As far as we know, glass blowing was invented by the Phoenicians somewhere along the Lebanese coast a little more than 2000 years ago. I’ll be honest – in my opinion, it has to be older than that. You can…
When I bought my Nikon D3000 nearly three years ago, I had no idea what HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging) was. And yet, I was seeing these images out there on the web (many from photographers I know personally) and in…
Museums in London are famous. From the British Museum to the Tate. From the National Gallery to Madame Tussauds. London museums have everything you want - and more. It seems that a return to Finland is in store late next…
The intrepid Pietro della Valle reported that the ferris wheel was a large and sophisticated contraption at the Ramadan Festival in Constantinople in 1615. It was the beginning of his Pilgrimage to India. The ferris wheel Peter Mundy stumbled upon in Philippopolis was: "...like a Craine wheele att Customhowse Key…
Dystopian Taos at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Some might get upset at my characterization of the mass of ad hoc vendors on the west edge of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge as "dystopian" but there is surely something…
Shameful perhaps for a photographer to admit but there are many times that I just cringe then balk at carrying around all of my Nikon camera equipment. I’m one of those “go lightly and quickly” sorts. Believe me, I regret…
I've been playing around with some Zeikos Macro Filter Kit lenses. These are not a true macro lens (WAY out of my price range at the moment) but rather a very affordable alternative to play with - an obviously get…
Pollination is vital. That fact is that nearly 90% of all plant species need the help of animals to act as pollinators. About 75% of the crops grown world-wide for human consumption likewise depend on plant pollinators to propagate. Nature…
If Tokyo impresses visitors with its futuristic look, Kyoto is actually the historical and cultural centre of Japan. Surrounded on three sides by wooded hills and mountains, bisected by the Kamo River, the city occupies an exceptional site. With its…
Sometimes it is good to be lost. Van Gogh’s sunflower painting left from France on the mail steamer Binna in late May of 1920. It arrived in Japan on December 12 of that same year. The new owner, Koyata Yamamoto was…
Dragonfly Photos My son and I sat next to the Rio Grande fishing this morning with our friends David and Ian after a glorious night under the stars. A helicopter passed overhead and there was a hint of smoke…
At the juncture where France, Germany and Switzerland meet, Basel is a city of intricate layers with around 166,000 inhabitants. Arts and culture lovers will be in heaven here amid the theatres, galleries and museums that form a major part of…