyful portrait is of one of the performing artists and reminds me of the inspiring ambiance during this unique opera.
Magical Bagan
Bagan is an ancient city in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and is situated in the Mandalay region, about 700 kilometres North of Yangon. Bagan was the capital of the kingdom of Pagan from the 9th to 13th century. During this period over 10.000 pagodas, monasteries and Buddhist temples were constructed. Though the majority of these beautyful buildings have disappeared over time, one can still marvel at a large number of these spiritual constructions in the plains of Bagan. This place is absolutely incredibly awesome. I spend 5 days cycling around this area, allways accompanied by the friendliest of local people. This picture was taken at the crack of dawn, the sunrise playing with the light and warming up the colors of the temples around us. To top it off, the early morning mist made our surroundings even more magical ....I miss Bagan and it’s people everyday......
Old but beautyful wal
Hoi An is a small pleasant city located on the South central coast of Vietnam. This city is designated as a World Heritage Site, mainly to preserve it’s traditional architecture. When I visited this city, I innitially felt a bit like I was trapped in a tourist destination. But not uncommon in my travels, the more time I spend in such locations, the more I get to appreciate it’s culture, traditions and at some point allways find some hidden treasures that appeal to my senses. This portrait of an old and rugged wall changed my outlook on photography, especially backgrounds and reality perspectives. From that point on I started to realise that ”old and run down” often shows more spirit and character than picture perfect backgrounds and objects. This is the First time I fell in love with a wall……and as is often the case with your first love: it kind of allways sticks to you…..!!
King of the Hill
When you have the opportunity to visit beautyful Kenya, you must absolutely take the time to visit the Masai Mara National Park, situated in the south-west of the country. This huge game reserve is actually the northern continuation of the great Serengeti National Park in neighbouring Tanzania. The park is named after the traditional Masai people. I spend a number of days roaming around this spectacular area with a local guide and driver. This is an absolute plus. It is a kind of pleasant not to get lossed or stuck amidst all these hungry creatures. Besides that, I wouldn’t be able to spot a lion, even if it would be sitting in my kitchen...It wasn’t until after 3 days of exploring that our guide noticed this magnificent male lion, enjoying the sunset on top of a small hill. I very quietly left the car to move as closely to....just kidding...lucky enough the road took us right underneath...and undisturbed by our presence the lion just continued to enjoy his life...!
Young lioness in...hu
Nothing is more exciting than getting up for an early morning or late afternoon game-drive in one of the National Parcs in (South) Africa. It's just that sense of excitement that I really like...that possibility that you come face to face with one of those beautyful animals...and to be honest...all these animals are equally beautyful to me. But getting face to face with a young lioness definitely adds a little more tension to the excitement...The rain season, when the natural habitat of these wild animals is lush and green, is a more challenging time for lions to hide their prescence to other innocent and tasty bystanders....I observed this young lioness for a pretty long time and just loved how she tried to keep as low a profile as possible....just that energy...that power....those teeth.....yikes! But just so magnificent. Being around these animals just makes me forget about the rest of the world!
Mother and Child
The Gunung Leuser National Parc, about 80 km by car from Medan, situated in Northern Sumatra, is a perfect setting for an Orang Utan Rehabilitation centre. The parc is situated in pristine rainforest and gives wildlife enthusiasts the unique opportunity to get up and close with our ancestors, the Orang Utan. The literal translation means People of the Forest and when you see this image you can probably understand why...This is one of the great places in Indonesia that I would love to visit over and over again, also partly because of the kindness and expertise of the local guides in the parc. The Rehabilitation Centre has a flyer that shows how incredible cruel and plain stupid human beings can treat these incredible animals. The centre frees, often young Orang Utans, from captivity and rehabilitates them in such a way that they can live peacefully again in their natural surrundings. As is often the case with animals living in the relative wild, one has to be a bit lucky to meet the animals, prefferably from a safe distance....But with patience and use of the friendly expertise of the local guides, you might get as lucky as I have been...
Bangladesh girl fille
No matter how poor, most Bengali people safe their most beautyful piece of clothing for special celebrations and their holy Friday. Like this beautyful young girl in the Chittagong region. The happyness radiated from her face when I asked her if I could make a picture of her, Unexpected moments like this make travelling an everlasting experience for me.
Young Buddhist monks.
During my visit in Myanmar (Birma) I made a visit to Inle Lake. The people living in this area are called Intha. They live in simple houses of wood on stilts along the shores of this magnificent lake. On my way back to the shore this small boat with young Buddhist children crossed my path. One of the children can’t keep his eyes of what appears to be a new soccerball. What a great scene....It made me wonder if these children were on their way to play a small game of soccer or if the ball would be stored away and kept in a safe place......
Magical sunset at...P
Prambanan is the largest Hindu tempel in Indonesia and is listed on the UNESCO world heritage list. I have been very lucky to visit this beautyful tempel over a number of years and during different seasons. I really love to visit this spiritual place late in the afternoon because I know how magical this tempel reveals itself when the sun sets.
Gunung Bromo...excite
2010 was a difficult year for Java, with severe eruptions of Gunung Merapi and Gunung Bromo. It wasn't untill the Summer of 2011 that visitors could safely enjoy the beautyful surroundings of Gunung Bromo again. When I visited the caldera last Summer, the soil was still covered in a deep layer of ashes. It allmost felt like visiting the moon. The enthusiasm of this local boy on his horse really struck me. He was obviously as happy as ever to be able to escort visitors on his horse again to this holy and spiritual volcanoe.
Hard work
No matter how flooded the area, life goes on in the streets of Dhaka Bangladesh. Actually, the flooding is a great opportunity for the Rickshaw drivers to make some extra taka's, because nobody wanted to get their feet wet....!!
Flooded but filled...
I wouldn't know where to start when I look at this image. I had the incredible luck to live in Bangladesh for a number of years. My first week there, the country got flooded for allmost 70%. Millions of refugees took shelter under rows of plastic in the streets of Dhaka, while the citizens of Dhaka just continued with their lives as normal as possible, using small boats to go from one place to another. The lake on this image was at that point connected with the streets and I took a local boot out to just have a look around and see how this would impact the daily routines of the people. I will never forget the moment that I raised my camera to take a picture of this passing boat. The positive energy that radiated from these people, under such severe and harsh conditions, touched my outlook on life forever....
Sikh temple New Delhi
One of my favorite experiences in New Delhi was a visit to the Sikh temple. It's a beautyful and serene holy place and a great way to meet these beautyful people. This image was also taken with an old fashioned camera.
Blinded by the light
My first visit to India was breathtaking and earthshattering at the same time. My outlook on the world changed forever and my desire to get confronted with complete new sensations and senses only grew bigger eversince. When I saw this beautyful Indian woman I was to shy to take a picture. But when she revealed her juwelry and face by bringing up her hand above her eyes, I just couldn't resist....This image was actually taken with an old fashioned photocamera, using Kodak film......
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