Photography Workshop & Photo Tour Destinations : Rajasthan & The Pushkar Camel Fair, India

Photography Workshop & Photo Tour Destinations : Rajasthan & The Pushkar Camel Fair

With its ancient walled cities, vibrant camel and livestock fairs, and wildly colorful marketplaces, Rajasthan ranks amongst one of the most exotic and most photographed regions in India. Our photography tours, workshops & expeditions to Rajasthan are designed to enable participants to capture the extraordinary history and vitality of this erstwhile 'Land of Kings'.

The state of Rajasthan emerged from the amalgamation of what was earlier twenty two feudal kingdoms, known in the British era as Rajputana. Rajasthan's fabulous forts, palaces & havelis are testimony to the riches generated by the levy of taxes on goods passing through these medevial kingdoms.

Rajasthan today, epitomizes India at its exotic best - swaggering moustaches, bright turbans and sarees that explode with color, chunky jewelery. And all these elements come together at the annual Pushkar Camel Fair when hordes of lavishly dressed locals converge to buy and sell their livestock.

Our photography workshops, photo tours & expeditions to Rajasthan cover the Pushkar Camel Fair, Romantic Udaipur, the "Pink City" of Jaipur the blue walled city of Jodhpur, and the Desert Town of Jaisalmer. To travel to - and photograph - Rajasthan, is to experience a slice of India's culture at its exotic best. The Land of Kings beckons, what are you waiting for?

Photographic Highlights

Before highlighting the regions we cover in our photo trips to Rajasthan, we'd like to emphasize on a recuring theme that you'll encounter during your visit to Rajasthan - COLOR.

Most of the state of Rajasthan is primararily desert country. Miles upon miles of rocky hills amidst sandy dunes. The vegetation is limited to cacti and shrubs. The landscape is in most parts a monochromatic desert brown...

It is only in understanding the land that you begin to understand - in part - the customs of the people that inhabit it. Understand the monochromatic bleakness of the land and you begin to understand the need for variation in color - a need that finds expression in the habitat & clothing of the people there.

Walls. Headgear. Turbans. Cardigans & sweaters. Shawls. Saris... Nowhere else in India do colors literally explode off them as they do in Rajasthan. And now, you know why!

The Pushkar Camel Fair : Our photo tour to The Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan during the time of the full moon in October / November brings you face-to-face with the cosmic chaos that is India.

Thousands of village folk flock to the ancient temple town of Pushkar, to bathe in the holy waters of the lake there at this time. The town comes alive with men and women dressed in their traditional colorful best, buying and selling brilliantly adorned camels, while street magicians, performers, storytellers and soothsayers vend their wares and services. If ever there was an opportunity to experience - and photograph - a traditional, authentic Indian festival and fair, this is it.

Udaipur : Known as the city of lakes and palaces, Udaipur is a city replete with beautiful palaces & havelis, mostly clustered around the picturesque Lake Pichola. The highlights of this ancient city is the imposing City Palace and the narrow lanes dotted with innumerable small shops. To visit Udaipur is to gain an insight into the opulent lifestyle of the Maharanas (Great Kings) of Rajasthan.

Jaipur : Known as "The Pink City", Jaipur boasts one of the most colorful & vibrant bazaars (marketplaces) in Asia. Nestled amongst the innumerable small streets that comprise the old walled quarter of town (evrything - including the walls - are painted pink, hence the name "Pink City") are innumerable palaces dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Jaipur is also renowned for the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds), its main City Palace, The Jantar Mantar (The Royal Observatory - a fascinating study in line, shape & form), and the awe inspiring fort & palace at Amber.

Neville insists that Amber's massive audience halls, dazzling private palaces replete with colored glass forming intricate mosaics & other ostentatious trappings were designed to keep the many queens & concubines of the king from positively dying of boredom (they were supposed to keep themselves veiled and prohibited from stepping out of the palace lest they be bewitched by some handsome young lad )... maybe you'd like to argue that point over a beer when you join him on a trip there.

We operate two kind of photography trips to Rajasthan - scheduled group photo tours / workshops / expeditions (usually around the time of The Pushkar Camel Fair), & customized, private photo trips. Our Photo Tours & Workshops Calendar lists schedules & other information about our group photography workshops, photo tours & expeditions to Rajasthan, India. If you find that your dates don't coincide with our's, or would like us to put together a custom itinerary for a photo trip to Rajasthan for you, please visit the Custom Photo Tours & Workshops section of the website.