Ladakh, August 2016 - Portrait of a 95 years' old Changpa woman, living a nomadic life in the Himalayas. She has almost lost her vision entirely, can now only see colors and shapes. That does not stop her from walking several miles per day and performing all daily chores, take care of animals and participate in all community activities. The Changpa of Ladakh are a semi nomadic tribe. They are high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats. They speak Changskhat, a dialect of Tibetan, and practice Tibetan Buddhism. The photo was shot at an altitude of about 5000 meters, close to the Tanglang-La mountain pass to Manali.

This is a project about human condition. It’s about coming to terms with the fact we are not as unique and complicated as we would like to think.

A family of nomads, living in the Himalayas. Image taken in Ladakh, India in August 2016, on the way to Alchi.

During this project, I met people of various education levels and backgrounds that gave me the impression that they have found a way to stand still, stop the incontinent narrative in their heads and calmly observe themselves and life around them, transforming their reality into an expanded vivid dream, a tale of consciousness.

Being manically active, mentally and physically, being “on” all the time, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are present in your life.

I wish all of us could experience the clarity and profound presence of “Grandma”…

…the deep, calm awareness and subtle, quietly ecstatic joy of the “Housekeeper”.

Young monks of the Drukpa lineage of tibetan buddhism go to the main temple for the morning ceremony (puja). Image taken at Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, India (August 2016).

Shot in Thailand, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia.