 Sydney Harbour Bridge I walked around Sydney trying to appear like a local, saying things to strangers like "Knife? That's not a knife. This is a knife" and "Throw another shrimp on the barbie mate." I know how much Australians love it when you try to assimilate into their society. At night Joan suggested we take a ferry just past the harbour bridge so I could get some photographs of the Bridge with the Opera House in the background. This, and the Opera House photograph, are the results. Taken in December, 2008, with Canon EOS Digital Xti, 18mm lens.
Cloissone Factory in Beijing I would think the tedium would be excruciating. Doing the same thing over and over for hours - days - months - years. In early '90s China, factory workers did just that. Our guide explained to us that workers, like these two in a Beijing cloissone factory, performed one task and one task only. They never were permitted to cross-train, or learn any other part of the manufacturing process. Perhaps that was the Chinese equivalent of a "non-compete clause." My two visits to Beijing were 5 years apart. The changes were noticeable. In 1987 virtually every factory and store was state-owned. By 1992 farmers and entrepeneurs were allowed to sell a limited number of goods in a street-market environment. Now socialist China is a free market economy that has created a huge middle and upper class.
Taj Mahal It's a love story worthy of a sonnet, or a song, or a book, or a movie, or a ... mausoleum? She was 21 when they married. He, a dashing prince, the third son of the emperor. She, a young beauty who captured his heart. She accompanied him on his journeys, from palaces to war, and became his queen when his bitter battle of succession ended. He showered her with jewels, titles and love. She gave back to him 14 children but at the age of 39 she died bearing the last of his heirs. Disconsolate, he ordered years of mourning throughout his realm. But what greater monument to his love could he envision than to construct perhaps the most beautiful building in the world - one that would surround his queen's tomb with marble inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. Upon his death he was laid beside her in the Taj Mahal.
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Street Scene in India Sometimes there's just no story. We were on a bus between Jaipur and Agra when we stopped at a small village. I was fortunate to capture this colorful scene on film with a borrowed Minolta Maxxum.
Basilica Cistern, Istanbul This underground reservoir was built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and rebuilt in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian to hold water for the Palace. It was used in the James Bond movie From Russia With Love and the film The International although both took substantial liberties with the location of the Cistern. Canon EOS Digital 33mm lens 1/3 second f4.
Single Red Door, Mykonos Having only been to one other Greek isle, Rhodes, I really didn't know what to expect on Mykonos, other than knowing it's popular for nightlife and it's gay-friendly. Now I know more - like how colorful and well-kept the homes and business are how many different shades of brilliant blue are in the sea, the sky and the church domes how much fun the seaside tavernas are.
In European fashion, partyers start on the beaches in the afternoon, head for the bars and nightclubs at night and finish when the sun comes up. Or so I'm told.
Mykonos Church
Duomo, Florence Italy This day in Florence marked my first return to Italy in 27 years. In 1980 I day-tripped across the border from Austria into northern Italy just to get some good food and to do some shopping - at that time the Italian Lira was worth something like a million US dollars. On my return visit I found the food was still great and the exchange rate was still one-sided. The other way, though. Nonetheless I spent a whirlwind day seeing Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery. Ponte Vecchio and the city's most famous landmark - the Duomo at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.
Venice Canal Scene
Burano Alley Burano is a small island near Venice. Known for lace-making during the Renaissance, the art had mostly died out until being somewhat revived in the early 20th century. Now Burano's brightly colored houses are popular with artists and, or course, tourists.
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Sydney Opera House
Our hotel was located in the Rocks area, less than a 5 minute stroll from the harbour and the famous Opera House. We walked around and found a bar located right beneath the Opera House alongside the harbour. Despite it being 31 hours since we left our cold northeast Pennsylvania home to bask in the Australian summer, the cold beer and the incredible view made it all ok. Actually, more credit to the view. The beer just added to the moment. Taken with Canon EOS Digital Xti, 55mm lens.
Koalas in Australia - Front & Back!
Since Sydney is mostly constructed around its harbor, the primary mode of transportation is ferry. We bought a day pass and left from Circular Quay to the Taronga Zoo, hoping to see the indigenous animals of Australia like kangaroo, koala, platypus, wallaby, wombat and hughjackman.
The next day it rained. Cold too, so we took a ferry to Darling Harbor and visited the Sydney Wildlife Center. Saw lots of native animals but neither a jackman nor the elusive kidman could be found. We did, however, see several koalas. Though their population is slowly increasing they are still a threatened species. Their sole food source, eucalyptus leaves, is becoming less plentiful as Australian woodlands shrink. Zoos like Taronga and Sydney Wildlife Center educate people about the preservation and conservation of native wildlife.
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Sphinx Our guide, Egyptologist Bassam El Shammaa, met our group in Port Said and rode with us on the 3-hour bus ride to Cairo. Our first stop once we arrived in the bustling capital city was the Egyptian Museum, followed by the nearby street market. After a bus tour past, among other sites, the City of the Dead, a huge cemetery where people live and work among the tombs and mausoleums, we made a sharp turn. Bassam pointed towards the front windshield just prior to the turn and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you ... the pyramids." And there they were. In all their splendor and grace. Just like back home. Pizza Hut and KFC, across the street from the most magical structures ever created on earth: the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
Boqueria Market, Barcelona
Las Ramblas is a 3/4 mile pedestrian street in Barcelona, crowded mostly with tourists and their ugly remora, pickpockets. Midway between the two civilized bookends of Las Ramblas, Placa Catalunya and the Christopher Columbus statue at the waterfront, is the public Boqueria food market. The market dates back to the 13th century and is a feast for the senses and the camera. It's vast choices of tapas, fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and fish has been called a "foodquake epicenter."
Cathedral Courtyard, Aix-en-Provence
Construction of the Cathédrale de St.-Sauveur d'Aix was begun in the 12th century and continued through to the mid-14th. Additional work was curtailed due to the onset of the Black Death plague and then the 100 Years War (those French find any reason not to work). This photograph looks out to the cloister through the gallerie columns, built in the 12th century. Travel Alert: If your only experience with France was your visit to Paris then you must venture south to Provence. The weather, the people, the landscape, the food ... all better in Provence. Canon EOS Digital 18mm lens 1/160 second f7.
Typical Mykonos Alley
Mykonos Fisherman's Catch
Street Art in Athens
We took the metro train early in the morning from Piraeus to Athens, hoping to beat the crowds to the Acropolis. Mostly, though, I was hoping the scaffolding that surrounded the Parthenon on my first visit 9 years earlier was gone. It wasn't. So we hiked up, then hiked back down to have lunch in the Plaka. On our walk we passed this airbrush art decorating a residence.
Entering Venice from the Sea
St. Marks at Night If there's one place on earth everyone needs to see it's Venice. Many consider it the most beautiful city in the world. Many consider it the most overcrowded city in the world. Overrun by tourists, overcome by flooding, this former island nation is slowly sinking into the Adriatic Sea. Its streets are canals. Boats (vaporetti), gondolas and water taxis comprise the mass transportation system. There are no motorized street vehicles in Venice, the largest city in Europe without cars or trucks. Its main square, Piazza San Marco pictured above, has remained basically unchanged since the 13th century. It served as the inspiration for the construction of the Austin J. Tobin Plaza at the World Trade Center in New York City until 9/11/01.
Gondoliers
This photo was runner up in Frommer's
Travel Guides 2010 Cover Photo Contest
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Desert Flora and Moon On my second visit to Monument Valley I stayed at Gouldings Lodge, adjacent to the Navajo Tribal Park. Inspired by the colorful and stark landscape, sheep herder Harry Goulding built a trading post in 1921. With the help of the local Navajos and trappers he expanded the structure to include cabins for the few tourists who ventured to this strange and other-worldly land. According to most film historians, Goulding and his wife journeyed to Hollywood in 1938 to convince director John Ford that Monument Valley would be a perfect locale for his Western movies. After much persistence, Ford agreed to scout the location. The rest is film history. Stagecoach, Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers, all starring John Wayne, were shot by Ford in the Valley. Rather than take advantage of the landscape and the locals, Harry Goulding made sure the Navajos were well taken care of during Hollywood's heyday of filming in Monument Valley. Harry Goulding died in 1981 but Goulding's Lodge still operates.
 Monument Valley Landscape I used to prefer shooting in black & white over color. My stated reason was simple: I had more control over the final image. The real reason, though, was that I always enjoyed working in my darkroom. The darkroom was my inner sanctum. It was quiet, peaceful and, uh, dark. It was also just me. I wonder if there is any correlation between that statement, and my wife Joan's description of my photographs as "lonely." Discuss amongst yourselves.
Ghost Town Just east of Death Valley, across the border, sits the remains of a booming gold mining town. Rhyolite Nevada attracted prospectors, speculators and get-rich-hopefuls in the very early 20th century. It became Nevada's 3rd largest city but by 1920 the mines had been exhausted of their booty and the town was abandoned. Some buildings still remain, preserved by climate and solitude. Less than a mile from Rhyolite was another mining town called Bullfrog. All that's left from that town's demise is a souvenir shop and this scene, photo-graphed in 1979 on Kodak film with a Hasselblad.
Rider on the Storm What's been particularly enjoyable for me lately is to look at photographs I shot decades ago - not for nostalgic value, but to see what I can see now that I didn't see then. See? This image is a small section of a photograph of a horse-drawn sleigh ride in Steamboat Colorado in 1984. The full photo, shot on Kodak color film in a Nikon F1, was uneventful but I found this image interesting.
Idyllicsea This is another photograph that I overlooked for decades. Montego Bay Jamaica in 1984 on an overcast day. Photography is nothing more than painting with light and like other media, light can take different forms. Cloudy days pose certain problems and present other opportunities. I like the softness of that light, particularly in color. The problem is in maintaining enough contrast to fill a brightness spectrum. Here, the softness and lack of contrast enhance the subject of the image, the simple yellow rowboat.
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Prairie Storm Barry and I drove into a thunderstorm near Lake Granby Colorado when the sun broke through the clouds. As we passed a small church we saw this beautiful rainbow appear. The photograph, taken with a Hasseblad on Kodak film in 1978, has been my best selling print.
 Three Sisters at Sunrise Perspective deceives appearance. These Monument Valley buttes are 1,000 feet high. Supposedly they look like nuns, two older ones leading the young one to the cathedral. This photograph and Desert Flora and Moon, were shot in 1979 on Kodak film with a Hasselblad.
View from Zabriskie Point On a day trip from Las Vegas in 1979 I found Death Valley. I don't mean to sound like I'm the first one to find Death Valley; it's been a popular winter retreat for Californians for years. However this particular first visit was in the summer, with temperatures exceeding 120 degrees. There weren't any Californians finding the Valley at that time of the year. Back home I convinced Barry to return to Death Valley with me for a few days. We did so in July, neither one of us being of sound mind. We stayed in Furnace Creek, in the heart of the Valley, touring such "hot spots" as Badwater, Devil's Golf Course, Dante's View, Desolation Canyon and Coffin Peak. One morning we arose before sunrise to hike Golden Canyon, Gower Gulch and ultimately up to Zabriskie Point. Manly Beacon, the high outcrop to the right in this photograph, overlooks the floor of Death Valley - the lowest, hottest and driest place in North America.
Desert Beauty I had a certain fascination with dunes, particularly this sandy area of Death Valley. The wind created such a striking texture in the sand; so did sidewinder rattlers, I soon learned. That ended my fascination.
Fisherman, Jersey Shore This is the oldest photograph in the collection, having been shot on a Konica Auto-Reflex on Kodak Plus-X in 1972. In my very first public exhibit it was the only photograph of a person.
View Across Cinnamon Bay Our friends suggested we join them and two other couples for a week in St. John USVI. This was the view from our bedroom in the villa we rented. If you've ever been to the Caribbean you'll recognize the blue of the sea. We refer to it simply as "that blue." It's a shade that you won't find in the Pacific or the Mediterannean.
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