The Indian Princess

[PhotonFanatic]

Update on John's Indian Adventure:

Hi from Udaipur, India!

Things here are great. It was sad to say g'bye to our driver, whom we've had since arriving in India - he was awesome. But we've flown to Udaipur from Jaipur, and after finding out that the hotel we reserved wasn't anything like their website said or showed, we contacted our travel agent in Mumbai, and she called them and said we had an emergency and had to leave... we paid for half a night and got outta there, and ended up finding an awesome hotel nearby, for not too much more.

Anyways, we love India, love the people and the food, and are fascinated by the stark differences in our two countries,

The Princess has been great! I can't stand looking on CPF on the iPhone, so a post will have to wait until I return? But I wanted to give you a quick update.

A few of the uses:
- Light during the many regular power outtages
- reading next to sleeping girlfriend who I don't want to wake
- looking in my deep backpack
- pulling it out at a marble mosaic gallery when they were showing how the mosaics glow with a flashlight behind them... their plastic incan didn't quite show it off as best as it could
- used as a stand-in for the sun on a cloudy day while visiting an 200-year-old observatory with super precise instruments all derived from the light from the sun at different times of the day

And finally, flashlights were not allowed in the Taj Mahal, and the ARMED guards checking people's bags and patting us down were making sure of it. BUT, I hate breaking promises, so I hid the light underneath a notebook and a money belt, in a small pocket of my bag, and hoped for the best (the worst being he finds it and shoots me,
(LOL)... And voilà! No problem! Then, a QUICK photo (not the best) while no one was looking, and that's a wrap!

Anyways, I am loving it. And even Amy thinks it's cool, which is saying a lot, since a new flashlight usually gets met with an eye roll!

Gotta go - hope all is well Fred! We head to Mumbai on Thursday, which should be great, although we will have to be extra careful.

Best,
John

 

[vestureofblood]

I like the blue jewels in the front of the bezel around the lens.

 

[mossyoak]

good to hear your safe
Damn nice light by the way

 

[wvaltakis2]

I like the blue jewels in the front of the bezel around the lens.

Those are all optical illusions involving dimples and anodizing.

~Chip

 

[04orgZx6r]

Had someone tell me I should take a look at this thread...
Wow, They were right, thats a beautiful light, I think fred capture the indian culture perfectly.

And Another :wow: for Chip, that anodizing is what brings it all together:thumbsup:
And your right I don't think I could capture "the sheer "dimplicity" of this light" without seeing it

Congratulations on the new light john, I hope all is well

 

[Saranic]

what a gem, great work

 

[wquiles]

Looks fantastic Fred - just a work of art :thumbsup:

Will

 

[greenLED]

Anybody know when John's due back?

 

[EricMack]

Anybody know when John's due back?

Yeah, Chicago's going to he** without him! oo:

Don't know if he gave me that dates, but I'll look.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

John's trip was for two and a half weeks, so I presume he'll be back to work by next Monday.

 

[greenLED]

Thanks, guys. It seemed like he's been gone for longer; I was starting to worry.

 

[jch79]

Hello my CPF friends! :wave:

I just got back home, and am feeling a bit :sick2: under the weather, so I will post more later/tomorrow, but wanted to say I made it home safe and sound, and had a fantastic time in India, despite the horrific events in Mumbai a couple weeks back.

Thanks for your words of concern - you are all great friends! :grouphug:

john

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Welcome back, John. We need pics. :devil:


But we can wait.

 

[EricMack]

Hello my CPF friends! :wave:

I just got back home safe and sound!

john

Best post of the year!! :wave:

 

[bf1]

Hi John,
Welcome back! I am sure you enjoyed the food.

 

[greenlight]

Go CAL Bears!!

 

[jch79]

Sorry for the delay... still adjusting :duh2: to the time zone difference. :sleepy:

Well, I'll post only a few pics - we took a bunch, but since this is a flashlight forum, I'll spare you most of 'em! And as I'm an architectural photographer, vacation for me means not taking photos, so we just brought a little pocket cam, and it was up to my girlfriend to take most of the photos.

Anyways, our itinerary was: Delhi > Agra > Jaipur > Udaipur > Mumbai

We squeezed a lot in, and in a short amount of time, but it went relatively well. I won't bore you with tons of details, so suffice to say we had a great time. India is an amazing country - so different than the US. The people were humble and friendly, the food was amazing, and the sights were like nothing I've seen. If you haven't been to India, GO!

And I can't not mention the heartbreaking amount of extreme poverty we saw there... words can't describe it. We are definitely going to find a non-profit organization that helps fight the poverty there, and make a holiday donation.

Onto the (somewhat relevant) pics!


At the Taj Mahal, flashlights were NOT allowed, and the metal detectors and heavily armed guards searched everything and everyone. Well, my bag had an interior pocket, which I put the Indian Princess down in the bottom of, and covered it with a pocket notebook and a money belt, and the guard barely missed it. So I took a QUICK photo of the light in front of the Taj (hence it being out of focus), and slipped it back into the bag, to avoid being ...

And this was just too beautiful to not photograph...

Then in Jaipur, we were at a FASCINATING place called Jantar Mantar, which is a 300 year old observatory, with a bunch of sun-dial-like instruments... problem was, that the SUN wasn't out! So I tried my best to imitate it, although it's still a few lumens shy of an overcast day. (you can see a shadow that it cast, if you look closely!)

This is a view from the Amber fort in Jaipur - we got lost trying to find our way around this place, but made it to the top eventually - what a view!

And, last but not least, a quick photo of me and my other :kiss: Indian Princess at the wedding we attended:

We are both wearing traditional Indian clothing. I'm wearing a Kurta, and my girlfriend is wearing a Sari. Do I always look that tired?? :thinking:


Fred mentioned my email about how handy this light was in an above post, so I won't re-type it, but suffice to say, it was great. I couldn't have asked for a better traveling light, and although I brought a headlamp as well, the Indian Princess had 100% of the lighting duties. I brought a spare battery, but the low level was perfect for nighttime duties in the room, and the high was only used a few times.

This light is truly a work of art - I'm very proud to be its owner. Fred's work is top-top-top-notch, and brings the idea of a custom flashlight to a whole other level. :twothumbs: Fred, I can't thank you enough! :bow:

And Chip - that gorgeous anodizing job really makes all of those dimpled jewels come to life. :thumbsup: A great partnership, and one I'm humbled to be the beneficiary of!

That's that! Hope you enjoyed reading.

:wave: john

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Welcome home, John. Feel free to post any photos of India you want--I loved the country and wouldn't mind seeing them.

 

[modamag]

Wow, truly a jewel for a princess.
Great Job Fred!

How did you get the color in the light. Did you machine post anodizing?

 

[wvaltakis2]

Wow, truly a jewel for a princess.
Great Job Fred!

How did you get the color in the light. Did you machine post anodizing?

Yes, it was a combination of masking during the anodization, and machining 'post' anodization.

~Chip