When her 20-year career as a freelance photographer started to become a little less busy due to the arrival of the internet, Liz Light decided to set off on a new path. While still maintaining her photography and writing career in New Zealand, she also decided to start a company that would find her in her favourite location, India, on a regular basis. Light decided to start a special-interest tour company called ‘Colour India’.
“I had been obsessed with India since I saw a photograph of women wearing saris when I was nine years old. I have worked there, lived there, and visited many times — and it is such a great country for photography,” Light explains. “It has thousands of years of tradition of art, architecture, and spirituality; thousands of kilometres of soaring mountains, cities heaving with humanity, vast spacious national parks, and a quirky off-the-wallness that is unique to this extraordinarily place. And, generally, people [there] like being photographed.”
Colour India sees Light host two small-group photography tours each year (with a maximum of 10 people per tour), which head to India to coincide with two extraordinary festivals — one in March, and one in October.
“The October tour has two days of luxury camping in amongst the Pushkar Camel Fair. The March tour coincides with Holi in Varanasi, and, again, we stay right in the middle of it in a heritage hotel on the ghats [steps to the Ganges River]. Both celebrations are colourful, crazy, and nothing like you [will] have ever seen or photographed before,” Light enthuses.
On both tours, you are destined to have opportunities to interact with and photograph the people and heritage of Kolkata and Varanasi. You’ll see tigers, birds, and a vast array of other wildlife in the Bandhavgarh National Park, and you’ll have four days in Himalayan Kashmir. In addition, you’ll be able to get your Taj Mahal shot, as well as encounter the bazaars of Delhi to not only capture beautiful images but also fill your bags with treasures before you head home.
You’ll be travelling by minibus, and there will be knowledgeable, photography-savvy guides at each stop — and, instead of being stuck on long bus and train trips between faraway destinations, you’ll be popped on internal flights and stay in luxurious accommodation.
Keen to book your spot for the October Pushkar Camel Fair experience or interested in learning more about Colour India and how to get involved? Just head to colourindia.co.nz, or contact Liz Light by email at [email protected], text via 021 2353932, or phone on 09 422 0111.
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