Thai Silk

One of my favorites from the Thailand trip, I took this shot my first day in Bangkok. Sturza and I spent a few hours exploring the hidden world of the main market of the city, where you can buy anything imaginable. Colorful silk scarves, popular goods for tourists, could be found every few booths.

Needs Title

So I realize I already posted this pic as a B&W a couple months ago (my first post, actually), but I'm putting it up again because I plan to submit it in a National Geographic Traveler amateur photo contest. Why the color version? There are already so many gray areas in this pic that it almost looks like the fusion of a B&W and Color photograph. Which makes the reddish-brown tones of the middle door, the dirt and the boy's skin and clothes stand out even more.

I'm also struggling a bit with the crop job on this one. Part of me thinks I should crop down a bit further so that the boy occupies a greater portion of the frame. Opinions anyone? (for those of you who don't know, you can leave comments on any of my blog posts by clicking on "comments" at the bottom of the post). I also need a title...

Maybe I should at least crop a little off the top (below). Thoughts welcome...

More Windows

No, I'm not obsessed with windows, but for some reason I really liked the simple patterns and symmetries I found in Sturza's village in Thailand.

The Brienzersee

Wish I had my good camera with me when I took this shot during my Europe trip in Summer 2004. Robbie, Jeff and I spent a few incredible days in Interlaken, Switzerland, and I rented a moped on two of those days. I believe I took this on our final day there, after riding down from the hills and mountains I had been exploring. On my way back to the hostel, I rode along the lake (the Brienzersee, I believe) and saw this lonely fisherman trying to catch a few more before dusk set in. With the battery dead on my 35mm, I had to resort to my compact Pentax, which fortunately ended up being enough to capture the serenity of the scene.

Urban Jungle

Gotta love the hills of San Francisco. Jen and I hiked up and down in search of Lombard Street and found this nice little view on our way.

Dome Junior

Not exactly Ansel Adams' "Monolith," this piece of rock is actually Half Dome's neighbor. I took this shot on the way down from the summit, legs aching and sun falling. A couple more miles and Jen, Mike, Christa and I were hiking in darkness through the valley... spoooky.

Hoping that I'll get another Half Dome hike in this summer when I head out to California. Anyone looking to sell a used motorcycle (as if people outside my family and a couple friends are actually looking at this blog, let alone reading it)?

Sing Lights

This pic was taken along the waterfront in downtown Singapore. The architecture and sculptures were fantastic, including these lit vertical bulbs that twisted between palm trees and buildings. On this particular night, my last in Singapore, I had gone out late to capture some skyline shots, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the city was still very much alive well past 2am... on a Tuesday.

Sawadee Ka!

On my way to the Chao Phraya to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the king's reign in Thailand, plenty of street vendors offered refreshments to fight the heat.

Skyline

Went out for a little bike ride last night and brought my camera and tripod. Set these pics up from around the Field Museum.

Kalasin Sunset

Sunset shot from the province of Kalasin in Thailand, where my Peace Corps buddy lived. In the late afternoon, Dave and I headed out on a hundred-degree ride on some rickety bikes through the plots of farmland. A small, elevated, open wooden shack (left) provided some much needed shade and a great view as the sun set. I like the way the cloud on the right frames the tree in this shot.

Windows

This shot is the side of my friend's house in Thailand (the color version is at the bottom of this blog). I thought I'd try putting it in B&W to emphasize the symmetry of the shadows.

Cruisin

Not really a huge fan of this pic, but I got my motorcycle license this afternoon, so I thought I'd post something motorcycle-related (a headlamp, in this case). Hopefully I'll be posting a picture of my new motorcycle soon (which has not yet been picked out or purchased... details).

El Cap

From Yosemite last Fall, El Capitan is the sheer rock face to the left of the frame. Hopefully I'll be BASE jumping that bad boy someday...

Boathand

This shot was taken in San Francisco near Fisherman's Wharf. A few old boats were docked that tourists could explore. I think this guy had been doing some maintenance on the boat shown.

Trailer

Couldn't decide which version I liked more on this one, Color or B&W... so I posted both. Took this shot yesterday during a short break in motorcycle class. This big red trailer hauled the 12 bikes we practiced on to the DMV in North Chicago, where our class is held. Hopefully I'll have a bike of my own before too long, and you'll certainly see some pics of it... with me riding... with a Fu Manchu.

SF

This shot was taken last Fall near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. I don't know what this building was to be honest, maybe a water treatment facility or something. White stucco curved walls and some funky shadows made for a strange photo op...

Sonoma County

This was taken last October as Jen and I were exploring wine country in Sonoma County, California. Our first stop was a small winery called Michele-Slumberger, where we were given a nice tour of the winery and vineyards.

I pretty much hung back throughout the tour and took pictures, so I still don't know much about making wine. But I do know that we were there late in the season just before "crush" when the grapes are harvested and, well, crushed-- so the colors were really nice. Jen doesn't like this pic because of the electrical pole, but I've gotten over it. I like the opposing series of lines in the foreground and background. Maybe too busy though...