What an amazing trip. Lindy and I stayed on an extra week, mainly to take a look at Corbett National Park and to catch the kite festival and celebrations in Jaipur during the Makar Sankranti festival.
Corbett was freezing cold at night but glorious during the day and I can see why many people say it is the most beautiful of the Indian parks. In the foothills of the Himalayas with a monsoon river running through, it is particularly scenic. We weren't holding out for Tigers given the success of our March Tiger trip to the central Indian parks, nevertheless Corbett treated us to one of the most exciting Tiger sightings I've had and Lindy's first Tiger! It was too late in the day to get any decent shots but the excitement of our driver and his determination to get us a great sighting as the light faded fast made for a thrilling end to one of our days in Corbett and just in time for us to tear back to camp before the strict park curfew. 
The kite festival in Jaipur was equally exciting. Jaipur has a population of maybe 3 million and I reckon all 3 million were either flying kites or watching. Most people were up on their rooftop. The lines are coated with glass so it's possible to cut others' kites and when this happens there's a resounding cry from the successor, akin to England scoring in the World Cup. We did some flying ourselves and it's definitely addictive. Everyone buys 50 plus kites, some buy hundreds to allow for cuts - we spent a few hours on the eve of the festival watching people doing their last minute kite shopping. A bird hospital is set up to cope with birds that fly in to the lines but apart from that, the mood is infectious and jubilant with colourful dancers and special sweets especially for Makar Sakranti. 
What a hoot! When's the next festival?!
Julie
Back from India!!! 24th January 2010
Rajasthan slideshow - 10 January 2010
I have put together a first cut of a slideshow to give you all some idea of what we got up to and what we saw. Most of these shots need some more processing, but you will get the idea.
What fun we had!
Adam
Just back from Rajasthan - 10 January 2010
Sadly I left Julie and Lindy in a cold and foggy Delhi yesterday morning. They are moving on to Corbett National Park for a chance to see a tiger and then a kite festival. Due both to the fog in Delhi and the snow in London my flight was 11 hours late. So, how do I sum up the trip so far. Little wildlife (unusually for us) but lots of fun and shots of many beautiful people.
In Delhi we went to our favorite carpet shop for some serious bargaining with Professor Butt (yes, his real name ..) at his shop (he is the one with the beard below). This is not the first time we have done this with him, but the first when he produced a bottle of Indian Rum, of which 75% was consumed!
Then off to Rajasthan to capture the amazing colour and good humour of the people there. The shots below a quick snapshot of what we captured in the cities, towns, villages and isolated farmer's homes. 90% of people loved having their photograph taken, it really is a photographers dream. 
We were fortunate to be able to see some dancing and the images from these stars will stay with us for many years!
Shepherds were also very friendly, proud and loved having their photos taken. The chap on the right slept outside with his lambs to ensure that nothing happened to them. A former soldier, he was a real gent.
The men have a tradition of smoking a rather unusual pipe which is very very strong indeed!
Both the men and women wore wonderful rings, chains and other jewels.
Some of the ladies we met liked Julie's earings!
There were so many subjects: two of my favorites.
Finally, towards the end of the trip we went off for a two night camel safari. Really getting away from it all. Great fun camping out and starting off each morning on the back of our camels (one of whom unusually was called Rambo!). This was me on the back of mine enjoying a morning cigar.
Once Julie is back, we will put together a proper slide show and trip report. An exceptional trip which shows that people can at times be just as interesting as animals for our cameras. We had a great time, the food was amazing and above all the Indian people we met were exceptional!
Adam (from a cold London!)
Lowland Gorillas in The Republic of Congo 10 days followed by Bonobos in The Democratic Republic of Congo 4 days in July 2010
The Nouabale Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo offers something special: it is an area with untouched forest (no lumbering) surrounded by swamps difficult to access by poachers, therefore providing a safe habitat for a wide range of animals. Here the principal activities are watching animals in the Bai, especially the lowland gorillas that are attracted here by their favourite food, a unique type of vegetation only found in and around this bai. Mbelli Bai also allows the unique opportunity to watch gorillas in their natural habitat and to learn more about their behaviour. 
Mbelli Bai also offers viewings of other species of mammals such as elephants, sitatunga, buffalo, red river hogs, otters, crocodiles, etc.
We will also spend two days tracking lowland gorillas - this is a fantastic experience as anyone who has been to Uganda or Rwanda to see mountain gorillas will know. There aren't too many people who get to see lowland gorillas as well though.
We finish this expedition by crossing the Congo River to the Democratic Republic of Congo and staying very close to Kinshasa, where we then spend four days with another of the seriously endangered great apes, the bonobos. If you saw our photographs in this month's December-January Wanderlust (see below) you will appreciate the charisma of these loving apes. We will spend pretty much all day for each of the four days viewing, photographing and in some cases holding and playing with the bonobos. Everyone who has been on this trip has fallen in love!
This trip offers the opportunity to see two magnificent endangered great ape species. The expedition is a real adventure and a lot of fun. There is not alot of time before the trip and there are visas to organise which tends to be a slow process. The expeditionis not inexpensive on account of these countries having poor tourist infrastructure. This of course does mean that you will get a genuine travel and wildlife experience, you will not meet tourist buses or indeed many other tourists on the expedition which makes for a magical trip of a lifetime. If you would like to join this expedition please email or call and we will be delighted to answer your questions.
We are off to India tomorrow and in the meantime, please have a very pleasant seasonal break.
Julie and Adam
Wanderlust - 29 November 2009
Wanderlust is an excellent travel magazine aimed at adventurous travellers. The December/January edition hit the shelves of all good news agents earlier this week. In it is a four page spread on Bonobos which we wrote and supplied all the photographs. We are delighted as it allowed us to highlight the charity (www.friendsofbonobos.org) which works in DRC to protect Bonobos.
We are tentatively planning another expedition to DRC, Republic of Congo and Central African Republic; perhaps in the Summer of next year. So if you are interested, let us know.
Julie and Adam
EIA Save the Tiger Campaign
Attended EIA's fundraising dinner during the week at Cafe Spice Namaste. Thank you so much to everyone who came along - we had two tables and everyone commented on how great the food was - well, we had three of London's leading chefs whipping up an Indian storm for us - and everyone also commented on the dedication of the EIA team to the seemingly endless work they need to do to collect the evidence they need and to campaign for change. Even some of our more cynical City guests have become very interested in the good work the EIA do.
Donal McIntyre was a guest speaker. He commented on the integrity of the reports the EIA write - it seems he and other reporters know that anything coming out of an EIA investigation is factually correct, backed by evidence.
Check out their website:
http://www.eia-internatioinal.org
To see more about the plight of the Tiger and EIA's Tiger campaign specifically, it's:
http://www.eia-international.org/campaigns/species/tigers/
We can vouch that they run their work on a shoestring! No swish offices, overheads are low and many of their investigators have dedicated their entire lives to environmental campaigning. For instance:
* EIA's evidence played a key role in securing a ban on the international ivory trade in 1989.
* EIA's campaiging closed down illegal talc and marble mines in protected Indian tiger reserves.
* EIA's investigation prompted the Indonesian president to crack down on illegal logging.
Military and police officers were among some of the suspects.
We hope you too will become fans of some of their work. You can join for a year for a mere £30! For anyone who has seen a Tiger or an Elephant, it's worth it!
Julie and Adam
November 2009
Shooting in London - 1 November 2009
Well, winter has set in here in London. Lots of rain and dark afternoons. We cannot wait to get back to India in December for some intensive shooting in Rajasthan and Corbett National Park, with two festivals along the way. To keep us sane we often walk round London looking for stuff to shoot. There is more out there than you think and today we focussed on some Grafitti at a local skate board park. There are some great artists out there!
Julie and Adam