So I read this thing in a photography book...

Before I left on this trip, I wanted to learn how to take more pictures of people. I began looking at photography books to get ideas about how professionals did it.  One author wrote about picture taking in Nepal and India and how he asked people to pose for photos.  His first recommendation was to be a bit goofy and to try and try to win them over with humour. While I can be funny (and funny looking) I didn't think that I would be able be that intrusive without feeling like a pest.  But his second idea was better: He brought along small portable printer and gave a copy of the picture as a thank you.  Being a technology geek, I immediately went looking on Amazon.  Behold: An LG Bluetooth handheld printer

It prints great photos (when it doesn't jam) with this polaroid type paper that holds all the ink inside it.

I first used the printer in Baktapur. We were rained out and went to a Chinese restaurant to warm up with tea and soup. While there, I snapped photos of kids playing cricket while waiting for the rain to let up.
 

I printed this photo and gave it to the kid. He and his friends immediately asked to have a group photo. 

I then spent a very tense 5 minutes wifi- ing the photo to my iPhone which I then bluetoothed to the printer which promptly jammed. Another 5 minutes and 2 blanks later, I got a photo I could hand them. 

When Sam and I went for our walk in Katiike we met up with a farm family. Sam chatted with them and I was able to take a picture. 

The family posed for a photo with Sam and the printer jammed. This time badly, and I had to apologize and we walked away as I jammed some torn up business cards into the back end to free up the gears. 20 minutes of walking, mumbling and fumbling and the jam cleared. Then I jammed it again. Then I cleared it again and the family photo printed beautifully 

Sam and I decided to head back into town so that we could give them the photo. I also decided to disregard the LG instructions on how to use the printer since I think it was triggering the jams.  As we headed out of town and back up the ridge to Nagarkot, I felt a little more comfortable with taking photos and the using the printer.  I took a picture of this man laying down to nap with his children after leading their goats to pasture.

Then, as we came up the hill we saw this family(?) an older woman with two younger girls tending goats and collecting firewood.  

At each switchback on the road we got closer to them and soon we were right behind them.

I took a great picture of the woman

And the sickle that she used to strip deadwood from trees 

And we watched while her picture printed (without jamming!)

Thanks Mr. photographer guy, great idea!