Location Threads: Naples & Herculaneum

I’ve just finished posting my new photo album, final shots from our recent trip to Italy. If you missed my earlier posts, here are the photos from the Greek cruise and Venice. The new images cover: Naples and Herculaneum — a final cruise day Rome Siena Florence Here, I’m adding a few shot sequences from that set for the blog. The idea being that for a picture to…

Photos of Greece

I finally posted the pictures taken on our Greek cruise to my photo site here. The photos are in order taken: Katakolon, where the ancient Olympics were held Nafplion, jumping off point for the ancient Greek sites of Epidaurus and Mycanea Athens and the Acropolis Kusadasi Turkey featuring the ancient Roman town of  Ephesus Rhodes, featuring best preserved Medieval towns in Greece Santorini Mykonos Ancient…

Turning back onto the Self, I create…

Just got another book review, this one in the Moab, Utah paper. The review is a good one, I continue to be lucky in that. But the review reminded me that everything you do has effects you never fully comprehend — that old metaphor that each action is a pebble thrown in the stream. It has an impact that radiates into the future and touches others…

Photographing the Utah National Parks has another book review

My new book on how to get better photos at the Utah national parks just got a nice review at one of the Salt Lake City newspapers, Deseret News. I’m also being interviewed tomorrow for a story in one of the Moab, Utah newspapers. Book link here. Here’s the latest review: The link to the story is: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865633203/Book-review-Photographing-the-American-Southwest-shares-how-to-photograph-Utahs-iconic-sites.html

Venice: Photographing Key Landmarks So Tourists Aren’t A Factor

I talk to lots of folks that visited Venice and don’t think it was worth it. And the reason is mostly due to the fact that the city is awash with tourists. No question. General tourists, cruise boat passengers, lots of bodies. Go to St. Mark’s Square between 10 am and 7 pm and it’s like Grand Central Station. Add in the guys trying to sell you selfie…

Now that I’m Home

Here we are, the end of July. Summer days here in SoCal still going till 8 PM with temperatures in the low 80s. And I’m starting to plant myself more deeply into the work now that I’m back from a month and a half of travel. By now, most friends have heard the elevator speech I give when they ask, What did you do in…

Midday Landscape Photography

Midday Landscape Photography. A nice post from Rob Sheppard on dealing with mid-day light.

Italy: The Street Artist

I love coming across street artists when I travel. They are often working close to one of the big art museums. This guy, doing his version of the famous Vermeer, was just outside the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Right next to him was an artist doing da Vinci. The guy doing the Mona Lisa seems to be a bit out of his league here. But hey, his…

Siena and Tuscany: A Tour From Florence

While I was in Florence I did a couple of tours with Walks of Italy: their day long tour of the city and its museums and the day trip out to Siena, San Gimignano and a gaggle of Tuscan wineries. That trip had several photo locations that are worth mentioning. The trip, like everything Walks of Italy does, was nicely organized. We all met at…

My book on photographing the Utah National Parks gets a review in Outdoor Photography Magazine

On the way back from my photo tour of Italy and Greece, I stopped off at Gatwick Airport in London. Lo and behold, they had the August issue of Outdoor Photography magazine — and a review of my Utah landscape photography book. I won’t try to characterize what they said. But here’s a scan of it on page 11 of their “Out There: In…

Experiencing Venice: Taking a Mask Making Class

You can’t go to Venice without noticing the abundance of mask shops. A lot are touristy and feature knockoffs from China, several shops do elegant work. But regardless, the mask is an intriguing part of the Venice experience and a tradition that goes back centuries. In fact one of Venice’s not-so-favorite sons, Casanova, is known to have used masks in his seductions. Masks are…

An Evening in Siena

Got into Siena earlier this evening. At 11 am, I saw Marina off on her way back to LA and headed to catch my train north. The Termini train station in Rome was a mess, you couldn’t get straight answers about the train or the platform from the normal channels without waiting in line for 30+ minutes. As a result there are lots of…

Photo Pilgrimage in Rome: San Saba

Today I wandered down to the most out of the way church I’m likely to visit here in Roma. San Saba is about a quarter mile northeast of the Piramide subway station, several stops southwest of the Colosseum in a quiet neighborhood. No sign, you just see some steps leading into a walled off area… … and a building that doesn’t look much like…

Photo Pilgrimage in Rome: Santa Maria della Vittoria

One of the more interesting churches in Rome is Santa Maria della Vittoria. This small church is about 8 blocks north of the Termini train station. The church is open until noon and then from 3:30 to 6 or so (time is of casual interest when it comes to church visiting hours). Vittoria is the church that has the Bernini sculpture, Ecstasy of Saint…

Photo Pilgrimage in Rome: Santa Maria sopra Minerva

I’ve been traveling recently. Taking lots of photos. But not having much time to post. Hopefully I can free up a block of time now. We’ve been doing a cruise of the Greek Islands (with a stop in Athens) and I will post some of those shots soon. But let’s start with where I am right now, Rome. I’ve been to Italy before but…