Landmarks

To take a little bit of a break from Africa, I thought I would do a photoblog of pictures I have taken of landmarks. While I think it could easily be argued that these pictures are over-played, I think sometimes landmark pictures can have a unique view if you are able to capture them as a place where people live rather then a place where tourist go to marvel.

Photography as a Mistake

As far as traditional pictures go, this one is flawed. Its over exposed, the subject is off tilt, and Benjamin is a little bit on the blurry side. I cannot help but love this picture. Maybe its because I truly believe Benjamin is one of my favorite people alive. The way his movement is different from that of the horse gives him an attitude in the picture that matches his unique and fantastic attitude in real life. Benjamin himself brings something to this picture that i do not think other subjects could bring. It is also unique because this picture is in no ways posed, that was just caught as Ben rode by on his way to horse ride with Antoine. While i also have a good and very French picture of Antoine, its the movement of this one that gives it a unique liveliness for a picture.

This was captured at Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape. The Wild Coast is split between the Sani Pass as my favorite parts of South Africa. Its so amazing. The entire Transkei is the most beautiful place on earth in my opinion. I first went there on a trip with my good friends Benjamin, Antoine, and Matt. As well as surfing and cliff diving, this trip was just fantastic. It gave me a passion to return. I did return to Port St. Johns in 2009. I stayed at the Amapondo Backpackers there and had an amazing time. I met some great people and that led me to having a fantastic experience. There was something so relaxing about the place and comforting that made me feel at peace.

I took a super dangerous trip to a land mark called the blow hole at sundown by myself. Besides the fact I could have easily have died (there is a grave there from someone who slipped and fell) I was okay and I got this great picture. I know I am posting two fuzzy pictures in one post; these pictures are both uncommon in the utilization of the blurriness. The darkness of this picture is different from my normal photography. I rarely utilize flash because I don't like how it makes people look, so twilight pictures are uncommon for me. Something about the allure and grandness of this picture attracts me though. I think this picture give me a rare opportunity to show how landscape can be made smaller with lighting. I want to live on the Wild Coast when I retire, although this is a bold prediction at this time in my life.

I Know, I Know, You Get It, I Went to Africa

I suck at blogging. That is an undeniable fact. Some how uploading pictures and text at the same time is a much harder adventure then you would previously believe. I have decided with my Africa pictures, that I will upload a few per blog entry and do a little bit more of the blogging part of it and give details to support the pictures. It makes logical thought to start at the beginning. So I am basically making a retro-active travel blog. As lame as I realize this is, please stick with me and I'll try to make it worth it for you.

I thought this would be a good starting point. This picture was taken in Zululand on the Northeastern coast of South Africa. The subject of this picture is Lars, one of my fellow study abroaders. He is Norwegian national and just an all around good guy. This picture was taken with an Olympus point-and-shoot. The photo quality between the point and shoot and my DSLR is overly apparent, but I imagine like most things, photography is a process and this was really the start of my interest in it. Not too terrible of a starting point.

The reason this picture is not only excellent but symbolically significant is because it largely represents my first experience in South Africa. While studying at UKZN was, what I believe to be, far from the average study abroad experience with a program in Western Europe, its still far too easy to live life in a bubble when studying abroad. The most bubbly of my experience was a three day trip taken with a vast number of the study abroad students to Zululand. In Zululand we got to experience a little slice of everything South Africa; from the Umfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve to the Ithembalesizwe HIV/AIDS drop in clinic.

Even though this was only a brief glimpse at Zululand, it was an important first. I was able to travel somewhere radically different from what I had know. I think the picture itself was not only a unique shot at a tourist in front of an inauthentic piece of history but more of the true experience one has as a foreigner living inside country for that short period of time. The Academic sphere creates this same image on a continual basis.

El Salvador

In March of 2010, I went to El Salvador. It was a Spring Break trip with the University of Iowa Wesley Foundation. The main purpose of the trip was to learn more about the El Salvadorian civil war and the realities of the country today.

The trip itself was only 6 days long. We started in San Salvador and also spent a couple days in the eastern city of Berlin. When we were in Berlin, the festival for the patron Saint of Berlin was happening. This included shady looking carnival rides, but I was able to get a fantastic picture. We also went to one of the pueblo surrounding Berlin where I was able to snap this picture of these adorable girls.

Much like any small town fair in the US, Berlin was full of crappy carnival rides, markets, live entertainment, and food stands. In probably the most ascetically pleasing picture I have ever taken, I snapped a picture of a rickety Ferris Wheel with a bright blue sky background. The color interestingly represent El Salvador; the one thing that makes Central America unique is the magnificent color of nature, the people, and the buildings. No building is painted with the bland colors you see in los Estados Unidos, but rather in bright pastels. Its almost like an imitation of the vibrant birds, fruits, and flowers of the region.

Wyoming Continued...

A Wyoming Adventure

This summer, I went out with my family to Wyoming to visit our family. It was my first time being able to use my Nikon D-60. I got some great and colorful shots from the trip that really capture the spirit of the Mountain West.

This picture in particular was a favorite of mine. I forced my family to stop to take a picture of Elk Mountain. While we were standing there, a group of Cowboys came along to check there cattle after night of snow.

A Good Start

Hello all! What is more cliche or over-played then the travel blog? Probably the photo blog mainly consisting of travel picture! I have taken many pictures over the years, and have lots of stuff to share. I will occasionally update the world with the pictures that make up my life.