Ladakh, India, 2013

Ali, shopkeeper, and his shepherd pals share a moment of warm, understated camaraderie in the tiny Himalayan town of Dras, once at the crossroads of the old Silk Road. Dras, apparently the planet's second coldest inhabited spot (with temperatures that dip to -45°C), derives its name from the local Balti word for ‘hell’. Ali loved the picture and carefully wrote his address on a scrap of paper requesting a print. I lost it on a trek and should send one to the Dras post office I guess.