Blog
Kyrgyzstan’s Eagle Hunters Preserve an Ancient Cultural Practice
With four-inch razor-sharp talons, she grasps the leather glove that covers the trainer’s hand and forearm. Her large, protruding eyes peer fiercely, as she swivels her head to survey the surrounding landscape in search of movement along the ground. Her prominent curved black beak ends in a sharp hook, useful for piercing, tearing, and shredding fur, flesh, and bones. Golden brown feathers circle her neck, crown and shoulders, while dark chocolate brown plumage covers the rest of this huge raptor. The majestic golden eagle flaps and spreads her wings, showing off her six-and-a-half-foot span.
All Hell Breaks Loose at Turkmenistan’s Darvaza Gas Crater
You’ll find it on lists of “The Oddest Places in the World to Visit.” The gigantic hole in the desert floor is on fire, and it’s been burning continuously since 1971. Measuring 200-230 feet in diameter and about 100 feet deep, the “Gates of Hell” presents a spectacular, supernatural scene at night, an eerily glowing, gaping maw against the surrounding pitch black Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan.
Three Winning Perennials Attract Attention in My Spring Garden
The verdant shades of new growth in spring always promise a bountiful growing season in my Mid-Atlantic American garden (Zone 7b). Spring inspires the “visions of sugar plums” kind of fantasy; gardeners imagine vibrant colors, beautiful arrangements, succulent fruits and vegetables, and tasty herbs that we will enjoy and share into early fall.
Mid-Century Modern Architectural Style Promised a Bright Future for Fort Lauderdale and Palm Springs
Basic design elements of the Mid-Century Modern (MCM) style represent a radical departure from styles preceding it. Architectural lines are clean, a departure from the ornate, traditional ornamentation of previous styles. Instead, bold geometric shapes characterize both exterior and interior spaces. Floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors in offices and homes create strong connections to the outdoors. Bright colors and natural materials like stone and wood, as well as concrete and glass, embody this architectural mode.
Romania’s Merry Cemetery: Finding Humor In Death
What’s so funny about death?! After all, it’s no laughing matter, right? The ritual trappings of death in our western culture demand solemnity, as we lay to rest the recently expired and speak only of the best aspects of their earthly lives.
Thailand’s Buddhist White Temple Dazzles the Senses
Our van pulled away from Thailand’s beautiful northern city, Chiang Mai, on the pot-holed road heading towards the neighboring city, Chiang Rai. At our midday lunch stop for a Thai buffet, a large billboard advertised Cabbages and Condoms, a Bangkok restaurant that promoted family planning. (It must be in a theme category all by itself.) The billboard was a harbinger of sorts to the surprising spectacle awaiting us.
Turda Salt Mine: The Underground, Romanian Amusement Park
In today’s colloquial parlance, the phrase “salt mine” conjures up unpleasant or even grueling work. “Back to the salt mines!” goes the phrase as one returns to work after a break. So you can imagine my puzzled reaction to see the Turda Salt Mine near the top of our Romanian travel itinerary.
“Faces Are Windows into Cultures Around the World” a Talk with the Philadelphia Society of Photographers
Watch a virtual presentation of my work for the Photographic Society of Philadelphia. My talk, titled “Faces are Windows into Cultures Around the World,” uses informal portraits of people I’ve taken around the globe to highlight local architecture, religion, customs, and a sense of place.
Visiting Évora’s Chapel of Bones
“What are we going to do with all these bones?” Sixteenth century Franciscan friars must have asked themselves this challenging question once the bones were dug up from cemeteries and local churchyards throughout Évora, Portugal. The bones and skulls of thousands of dearly departed must have created quite a huge pile. How did this situation come to be? And why here? A look at Évora’s history reveals the answers.
The Spring Garden Pops with Chartreuse
Six different species of chartreuse plants glow in the garden right now: a small tree, a shrub, two perennials, and two ground covers. Altogether, they make the garden pop. Each one attracts the visitor’s attention to admire its form, distinctive leaves, and in some cases, dramatic flowers. They brighten spaces, and by their presence, highlight their more subtle plant neighbors.
Kyrgyzstan’s Eagle Hunters Preserve an Ancient Cultural Practice
With four-inch razor-sharp talons, she grasps the leather glove that covers the trainer’s hand and forearm. Her large, protruding eyes peer fiercely, as she swivels her head to survey the surrounding landscape in search of movement along the ground. Her prominent curved black beak ends in a sharp hook, useful for piercing, tearing, and shredding fur, flesh, and bones. Golden brown feathers circle her neck, crown and shoulders, while dark chocolate brown plumage covers the rest of this huge raptor. The majestic golden eagle flaps and spreads her wings, showing off her six-and-a-half-foot span.
All Hell Breaks Loose at Turkmenistan’s Darvaza Gas Crater
You’ll find it on lists of “The Oddest Places in the World to Visit.” The gigantic hole in the desert floor is on fire, and it’s been burning continuously since 1971. Measuring 200-230 feet in diameter and about 100 feet deep, the “Gates of Hell” presents a spectacular, supernatural scene at night, an eerily glowing, gaping maw against the surrounding pitch black Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan.
Three Winning Perennials Attract Attention in My Spring Garden
The verdant shades of new growth in spring always promise a bountiful growing season in my Mid-Atlantic American garden (Zone 7b). Spring inspires the “visions of sugar plums” kind of fantasy; gardeners imagine vibrant colors, beautiful arrangements, succulent fruits and vegetables, and tasty herbs that we will enjoy and share into early fall.
Mid-Century Modern Architectural Style Promised a Bright Future for Fort Lauderdale and Palm Springs
Basic design elements of the Mid-Century Modern (MCM) style represent a radical departure from styles preceding it. Architectural lines are clean, a departure from the ornate, traditional ornamentation of previous styles. Instead, bold geometric shapes characterize both exterior and interior spaces. Floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors in offices and homes create strong connections to the outdoors. Bright colors and natural materials like stone and wood, as well as concrete and glass, embody this architectural mode.
Romania’s Merry Cemetery: Finding Humor In Death
What’s so funny about death?! After all, it’s no laughing matter, right? The ritual trappings of death in our western culture demand solemnity, as we lay to rest the recently expired and speak only of the best aspects of their earthly lives.
Thailand’s Buddhist White Temple Dazzles the Senses
Our van pulled away from Thailand’s beautiful northern city, Chiang Mai, on the pot-holed road heading towards the neighboring city, Chiang Rai. At our midday lunch stop for a Thai buffet, a large billboard advertised Cabbages and Condoms, a Bangkok restaurant that promoted family planning. (It must be in a theme category all by itself.) The billboard was a harbinger of sorts to the surprising spectacle awaiting us.
Turda Salt Mine: The Underground, Romanian Amusement Park
In today’s colloquial parlance, the phrase “salt mine” conjures up unpleasant or even grueling work. “Back to the salt mines!” goes the phrase as one returns to work after a break. So you can imagine my puzzled reaction to see the Turda Salt Mine near the top of our Romanian travel itinerary.
“Faces Are Windows into Cultures Around the World” a Talk with the Philadelphia Society of Photographers
Watch a virtual presentation of my work for the Photographic Society of Philadelphia. My talk, titled “Faces are Windows into Cultures Around the World,” uses informal portraits of people I’ve taken around the globe to highlight local architecture, religion, customs, and a sense of place.
Visiting Évora’s Chapel of Bones
“What are we going to do with all these bones?” Sixteenth century Franciscan friars must have asked themselves this challenging question once the bones were dug up from cemeteries and local churchyards throughout Évora, Portugal. The bones and skulls of thousands of dearly departed must have created quite a huge pile. How did this situation come to be? And why here? A look at Évora’s history reveals the answers.
The Spring Garden Pops with Chartreuse
Six different species of chartreuse plants glow in the garden right now: a small tree, a shrub, two perennials, and two ground covers. Altogether, they make the garden pop. Each one attracts the visitor’s attention to admire its form, distinctive leaves, and in some cases, dramatic flowers. They brighten spaces, and by their presence, highlight their more subtle plant neighbors.