28
Oct
2009
Harvest Haul
Ah, time for a bit of a catch up post!
First off, my book Egyptian Dreams, which you may recall is available through Blurb, is entered in a contest at Blurb. I would MUCH appreciate if you could take a few moments to go and vote for it if you have not already done so!
For those who have already voted, thank you so much! For those who haven’t yet, there’s less than 2 weeks, what are you waiting for!?
As long as I’m shamelessly self promoting, I felt like I should point out that there’s currently a special running at Zazzle, another online Print on Demand shop where I host some of my work. It runs through 10/31 and is appropriately 10.31% off any purchase. So, a great time to start or finish your Christmas shopping and save some money on the way. To take advantage of this special, enter the code TRICKORTREAT
at checkout. Here’s all the lovely tiny print for the offer.
* 10.31% of the net sale price will be deducted when the coupon code TRICKORTREAT is applied at checkout. For most products, the net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. Offer is valid from October 19, 2009 at 12:01am PT through October 31, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers.
A little less self-promotion but partially so is reminding everyone that this weekend is Montezuma’s annual Fall Festival, known as the Beaver Creek Festival. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather because I’m told that the 15th annual festival should be a good one! And I will have a booth there – that’s all my self promotion for one post! Here’s a quote from one of the organizers about what to expect this year.
There will be GREAT children’s games, yummy food, cool art, excellent musicians, and worthwhile prizes! Don’t forget the Duck Doodle: $300 would come in handy for Christmas Shopping!
Okay, now for a few photos! I completed editing and uploading photos from my brief stop in Savannah last month. I still have to work on the NYC photos, but at least some progress. Savannah was beautiful and I hope you’ll all enjoy some photos!
Savannah River Sunrise
From my first morning in Savannah, Sunrise on the River near Battery Hamilton. It was a bit subdued by the clouds but pretty nonetheless!
Tybee Light at Dawn
Tybee light was beautiful in the morning and I love the cottage that the lighthouse keeper lived in back in the day. It’s been restored inside. All in all a very well kept monument to the history of the area.
East River Street
I didn’t get a lot of photos of the town itself. Spent so much time out on the coast or on the bus that I never really explored like I’d like to, but this photo from East River Street gives you a bit of a feel.
Cathedral of St. John The Baptist
Savannah’s lovely cathedral – simply gorgeous – be sure to check out the gallery for some interior shots as well!
Moon River
The natural beauty near Savannah actually inspired several Panorama shots. It’s hard to pick just one to show here, but this is Moon River near dusk and the colors were very special!
Angels of Bonaventure
In case you’re unaware the statue on the front of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, was photographed in Bonaventure. Not the oldest cemetery in Savannah but a lovely one! The statue from the book had to be moved to protect it but there’s still some incredible statuary there!
Sunset Sea
My last evening in Savannah was back out to Tybee Island where I enjoyed strolling the beach. It was a subdued sky with a lot of clouds, but the colors and light was still pretty perfect. The above is a long exposure shot. I’ll pick one more, but I hope you’ll go check them all out. It’s hard for me to pick out my own favorites never mind yours!
Tybee Blue
One of the last from that evening on Tybee, the sun had sunk down and twilight was almost a solid cast of blue from the sky to the reflecting water on the beach.
For more of Savannah, check out the Savannah gallery.
13
Sep
2009
Savannah and the Coast
This probably won’t be an especially long post since on phone. The hotel has two pcs in the lobby and I’ve yet to see them free even on a fairly empty Sunday night.
This is my third night here and I consider it little more than a taste but I understand why people have so often spoken kindly of Savannah when they heard I was from Georgia. The irony always was I’d only seen Georgia’s coast once and Savannah only from I-95 at night.
My trip has shown me I must come back! The funny thing is it’s not the city I’ve enjoyed so much as the coast. There’s something in the sea air that has always agreed with me. I think my brain protects itself when I get away from the ocean and blots it out, but it’s the same reason I have always enjoyed storms that blow inland from the sea. There’s something markedly different about the air.
I’ve been out to Tybee Island every day I’ve been here and out to Skidaway Island as well and saw Moon River of Johnny Mercer fame. I took some panoramas of Moon River – fingers crossed that they turn out as planned!
Got here late afternoon on Friday and after dinner took my first turn out on Tybee after a wander through downtown in my car. I saw the sun set behind me as I made my way out and dusk on the tidal marshes, my first moment of really getting the beauty of this place. I ended the night with a few night shots of Tybee Lighthouse.
The next morning I tried my best to make it to Tybee fir sunrise but missed by a bit, but I managed to get to a few spots in the marshes as people started to head out in their boats. Then on to Tybee and got a few early photos if the lighthouse and wandered on the beach until the opened the light.
I climbed the 170ish steps to the top. Think I may have been the first of the morning, but at least there was no one up there to see me spazzing at the height! I have never like bridges and apparently the little metal walk projecting out at the top is close enough! I clung to the wall and inched around for the view! At this point I was glad they had a sign up allowing no big bags as pulling out my point and shoot was more than enough for me. By the time others showed up I had chilled out a little but I still didn’t want too many people on it and headed down Toured the rest of the restored buildings and headed back to Savannah to finally see the city!
And I didn’t see a lot! If you’re planning to do a trolley tour my suggestion is to start first thing! I only got off at two stops of the dozen or so offerred and before I knew it, it was time to get on the last trolley back to the visitor center. I considered riding back in and wandering now that I had my bearings a little but decided instead for the ride to Skidaway Island.
There’s not a lot to say about the island from what I saw of it. It’s entirely possible that there’s something great out there, but all I found to take photos if was the view from a fishing pier at Moon River, but it was a great way to end the day.
Sunday was an incredibly lazy day. I had planned to check in and see if I could get on a ghost tour and walk around the city. The alarm went off and I decided not an early morning day which was probably just as well because it was a very overcast day – sunrise was probably disapointing. I finally got out and had lunch.
Over lunch I decided I’d go see Bonaventure cemetery and then back downtown to wander the historic district. Found Bonaventure fairly easily. At first I was disappointed. It was pretty but nothing super special. For those who don’t know Bonaventure is where the cover for Midnigt in The Garden of Good and Evil was photographed. I had wandered fir a good while before looping around to the much older part of the cemetery and it is quite beautiful in the way a lot of basically Victorian cemeteries are, massive monuments to death and egos but hauntingly lovely especially cloaked I. The canopies of live oaks. I wish I had found that area first, but maybe it’s good I was walked out! I started back fir the parking lot and sudenly realized it was a few minutes after 5pm! Not only was my car on the other side of a six foot fence, the gate was locked! Before I could panic and call the “emergency” number on the gate, I saw someone drive up to a gate about 25 feet away and made a mad dash to get there before she locked it! LOL. The fun thing was as I sat in the car, I could see people still driving around inside… I guess they have to let a lot of people out (there was a caretaker’s house).
At this point, it seemed too late to go downtown again so I decided that will wait for another visit. Instead, yes, I drove out to Tybee once more. I spent over two hours wandering the beach with my camera and soaking in the sea air and ocassionally wishing I had a beach towel with me but walking with the camera and just breathing the air was incredibly relaxing anyway!
Thus ends my first journey to the coast, not my last I trust! Tomorrow, bound for the airport for the next leg of this trip! Stay tuned!
13
Sep
2009
Around Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is well known as the home of the University of Cambridge. The heritage of the area is ancient, having been the site of habitation since well into pre-history. It was occupied in Roman times as Duroliponte. In Saxon times, it was Grantebrycge. The name of the place continued to mutate through the ages, becoming Grentabrige or Cantebrigge with the river at the heart of it becoming known as the Granta. Eventually, the name became Cambridge, and just the part of the River in Cambridge became the River Cam. Even today, north of Cambridge, it’s still the River Granta.
Punting On The Cam
This photo was taken while punting on the River Cam. Punting is simply gliding on the River in a flat wooden boat while someone propels it with a long stick pushed against the river bottom. I say simply because it can be very amusing to watch an amateur try it and since boats can be rented without pilot, you can do this yourself. My London Walks group gladly allowed someone else to do the piloting. The views on the river are pretty gorgeous. As pretty as Cambridge is, there’s no doubt some of the best of the architecture is reserved for what they call The Backs. This view is most likely one of the many colleges that form Cambridge but I’m not sure which one. Loved the lone duck in this one. He had been attempting to solicit food from us.
Streets of Cambridge
This is another little slice of Cambridge, a fairly typical street view of this storied city. Gorgeous architecture from across the centuries. And a ubiquitous bicycle! Cambridge has the highest level of bicycle use in the UK, with over 25% of residents using a bicycle to commute. This photo for me really reflects what you’d gather of Cambridge from your average day trip.
Fields Of The Lost
Now, my fellow Americans can feel free to tell me if this was my personal ignorance or not, but I had never heard of the American Cemetery near Cambridge. One of our early stops, this is the place of burial for over 3,000 members of the American forces who died during WWII. There’s also a memorial wall with the names of the missing and a chapel. As most war memorials tend to be, it’s both a sobering and beautiful place with row upon row of white crosses in a park like setting.
For more prints from England and the rest of the UK, please visit my Britain Gallery.
8
May
2009
Wandering
The sun came out this afternoon and I took it as my chance to do some wandering with my camera. I’ve done very little photo walking outside of my trips of late. It was awesome to get out for both body and soul.
I started out my amble in nearby Roswell. The light was so-so, but I did find one little ramschackle house that called for attention.
Once Upon A Time
After the Roswell stroll, I meandered through downtown Alpharetta. Per usual, nothing really caught my attention. Alpharetta is a neat enough little place but it was never big and what’s there is either new or has been so cleaned up that the original feeling is lost. So, I moved onto a spot that I have meant to stop and take photos of for years.
When I first moved out here to North Fulton, Union Hill Baptist church was this lovely little cemetery on an isolated hill on a country road. Suburbia is quickly rolling in and now although my photos omit it, there’s a large subdivision surrounding it. Still, it’s a lovely little cemetery with one lone oak. And maybe I’ll get back for some morning or evening light before it’s over, but I’m quite happy with what I got there this afternoon.
Probably My Favorite
There are several more from Union Hill and Roswell in my North Georgia Rambles album – hope you’ll check them out!
22
Mar
2009
Goodnight Nicaragua y Costa Rica
The thing with journeys is they pretty much all end. Obviously Nicaragua and Costa Rica ended months ago now. But I carry these trips with me for awhile longer as I pour through the photos, editing and culling the ones that I most want to share. And in the process, reliving the moments, remembering new friends, recalling all those little moments of connection with the larger world that made me go and made me sorry to leave.
This is my way, of course, to say that the Costa Rica and Nicaragua album is complete. It’s filled up with memories that I hope you enjoy and maybe it will encourage someone else to make the leap to leave their warm cozy beds and see a little more of this wide world.
Masaya Mercado
This was where we had lunch on our last day in Granada, a little market near Masaya Volcano. Although you saw tons of locals, the market was filled with trinkets for tourists. It’s actually an old market but it was destroyed during the war in Nicaragua in the 70’s and 80’s and was recently resurrected.
Granada Cementerio
Having seen the main cemetery in Granada twice from a van, I had to find my way back to it one afternoon before we left. I didn’t have nearly enough time to really take it all in. If you’re ever there and the least bit into cemeteries, check it out, it will not fail to amaze.
I also had to check out what I was told was the oldest church in Granada before I left, and I just made it there at dusk.
Dusk at Iglesia de San Francisco
The colors were very nice especially against the dusk sky…
Judy Wants A Close Up
Judy was pretty much a pet. She flew free but she knew that Daniel and Olivia who ran the eco lodge would feed her and take care of her. We had been watching her and Olivia got her down for us for some close up shots from the paparazzi. Solentiname was a beautiful and challenging place. I definitely saw that I could only live without some of the western basics for so long while staying here, but I still look back on it happily as a very cool life experience. Why is it so often that those are the experiences we wouldn’t be so keen on repeating??
Things to do while on Solentiname
Tranquility - Sunsets over Solentiname
Goodnight Nicaragua!
After leaving Nicaragua, we had two nights in La Fortuna and then a final night after a late arrival into San Jose. Believe it or not, I hardly took any photos. After a week in Nicaragua, a gorgeous place with some truly nice people, La Fortuna seemed so touristy that I just didn’t see anything I wanted to shoot. Instead, I did a canopy tour and soaked in the hot springs at Baldi every chance I got! I basically did the bum thing for two days before the long drive to San Jose and the early morning rise to the airport. Still here’s a shot of one of our group, Chrysta Brown, a photographer, who bungee jumped and the most photographed church in Costa Rica (apparently because of the volcano behind it).
Chrysta Jumping!
Iglesia de la Fortuna y Arenal
There’s a ton more of course, but that’s all in the album for the adventurous ones to hunt through. I’ve no idea where the wind will take me next but it it’s even half as much fun as this trip was, I’ll be a happy camper.
