The Gardens of Ferrari-Carano

One of our many stops in Sonoma County, California, the winery at Ferrari-Carano is known for its landscaping as much as its wines (which were pretty solid too).

Loner

Captivated

On our way to a pretty intense hike/climb, Sturz and I walked by this elevated hut just outside the village of Vang Vien, in Central Laos.

I think these little ones were watching family members in the rice fields.

Railay Beach, Thailand

Messenger

Interlaken, Switerland

Took my moped really high into the mountains where a few isolated houses sat with an incredible view. I got weird looks from the locals, who clearly weren't used to seeing tourists on their tiny, curving one-way roads. I finally turned around when I arrived at a stretch of road covered in snow. But no worries, the downhill was more fun anyways. Who knew a moped could go 80kph?

Click on the image for the larger version... the little white vertical strip in the distance is a monster waterfall.

US Empowered

I'm running the Chicago Marathon this October to support my friend's organization, Urban Students Empowered. I took this pic of a few US Empowered fellows upon their high school graduation. Each of these students will be attending 4-year universities on full-ride scholarships in the Fall. Learn more about the cause by following the link at the top right of this page!

No Shoes, No Problem

Took this one on Railay Beach, which is near Krabi in Southern Thailand. Not a bad place to be...

The Merlion

Down by the main marina in Singapore stands a water-spewing version of the country's ubiquitous icon, the Merlion (as in Mermaid + Lion = a fish with a lion's head). Slightly bizarre, this thing can be found on t-shirts, key chains, etc. (anything a tourist would buy).

Concrete Monster

On our first day in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, Sturz and I walked around the city and did the standard sightseeing, which included a stop at the country's most identifiable landmark (not saying much), the Patuxay. As the tablet below states, this monument was built to resemble Paris' Arc de Triomphe, which was immediately apparent upon seeing the ceiling of the inside of the arc (right).
The tablet, by the way, is worth reading (click on it to enlarge)... hilarious. This thing is on the side of the monument and literally reads "From a closer distance, it appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete." Harsh words. I didn't think it was that ugly.

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...

Railed

Picked up a new lens yesterday: Nikon 50mm f1.8 for only $110, which is really cheap for a lens that fast (my zoom lens only goes to f3.5). Messed around with the big aperture by taking this pic of a small fence just outside the apartment. Wish I had had it for this past weekend, as it would have been perfect for low-light campfire pics (the previous post).

S'more Me Buddy

From this past weekend, a shot of some good college friends and their girlfriends around the campfire in Northern Michigan. Jen and I drove with Jerf and his girlfriend Betsy to her lakehouse in Onaway, Michigan, where we met Sturza and Julie, who drove up with Spence and Kristin. The four of us had not been together since graduation and needless to say, there was much tomfoolery. Plenty of drinking games, storytelling and frequent laughs at Spencer's expense. Good times had by all.

Oh, and I saw a bumper sticker today that I liked: "Not all who wander are lost." Theme for the summer...

Playtime

Again, everyone in the village loved posing for pics, including the children. These kids found plenty of entertainment pushing each other around in the cart.

Thai Farmer

This shot was taken in a small village in the province of Kalasin in Thailand, where my buddy Sturza spent two years with the Peace Corps.

The farmer had been herding the cattle in the background when he spotted me with my camera aimed at him. He slowly made his way over to me with a big smile and obvious curiosity (I was a new face in the village, and didn't look very Thai). The Thai people are incredibly friendly and generous, and this farmer gladly posed for a few photos. I still can't get over the flannel shirt and long pants these people wore, given the triple digit heat.

The rich colors of Thailand continued to strike me throughout my two weeks there. The sky, the red earth.. everything is so vibrant.

Singapore at Night

This long tripod shot was taken during a business trip to Singapore this past October. Down by the marina, near the country's well known landmark "The Merlion", I pointed the camera across the river toward the egg shaped arena at the left of the frame (the design was inspired by a fruit native to the island). Green and red streaks in the middle right are from a passing boat. As you can see, it's extremely hazy (as it was for all 10 days I was there) due to the land-clearing fires farmers in Indonesia had recently set ablaze.

Half Dome from Glacier Point

This shot was taken in Yosemite National Park (Northern California). Jen and I drove to Glacier Point around sunset to get a nice view of Half Dome, which we ended up summiting the following day.

Interlaken

Reaching back a little, this pic is from Interlaken, Switzerland in May 2004. I traveled throughout Europe for 4 weeks after graduation from UofM (Go Blue) with my buddies Jeff and Robbie. Jeff and I rented mopeds and zipped through the hills on a gorgeous day, with water dripping off the cliffs. Fun on the mopeds, which actually got up to 65 kph, inspired my recent decision to get a motorcycle license (which my girlfriend Jen wholeheartedly supports... thanks babe).

The Streets of Vang Vieng

I don't often convert my images to B&W, but this pic begged for it. In Central Laos, my friend and I had just finished a sweaty, excruciating hike. Awaiting the preparation of our food at a small restaurant, I got up briefly to roam the main street of the small town, Nikon D70 in hand. A little boy in a starch white shirt appeared in the dark open doorway across the street, looking for someone or something. I quickly pulled the camera to my eye and rattled off a few pictures before he noticed me and disappeared back into the darkness.

And here we go...

I should have something profound to say for my first blog entry (ever), but... well... I don't. For now, I'm just going to start posting some of my pictures that I like from past vacations, etc. Perhaps I'll throw in the occasional story where appropriate. Many will be from my trip to Thailand and Laos last summer, where I visited a friend in the Peace Corps. Others will likely be from a trip with my girlfriend to Yosemite and Sonoma County last October. And still others will be from business trips to London, Singapore, etc.

Enjoy...