photography

2018 06 30

Behind the Camera : Tea, Monks and Altitude

SCooper Behind the Camera, Blog, Everest Base Camp astrophotography, everest, glacial, hiking, holiday, khumbu, monks, mountains, namche, photography, rivers, sony, stars, tengboche, trekking, valleys 0

Previous post in this series here.

Next post in this series here.

Prior to heading out on this trip, whilst I had been incredibly excited, I couldn’t help but consider whether it would give me much to write about on here. Other trips (I’ve annoyingly still not written about) had all sorts of things going on; riding the death railway in Kanchanaburi, jumping off a waterfall in Chiang Mai, biking through the desert in Bagan; but this one, it’s just walking. Every day, it’s getting up early, stomaching a breakfast of whatever happened to take my fancy that morning on the teahouse menu then walking for 6 or more hours. At face value that seems pretty boring but it’s the flippin’ Himalayas! And even so early on in the trip I can understand why people come back time and time again to this beautiful region of the world. There’s something about this place, the scale of the mountains, the glacial rivers, even the people, that make it such a vibrant, picturesque region unlike any place I’ve been before and let’s of course not forget the climax that is reaching Everest Base Camp. It’s all of those things and more that meant even though I’d wake up tired and sore, I’d still have a grin on my face once I’d step out that door every morning and breathe in the incredible scenery surrounding me on all sides (along with the freezing cold air).

The nights are the hardest. A combination of slightly undersized sleeping bags, altitude, low temperatures and the need to cocoon myself in roughly 6 layers of clothing and bedding is not comfortable. My first night in Namche I remember waking up short of breath, at first I thought I was fine but as I lay there i was overcome with what I can only describe as a sense of dread and I became shorter and shorter of breath. My guide Gopel had warned that these types of things can happen in the night, it’s essentially a panic attack and it’s not fun and here was me having one on night 2 of the trip. Not exactly filling me with reassuring thoughts for the future of the trip. I was eventually able to calm myself by crawling out of the warmth of my sleeping bag to pace the corridor for a bit and I was certainly grateful when morning came. I looked rough that morning, and if it weren’t for my friend being there to enable me to see the funny side of the whole situation I’d have probably wanted to turn around and head straight back down that mountain that very morning.

The first day in Namche was a rest day, a day I had looked forward to initially seeing the itinerary and a day that it turns out is definitely a translation error. This purpose of this day is actually to climb even higher, attempting to acclimatise your body to higher altitudes before returning to your previous altitude to sleep. The hike itself was heading up the the Everest View Hotel at 3800m and was a fairly nice and steady climb but it is from this top vantage point that we were finally able to get our first clear view of Everest miles in the distance and knowing full well that was the distance we had to cover. It took me a while to really digest that thought. I’ve never, ever done anything of this scale before and to look out across the mountains, see where I needed to go, and know it was going to take me another 5 days of walking was an incredible thought and crazy to comprehend. Fortunately the acclimatisation seemed to pay off and I was able to sleep uninterrupted the whole of the second night in Namche. After seeing how my body reacted to the altitude the previous day I did begin taking a preventative measure by starting a course of diamox/zolamide that morning. I have no idea what it was originally prescribed for (pretty bad of me) but it’s available everywhere in Kathmandu and the go-to tablet to help in altitude acclimatisation, what little I do know is that it apparently helps remove carbon dioxide from your blood, makes you urinate a lot, and causes a tingling sensation all over your body; sounds fun right? I’m not exactly a fan of taking random un-prescribed medicine (probably a fairly normal thing to not be a fan of) but I was determined to make this journey through to the end and was going to give myself whatever help I could!

Destination: Everest

The target the following day was Tengboche, Walking had started to become one of those mental games for me and I was always very aware of what altitude I was roughly at knowing every extra 100m up was a big accomplishment. So knowing that I was starting that day at 3400m and needed to get to Tengboche at 3850 was incredibly frustrating when we were spending almost the entirety of the morning trek heading deeper and deeper in to the dusty valley with every metre down another metre I’d need to climb back up, but nature doesn’t set out easy routes and there was a river we needed to cross before we could start the ascent and get ourselves on the right side of the valley.

We ended up arriving in Tengboche at a reasonable time that day and my trekking buddy Steven and I were lucky enough to get a chance to explore the famous Tengboche monastery, a location visited by all Sherpa before the start of the Everest summit climbing season and apparently the ones responsible for blessing and opening the base camp each year. With our Nepalese guide leading the way we were led through to a small room packed full of monks sat on the floor chanting, each sat pretty much knee to knee with the monk beside them. I think we were pretty happy just watching this ceremony from the hall but were instead pushed in to the tiny, tight room by our guide and made to sit by the monks. Trying to be as respectful as possible we assumed our meditative, crossed leg poses (or as crossed legged as we could get after the day) and sat listening to their chants just letting it overwhelm us and allow us to absorb this unique cultural experience. Unfortunately despite our best efforts to be respectful to their ceremony I think me and Steve both realised just how much we stank sat down next to each other and ourcue to leave was the moment Steve managed to knock his metal bottle over startling the monks and causing them to almost leap from the floor.

That night in Tengboche was when I started to appreciate the remoteness of the settlements in the region and the barrenness of the landscape the steeper I climbed. There was still a long way to go and a lot more pain and mental exhaustion to come but it’s the little wins that matter and sat outside staring at the stars and the milky way over the mountains that night was one of those wins I needed.

Tengboche Monastery

Conclusions of these days:

Tea is life. I may not drink it back home but those Teahouse pit-stops and the local flavoured teas were an essential boost throughout the day.

I’m going to be carrying a lot of guilt for making those monks suffer the stench of my feet after 3 days of walking.

Altitude hurts. Mentally and physically.

2018 01 22

Behind the Camera : The trail to Namche

SCooper Behind the Camera, Blog, Everest Base Camp everest, glacial, glaciers, hiking, holiday, khumbu, lukla, mountains, namche, photography, sony, trekking, valleys 0

The town of Lukla

Previous post in this series here.

Next post in this series here.

Still full of endorphin from the flight over and now standing in the shadows of the mountainous Khumbu region I could only now begin to feel the gravity of the challenge in hand. I’m a man who enjoys his home comforts and here I was with only 3 spare pairs of boxers ready to spend the next 14 days trekking through the mountains. The airport town of Lukla which serves as the entrance to the region was where I was first introduced to my porter. This man would be carrying the brunt of the my pack weight leaving me to carry around 10-11kg a day myself and whilst I struggled with my daily weight the 25kg he carried supported only on his back with a headstrap (that can’t be OSHA compliant) seemed almost non-existent to him. Whilst I love my current camera setup, the body and lens combination served as a rather large proportion of that daily carry weight a lesson I had clearly not learned well enough on my last trip and one I will no doubt forget before my next trip.

Cattle crossing a suspension bridge

Having already gained a serious amount of elevation to reach Lukla, the first day of the trek would not see us getting any higher but just getting as far as possible before we would turn in for the day. Every ridge I crossed and corner I turned introduced new and stunning vistas from small towns to glacial rivers cutting their way through the mountains. The trail itself often jumps back and forth across this river through the use of some slightly terrifying suspension bridges. Whilst I may trust their structural integrity that isn’t going to stop me gripping on for dear life as they bridge bounces up and down with every step; gripping made somewhat difficult by the razor sharp metal that would sometimes jut out on the rails where it had been worn away by the weather. As we passed from town to town and the hours passed I found myself hoping each village would be the one we would stop in, a worrying thought considering it was only my first day but after a rather sleepless night in anticipation of that flight to Lukla I was ready for a bed.

We ended up stopping in the small village of Tok-Tok at the Friendship Lodge, a small tea-house run by husband and wife and their infant son who revelled in running up to us and high-fiving me continuously. Admittedly I had no idea what to expect from the teahouses, this one, despite its brick exterior seemed to be entirely fabricated of plywood on the inside causing everything to blend in to one continuous visual palette of wood. The room for the night barely fit the two beds that had been crammed inside and the building seemed to creak under every step but there was something quaint about it all and as I sat down for my cup of lemon tea and dinner of Dahl Baht I was optimistic about what would come. I was probably slightly less optimistic a few hours later lay in bed wrapped in enough layers to suffocate myself though; perhaps if I’d known just how cold it would get over the next week I may have just turned around then.

First view of the summit of Everest

Thankfully I’d actually been able to sleep that night and after filling up on a breakfast of coffee and pancakes (with some questionable mixed fruits jam) I was feeling somewhat ready for the day. Day two however had been described to me by many different sources as one of the most difficult days of the whole trek. It falls within that time-frame where your body hasn’t quite got warmed up to walking every day and the route requires a 4 hour trek followed by a seemingly unending 2 hour climb 600m up to Namche. Namche is one of the most famous settlements in the area and serves as a hub for other villages in the region. It’s also the last settlement with cheap WiFi or a card machine should you find yourself a little short on cash. The tiered town seems to cling to the side of the mountain from a distance and being so remote suffers from none of the drawbacks of the main cities like the smog, litter, or a barrage of vehicles attempting to run you down.

The beginning of the climb to Namche is marked by the iconic highest suspension bridge in the region, a dramatic span I had been eager to reach having seen it so many times researching the trip (and also in a short segment in the film Everest I had eagerly watched the weekend before heading out much to the horror of my parents who were already nervous about my plans). The climb is also the first time that you are able to see Everest and as I stared across at the highest mountain in the world it was boggling to think it would take a further six days to reach the base. Looking at the state of myself it was doubtful I’d even be reaching Namche at the sweaty exhausted rate I was going but I kept going, climbing a little higher with every step I took until finally rounding that corner and seeing Namche Bazaar for myself. Only six more days til base camp.

2018 01 04

Behind the Camera : The World’s Most Dangerous Airport

SCooper Behind the Camera, Everest Base Camp airport, ebc, everest, featured, hillary, light aircraft, lukla, panorama, photography, plane, tenzing, travel, world's most dangerous airport 0

Getting a little too quiet around here…

2017 was almost looking like an unadventurous year for me. I’d had a nice short break in Devon with my family early in the year but after that the process of settling in to my new job and new home city, along with an illness that drained me mentally for quite a few months, no travel had occurred and combined with my tendency to over analyse everything I write this blog and my passion to write had been dwindling. To think that my year changed so drastically thanks to a wedding invitation from one of my colleagues and new friend who was preparing to marry his Nepalese fiancé in her home town of Kathmandu, Nepal. When he showed me that invite I without hesitation agreed. Not only was the idea of attending a Hindu wedding in a foreign country a pretty cool prospect, I knew it’d put me smack bang in the right country to do something that me and Andy had talked about doing last year but couldn’t due to time; the Everest Base camp trek.

And that’s how on November 18th 2017, after months of preparing gear and training and a four hour delay (most of which was spent sat in a greenhouse-esque coach on the tarmac of the airport) I found myself fearing for my life in the air on a tiny 18 seat airplane heading from Kathmandu to the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla (also known as the “World’s most dangerous airport”). An airport at 2845m with an 11% gradient runway and surrounded by terrain that makes a second landing attempt almost impossible that when you finally do land gives you an indescribable appreciation for the simple fact you’re alive. Day 1: Already feel in over my head.

Prior to this questionable mode of transportation, I had spent 4 days in the Thamel district of Kathmandu ensuring I had all my gear in place and all the appropriate clothing for the potential weather conditions ahead. I don’t think any amount of preparation would have truly made me feel ready for what lay ahead in the 15 day trek but stepping on to the tarmac of that remote airport, surrounded by such serene beauty, I could barely contain my excitement for the journey ahead. I certainly wasn’t going to let 2017 end without some crazy adventure.

“Leaving Kathmandu”

“Touchdown at Lukla”

What does this actually involve?

I wanted to keep the main content of this post pretty short but for those who have somehow managed to stumble across my blog (hello by the way) and are unfamiliar with the Everest Base Camp Trek, much like I was before this trip, here’s a quick rundown.

The trek itself starts in the town of Lukla at the Tenzing Hillary airport at an altitude of 2845m. This airport serves as the hub for this entire mountain region, there are no roads and all supplies come in through this airport. Over the next few days the trail leads through the Khumbu mountain region slowly gaining elevation until finally (or hopefully) on day 8 you reach Everest Base Camp at 5364m. It’s important along the way to gain altitude as slowly as possible to give your body the best chance to acclimatise to the lack of oxygen in the air. Altitude sickness can affect anyone independent of fitness, gender or age and it can really come down to pot-luck as to whether you’ll get hit or not. If ignored altitude sickness can become serious and very often fatal. The first 8 days include some additional, and horrifically titled “rest days” where you’ll spend an additional night at the same altitude but ascend much higher during the day to prepare your body for the following day.

If only attempting to reach base camp, it’s possible to do the entire trek in around 12 days. Despite, or possibly due to, my lack of experience I opted to do add some additional destinations on to my itinerary that I’d been informed would make for some excellent photos but would not come easily. I was in no way mentally or physically prepared for this trip, it was something I had decided I wanted to do and decided I’d work it out as I went along.

Upon setting off for Nepal this was the daily plan provided by my guide:

Day 1: Fly to Lukla, trek to Phakding (2610m)

Day 2: Trek to Namche (5 hours – 3440m)

Day 3: Rest day

Day 4: Trek to Tengboche (6 hours – 3860m)

Day 5: Trek to Dingboche (6 hours – 4410m)

Day 6: Rest day

Day 7: Trek to Lobuche (5 hours – 4910m)

Day 8: Trek to Gorak Shep (5410m), hike to base campe (5354m)

Day 9: Hike to Kalapatthar (5550m), trek to Dzonglha (4830m)

Day 10: Cross the Cho La Pass (8 hours – 5368m), rest at Thangnag (4700m)

Day 11: Trek to Gokyo (4790m)

Day 12: Trek to Gokyo Ri (5357m), trek to Machhermo

Day 13: Trekyt to Dhole (4110m)

Day 14: Trek to Namche (5 hours – 3440m)

Day 15: Trek to Lukla

Day 16: Fly the Kathmandu

If you have enjoyed reading this or have any questions please feel free to post a comment.

2016 05 02

Builds : Waterdrop Rig Part 2

SCooper Blog droplet, flash, high speed, photography, water, waterdrop 0

In the two weeks since my last project udpate I have been working pretty hard in my evenings and weekends soldering away to get this project completed, not as easy as it sounds when I spend most my time at work soldering and designing circuits only to come home and do exactly the same thing; it’s a good job I enjoy it.I ended up breaking down the controller in to its individual elements and constructed each of these boards seperately. This meant that alongside the brains of the controller, an Arduino Uno, there were the following separate modules and boards:

Power Rail
Valve control
Front panel
IR Trigger
Trigger Controllers

As a complete unit, the electrical design is pretty simple, probably a few things that could be specified better to improve speeds but the majority of the control complexity will come from the actual software.

Power Rail Board

Utilising a single power rail board is something I’ve opted for in a lot of my recent projects. I find that rather than attempting to jump wires all over the place, the electronics remains much more manageable and easier to debug if I simply provide a single rail in which all additional boards receive power from. For the purpose of this build, the entire system is being powered by a 12v adaptor, the solenoid valves I have selected (very generic ones off of ebay) run off of 12v, and everything else runs at 5v provided by the voltage regulator on board the Arduino which will provide enough juice for this project.
For the final build of the controller, which came about after many rewiring attempts due to my inability to size wire lengths correctly I have utilised molex kk series connectors for ease of connection and disconnection of various modules from the system for testing and installation.

Valve Control Board

Valve control takes advantage of the low current draw of the solenoids of approximate 100mA and just switches power on and off through an NPN transistor. I have included flyback diodes across the solenoids to counteract back EMF and valve connection is done through 2.mm mono jack socket.

valveControl

Front Panel

The front panel consists of the user inputs and screen. I’ve chosen to use a 4×20 monochrome LCD for the screen and this should give me enough space to display all the informaion I need to. These screens are also really easy to interact with making use of only 6 of the Arduinos outputs. I’ve also made a very small board for the screen to cut down on power connections to just two wires (5V and GND).
Alongside the screen are 5 PTM switches that will be configured to act as a directional pad and a selection switch. In hindsight I would have liked some lighter touch and smaller buttons as these required a pretty heavy touch to operate.

IR Trigger

The IR trigger I have made is probably a little overkill and may require some rework. I’m currently using an IS471 IR detector which includes a built in modulator to control the IR LED to eliminate the effect of outside IR interference, like I say, overkill, but may prove beneficial. This is connected to the main controller through a 2.5mm stereo jack plug. I also included a visible LED on the board that lights when the detector can see the IR LED which should help in setting up.

Trigger Controller Board

To remove the potential for any stray currents or voltages reaching the camera electronics I am using 4N26 optoisolator ICs. These little chips consist of a built in diode and photodetector that connects the outputs when the diode is powered whilst also ensuring the two circuits are electrically isolated. They are incredibly simple to wire as shown in the schematic. Four of these ICs allows me to individually control the camera shutter and focus (connected through a 2.5mm stereo jack) and two flash guns (connected through 2.5mm mono stereo jacks).

The completed electronics ends up using all but one of the Arduino Uno’s IO pins.

Inside the controller

Completed system with valves and triggers connected

Software Design and User Interaction

State machine architecture based off of menus

Now that the hardware was all completed and tested, next came the controller software. Being unsure exactly what I would require out of the controller I decided that too much control would be better than too little as so outlined the software architecture as a state machine consisting of different user menus each allowing control over different elements.
I had to be very careful with the user interaction during each state ensuring that it was as expected and consistent but then did not overly complicate the interaction and increase the depth of sub menus and controls unnecssarily.
The final software was complete in a single afternoon and evening of coding so could probably do with a bit of a rework and tidy up down the line but I’m pretty happy with the level of interaction and control available.
The final software consists of:
Run Menu: This is used to initiate a drop sequence after setting the other parameters. There is quick control access to the flash trigger delay on this screen to elimate unecessary menu depth and breadth.
Test Menu: This allows toggling of the output triggers and valves. Pretty useful to just test the system isn’t malfunctioning and I’m hoping the valve control can be used as a good way of “flushing” out the system at the end of use.
Config menu: In here it is possible to set the trigger mode and whether the IR gate should be used or not.
Setup Menu: From here it is possible to toggle each of the three valves as enabled or not and then set up, up to three drops per valve which includes their drop delay time and their size (size determined by valve on time in ms).

Coming up…

Coming up part 3, I should have a video showing the controller operation and hopefully, the first photos.

2016 04 17

Builds : Waterdrop Rig Part 1

SCooper Blog arduino, build, engineering, photography, water drop 0

What do I want and how do I actually do it…

Those were the two big questions I faced entering in to this project. Now anyone that knows me personally will be aware of the fact that as well as being a massive nerd, I am, at my very core, an engineer. It is way more than a job for me and I spend most my time asking myself “could I make that” or “could I make that better”.

Now, about four years ago I had my first and only experience with waterdrop photography. Being honest, it was great fun, I got some, for my experience at the time, great photos out of it but the time consuming, elaborate macgyver style rig I had produced did not encourage me to ever try it out again. It was one of those setups and experiences where you spend so long just trying to get the whole system to work together that you never really get a chance to hone in on a really good shot as there’s so little control over what’s happening (a pin pricked bag of water above a mug will do that to you).

I’ve since got much (much) better at photography, my equipment has got better, and now that I’m no longer a student I feel like a have a bit more free time in the evenings to experiment with a few things so I have decided to revisit an old idea of building a waterdrop control rig that will accurately handle all the timings and droplets for me so I can really focus on getting the photo at its best.

This part 1 is intended to be a little introduction to what I’m hoping to achieve, how I will achieve it and what I’ve done so far and will be addressing that first question I opened with, “what exactly do I want”.

This was definitely one of those questions best answered with a bottle of wine and some relaxing music in the background and armed with those tools I came up with what I, for now, think is a pretty complete feature list for the controller that should let me do some really interesting things.

Camera shutter and focus control.
Support for firing two flashguns.
Ability to use an optional infrared gate to trigger the timing sequence.
Support for three independent solenoid valves that produce the droplets.
Each of these valves should allow up to three drops per sequence to be produced.
Each of the delays between individual drops and individual valves should be configurable.
The droplet sizes should be independently configurable (by adjusting the time the valve is on).
Ability to “flush” the system when finished.
Ability to set a main trigger delay time. i.e the time in which the flashes trigger from the first drop.
Support for multiple exposures: flash firing multiple times. Again this frequency/delay should be configurable.

In my opinion it’s a fairly comprehensive list and I’m a little worried about implementing all this support in one go, should be an good challenge for my programming skills.

Constructing the frame…

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the design process but it’s fairly straightforward. I wanted something sturdy, relatively professional looking, and not going to be a complete pain to construct. I opted to use t-slot extruded aluminium, for those who have not used this before it’s fantastic for quickly throwing together framework and was perfect for this application; maybe a little more expensive than using word, but a really nice finish.

Extruded aluminium frame

Dimensions of the frame are: 250mm for the feet, 750mm for the uprights, and 500mm for the horizontal. I figured this would provide a good height for producing the drops, leave plenty of room for the container being dropped in to and the exposed upright sections above the horizontal, where the valves are mounted, will be ideal for attaching the reservoirs with some cable ties.

Start of the electronics…

I’ve only done some of the basic electronics at this stage. Primarily wiring up the 2V025-08 solenoid valves and working on trigger cables for the flashes and camera. An interesting interaction I noticed, I shoot with a Sony A99 but also have my old A700, by re-purposing the proprietary connector from a cheap ebay trigger for my camera I was able to get the A99 firing in manual mode off of just the shutter trigger, the A700 on the other hand requires both the focus and shutter to be triggered for the camera to fire even in manual focus mode. Trigger operation is simply a case of closing the circuit across the pins of the connector, similarly for the flash guns.

A little researching online recommended the use of optoisolators to do this as it ensures that the control circuitry remains completely isolated from the camera circuitry ensuring no risk of stray currents or voltages to the camera. I’m using 4n26 isolators and the wiring of these is incredibly simple. Just got photos of the process for now, will have schematic pictures ready for part 2.

Solenoid valve wiring

Triggering flash through the socket

Dismantling trigger for the sony plug end

New camera trigger cable wired up to 2.5mm stereo plug

Wiring up opto-isolators for camera shutter, camera focus and two flash guns. Not quite finished yet.

Coming up…

Hopefully in part 2 I’ll have more of the electronics finished and some of the programming done. If you have any questions regarding what I’m doing please don’t hesitate to get in touch, would love to hear from you if you’re doing something similar.

2016 03 15

Behind the Camera : Walking the Wall – Throwback

SCooper Behind the Camera, Blog, Throwback behind the camera, beijing, china, featured, global grand challenges, great wall of china, photography, RAE, royal academy of engineering, summit, throwback, travel 0

My intention for this site was originally just to keep an online portfolio of my favourite work and while it will somewhat feature this intention I’ve come to the realisation that I’d much prefer to keep a record of the stories behind some of my favourite photos. Not every photo has a story behind it and of those that do, many may not be interesting or worth telling, but the ones that are worth telling are what I feel I should use this site for.

For me, what I enjoy most about travelling, besides getting away from work for a while, is the experiences and stories we can come back with. I know many people that are more than content with having a lazy holiday, lay by the pool, getting a tan, going shopping or whatever; but that’s not for me. Not that I think what they’re doing is wrong, it’s just not for me, I need to be out there, doing things, witnessing things and experiencing things otherwise I feel like I’m not making the most of the place I’m in and all it has to offer.

However, as much as I may want to travel, it’s not something I can regularly do and write about cue these throwback entries. The idea of these being that I can tell some old stories about some of my favourite shots and how they came about starting with one of my more recent photos from China September 2015.

This is another photo that I have to be thankful for the Royal Academy of Engineering scholarship for. Through their scheme I was able to secure an invitation to the Global Grand Challenges Summit in Beijing thus leading to possibly the greatest trip of my life thus far. The Global Grand Challenges Summit is an event organised by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering along with the Chinese and American equivalent academies aimed at highlighting the challenges that humanity, scientists and engineers face today ranging from security and health all the way to the joy of living and revitalising urban infrastructure. The two day conference is one of those events where you just can’t fail to be drawn in to the energy and atmosphere created by your surroundings and the speakers on stage and it genuinely makes you feel like, if you put your head and heart to it, you could achieve anything you wanted to, and help save the world. I’ve questioned a lot about myself and my careers choices since those two days and try to act on those lessons whenever possible. One of the things I’m most thankful for about that conference and the RAE scheme itself, is that it introduced me to my travelling companions for the next few weeks following the two day conference. These were people I had only ever briefly met before, once a year at the RAE annual get-together but we had all taken a risk and agreed to go travelling together following the conference.

Photo Credit: Pooja Moonka

The stories we made for ourselves and experiences we had on that trip make me consider these people some of my closest friends despite the relatively short time I’ve known them, but when you live together in tiny hostel rooms for any amount of time, without showering, and spend every day exploring a strange country together like that, I think it’s impossible not to either massively fall out with them or consider them a close friend after that. Beyond these three people I spent the majority of the trip with, I was also lucky enough to share time with other great people along the way who I’d met at the conference and I don’t think anything will ever beat some of the nights out we had together clubbing in Beijing when we had around 40 American and UK young engineers piling in to a small bar and overflowing out on the street, dancing on tables, singing at the top of our lungs and drinking in to the early hours of the morning (all while being filmed extensively by locals passing by who were fascinated by so many western tourists together at once).

One of my biggest concerns about not knowing who I was travelling with was whether they would tolerate my constant desire to stop and take photos, I know it’s not to everyone’s liking and for those who just want to walk and explore it must be infuriating to have to stop and wait on someone like myself or so my parents have told me after the many times I went on holiday with them growing up, fortunately though I was with like-minded individuals who were more than happy themselves to stop and take their own photos at every opportunity they could.

My favourite photo from the whole trip, and currently on my wall as part of my “Best of 2015 Series” was definitely from the Great Wall of China. My group and I arranged to visit the Wall while in Beijing through our hostel (Downtown Backpackers) who provided transport and a friendly guide, Jerry (one of the hostel workers). The trip was advertised as a 10km walk of the wall, it sounded amazing. Up until this point we had been mostly confined to the conference and city so I considered this our first proper adventure out in China.

The day began fairly early with us being picked up from the hostel by mini-bus, worrying that we would be too early for breakfast we had stocked up on yoghurts, cucumber flavoured crisps and cookies for the journey the night before but were pleasantly surprised by the offering of more cookies and snickers bars from our hostel upon entering the vehicle. I think our excessive number of cookies ended up lasting us until almost the end of the entire trip!

The drive itself was fairly uneventful, but we began to have concerns over the legitimacy of our trip as we approached our final destination. Every mile or so we would see big signs and billboards reading “Keep Out”, “This area of the wall off limits”, “Thank you for not entering this area of the wall”, of course our mini-bus ignored all of these and headed straight on, who were we to question it.

The early morning light marking our path through the forest

Unlike most organised trips to the Great Wall, this one did not intend on dropping us off at one of the hotspots of the wall that are renovated and officially open to the public, instead we were dropped at the base of a steep hill outside a thick forest. The next forty minutes were a fairly gruelling uphill struggle (for some of our party anyway) and several of us, myself included, did fall a tad far behind the main party. Part of our journey up hill was brightened up by a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Pooja, one of the members of our group, which another tourist group also got involved in.

Along the way we were only treated to brief clearings in the foliage to see how high we were and where we were going and it never prepared me for when I rounded a corner and was then just smack bang, up against the wall.

It can get pretty steep and slippery on the wall

Despite following one of the hostel workers, it still felt like a real adventure elevated by the act of having to climb up on to wall using a ladder made of lashed together branches. An official tour of the wall would never take you to the areas we visited but we were treated to 6km of incredible scenery along the crumbling remains of one of the greatest man-made structures in existence. Many parts of the route are dangerous but it is all beautiful and I couldn’t help but have a grin on my face the whole way despite the heat and exhaustion caused by my poor fitness.

Andy on the edge

After around 6km of walking, the frequency in which we saw other people increased greatly along with the general structural integrity of the wall itself and eventually we passed a sign that only solidified our belief that we probably weren’t meant to have walked the previous 6km we had. We took a moment to celebrate this milestone and the Pooja’s Birthday with a can of beer each at 11am stood on the Great Wall of China, not many who can say they’ve celebrated their birthday like that.

I don’t think we were meant to go there

The photo I’m most happy with from this day occurred during the final 4km of the excursion of the more built up section of the wall. I’d been trying to capture the perfect panorama to commemorate the day, going so far as to climb up crumbling towers to get a better vantage point, but think I finally achieved it with this one. It may not be the most technically brilliant photo but I think the composition works well and I love that it features several members of the group I travelled with within it even if they weren’t aware of it at the time. This makes it not just a photo of the Great Wall of China to me, but a photo of amazing friends I made during some of the greatest weeks of my life.