The Amazing food of Normandy France

Mapleline farms

These are two of the fine cows that make the milk that make Mapleline farm's chocolate milk the best on the planet. I think she is winking at me....

Pat Levasseur speaks at Umass

Here is a link to the local story on the event last night at Umass where the lawyers and three members of the jury gathered along with Pat Levassure who spoke in place of her ex husband and co defendant Ray Levasseur who was denied permission to attend by his parole board. The trial of the Ohio seven for seditious conspiracy happened over 20 years ago. After 11 months the government lost. Hundreds of Police protested the event. Outraged police rally on UMass campus.

Raymond Luc levasseur

I shot this image of Ray Levasseur in federal prison during his trial in Springfield ma for seditious conspiracy in 1987. The talk he was going to give tonight at The university of Massachusetts has been canceled due to protests from the Governors office and the police. His ex wife Pat will be speaking in his place. This will prove to be a very intense night. Check back for an update.

john kerry senator

Brazil shadow

George Markham. Another sad goodbye for Northampton

This is Arky and George Markham at the celebration of his 100th birthday in August. George passed away last Sunday morning. I saw Arky that evening at the National Priorities projects annual fall party where she went to be with her friends and colleagues to support a cause that was so important to both of them. She was greeted with open arms. It was a sad day but his was a long life well lived. Goodbye George and thanks for all you gave to our world.

"NORTHAMPTON - George F. Markham, 100, of 43 Dogwood Lane in Northampton, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, at Overlook at Northampton.

He was born on Aug. 15, 1909, in Independence, Wis., the son of the late John and Eleanor (Brown) Markham. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he began working with the Associated Press in 1936, where he became an ardent member of the American Newspaper Guild.

During the Second World War, he served with distinction on the aircraft carriers Saratoga and Yorktown in the South Pacific. Following the war, Markham returned to college to earn a master's degree in social studies and later taught in colleges in New York before he and his second wife, Arky, moved to Northampton in the 1960s.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Helen (Wendler) Deane; and his brothers, Arthur and Richard Markham. He leaves his wife, Rose "Arky" Markham of Northampton.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, 220 Main St., Northampton.

There are no calling hours. The Czelusniak Funeral Home of Northampton has been entrusted with arrangements."

Goodbye Bonnie Ascher

It took me a long time to photograph Bonnie. One day after ten years of trying to schmooze her into it I simply said, "Bonnie its time." I know" she said following me up to the tracks complaining with every step. If you've lived in Northampton you knew her. She picked up cans and cleaned stores in town for over twenty years, she always had a strong opinion about everything. She had a big personality, so big that sometimes it exploded, like one time I remember when she planted herself on her bicycle in the middle of the intersection downtown screaming at the cars "come on motherfuckers!!" Bonnie was often in pain, but she was kind to others. When she laughed, it was contagious and liberating. It will not be the same around here. This was her town and we were all just renting her cans.

This is what she said about herself when I photographed her for the Advocate." I grump and I groan," she said, "but you never see me on a corner holding out a cup. At least I go out and try to make a buck."

Goodbye Bonnie, I will miss you.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Daily Hampshire Gazette Northampton

- "Bonnie Ascher, 61, passed away Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, at Mass. General Hospital in Boston.

Born in Springfield, she had lived in New Hampshire before moving to Northampton, where she has lived for many years. In Northampton, she was well known.

Bonnie was an animal lover and loved to donate to Native American charities.

She is survived by her daughter, Beckie (Steve Champagne) Ascher; her mother, Jeanette Ascher; her brother, Robert (Linda) Ascher; her sister, Lori (David) Seed; and her brother, Michael (Irene) Ascher.

Bonnie's funeral will be Thursday, Oct. 29, at 11 a.m. at the Ascher-Zimmerman Funeral Home.

Burial will be at the convenience of the family. Shiva will be Thursday and Sunday evenings at the home of Jeanette Ascher at 44 Sumner Ave. in Springfield. Memorial contributions can be made to any Native American or animal related charity."

Chris Smither

I just had Chris up at the studio. This was one easy photo to take. Some people are just so comfortable in their skin that all I have to do is point the camera and push the button. A very nice guy and I love his music. Here is a link to his website. "Chris Smither is an American songwriter, singer, musician, poet, and author whose musical style crosses the lines between blues and folk. His new CD, TIME STANDS STILL, is now in stores on Mighty Albert/Signature Sounds Records."

Fall Fashion/The Daily Hampshire Gazette

To see the printed publication on line check out this link to gazettenet

Boston Politics, DiMasi in trouble

According to the Boston Globe, "Federal prosecutors yesterday added a new charge and fresh allegations to the corruption case against former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, alleging that he had a secret financial interest in a real estate firm that managed a signature state office building." Here is a link to the full story.

The Heart of Brazil

My new story, Minas Gerias, The Heart of Brazil just posted on Gonomad.

Pulaski day celebration

Mother and daughter , Mary and Debora Gromack at Casimir Pulaski day in Northampton.

The view from city hall Northampton

Christian Dior Museum Granville

Mr Dior was a favorite son of Granville. His Pink house is now a museum of his life and a pilgrimage for many a fashionista.
here is a link to find out more.

Olinda Pernambuco Brazil

U.S. Premiere!Steamboat Bill, Jr. Peter Blanchette performs his original composition live!

Peter Blanchette at the Amherst Cinema.

Max Hartshorne "the traveler" comments on Air France first class service

Footprints

Northampton MA makes National Geographic's top 100 best adventure towns list

A few weeks ago I got a call from the mayors office asking if I would get in touch with National Geographic adventure magazines editor and provide them with some photos of Northampton. I was pleased to and am tickled pink (get it?) to be in Geo, even if they did crop the hell out of my photo. In any case it is a great shout out to the world about our town and the write up is fantastic. Here is a link to check it out. Best Adventure Towns

Sunbathing on the beach Fernando de noronha

Recife Brazil

silhouette Fernando de Noronha

Brazil Sunset Fernando de Noronha

Brazil's paradise, fernando de noronha

Brazil Recife

I shot this early evening a few days ago on the beach at Recife. I only had one night in this city but it is definitely some place that I am going back to.

Brazil Fernando de Noronha

I just got back yesterday from Fernando de Noronha, an Island 300 miles off the coast of Brazil . This place is the stuff of Pirate legend, and Jules Vern novels. It is so stunningly beautiful that at times it seemed unreal.This shot was taken from the wall of the old Portuguese Fort overlooking the harbor.

Normandy final resting place

Suburban chess to the death

Drink party girl drink

Yes the world is in a mess. hunger, global warming , war. but People are still getting married and somewhere a party is always going on to excess. Now and then I have to be there to capture it. Purely for professional reasons of course.

The Dirty Truth about the Dirty Truth, Northampton Mass.

I think the Dirty truth has some of the best bar food any where. It is inventive, made from quality ingredients and the portions are huge. They even serve fried chicken and waffles.... in New England. The chef rocks, I salute you. Generally the beer is great,and I recommend it, but tonight we were served this one flat soapy beer and even though four people agreed and tried to reason with our bartender and the rest of the tap tasted fine , we were made to pay for it because it is "our policy". Come on guys, this is the new America.We are shaping a new "policy" to a higher standard and deserve what we pay for. Even Obama is drinking beer trying to heal the nation . Would you have served him and that professor from Harvard and the cop who busted him flat soapy beer and charge the tax payers for not drinking it? I don't think so, detente would have broken down. Unlike the rest of my table I have not given up on this place. The truth may be dirty, I just don't want my beer to be. To be continued.........

Le Clos Saint Martin bed and breakfast Caen.

Le Clos Saint Martin, 18 bis Place Saint Martin ,14000 CAEN Tél. : 02 31 50 08 71 Located 10 minutes from the center of Caen It is a fully restored 16th century mansion complete with its own tower. Sylvie and Jean Noel Vandevivere have done an amazing job bringing every inch back to life. It is historic, beautiful , comfortable and has all the amenities a traveler needs including a great bed, Internet access a really hot shower and a breakfast of wonderful local foods, many found in the market that takes place right out side their front door. Here is Link to their Web site. Thank you Slyvie!

Jerome Liebling Portrait 7/23/09

Jerome Liebling is one of the worlds great photographers. He represents the tradition of Social documentary photography from a time when what you shot was what you got. Before high tech digital manipulation when photography was more about your vision and less about your pixels. I studied at Hampshire college where he was head of the photo department and like all of us who felt his influence I have had his images in my mind ever since as I head out into the world with my camera. I was honored to photograph him last week at his home in Amherst MA.

Minas Gerais Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus

church_Nossa_senhora

Doe , a deer. Goshen Mass.

Honfleur Normandy

Mercado Central de Belo Horizonte

Yport Normandy

Greenland Glacier Melt

Greenland
Last year I flew by helicopter to the last out cropping of land , a small rock hill at the edge of the Iluslissat glacier.. We flew through grand canyons of ice walls to get there Looking into the distance it flattened out into an endless ice dessert. A huge immovable chunk of the world. It was, I thought, something forever. But if you lied down and fixed your eye on the shore, You could see it move ever so slowly. It was freaky, it was too big to move. Recent reports suggest that its speed is picking up, much faster than ever before. Here is a link to read the full AFP story.

Cornille Havard Bell Foundry. Villedieu-les-Poêles, Normandy France

Le Havre beach house

There are approximately 632 small houses along the rocky beach at Le Havre. Before the war there were over 2200 They are just big enough to use a changing room and to hold your beach chairs and picnic supplies. The photographs on the end of the rows were taken by photographer for a local newspaper. Every winter they are all packed up moved.

La Havre

The Kiss, Rouen Cathedral Normandy

The cathedral in Rouen is spectacular. Its a place for religious contemplation and also for lovers searching for a little privacy. Yes, that is the great traveler Max Hartshorne of Gonomad fame with all the action going on behind him.

La Hague

Gonomad"s Max Hartshorne and Photographer Paul Shoul (guest writing for johnny jet.com )share a cup of coffee in Normandy France

The painter of Granville

Granville is a beautiful sea side town in Normandy not often visited by American tourists but the french flock here. Its the Perfect Gonomad/Johnnyjet.com destination, I love it. Max and I were walking through
the old part of town and I saw this painter Philippe Marette Working at the window of his home.

Normandy American Cemetery

There are 9,387 graves at the American Cemetery in Normandy. 4 women, 41 brothers and 307 who could not. be identified. All the graves face homeward toward our country. There are too many of them. It was the saddest place I have ever been

The ciliffs of Etretat Normandy

The cliffs of Etretat in Normandy are spectacular. It is a steep climb up to the top but well worth the effort . The town is beautiful, boats line the beach as peole lounge in the small cafes over looking the sea.

ROUEN FRANCE

The streets of Rouen France, Where Joan of arc walked and every one is beautiful, even the rabbits and dogs.

2009 BearFest Easthampton,MA.

Starting on June 13, 2009, Easthampton City Arts is hosting a major public art event in the City of Easthampton, Massachusetts. The Easthampton Bear Fest revolves around an exhibit of life sized bears (20 large bears and 15 small “baby” bears, which have been decorated and painted by local and regional artists). The exhibit runs through October 15, ending with a City-wide, week-long celebration of the arts and an auction of the Bears at the Log Cabin Restaurant.
http://easthamptonbearfest.com/

Ouro Preto horse rider

Belo Horizonte

Brazil is sexy

Baby Beef

The Pick Up. Congonhas Brazil

Tiradentes Brazil

Tiradentes is where the locals go in Minas Geraiss when they need some time off. It is a beautiful small village with plenty of shops great restaurants and an over abundance of charm. Of course there are amazing old churches laden with golden filigree prerequisite to this part of Brazil, but it is the relaxed feel of the town itself that struck me. People drive slow along the cobble stone streets lined with ancient colorful homes. The quality of the light was amazing. Here is a link to find out more

Restaurante Aurora, Belo Horizonte Brazil

Last Titanic survivor Millvina Dean dies at 97

I took this portrait of Millvina Dean over ten years ago in Springfield MA. She was the youngest passenger on the Titanic and the last survivor. She passed away on Sunday at the age of 97. She was a sweet woman, I remember the photo session well and I hope she has found peace

On the road in Brazil

As a photographer I live for moments like this when fate brings my camera and life together at just the right moment to make a great image.I ran off the bus on the road to Congonhas hoping I would make it in time. It was like a ballet, I raised my lens just as he reached over to scrub her stomach and then in a flash it was over and he climbed down unaware that I had even been there. It was beautiful.

Ouro Preto Brazil

Ouro Preto May be the the most beautiful town I have ever seen. Nestled in the mountains of Minas Gerais Brazil, covered by impossibly steep cobble stone streets with 17Th century Churches on the hill tops, it was a peaceful Paradise I found hard to leave, although my thighs were glad to after climbing high enough to get this shot. I stayed at the Solar do Rosario hotel and I recommend that you stop what ever you are doing where ever you are and wind your way there as fast as possible. Check out this Video Link to get a feel for life in Ouro Preto at a gathering for high tea with my good friend Jose Gheradi, VP of BTOA and a fine piano player.

Greetings from Brazil

Well I finally made it to Brazil and all of my meat dreams have come true. I have heard about the barbecue here for years and I am here to tell you that it is all true This is the restaurant
Xapuri in Minas Gerais. What a fantastic place in a great town in an amazing country.

The not so happy frog of Northampton

last week the happy frog bank of Northampton was robbed. The statue was donated and installed down town in front of the First Church by artist Lu Stubs to the non profit Friends of the homeless as a fund raising vehicle for a free meals program. Although I applaud the effort to help out those in need, In my opinion they would a have been better served if the thieves had taken away the whole thing. This is one of those perfect examples of how seemingly well intentioned people can go so wrong. I'm not talking people that work to change the economic and cultural conditions that create people without homes but of sound bites and photo ops and shallow public demonstrations of caring that are self serving to the detriment of those they propose to help. What does a statue of a smiling lounging frog say about the homeless? what stereotypes does it reinforce? Is that what "we" think about "them", are the homeless cute little lazy cartoon characters ?, Happy frogs soaking up the sun? In my view the statue is just another of many attempts to ban Pan handling and poverty on the streets of Northampton and a way for"well intentioned people to cleanse their guilt and eliminate the need to have to interact with those pesky people in need who's simple questions "do you have any spare change" is labeled as Aggressive and confrontational because of the uncomfortable awkward feelings it arouses.

Pulp Science Fiction/Paper city studios

Dar Williams and the amazing Johnny Memphis

Last night I was watching Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, my favorite news show, when during the musical break they had a clip of Dar Williams singing her song "Are You Out There" which mentions my good friend John Riley, Aka Johnny Memphis. Dar used to live in our little town of Northampton, MA and like all of us we came to depend on John to get us through the night. " Thanks to both of you.

Perhaps I am a miscreation
No one knows the truth there is no future here
And you're the DJ speaks to my insomnia
And laughs at all I have to fear
Laughs at all I have to fear
You always play the madmen poets
Vinyl vision grungy bands
You never know who's still awake
You never know who understands and

Are you out there, can you hear this?
Jimmy Olson, Johnny Memphis
I was out here listening all the time
And though the static walls surround me
You were out there and you found me
I was out here listening all the time"

Gay pride Northampton

This years Gay Pride rally in Northampton MA drew a huge crowd on Saturday. Over 10,000 people flooded the Town, one of the largest turn outs in the 28 year history of the march.

Pittsfield is on the move/Trattoria Rustica

I was just up in Pittsfield Mass to shoot a few assignments for Preview magazine and was amazed at how far the town has come along since the last time I was there. What a great feeling it had.Lots of new shops , galleries and restaurants. I spent about three hours shooting at Trattoria Rustica . This was some of the best Italian food I have ever had. The Chef /owner Davide Manzo grills fish and chicken inside a wood oven that he designed and built. It has a flavor that cannot be reproduced without the smoke and intense high heat. Very cool.

Crisis Preparation

Crisis Preparation. On the anniversary of the Virginia tech shootings two years ago , U Mass students participated in an emergency preparedness drill simulating an ammonia spill.

Mel Gibson on the road to ruin

With Mel Gibson back in the news for his pending divorce, I could not help posting another shot I took of him during the filming of his new movie. "The edge of darkness". I have never been a paparazzi but this was just to easy. I had my morning coffee, walked down the street, shot a few images of Mel and then sold them to the Daily Express, a Tabloid in London.

Down on the Town Farm

Ben James of Town Farm wrestles with the tractor after plowing the back acreage of my house for the first time in 50 years. This was a great day.

Amy Goodman/Frances Crowe

Dedication of the Frances Crowe Community room at the Media Education Foundation by Amy Goodman

Traveling Tunisia

Here is a link to my new story on Gonomad.com, Traveling Tunisia: Exotic Souks, Ancient Ruins and Fabulous Food.

Daniel Goleman

Last week I had the pleasure of working for some of our outstanding fellow members of the planet. One of them was Daniel Goleman who I had up to the studio for a portrait session. He was extremely smart ,very funny, and simply a nice guy that I was delighted to spend some time with. I am not alone in my appraisal of Daniel. His new book "Ecological intelligence" is one of Time magazine's "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now". Oprah is a fan, and when I told him that I heard that the Dalai Lama was also, he said "well , I think its really the other way around" Here is a link to his web site and a few lines from his bio:

"Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist who lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Working as a science journalist, Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times for many years. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books) was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half; with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide in 30 languages, and has been a best seller in many countries.

Goleman’s latest book is Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything. The book argues that new information technologies will create “radical transparency,” allowing us to know the environmental, health, and social consequences of what we buy. As shoppers use point-of-purchase ecological comparisons to guide their purchases, market share will shift to support steady, incremental upgrades in how products are made – changing every thing for the better.

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, was published in 2006. Social intelligence, the interpersonal part of emotional intelligence, can now be understood in terms of recent findings from neuroscience. Goleman’s book describes the many implications of this new science, including for altruism, parenting, love, health, learning and leadership."

Three Marias (Las Tres Marias) San Pedro de Atacama Chile

Guggenheim Bilbao

ONYX Fusion Bar and Restaurant Springfield MA

I was just down at Onyx for the first time to shoot a spread for the upcoming may issue of Preview Mag. I was impressed. A great scene, the most dramatic room in the valley ( a 16 screen HD TV!) and the chef Isaac Bancaco really knows his stuff. The food was beautiful. Here is link to check out the menu

Sidi Bou Said,Tunisia

Porto,Portugal-City Hall

Naked Boy

Naked boy:
This is a shot I took during a WTO protest in Washington DC. While I was running through the park from one anarchist confrontation with the police to another. I came across naked boy having a picnic with some of his friends. I always found this image to be both amusing and disturbing at the same time. He was just so out of place with the violence that was happening all around him.

Tunisia slide show 2009

Mayan woman Chitzen itza Mexico

Spoleto Northampton Mass.

This is a shot I did today of Claudio, the owner of Spoleto Restaurant in Northampton Mass to advertise their new $20 menu. I believe the copy for the add will read " I chop my food and now I've chopped my prices". I was just happy that there was no blood on my lens at the end of the shoot. This is a great place and a great deal. here is a link to the website

Bermeo Spain

In Like a Lion, March snow storm in New England

Baby Ducks Portugal

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark

Here is a link to check out this really cool Museum just out side of Copenhagen in Denmark
http://www.louisiana.dk/dk

Gypsy Apple Bistro. My new favorite restaurant

This is the chef and owner of the Gypsy Apple Bistro Michelangelo Wescott at work. As the photographer for Preview magazine , I spend a lot of time behind the scenes capturing the action in the areas finest restaurants. I was so impressed by his technique and the quality of the ingredients with which he sculpts his recipes that I just had to post about it. The atmosphere in this little place is cozy and fun. The service was impeccable and the food was inspirational. I highly recomend it. Gypsy Apple Bistro
65 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls, 413-625-6345
Hours: Dinner Tue.-Sun. 5-9 p.m.; brunch Thu.-Sun. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Entrées: $19-$26.
Reservations recommended.

A blast from travels past

Peter Heller and Max Hartshorne at the Adobe restaurant in San Pedro De Atacama,Chile.2006

Asleep on the job. Kaohsiung Taiwan.

The New York Comic Convention

Andrew Zimmern

Greetings from the big city. I am at the NY Times travel show with Gonomad.com. What a show!!! This is the host of Bizarre foods,Andrew Zimmern with two of his fans, Ethan and Stephan Baker

Tunisia

Evil sinister squirrel

I love nature and all of Gods creations, except this little bastard who lives in my roof and mocks me every morning on my deck eating chunks off my house.

Taiwan Fireworks and the Year of the OX

I just gt an email from a fellow traveler Paul Ross who was referred to me by Mary Graybill of Eva Air. ( one of my favorite air lines). He wanted to know how to protect himself and his camera during his upcoming visit to to Taiwan. He is on his way to the Yanshuei fireworks festival and to face the mighty Bee Hive. Originally an act of exorcism for a cholera epidemic over 100 years ago, the towns people light off a huge amount of fire works . The "bee hive is a wooden box filled with tens of thousands of rockets, the majority of which are pointed straight at out at the crowd. People line up in front of it and when that thing goes off you had better be ready. They come straight at you and they hurt. Most everyone has a motorcycle helmet , Some people wear fire men suits, some seem to have stolen clothing from NASA and a few brave souls, covered in burn wounds, go wearing nothing, their courage boosted by chewing beetle nuts. Here is what I recommend. Wear at least a double layer of cotton clothing, no Nylon or synthetics, one spark and you will burn up. Remember that you are going to pelted by flaming rockets. Invest in the motorcycle helmet and wear a scarf or a towel to fill the gap between your neck and the helmet. This is important! if rocket gets up inside you could be blinded. I came out unscathed. For your camera you can either wrap it up in something cotton around your hand, buy a waterproof casing , or get a cheap point and shoot and hope for the best. I saw one photographer who had made a shield out of wood with just the end of the lens sticking through. This is one of the most unique experiences on the planet. Be careful Paul and you will be fine but by all means push the limits and jump right into the fray. Have a "blast!

Lost in Translation,Taiwan

Obama nominates Nanny Flemming as world art Czar

This is my friend Nanny wearing her Obama Tiara. It was her birthday and Obama was being sworn in. Nan was definitely the top celebrity of the day.

Bush out of a job, will work for food

As a healthy crowd of proud Americans at the Paradise city Tavern in Northampton, Mass. watched the acceptance speech of Barack Obama A life size George bush appeared outside the window holding a sign that said. "WILL WORK FOR FOOD'. Kudos to whoever was behind this but Please, lets not give this guy a job anywhere ever again.

Walking the dog

I went up to the Chesterfield gorge to photograph dog sledders today. It was COLD, but beautiful

Reading shadows

Douz Tunisia

Douz is the gateway to the Shara desert in Tunisia, from this point on it is endless sand dunes.

Kairouan Mosque of Tunisia

The Kairouan Mosque, Tunisia

Sunset in Tunis

Sidi Bou Said Tunisia

The Tunisian.

The Medina, Tunisia

The only problem with press trips is my lack of of free time to post images on a daily basis and write down my thoughts.That being said I am in Tunisia and loving it. Amazing people, Beautiful
ancient,and the Sahara Desert is wonderful. I also need to say while I can that the Muslims I am spending time with are fantastic thought full people. They and I as a Jew are both hoping for an end to the bombing in Gaza by Israel. It is insane and must stop.

The Sahara

Tunisia #3

Roman Bath - Carthage-Tunisia

Tunisia

My best to every one on this Christmas eve. This is Cafe Sidi-Chabaan, a very cool spot in Tunis over looking the Harbor. Great Turkish coffee, Tunisian Tea and apple flavored Hookah pipes. Now this is my idea of the perfect way to spend the hollidays.

Stranger than fiction

Taipei Taiwan

This is Taipei, on the street at night . Here is a link to check out my new story on Gonomad, "A Whirlwind Tour of Taiwan"

Sun Moon Lake Taiwan

Boise Idaho penitentiary

Fo Guang, Shan Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Santiago Chile

Colombia

Guatemala

Santiago Chile

Getting a head in food photography

He's got the whole world in his hands

Sam Ostroff, Metal worker extraordinaire, reaches out to guide his new creation, The New Years Eve ball onto the roof of the Hotel Northampton. Check out Salmon studios to see more of his work.

World rhythm, Tony Vacca.

Busted....almost

Shelly Rotner should be more careful about who she hangs around with. If you rub elbows with the Nomad team you are bound to end up in one, (or two) of our blogs. After the Obama Election in Northampton , the crowd at the Paradise city Tavern poured out on to the street, Shelly ( in the drivers seat)and a few of her friends started to drive "enthusiastically" in a circle. the police were not to happy but the crowd started chanting "Let them go!" and they did.

Is Rachel Maddow a secret Muslim?

This is a tricky one. I mean just look at the way she naturally wrapped her head in an American flag during a studio photo session I had with her her. Very suspicious. Did you see the interview she did with Obama?, they seemed very cozy together. Many Texans think that he is a Muslim. so..............well, it makes you wonder..... just how deep does this conspiracy to ruin our country with hope, freedom and intelligence really go!. I have posted this image from the series of photos I made of her after Max at Gonomad made me aware that the blog Gawker was using one of my shots of her on line. I had made the mistake early on in my Blogging to post it without proper protection and people have been ripping that picture off all over the planet often without a link back or credit to yours truly. They call it theft in the real world. Although Gawker had tried to do the right thing and link back to me it was not functional. So I wrote Hamilton Nolan the media columnist for Gawker and bingo, what a gentleman, he got back to me within 5 minutes and corrected the situation. One good turn deserves another so here is a link to Gawker and his story on Rachel Maddows internet hustel

Santiago de Compostela

Senator John Kerry

Reflections of Taiwan

I am finally getting into my Taiwan photos as I write the story about my recent trip there. This little gem was taken while waiting for the new high speed train in Taipei.

The celebration just won't stop

Chris O'Connor, overwhelmed by the Obama victory calls himself on the phone from the Paradise City Tavern on election eve.

VICTORY IN THE USA!!

Everyone was whooping it up at the Paradise City Tavern in Northampton last night. What a night.

VOTE!

This is my cover photo on the Valley Advocate this week. We have all been waiting for this day for a long long time. Tonight I am going over to the paradise city tavern to watch the results, toast to the future and celebrate.............................................or drive to Canada.

Gonomad owner Max Hartshorne's birthday party

Max hosted a great birthday party last night. He hit the big 50 and there was much love in the room as a crowd of friends and family toasted and roasted this amazing man. It was great to see my fellow Gonomad travelers Sony stark and Kent St.John pictured above with Max in the middle. Congratulations Max and thanks for the opportunity to travel the world with you.

Katrina Vanden Heuvel / National Priorities Project

Sunday night was the annual fund raising dinner for the National priorities project here in Northampton Mass, They research the real cost of war, and have been featured by national news outlets around the world

• Provides data on the impact of federal spending policies for states, cities and counties
• Educates and trains citizens, activists, media and elected officials on the federal budget, the budget’s local impact and community needs
• Collaborates with national groups on federal budget initiatives
• Facilitates dialogue and action between national social justice and security policy groups

Katrina was the key note speaker for the event that drew over 600 people . It was a great night and a pleasure to meet her. She was a down to earth nice, brilliant and one of the great political activists of our country

Katrina vanden Heuvel has been The Nation's editor since 1995 and publisher since 2005.

She is the co-editor of Taking Back America--And Taking Down The Radical Right (NationBooks, 2004) and, most recently, editor of The Dictionary of Republicanisms, (NationBooks, 2005)

She is also co-editor (with Stephen F. Cohen) of Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachev's Reformers (Norton, 1989) and editor of The Nation: 1865-1990, and the collection A Just Response: The Nation on Terrorism, Democracy and September 11, 2001.

She is a frequent commentator on American and international politics on MSNBC, CNN and PBS. Her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Her weblog for the nation.com is "Editor's Cut."

She is a recipient of Planned Parenthood's Maggie Award for her article, "Right-to-Lifers Hit Russia." The special issue she conceived and edited, "Gorbachev's Soviet Union," was awarded New York University's 1988 Olive Branch Award. Vanden Heuvel was also co-editor of Vyi i Myi, a Russian-language feminist newsletter.

She has received awards for public service from numerous groups, including The Liberty Hill Foundation, The Correctional Association and The Association for American-Russian Women. In 2003, she received the New York Civil Liberties Union's Callaway Prize for the Defense of the Right of Privacy. She is also the recipient of The American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee's 2003 "Voices of Peace" award. Vanden Heuvel is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, and she also serves on the board of The Institute for Women's Policy Research, The Institute for Policy Studies, The World Policy Institute, The Correctional Association of New York and The Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

Canvassing in New Hampshire for Barack Obama

Last weekend I photographed U.S. Congressman Richard Neal and other volunteers out on the road canvassing for Barack Obama. You can join hundreds of other concerned citizens from Western Massachusetts who have been migrating to New Hampshire on the weekends to help with the campaign. There are car pools leaving Saturday and Sunday mornings, the drive to Keene will only take an hour. As Elisabeth silver form the Obama office here in Northampton said. " people should not become complacent, Bush took New Hampshire by only 1% against Gore and Kerry took it back by the same amount 4 years ago, the Canvassers make the difference". The Scene at the Obama headquarters on 300 park ave in Keene is exhilarating. A steady flow of people from all over the state arrive, many with offerings of home made food to feed the troops. First you go through a quick training session on talking points and then armed with literature, break down into small groups to head out to walk door to door. Don't worry if you are not an expert on the facts and figures, the folks I went out with with talked about what personally impelled them to become involved and were very effective and well received. People in New Hampshire are used to this and for the most part are polite and willing to talk even if they do not agree with you. This is Grass roots democracy in action and in my humble opinion is what will win this election. The phone number at the Obama office is (413)-584-1478, email, hampshireforobama@gamil.com.

Amazing valley light,Northampton,MA.

Mel Gibson, The Edge of Darkness, Northampton Mass.

Hollywood has invaded Northampton, Well, la de da. I'm happy for the local extras and my friends that are working on the crew filming "the Edge of Darkness" staring Mel Gibson, at least they are making some cash off the project, but man o man has this thing backed up traffic. Special thanks to public relations rep , Blaise Noto for helping me out today.

Virgin Mary appears in Springfield in front of thousands of people.

Life is unsure in America these days, everything has been called into question. Our sons and daughters are dying for nothing in a war that we all know is wrong: the foundations of our finance system are crumbling,: our leaders are corrupt and Global warming threatens an angry planet: there is very little left to have faith in. It is at times like these throughout history that the Virgin Mary makes her ghostly appearance. Whether or not it is truly a miracle in response to the needs of a troubled people or born from hopeful imagination;desperation and vulnerability,;the folks on "main street " as our politicians are fond of saying, have been gathering for the past three days under a window at the Mercy Medical Ct at 330 Stafford street in Springfield, MA. The out line on the second story window of an empty office that resembles The Virgin has drawn hundreds every day to pray and wonder. Some are there for the spectacle of the crowd, but the majority are believers who have come to be near her or are looking for a miracle to heal their wounds: Like Lucille Mirabello a frail woman just out of surgery in a wheel chair who was brought over from the nearby Weldon CT: or Michel Tourville also in a wheel chair who said that she came out of curiosity but "when I started moving closer I saw that it was her, there are so many people here of all nationalities praying together, she is so beautiful". Elizabeth venancio stands next to her clutching another wheel chair that holds her young son Jamie who was born with a single ventricle and is awaiting his third open heart surgery. "I am here for my son,” she said, "for a piece of heaven". I take Jamie’s hand and wish him well. I understand his struggle. I tell his mother that two months ago I had my second heart surgery. "He will be fine I say" She tells me that I am a miracle too. "I am not", I think. I am merely one of the lucky ones who had adequate health care. I am not a believer in miracles. I only see an oil stain on the window, But I like these people and I will not deny them their faith and their hopes. Maybe the Virgin is real, and she will rise from her glass prison in the window and lead her followers to the holy voting booth and an Obama victory. Now that would be a miracle I could get behind

Sarah Palin , kiss my antlers!

I added my own comment to this photo I found on The daily Mail. Thanks to the photographer, and the Moose....... I hope they approve.

The Nowhere world

This is the Nowhere world of the Hadley Mall . Empty space , designed to make you uncomfortable and force you inside to shop.

Al Giordano, Valley Advocate, going gonzo

This is a story about working with Al Giordano I just wrote for the 35th anniversary of the Valley Advocate.It is an important edition of the paper with great insight into what it means to run a free press by Tom Vannah. Al is doing fantastic work on Narco news and covering the 2008 elections on his blog The Field. Both are a call to action and I highly recommend you check out this link.
This is what Wikipedia has to say about Al Giordano's career before 1989, when he joined the Advocate as a reporter: "In 1976, when he was sixteen, he went to Albany and testified before a legislative commission in the state senate against nuclear power, felt completely ignored and concluded that the tactic of lobbying the government was futile. He was arrested for what would be the first of 27 times on May 1st, 1977. When he was 20 and living in a cabin in Rowe, Massachusetts, running the Rowe Nuclear Conversion Campaign, which ended in the first-ever shutdown of an operating nuclear power plant in America, he met Abby Hoffman, who called him 'the best political organizer of his generation.' The two worked together until Hoffman's death in 1989, opposing U.S. intervention in Nicaragua and fighting to save the Delaware and St. Lawrence rivers."

It was at that point that the kid from the Bronx who had fallen in love with Franklin County decided to take a breather from life as an activist and join a sympathetic newspaper, the Valley Advocate, as a reporter.

The first time I worked with Al at the Advocate, he very nearly got us both busted. I was rather pissed off at him that day. Al had come on board to cover politics in Springfield when we had a separate paper down there and a cozy little office on Main Street. He went to work immediately, trying to verify the rumors of drug corruption within the office of then-district attorney Matty Ryan.

That day I stopped by the office and Al said that he had gotten a tip about a new top-secret "drug room" that the district attorney had set up that was wired with all the latest high-tech devices. It had cost a lot of money and its secrecy was of paramount importance to the DA's office. So off we went to find it. We arrived at a plain-looking doorway on the third floor of the downtown building and I began to take a few pictures, forgetting that my flash was on.

"Shit! Somebody is taking pictures," we heard through the door. We ran up the stairs to the next floor, took the elevator to the top, then got out and took the service stairs back down, trying to fool our pursuers. We actually made it out of the building but were surrounded by detectives. They hauled us up into their secret room and began to interrogate us. They searched us, took my license, and tested it for cocaine. They threatened us, yelled at us and intimidated us however they could. Then, after Al had said stuff like, " How many drugs has your boss moved today?" and I had told them there was no freaking way I was giving up my film, they did something amazing. They said, "Please don't tell anybody about this, OK? Please?"

"My God!" I thought the next day when I had calmed down. "This guy has enormous cojones!" You see, that's what Al did well. He was usually right and it pissed people off. If you were a fellow journalist, he did so because he worked harder than you did, or was more outrageous and seemed to always get away with it. And if you were on the wrong side of the truth, you were going to be angry with Al all the time. People told him stuff because, in the best tradition of journalism, if it was confidential or off the record or a source was not to be named, that's the way it stayed. He could be trusted.

He always fought the good fight. And in the best tradition of the Advocate, he wielded the reporter's pen like a very sharp weapon.

Giordano left the Advocate in 1993 and became a political reporter for the Boston Phoenix. In 2000, he began publishing Narco News, which carried articles with original research, and translations of Spanish-language media reports, about the political levels of the War on Drugs in Latin America. He currently writes a blog, The Field, with information about this year's presidential election. No one who knows him would be surprised that he has an uncanny track record for correctly predicting the outcomes of presidential primaries.

Rachel Maddow will rule the world

I had taken this portrait of Rachel Maddow off my blog because people were ripping it off at an alarming rate, up loading it, and using it to link to there own web sites. Come on people! But how can I not put it up again when the news has been so good for Rachel. After just one week her new television show has surpassed Keith Oberman's numbers. Rachel spent a lot of time here in Northampton on local radio station WRSI so we all take a little pride in her success. Go Rachel GO!

TV Diner with Billy Costa comes to Sylvester's in Northampton

I went out to lunch today with my old friend Nan Fleming at Sylvester’s restaurant in Northampton, MA, and by chance the NECN television show, TV diner was scheduled to shoot and we end up sitting right next to the spot where Billy Costa did an interview of Mo McGuiness. The show was in town for the day and on its way to review five other restaurants. I love the Show and the host Billy Costa is a great guy, he seems to have a blast doing his job. Before the interview he looked around the place which was packed during lunch like it always is, came over to our table and took a bite right out of Nanny’s chop chop salad! I mean how else are you going to find out what the food really taste like. Nice touch Billy!! The interview went very well. Mo was a natural on camera and the food they laid out looked fantastic. They shot it in one take. Way to go Sylvester’s!

Alsaka Women Reject Palin

The mainstream media does not always give us the whole truth and the following is a good example why we need the Democracy of the blog. Palins homecoming gathering got all the attention on Sept 11th but a counter rally organised by an independent free thinking "group of women talking over coffee" was much larger. According to Mudflats where I found this post and the photos. "Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here. An old friend of mine David Loeb Weiss an outstanding filmmaker and proof reader for the NY Times once told me that the media "lies by exclusion". The coverage of Palin by the national media gives the impression that all of Alaska loves her. Well it looks like that is just as much of a lie as her statements on the bridge to nowhere. Check out MUDFLATS for more coverage of this rally and updates on what is really going on in Alaska

Sarah Palin blunders during ABC interview

Sarah Palin tried to fake her way through her first interview with Charlie Gibson On ABC News tonight. I will agree to disagree with her on the issues that she does take a clear stand on but when asked by Gibson if she agrees with the Bush Doctrine, she obviously did not know exactly what he was talking about and responded in the abstract:"Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country," Palin told ABC News' Charles Gibson. "In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend, and that's what a McCain-Palin administration would do." Excuse me but this is a person that wants to be second in command and a heart beat away from controlling the largest power on earth. If she does not have a firm grasp on on history and politics then I do not want her in the drivers seat. The bush doctrine states that we have the right to wage preventative war against another country if we think they are a threat. Not only do I not think we have the the right to invade another country based on perceived threats, but on the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks I fear that other countries could use this same reasoning to invade us. Sarah Palin was like a deer in the headlights when Gibson asked this question. Is this who we want to lead us?

Butt Head rides again

OK, It is time to get back to the business of photo blogging. From here on in I will be updating round world photo with local, international travel , political, environmental and just plain for the hell of it photos from our "not so lonely planet". That's how we think of our little ball of rock at Gonomad.com. I remember Joking with Max about it at the NY Times travel show and using that line as we greeted people that came by our booth. " we don't think its lonely out there on the road" we think its full of wonderful people and we want you to meet all of them" Geez what a schmooze. In any case I have been going stir crazy stuck at home recovering but I am stronger every day and hope to be on the road again within two months. In the mean time I will have to live vicariously through the rest of the Gonomad staff of travelers. Max is just getting back from a trip to Colombia that I hated to miss and I cannot wait to here the stories.
Butt head is my self portrait of when I was a smoker. I just did a new studio shot of him to submit to a contest. His creation was an act of love and desperation. I gave plastic buckets to some of my favorite bars and had them collect cigarette butts for a week. Late at night I carefully glued them in place. If I could not find the right fit, I smoked them down to the perfect size. He sits on a shelf in my studio, stinking, casting a disapproving glance every time I think of breaking down and having another cigarette. Occasionally, I fear I will lose my free will and smoke him. But After the past month of hospitals I can honestly say I will never smoke again in my life. I feel so lucky that I never had a problem due to smoking. They checked out every inch of me while I was in there and I passed with flying colors, but I met a whole bunch of people who did not. Until the next time.............................

Amy Goodman arrested covering RNC protests

Amy Goodman and two Democracy Now producers were unlawfully arrested at the RNC Convention today. This is outrageous. Here is a link to the video and more information on what can be done to help Amy.Earlier in the day I had sent off a cutesy letter to the NY Times about Sarah Palin called, " A Cinderella story", Hillary Clinton smashed the glass ceiling for women I said, but all Sarah Palin has done is fill the glass slipper". I had been waiting gleefully for the dirt on her to start rolling. Her young daughter is pregnant? beautiful I thought! this is great! The irony the humor the hypocrisy, We are going to have a field day with her. But now the storm in New Orleans is getting serious, People are in danger and the Republicans have arrested one of our nations finest journalists from one of our only trusted and free news sources. This is not funny any more. It never was. This election is about our freedom. Lets get Obama into office with as many votes as we can muster. A mandate for change. I have had enough.

Shocking choice of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska for VP by John McCain

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 29, 2008 Shocking Choice by John McCain WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. “Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies. “Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration. “This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.” ### The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

I see you.

Hello to all the round world photo community. Due to a medical condition I will only be posting sporadically during the coming month. Life has its challenges and I have a big one in front of me. Thanks for visiting my site and please come back. I will be returning with even more outrageous pictures from around the planet. Be well and remember to cherish every moment.
Paul Shoul

See you on the other side...........

Frank Pepe pizzeria New Haven CT.

This Joe Heffernan, he is 91 years old. He has a great sense of humor, gets around just fine and has been going to Frank Pepe Pizzeria in new Haven CT. since 1937. I met him down there yesterday during a pilgrimage to the near by Ikea store. I have always wanted to try what is supposed to be where Pizza began in 1925 and it did not disappoint. The scene is great, the thin crust is the best I have ever had. here is a link to find out more about Pepe's.

China and Taiwan agree on more flights.

"Taiwan and China agreed Friday to ease decades of tight restrictions on travel and tourism between the mainland and the island state that Beijing views as a breakaway province."
Here is a link to the full story as it appeared today on cbcnews.ca

AIR GREENLAND TO DISCONTINUE NON-STOP SERVICE BETWEEN BALTIMORE (BWI) AND GREENLAND

U.S. travelers can visit the world’s largest island with convenient connections from New York area airports through Iceland or Denmark

– Air Greenland discontinued its non-stop service between Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) and Greenland’s Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) which was scheduled to begin this year on June 26 and continue through August 28.

Air Greenland’s passengers who booked travel from BWI to Greenland during the 2008 season will be offered a full refund or the option of being rerouted via Iceland.

Travelers who are eager to visit Greenland have a host of options, most notably from JFK through Reykjavik (KEF – Keflavik International), Iceland or from Newark, NJ (EWR) and JFK through Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH):

• Icelandair and Air Iceland offer service to Greenland through Keflavik, Iceland (KEF). Flights are available to Nuuk from Keflavik to Greenland on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from May 29^th to September 5^th 2008.

• Several airlines, including Continental, Icelandair and SAS offer flights to Copenhagen from many destinations in the United States, including JFK and Newark. During high season, passengers can get on one of Air Greenland’s 14 weekly flights from Copenhagen to Greenland.

Air Greenland offers connections between major towns in Greenland including Ilulissat, home to the world’s most breathtaking glacier views. For more information about travel within Greenland or to book a flight, please visit www.airgreenland.com

There are also week-long guided tours of Greenland departing from Reykjavik and Copenhagen. For more information, please visit www.greenland-travel.com

Greenland, the largest island in the world, is situated in the Arctic Circle off the northeastern coast of Canada between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The destination is culturally Inuit with warm Greenlandic traditions and heavy influences of Scandinavian customs. Home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland is one of the most preserved destinations in the world with unspoiled landscape, which can be seen for 24 hours during the summer months under the Arctic sun. Easily accessible through Iceland or Denmark, this pristine destination is ideal for the intrepid, adventurous traveler. For more information about Greenland, visit www.greenland.com or www.greenlandexpo.com

State Representative Ellen Story

I just photographed Ellen Story this morning. What a pleasure. She is a hard working 8 term Democrat from Hampshire county who gives me faith in the system.

Taiwan

Casa De Musica Porto Portugal

WAY TO GO OBAMA!

Obama clinched the Democratic nomination tonight. The first Afro-American to be nominated. I love it. This is a historic moment of pride for our country. Hilary acknowledged his win but was combative did not actually concede. Please Hillary , It's over! Get on board and lets all win this thing!

Fishing Boston Harbor

Alisan High Mountain Tea Picker #2

Alisan has a rugged softness about it. The mountains are massive, but beautiful terraced tea farms cover them; often you are engulfed in white fluffy clouds. Scattered on the slopes, in between the rows, are the Tea pickers in their bright clothing and classic wide brimmed hats. It is stunning. These women work hard. I nearly went down while photographing them. Its incredibly steep covered in lose rocks and they are wrapped in multiple layers of protective clothing and picking constantly. Here is a link to a very cool blog Tea masters and a link to the Alisan web site.

Taroko Gorge Taiwan

Taroko Gorge in Taiwan is spectacular. A hole ripped through the earth on the scale of the Grand canyon. This is the "Tunnel OF Nine Turns" I don't know who these people are , but they were a blast to photograph. Here is a link to find out more.

Zaragoza Spain and La Sobremesa

Here is an excerpt from and a link to my new story on Gonomad.com, World Expo Zaragoza 2008: An Ancient City Looks to the Future. "Walking down town Zaragoza Spain, something out of place caught my eye. I am a photographer and naturally look for patterns and the things that break them. The Burger king across the street definitely did not fit in. It was empty inside, the glowing neon sign was awkward and garish compared to the subtleties of the aged wooden facades on the other cafes around it. They were full of people at the end of the working day, talking loudly, laughing, eating Tapas and drinking wine. I said to my friend Anna from the Spanish tourism office who was born here:” I notice that there is nobody in there?” “ Where, in The Burger King? “ she said, only children go in, why would you? , Fast food does not fit in with our culture, it leaves no room for La Sobremesa”. My ears perked up,” What’s that?" I asked her”. Anna smiled, “it is the endless conversation the happens after you are done eating. It is part of the meal, you cannot have one without the other” You eat, then you have a coffee, a little pastry you talk and suddenly four hours later you realize that you are all still at the table, so maybe another coffee… “ And on and on……….. That is La Sobremesa”
That one little statement crystallizes why I love this country so much. There is a pace of living and respect for traditions that give room for the good things in life. The important simple little huge things that we sometimes miss over here in the USA as we rush to chow down our whoppers."

Good luck Ted Kennedy

I have taken pictures of Ted Kennedy on a few occasions, this shot is from years ago with him and the late Armand Hammer. Good luck Mr. Kennedy, we need you around.

Cross cultural communication

I was walking across the street in Nuuk Greenland with a friend from Brooklyn NY. He was trying to talk to this very drunk guy who reverted to sign language, using one of the two hand signals that cross every cultural divide. The other is the OK sign, but what fun would that have been? We all cracked up including our new friend. It seems that Brooklyn boys and tough as nails Greenlanders have a similar sense of humor.

Mercado Central Zaragoza Spain

Street Life.Kaohsiung,Taiwan

Climbing the Basilica de la Pilar,Zaragoza, Spain.

Louise Wu, Miss Asian America.Taiwan

Traveling around Taiwan with Louise Wu, Miss Asian America was easy. Doors open, traffic stops. She is great, humble about her title and more than willing to pose with every giggling girl and admiring boy that wanted to be photographed with her. Her is a link to the Pageants home page

The perfect Mojito

I remember walking into La Bodeguita del medio bar in the old section of Havana Cuba, with one question on my mind. This is where the famous Mojito cocktail came to life, immortalized by Ernest Hemingway. "Legend has it that he would drink several after a long day of fishing aboard the Pilar". I wanted know how many. " eleven the bartender said, Papa could drink eleven."
I tried to stop myself but no, that would be to easy and smart and I was in Cuba and in love with the world.The words escaped from my mouth" I'll take twelve". I managed to make it home safely which led me to ponder the perfect Mojito that I was assigned to photograph for Spoleto restaurant this week. Here is a link for the recipe

Grand Hyatt Taipei

This the Sushi chef at the Grand Hyatt Hotel In Taipei. Thanks to all the staff for putting together a 5 star meal for our band of tired journalists. The food was simply perfect. This is an impressive hotel. Here is a link to their web site if you are traveling to Taiwan

BIG FISH,little airport,Alaska.

Waiting room. Ted Stevens international airport, Anchorage, Alaska.

Elvis the Transvestite, Lord Russ as the Queen

Lord Russ, another local hero from Northampton Mass and future member of the Young at Heart Chorus, put on an amazing one man (woman) show this weekend ."For his upcoming role, Russ (aka Russell Brooks) has to shave his entire body. Although he's not baring the full Monty, Valley musician Brooks will be more scantily clad than normal in his upcoming one-man show Queen Elvis—The Musical. Set in 1973, the Rocky Horror Picture Show-style musical offers an alternative version of the life of Elvis Presley. Instead of following the path of self-destruction that ultimately ended his life, the show asks what might have happened if the drug-addled rock star had, after much soul-searching, discovered that he had a penchant for cross-dressing." Here is a link to the rest of Kendra Thurlow's interview with Russ in The Valley Advocate.

Grand Formosa Regent hotel Taipei Taiwan

This goes out to Ivyliu and all the great folks at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel in Taipei. You were all fantastic. The rooms are top notch, the food was amazing, and the service and atmosphere were more than I had expected. Thanks for everything and making us feel at home. Here is link to find out more about this oasis of calm in the midst of one of the busiest cities in the world

Taipei 101

These fine gentlemen are Daniel Foster and Jake Warga, two Journalists that I traveled with to Taiwan. Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building looms in the back ground, but is dwarfed by their sparkling personalities.

Foguangshan temple Kaohsiung Taiwan

Yan can cook, Iron Chef's Kevin Brauch, and the Great Wall of Florence

Special thanks to Clara and Kenny at The Great Wall restaurant in Florence Ma for putting out an amazing feast last night. Having just come back from Taiwan a couple of days ago I can speak with some authority that the food was authentic Chinese, and what a spread it was. A whole roast pig, stir fried lobster in the shell, where just two of 11 dishes that just kept appearing at our table. The delightful Martin Yan of “Yan can cook” fame was there along with Kevin Brauch one of the announcers for the "Iron Chef". I was in foodie heaven. Martin was one of the first television cooking stars along with Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet. I used to watch him as a kid and as Kevin said in his toast to him, “this is the guy that started it all for the rest of us way back when and he looks exactly the same!” The Iron chef America is one of my favorite food shows now and Kevin is a great guy. He gave us the inside info on the show and I was happy to hear that it is a real competition. Here is a link to Kevin’s web site, Tapasproductions.com and if you are interested in learning from the master, you can join Martin in China at his cooking school and cultural tours that he offers at YanCancook.com

Reflections of a life in photography

It has been a long week and a very far journey in between taking these two photos. The first was taken in the elevator at the Hotel Del Lago in Sun Moon lake Taiwan. The second was taken 5 days later while on assignment at University health services in Amherst Mass. The jet lag is killing me, but I'm still looking up.

Taipei Herb street

Osaka Japan,The revenge of Karate Dan Hallman

They did not know where he had come from, but they had loved him forever. He was Karate Dan. Travelers waiting at the Osaka air port where amazed at his fighting skills. He was fierce, he was kind, he had Sake on his breath. His legend will live on.

Jian Guo Jade and Flower Market. Taipei Taiwan

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Taiwan

Lungshan Temple Taiwan

Lungshan Temple had the same effect on me as it did the last time I was here 2 years ago. Although crowded like the rest of Taipei, each person seems at peace, alone with their private conversations with the Gods that they have come to consult. Tears again came to me as I let my camera fall from my eye to just sit and be. Looking up from my own thoughts, An old man caught my attention and gave me a knowing smile, he had seen inside me. I did not feel invaded as I know some people must when I peer at them in their private moments. I was grateful to be welcomed as a participant and not the constant observer that I have become.

Taiwan street life

Greetings from Taiwan

Twenty five hours of travel later and I am finally back in Taiwan, it is spectacular. Our first day hear was so full it is hard to know where to start. So I will begin with the end of the evening that was spent at an amazing performance of Peking Opera in Taipei city by Taipei Eye. I need sleep, so here is a link to their web site that will tell their story so much better than my tired brain can muster

EXPO ZARAGOZA 2008

In Advance of my upcoming article on Zaragoza Spain in Gonomad.com, here is a behind the scenes look at the Bridge pavilion under construction at Expo Zaragoza 2008, “water and sustainable development” running from June 14th through the September 14th. This promises to be an exciting and important event with over 125 countries participating. Here is a link to the official web site to find out more.

The Young At Heart Chorus photography

Please visit Paulshoulphotography.com for image sales and more photography of the Young at Heart Chorus

This is the big time for the young at Heart Chorus. Northampton Mass, from which they come, was beaming with pride last Saturday for the Premier of their new film that will be opening around the world on April 9th, distributed by Fox Search light films. It was strange to watch the parts of the film that were filmed in the Academy of music…at the Academy of music. The Drunk Stuntmen that are in the film and perform with the chorus will be on the Jay Leno show with them on the April 16th and rumor has it that they will also be on the Ellen show. You have to love it. It gives us all faith that the world my just not be as crazy as it seems. Sometimes…the good guys win. Oh Yea, the joke around town, coined by none other than Michael kusek is that they are the new March of the Penguins....only slower.

Eat at Flo's,Northampton,MA.

This is an old favorite photo of mine. Republican students from Umass were holding a rally in Northampton Ma to show support for our governments support of the Contras in the war against Nicaragua. This guy appeared with his sign "eat at flows" which is a local diner that every one knows. All I can say is that the crowd cracked up and the rally ended. I don't know who he was but if you are out there. I thank you for years of laughter

Holyoke,MA.91 north closed again by truck turn over

RT 91 is getting to be a difficult drive. Yesterday we had an explosion that killed the driver after his truck carrying gasoline swerved to avoid a car. Today the highway was closed again for 3 hours after a truck carrying mulch turned over.

Maximon,Guatemala

I remember walking into the dark room where I was to meet Maximon and thinking to my self, "I am far away from home, very far." According to Wikipedia "Maximón is a saint worshipped in various forms by Maya people of several towns in the highlands of Western Guatemala.

The origins of his cult are not very well understood by outsiders to the different Mayan religions, but Maximón is believed to be a form of the pre-Colombian Maya god Mam, blended with influences from Catholicism. Maximón may also be called San Simón. Originally, he was believed to be a Catholic priest who had looked after aboriginals during early 1600s.

Where Maximón is venerated, he is represented by an effigy which resides in a different house each year, being moved in a procession during Holy Week. During the rest of the year, devotees visit Maximón in his chosen residence, where his shrine is usually attended by two people from the representing Cofradia who keep the shrine in order and pass offerings from visitors to the effigy. Worshippers offer money, spirits and cigars or cigarettes to gain his favour in exchange for good health, good crops, and marriage counseling, amongst other favours. The effigy invariably has a lit cigarette or cigar in its mouth, and in some places, it will have a hole in its mouth to allow the attendants to give it spirits to drink.
San Simón in Zunil, 2007
San Simón in Zunil, 2007

Maximón is generally dressed in European 18th century style, although with many local variations. In Santiago Atitlán he is adorned with many colourful garlands, while in Zunil (where he is known as San Simón) he has a much more intimidating style, with his face obscured by dark sunglasses and a bandana.

The worship of Maximón treats him not so much as a benevolent deity as a bit of a bully whom it's wise to keep on the right side of. He is also known to be a link between Xibalbá The Underworld and Bitol Corazón del Cielo. His expensive tastes in alcohol and cigarettes indicate that he is a very human character, very different from the ascetic ideals of Christian sainthood. Devotees believe that prayers for revenge, or success at the expense of others, are likely to be granted by Maximón." Here is a link to an on-line shrine where you too can worship.

Tibet focus for Taiwan election

I shot this image in Taiwan on my last trip there and am thrilled to be traveling back there in a few weeks. Taiwan will be holding its presidential elections tomorrow and the events in Tibet are of a great concern to them and are changing the predicted out come of the race. I will be posting daily updates during my trip. Here is a link from BBC News to find out more about what is going on now.

In memory of Hal Benoit

Northampton has lost another one of the amazing people that gave us life. I will miss you Hal.
This is a link to his my space page if you want to hear his music or leave him a message. Knowing Hal, he'll be checking in.

Tibetans protest Chinese violence

Tibetan members of the New England Cushi Gangdruk, protested the Chinese crackdown and violence in their country today in downtown Northampton Mass. They handed out a statement that read. "We the members of New England Chushi Gangdruk appeal to you who believe in freedom and democracy to support the cause of Tibet by asking the US government to force China to respect human rights in Tibet and give them independence”

Puyuhuapi lodge and spa Patagonia Chile

"A secret south of silence" is how the Puyuhapi lodge and spa describes their experience. In the midst of the wilds of Patagonia you can find luxury and personal care. Here is a link to find out more about this unique place.

Hotel espacio Y Tiempo La Junta Patagonia Chile

I had the honor of spending a few nights at Espacio Y Tiempo In Patagonia Chile. This mountain Lodge is owned and run by a gracious couple who fed me well and invited over some locals to dance and party the night away. Chile is an extremely beautiful place, with an emphasis on "extreme" The mountains are higher the rivers are faster and the weather is intense. Here is a link to find out more about this cozy little place at the end of the earth.

What I hate about Cancun Mexico

I love Mexico, I hate Cancun. When I look at it too long I fear that I will turn to stone.

Really Mad Cows, Tizimin Mexico

For about a month, my brother Mark and I lived down wind from a slaughterhouse in Tizimin Mexico. In the afternoon it was best to stay inside and try not to breath. I spent a day photographing the slaughter. It was a job, the workers inside were jovial except for the two guys who spent eight hours a day killing the cows before they were skinned and cut up. Those guys were scary, they worked in silence, and you stayed away from them. These heads were bound for the taco stand street vendors in Mexico City.

Aviarios del Caribe Costa Rica

Aviarios del Caribe is a wildlife sanctuary near one of my favorite parts of Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo. A very cool area with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world .Here is link to find out more

Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador, Western Amazon

This is a story of loss. I had the chance to visit the Tiputini Biodiversity station twice, once for pleasure and adventure and the next time after pitching an assignment. It is long journey to the middle of nowhere. Five hours under a plastic tarp down the Amazon in a long canoe, Three hours over bumpy jungle roads, in a pick up truck then back in the canoe. The journey is well worth being able to experience one of the most remote and diverse ecological environments on the planet. It is spectacular. While there I spent the day following a column of army ants and a troop of monkeys with one of the visiting researchers, and somehow lost my film pack in the jungle. A small black fanny pack out there somewhere that I was sure would never be found. Two weeks later I got a phone call in Quito, the capital of Ecuador where I was staying that they had found my film and were sending it to me with the next return trip form the station. I was saved. After making it back to the states I went to my trust worthy local professional lab to have my booty processed. Two hours later I got a call saying that a technician had inadvertently destroyed 90% of my film. I thought of Robert Capa, the only photographer at D-day who had most of his film from that deadly day also ruined by a lab rat. Life cannot be repeated and I felt like I had lost a child. This is one of the few shots I salvaged. Here is a link to the Tiputini website for more info on this amazing place.

NY Times Travel Show 2008

I just got back from working the crowds along with the rest of the Gonomad crew at the NY Times Travel show. Check out Max's blog, Readuponit for all the details. It was a great show and a real victory for the site. Taiwan had a large presence there along with many other countries from around the world and as always, the streets of NY City were alive with characters

Aragon Shepherd, Zaragoza Spain.

This is Manuel, a shepherd that was quietly tending to his sheep among the rolling hills out side of Zaragoza Spain when I sprang upon him with my camera out of nowhere followed by the beautiful Meredith Pillon . This guy was the real deal. After I talked with him he agreed to have a portrait taken but he said. " Holy Jesus don't print a picture of me with your beautiful friend, my wife will kill me."

Drunk Stuntmen, drunk again

Last night I was over at the backwoods studio of the Drunk stuntmen to shoot their new publicity photo. These guys are everything a rock band ought to be; Well-crafted songs, inspired lyrics, kick ass guitar and piano. They laugh too loud, drink to much, play hard, party hard champions of the working class that give you their souls at every live performance. As I expected I was going to have a great time, work my ass off and probably hurt in the morning. My camera hit the floor for the first time in two years; one of my lights fell off the organ and blew a 100-dollar flash tube. One of the stuntmen in a musical trance tripped over a camera case almost taking out the drummer and I woke up late with an impressive hangover. It was a blast. Here is a link to their website and a you tube video of a performance with the country’s newest (oldest) movie stars , The Young at Heart Chorus

Trash Talk

This is the cover of the Valley Advocate that I shot for this weeks issue for a story by Maureen Turner.Does a proposed transfer station unfairly target one Holyoke neighborhood? That’s what could happen, if a proposal to build a 22,575-square-foot trash transfer station at 686 Main St. succeeds. The project, proposed by United Waste Management, Inc., based in Bolton, Mass., would be a drop-off site for solid municipal waste, collected from neighboring communities, and for construction and demolition, or C&D, waste. The waste would be consolidated and then transported to landfills. Angry residents are organizing against the project, citing worries about pollution, increased traffic and noise. Proponents of the project counter that the station would bring jobs and tax revenue to a city that could use more of both, and say fears about the project are off the mark. Here is a link to the full story

My not so funny valentine

As Schools Match Wits

I photographed television game show host Chris Rohmann last night on the set of As Schools Match Wits: "Produced at the studios of Westfield State College and broadcast on WGBY, As Schools Match Wits delivers all of the fun of the classic high school quiz-show and introduces a new generation of high-school students to one of the few public competitions that stresses knowledge over physical ability." Here is a link to the show.

Greenland

These hand prints were on the side of a bus stop wall in Greenland.

Nicaragua

Mexico Death Master

The guitar man

This is the cover that I shot for the Valley Advocate this week of Jose Gonzalez. Here is a link to the web site for the full story.

Hillary Clinton in Springfield, Ma.

Hillary Clinton made a surprise visit to Springfield Mass today on her quest for the white house, the same day that Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy announced his endorsement of her rival Barack Obama. I don’t trust Hillary. On my press pass it said, " Ready to lead, ready for change". Personally I think she will simply lead the country sideways to a kinder, more gentile version of the same old thing we have had with the bush administration. But I do respect her abilities as a candidate. Man can that woman talk and work a room.

Girl Broken

Capital Steps

"The Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them.

In the years that followed, many of the Steps ignored the conventional wisdom ("Don't quit your day job!"), and although not all of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a total of eighteen Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience.

Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded 27 albums, including their latest, Springtime for Liberals. They've been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS, and can be heard 4 times a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their Politics Takes a Holiday radio specials."
I photographed them on Saturday up in Rutland Vermont. These folks are hilarious, politically astute and the bit they did of Idaho Senator Larry Craig from a restroom stall had the audience on the floor laughing. Here is a link to there web site

Elvis is alive and living in Agawam

This is a cover shot I just did for the Valley Advocate of Ray Guillemette. Jr. In Reporter James Heflins words "When Ray Guillemette, Jr. takes the stage, he strides forward with confidence. Perhaps it is a confidence bestowed upon him by his lengthy sideburns, perhaps by his blue velvet coat. But it's clear that sideburns notwithstanding, he is a performer who's got the kind of presence that puts audiences at ease. If you look closely, he's got a slight limp, but he breezes through that brief hitch and immediately engages the audience with a distinctive brand of cool." Ray lost his leg a few years back, but that has not slowed him down. He is good...really good. Check out his web site: Bionic Elvis.com

Out Look North Adams, MA.

Open hearth cooking at Historic Deerfield

" Situated on a 330-year-old, mile long street, Historic Deerfield preserves and interprets the architecture, artifacts and lifestyle of a prosperous early New England town. The extraordinary houses with their antique furnishings, along with the exhibition galleries and collections, comprise some of the finest examples of publicly available Americana in the United States."

Ecuador

Pleasant St. Theater

Well it looks like our local movie house in Northampton ,The Pleasant St. Theater is going to saved. I dug out this portrait of the original owner John Morrison that I took years ago.

Ilulissat Greenland

Gonomad's love affair with Greenland continues this month with a new story and videos by fellow traveler Sony Stark. Check out this link to "Island of melting traditions"

Maile Shoul

Now that my niece Maile Shoul is starting to make a name for herself within the comedy improve scene in Boston, I thought it appropriate to start getting some embarrassing pictures of her when she was young out on the web.

World Financial Ct. New York

World Trade Center, Christmas day.

Christmas day is a great time to visit New york city. It is populated mostly by french and Japanese tourists, and the subway is not crowded. We made the pilgrimage to the World Trade Center only to find the Visitor center closed so we wandered around like all the other people trying to get a look through small holes in the fence that surrounds most of the site. It seemed to me that it it has become more of tourist destination similar to Niagara falls , some thing to have seen and be photographed in front of rather than a place to reflect upon what was a tragic event that resulted in so much death at home and so many more around the world as our government extracts its unending revenge. Without such reflection, it is just another tourist trap. The atmosphere there was giddy. Consider these figures I found in article reprinted on Common dreams.org from the Toronto Star.

	Published on Sunday, September 23, 2007 by The Toronto Star Counting The Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan by Haroon Siddiqui As if proving a widely held view that Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan tend to be trigger happy, Blackwater USA, a private security firm, is embroiled in a controversy over its involvement in a roadside shootout in Baghdad that killed eight Iraqis. It turns out that the 30,000 American private security personnel in Iraq are among those immune from local prosecution. That reminded me of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In October 1964, in the early stages of his anti-Shah agitation, he gave a colourful speech attacking the legal immunity enjoyed by Americans in Iran. “If an American’s servant or cook assassinates your marja (religious leader), the Iranian police do not have the right to apprehend him. “But if someone runs over a dog belonging to an American, he’d be prosecuted. Even if the Shah himself were to run over a dog belonging to an American, he’d be prosecuted. But if an American cook runs over the Shah, no one would have the right to interfere with him.” Khomeini’s words spread like wildfire. Within a month, he was exiled. He returned 15 years later, triumphant, having engineered a revolution that toppled the Shah and ended America’s hold on Iran. The ayatollah remains a reviled figure in the West. But his point is relevant to Iraq and Afghanistan, where the United States and its allies do not even count the local dead. “Imagine the U.S. not investigating who died on Sept, 11, 2001 - it’s unthinkable,” says John Sloboda, co-founder of Iraq Body Count, the U.K.-based group that tracks the Iraqi death toll, which as of Friday stood at between 73,390 and 79,999. Last week, a British polling firm, ORB, estimated the toll at a staggering 1.2 million. Last fall, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health pegged it at 654,965. In the case of Afghanistan, Marc Herold, a professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire, has been tracking casualties since 2001 and posting them on a website. In fact, it was his Afghan Victim Memorial Project that inspired Sloboda’s. Herold’s “most conservative estimate” of Afghan civilian deaths resulting from American/NATO operations is between 5,700 and 6,500. “This is the absolute minimum,” he said over the phone. “It’s probably a vast underestimate,” because it does not include: The dead among the tens of thousands displaced during the initial military operation in 2001-2002 and who ended up in refugee camps or elsewhere, with little or no supplies for long periods. The victims of bombing in mountainous areas, which have few or no communications links or which the U.S./NATO forces “cordon off as part of news management.” Herold’s figures also do not include the victims of the Taliban. Those are “significantly smaller,” even though they are the ones highly publicized. “If one were to believe the numbers of Taliban killed as reported, I dare say Afghanistan would have been depopulated!” As in Iraq, there are conflicting estimates in Afghanistan. Reuters news agency, for example, reports that more than 7,000 have been killed in the last 19 months alone. As for the number of Afghans injured, Herold says it’s at least double the death toll. That would make it between 11,400 and 13,000. How many displaced? Between 19,000 and 42,000, at a minimum. The range of these estimates illustrates the difficulty of working in the official blackout. But Sloboda, Herold and others keep up their heroic efforts on shoestring budgets. “It’s a means of holding our governments accountable,” says Sloboda, an internationally renowned professor of psychology at Keele University. “As citizens, we bear watchdog responsibility. We are doing this so that at some later date, we can hand it over to some international tribunal or those undertaking truth and reconciliation and reparations work.” Herold adds that the more our governments hide the Afghan and Iraqi casualties, the more important it is to expose the grim details of what they have unleashed. Haroon Siddiqui, the Star’s editorial page editor emeritus, appears Thursday in the World & Comment section and Sunday in the A section. © 2007 The Toronto Star

Rhymes With Orange

I love this job. This is Hillary Price creator of the syndicated comic strip Rhymes With Orange. I had her up at the studio for a Preview magazine shoot and we came up with the idea of her interacting with one of her figures, so she drew this huge dog on my seamless backdrop. Check out her web site on this Link.

Global warming is freezing

This goes out to all my fellow Gonomad travelers out there on the roads of the world. I hope you are all reporting from a beach somewhere drinking a giant tropical rum punch. We are getting slammed in Massachusetts with three days of Ice sleet and snow. It is weird weather. The snow is piling up here and it is almost 50 degrees just three hours away on the Martha's Vineyard. What a mess. Some say that this is what we can expect in the future as the world heats up. According to the New England Climate Coalition "By 2100 temperatures could increase by about 4°F (with a range of 1-8°F) in winter and spring and about 5°F (with a range of 2-10°F) in summer and fall. Precipitation is estimated to increase by about 10% in spring and summer, 15% in fall, and 20-60% in winter. The amount of precipitation on extreme wet or snowy days in winter is likely to increase, while the frequency of extreme hot days in summer would also increase." Here is a link to their web site. Travel safe and think of me if you find your self dipping your toes into a warm ocean.

Tim de Christopher

This is an Image from the last Preview Magazine of Tim de Christopher's amazing work. You can check out his web site from this LINK.

Bird Brain

The Lonesome Brothers

I just had these guys up to the studio today for a shoot. To check out their music follow this link to their Myspace page.

Zaragoza Spain

Zaragoza street musician

Goya, Chapel of La virgen de la Fuente

In the Town of Muel near Zaragoza Spain is the Chapel of La Virgen de la Fuente. It is a small beautiful place perched on the side of hill over looking a river where a young Goya was commissioned to do 5 paintings that are well preserved to this day. Apparently he was not satisfied with his payment and in this tile painting above, he depicted an angel with the ass facing forward. I love that guy.

Belchite Spain

In 1937, the city of Belchite was the last obstacle in the way of the Franco Fascists taking over Zaragoza. 6000 people were killed during the fight for the city. After its destruction, Franco left the bombed out city standing as an example of his victory in Spain and built a new town in tribute to himself alongside it with the labor of political prisoners from the civil war. About 30 miles from Zaragoza, you can wander through the town. There are no gates and little information to guide you, but the deteriorating buildings and ghost town feeling needs no explanation. It is not a tribute to victory, it is a harsh and important reminder of a great failure. A friend told me that they have left tape recorders in the town at night and swears that you can hear the voices of the dead.

Spain Zaragoza street life#2

Spain Zaragoza street life

Caesaraugusta Roman Theatre Museum Zaragoza Spain

In 1972 the Caesaraugusta Roman theatre was discovered during the construction of a new building in Zaragoza. Built in the 1st century, it is right down town and has a great museum full of Roman artifacts and some cool multimedia presentations to give you a sense of what life was like then. For more information check out this link

Tapas Zaragoza Spain

My last night in Zaragoza was spent touring the bars and cafes in the old section of town to sample the offerings during the 13 concurso de tapas, a tapas competition. For 7.5 Euros you got three tapas, three drinks and the opportunity to vote for your favorites. Over 100 establishments put out their best. The Spanish have a tradition called the Tapeo. we call it bar hopping but they do it with class. The bars are packed. You squeeze your way in, say hello to everyone, have a tapa or two, a glass of the house wine or a short beer and then move on to the next place. Each one has their own specialty. Above left to right are Piquillo peppers with onion and Chorizo; Foie Gras with Asparagus and a Balsamic reduction; Blood Sausage, and cod and cream sauce; and Piguillo peppers stuffed with Tuna. Check out this Link to find out more about Zaragoza

Shepherd Zaragoza Spain

I just got back from Zaragoza, the capital of the autonomous region of Aragon Spain. The taste of good wine,olive oil,and roasted lamb just wont quit. The city is busily getting ready for the upcoming water and sustainable development: Expo Zaragoza. They are expecting over 7 million people to attend from June 14th to September 14th 2008. From what I saw of the construction this is going to be an impressive event, but hardly the only reason to visit this part of Spain The city is cosmopolitan , comfortable, full of history and amazing array of great restaurants, these people are serious about their food. The country side is dotted with wind farms and ancient villages. They produce vegetables and excellent wine pork and sheep. It was also the home of Goya. There is allot to see here. I took this shot of a Shepherd escorting his flock home in the town of Muel.

The Night Kitchen

One of the benefits of working for preview magazine and traveling around the world for Gonomad is the opportunity to sample some of the best food there is. Last night I went out with some friends to what has become my favorite restaurant, The Night Kitchen at Montague mill. The food is world class and in my humble opinion Max, the owner of this fine establishment might just be the best chef in the valley. You should check it out. Here is a link to their web site

Back to Spain

This is an image I made during my last trip to Spain inside the cathedral in Santiago De Compostela. I love Spain and this Sunday I get to go back, this time to Zaragoza. "This city in the northern region of Aragón is busily sprucing itself up for next year’s International Expo to take place June 14 through September 14. Spain’s fifth largest city is expected to draw six million visitors, create 9,500 jobs and bring in over $1.2 billion in tourism revenues. A collection of singular buildings and public spaces designed by an impressive roster of architects is rising and we’ll be getting a preview of this new architecture – which includes the largest fresh-water aquarium in Europe.
Zaragoza has been a bit off the traditional tourist track. That may change after the Expo, but even now the area has some of the most beautiful Mudéjar architecture outside of Andalusia. Strolling around the city’s old quarter we will see Roman, Moorish, Renaissance, Baroque and Modernist monuments. And since this is Goya “country,” we’ll have a chance to see some of this renowned artist’s works in situ."

Portugal

Springfield hits the big time

This is the opening spread for an article on Springfield,Mass in the November issue of US Airways Magazine put together by Pace Communications that I did the photography for. Here is the link. check it out, better yet, buy a ticket to anywhere and read it on the plane.

Happy Halloween from Belize

I shot this earlier in the year in Old Belize at Cucumber beach. seemed appropriate for the day. Happy Halloween to all.

Greenland Cod fishing

This is Bo Ling the skipper of the boat Sirius in Sisimiut Greenland. He is great guy that I had the honor of spending a day with a few months ago. Here is a link to my new story just up on Gonomad.com, Cod fishing in Greenland. Check it out.

Travel tribulations

I love babies, love them. But when there are over forty of them on an eighteen hour flight to Taiwan and they all go off at once, well lets just say ones patience is drawn thin. Yesterday was one of those days in the travel industry that makes your head spin. I was waiting on conformation for a return trip to Taiwan, one of my favorite spots on the planet when out of the blue a colleague called offering me a conflicting trip to Spain. Turns out the Taiwan trip was postponed until later in the month due to the fires in California where some of the other writers were from, so I just might get to do both
Eighteen hours on a plane is a journey not to be taken lightly. Under the best of circumstances it is exhausting. This is a picture I did on my last flight to Taiwan on China Air. The attendants did a great job with a tough crowd but a possible return brought back memories of 30 seconds of hell that I experienced the last time. I had dosed off to a fitful sleep when I was suddenly awakened. There was a Chinese woman behind me who had been having a 14 hour conversation with her self that was now rocking back and forth, banging her head against the back of my chair. I turned to get up forgetting that there was a small Vietnamese man who jumped up screaming if any one touched his chair. As he tried to take a swing at me a young boy who was walking down the isle looked up with wide eyes and took a crap on the floor as the woman in the seat across from me from Alaska who had been drinking massive amounts of wine vomited. All in 30 seconds. It was like a David lynch movie, all I could do was break out laughing. Oh the joy of travel.

Messing with the Mob

I’ve been looking through my files for possible inclusion in a film about photography and came upon this shot of Springfield Mob Boss, Big Al Bruno. I had gotten a tip from a friend and was there when he was being moved from a downtown Police station. Al was gunned down in 2003 out side of Springfield social club and now the man accused is suing the FBI for shooting him in the back, Here is a link to the story. I ended up taking many Pictures of Al and put him on the cover of newspapers all over New England. One evening I was at the bar in the Brewery in Northampton and Al himself came in got a table in the back. I called a waiter over who I knew and asked him to send over Al a drink from me. “Are you crazy he said, I’m not going over there.” “Its all right I said” and he nervously brought one over spilling half of it in transit. Al came out to see who had sent it. I walked over and said “ look, I’ve made a lot of money taking your picture getting busted all the time so I thought it only proper that I pay you back in my own little way” He smiled, put his arm around my neck, squeezed it way to hard and whispered in my ear “good move”. Attorney General Bill Bennett later told me that he thought I was a jerk. “ These are bad guys he said. You don’t want to know them and you definitely don’t want them to know you”

Carlos Nuzman

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of working for the Brazilian Olympic Committee to photograph the induction of their President, Carlos Nuzman to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke MA. It was a fabulous two day event, This is a shot of Mr Nuzman and his wonderful wife just after his induction. According to the Hall of fame:"President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee since 1995, Carlos Arthur Nuzman began his career as an athlete. He played volleyball with the Brazilian team for two World Championships (1962, 1966) and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Nuzman was the president of the Brazilian Volleyball Federation from 1975 to 1995, an era of many victories for Brazilian men's volleyball. During that time, Brazil won first place at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and was the champion of the 1993 World League and the 1989 Youth World, Junior Youth (3 times). The Brazilian women's team was the 1994 World Vice Champion, the 1995 Grand Prix winner and World Youth Champion (1987, 1989)."

Drinking Mexico

This is a true story. Some years back I was photographing at the huge market in the city of Merida, located in the state of Yucatan in Mexico. During the morning I had sat down to eat a few tacos and made the acquaintance of three gentlemen: The taco stand owner, a lottery ticket seller, and another man that had only a small platter of chocolates from which to earn a living. These were not rich men, but they were the best of friends and were wealthy in attitude and laughter. We talked for a while and then they asked me if I would like to go have drink with them. I was honored and even though it was still before noon I said yes. The taco stand owner had a car of sorts that he called "Skylab", a rusted out hulk that had neither paint, upholstery or any glass except for a cracked windshield. We piled in and made our way to a part of the city that I had never seen to a bar called "Bar Brindis". It had swinging doors just like a western movie. When I walked in side I thought I had entered into the set of "Once upon a time in the west". The bartender brought out plates of "Antojito's", small plates of food that are complimentary, and we commenced to drink.... and drink...and drink some more. Drinking in Mexico can be a challenge. You cannot have one beer and say "nice to meet you". You drink until someone one falls down and if you stop, it is an insult that may lead to your new found friends becoming violent. We drank for five hours and it was only when their defenses were watered down that they allowed me to pay for a round. We talked about life, about Mexico and America and about the rich and the poor. Then they asked me the question that had to be asked. They said" you are an American, you have an expensive camera and nice shoes, "What do you really think of us?"A few glasses clinked in the background. The cowboys behind us swung their boots off the bar turning toward me, the waiter backed away from our table, the entire room became silent. I stood up, raised my glass and said;" I think that you are all sons of shit eating whore pigs!!" Applause erupted, "He is one of us", the Gringo is OK". It was the only answer that would not have had me being tossed through a window. Internally I was thanking a friend of mines little sister I had visited in Mexico City that had taught me how to swear in Spanish. Three hours, five beers and ten shots of tequila later, I realized that my new friends had all passed out, I was talking to myself. As I left the bar, the bartender ran over, held up my arm and declared me the winner. I had a sense of victory that I had drunk three Mexicans under the table. But as I stumbled outside through the swinging doors into the night, my liver and my head throbbing, lost and wobbly I thought, " maybe its time to go on juice fast".

Costa Rica

Ecuador:The photographer's dilemma.

This is a photograph that has haunted me. During the street fighting with police and demonstrations for a change of government in Ecuador in 2000, I had been hanging with a group of young boys who where doing most of the front line fighting. We were heavily tear gassed by the police and I had run into a small store to get out of the fray. The owner of the store, an old woman , came to my aid and burned news papers in front of my face. The smoke seemed to help clear the effects of the gas. This group of boys followed me inside feeling safer with me. The old woman closed the metal doors to her store and we all waited. Soon the police started banging on the doors and threatened to break them down if she did not open them. The boys were immediately arrested and taken away to a fate that I will never know. Although my goal was to record their struggle for justice, I have felt guilty ever since, feeling that my presence had offered them false hope.

Ecuador's new President

Ecuador has elected a new leftist president, Rafael Correa. The final tally of votes may take weeks , but he has already declared victory. According to a Voice of America report " Rafael Quintero of Central university of Quito says Sundays vote shows "Mr. Correa's agenda for sweeping changes within the government has wide popular appeal. He says "Ecuadorians are tired of being treated by the government as subjects and not as citizens with full rights". Here is a link to the full article on voanews.com. I spent some time in this beautiful country in 2000. I photographed this woman during the unrest and street protests that led to the removal of president Jorge Jamil Mahuad Witt. Quintero says "the constitutional process in Ecuador is not inspired by Venezuela or any other Latin American government. The demand for change partly stems from major protests by indigenous groups in Ecuador in 1990 and has been brewing since then". I wish them luck and success. I loved Ecuador and will do my best to travel back there as soon as possible.

Henry Kissinger

The premier of the film "War Made Easy" in Northampton , MA on Friday was an amazing event. Kudos to everyone who worked on the film. They skillfully showed us how our government's propaganda machine of past and present administrations has made war seem inevitable, acceptable and justified. Good old Henry Kissinger made an appearance on the screen and I remembered this shot I took of him years ago in the green room of symphony hall in Springfield , Ma.

The face of war

I have been to five funerals this year. Yet, I can only imagine what the people in Iraq are going through as they deal with the effects of the war day after day. This is an image I shot at a funeral in Matagalpa Nicaragua in the mid 1980's during the war between the Contras and the Sandanistas. Three volunteers had been killed by the Contras as a message to all foreign aid workers and American students who were there in in solidarity with the Sandanistas, in an effort to clear them from the war zone.

WAR MADE EASY: Featuring Norman Solomon,Narrated by Sean Penn

This is the crew of War Made Easy hard at work at The Media Education Foundation: Co- writers and directors Loretta Alper, Jeremy Earp, and editor Andrew Killoy. This is an important film and if you live within 500 miles of Northampton you should cancel everything and make your way to the ...........

FILM PREMIERE -- THIS FRIDAY! September 28, 2007

The Media Education Foundation invites you to the Northampton premiere of
Its critically acclaimed new film:

WAR MADE EASY: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us To Death Featuring
Norman Solomon | Narrated by Sean Penn

War Made Easy offers a riveting indictment of five decades of U.S. media
coverage of American-led military interventions. The film exhumes remarkable
archival footage to make the case that American presidents of both parties
have relied upon deceptive rhetoric and a complicit Washington press corps
to win public support for successive wars.

7:30 PM, Friday, September 28, 2007
Academy of Music, 274 Main St., Northampton, MA

Discussion with Norman Solomon and producer Loretta Alper to follow the
screening.

To purchase tickets, go to www.AcademyOfMusicTheatre.com.
Tickets $8 in advance online or at the door.
The screening is a benefit for the nonprofit Media Education Foundation.

Don't miss the new film that Variety called "damning" and "unobtrusively
well-crafted film", the Nation magazine described as “chilling and
persuasive” and the San Francisco Chronicle praised as “a genuine
eye-opener and an “expertly edited and researched documentary that offers
a searing critique of how administrations over the past 40 years have
manipulated the media to build support for war".

Co-sponsored by Free Press, Men's Resource Center for Change, National
Priorities Project, Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq,
Progressive Democrats for America, Reel World Film Collaborative,
UMass-Amherst Communication Dept., and Western Mass American Friends Service
Committee

For more info on WAR MADE EASY: www.WarMadeEasyTheMovie.org To purchase
tickets: www.AcademyOfMusicTheatre.com
Contact: Loretta Alper, 413.584.8500 x2219

Abbie Hoffman/ Goodbye Ilya.

I shot this picture of Abby years ago outside the court house in Northampton MA during the CIA on trial project . Shortly after the trial, I attended his funeral after he had taken his life. It was with great sadness that Northampton gathered yesterday for the funeral of his daughter, Ilya Hoffman, who met the same fate. Just like her fathers, it was sad event filled with love, pain, humor and confusion as to why such a vital and beautiful person would end their life. We will miss you Ilya.

The Drunk Stuntmen

Thursday evening the happy valley turned out in force for a benefit concert at Mt Holyoke college. to raise money for Chris Haynes son Sammy. It was a great night for a tragic event. Haynes wife, Heather Egen, passed away shortly after Sammy's birth. Chris is a fine musician and the valleys best put on an amazing show to a packed house.

Patagonia Chile

Lloyd Cole

Vince Neil and the girls gone wild

Vince arrived at Divas night club in Northampton, Mass with a motley crew of strippers in tow after a show in Springfield. They proceeded in true rock star fashion, to drink and frolic in the VIP area at the back of the club. His gigantic bouncer did his best not to let me take this shot.

Wellfleet MA.

I just spent three days on Cape Cod Mass. We lucked out on the weather, It was beautiful, sunny and warm. Wellfleet has a laid back feeling and the beaches go on forever. We spent one day on Cahoon Hollow, but thought White Crest beach, just down the road, was much nicer. When you are on the Cape, you have to eat seafood. On route 6 , at the main Wellfleet exit, Pj"s restaurant has great food at fairly good prices. We had a fried Cod Rubin sandwich that was fantastic. The Cod was perfect, really fresh and crispy. We also ate at two of the Mac's empire of seafood establishments that were disappointing because of the high prices and small portions. The Cod sandwich we had at their harbor side restaurant was just a lonely little dollop of soggy fish on a stale bun for 10 bucks. Macs' shack , their upscale restaurant in Wellfleet suffered from the same high price small portion disease, but fared better in the quality of their food. The out side raw bar is beautiful, the martinis are huge and the oysters were clean, fresh and wonderful. They had better be when you are paying top dollar, two drinks and six oysters for 35 dollars. For dinner we had their Prosciutto wrapped monk fish. Two little pieces of fish the size of golf balls for 28 dollars. It was good but we finished them off in two bites wondering if there was time to go back to Pjs and grab a sandwich.

Art in the park

Greenland, In memory of Alma Olson

This is Alma Olson, the mother of my good friend Goshib-Tupaarnaq Rosing Olson who passed away last month in Greenland. I was fortunate enough to meet her at her home in Sisimiut.

Newburyport reflections

Newburyport

I Just got back from a trip to Newburyport Mass and as always I had a great time. This is my father's home town and he has a story for every inch of it. Located just 40 minutes by car from Boston, it is a fantastic destination for a trip to the near by plum island beaches, to walk the cobble stone streets, sample the fresh fish at local restaurants, or just to take in one of our countries most historic and important towns. We stayed in the Fairfield Inn close by in Amsbury. It is reasonably priced, clean with spacious rooms, a free breakfast and really nice people that seem to love working there. On the way to to plum island check out Bob Lobster for the best fried clams and sea food that you will ever have. In town try Stripers Grill for great local fare and a killer martini. For a bit of history stop by the Caleb Cushing House Museum.

Fly fishing on the Deerfield river

Miami Florida

To see or not to see.

Amidst the massive sculptures and frenzy of the crowd in Plaza Botero in Medellin Colombia, A half man levers his way across my my field of vision and I instinctively shoot his photograph. I am confused, humbled, I feel guilty, I am scared of him. He could be any of us. He could be me. I tell my self that it is important to look at hard things, it is my job to be the eyes of the world .I question my fear and my motives. I feel voyeuristic. I need to cleanse my self and I stoop to give him money he did not ask for. He swings himself closer to me, removes the glue bottle from his mouth and looks deep into into my eyes from a place far away . For a moment, I see more than I wanted to... He does not thank me. He will not let me off that easy. He just gently puts me in my place, and goes on with his life.

Colombian children

Bathroom life in Colombia

Max Hartshorne hard at work in Medellin Colombia

Max, the owner of Gonomad.com never stops when he is at work. People have a misguided impression that the world of professional travel is all time on the beach with big drinks. Actually, we bust our butts, and are constantly on the move.I took this photo of him during our trip last week to Medellin Colombia during a rare moment of calm.

Botero and the most beautiful women in the world, Medellin Colombia

When I first arrived in Medellin, the woman who met me at the air port said after 5 minutes, "You know, In Medellin, we have the most beautiful women in the world". She was proof enough but every where I went it proved to be true. They are gorgeous and confident in their beauty. It was .....distracting. Apparently though, some of that confidence comes from why some call Medellin " the plastic surgery capital of the world". It is as my father would say, " a real torpedo factory"

El Retiro Colombia

Walking through the main Square of El Retiro, a beautiful little town near Medellin Colombia, I spotted this man and approached him. "Sir, would you permit me to take a photograph of you" I asked him. He said " I don't know why anyone would want to take a photo of such an ugly face, but if you must go ahead."

The Kiss, Medellin Colombia

While walking across a bridge over the river separating Santiago Domingo Savio from the rest of the Medellin , Max said to me " hey check this out". I always shoot with two cameras , one of them has a ridiculously heavy long lens that I always curse at the end of a long day when my neck and back pay the price for the weight. Now and then I catch something like this that makes the pain worthwhile.

Flower festival Medellin Colombia

Medellin Colombia: faces of survival and hope

Medellin has been through hell. Suffering from years of fear and abuse under the hands of drug dealers like Pablo Escobar, private militias and the Farc gorillas, this city is a survivor. Once considered the most dangerous city in the world, I shot this image two days ago in Santo Domingo Savio, A poor shanty town that spreads up incredibly steep hills on the out skirts of the city. This was the worst of the worst. As recently as four years ago even the police would not dare to enter here. People describe sleeping on the floor while gun shots flew through their homes. The murder rate approached one hundred a month. The construction of a public cable car up the hills, a police force cleansed of corruption, the defeat of the Farc and the dispersion of the drug gangs, have all contributed the renaissance. They have also constructed a new public library and community center that is their pride and joy There was a palatable sense of hope in every one I met.

Tobacco harvest Hadley MA

This is Peter Jekanowski harvesting tobacco yesterday at his farm in Hadley MA. It is bound for the Dominican Republic. I am bound for Medellin Colombia with Max from Gonomad tomorrow. I travel allot but this is a stretch to go from the Ice cap in Greenland to South America in one weeks time. It has been over twenty years since I have been in Colombia. I lived for awhile off the Pacific coast near the boarder of Ecuador on a stretch of beach called Playa Mulatto's. We will try to post while we are there.

The Greenlanders

I ran into these guys while walking around Ilulissat in Greenland last week. I thought to myself how cool photography is. Your in the right place at the right time and catch a shot that will never happen again. The next day, while returning from a trip to the Glacier I found them again. Same place, same time. Oh Yea.............

Arctic Cotton flower

Ilulissat ice ford

This is the Ilulissat Ice fjord, the mouth of the Sermeq Kujalleq Glacier, through wich the inland ice pack reaches the sea. This is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world , ( 19 meters per day) that deposits huge icebergs into the fjoerd. It is awe inspiring. At first it seems solid, then you sense the slow massive movement punctuated by the rumblings and cracking of the ice.

Russell Glacier, Greenland

This is the edge of the Russell Glacier in Greenland. Christopher Patrick from the History Chanel and I had set up above this site and waited to photograph the calving of the glacier but had become impatient and given up. I headed down the rocks to get a closer view against the advice of our guide who warned us that it was unstable and if a large piece of the glacier were to fall off the ensuing shock wave could send other pieces falling and the wave that it produced would come fast and could be deadly.As I shot this image a gigantic roar and crashing echoed throughout the valley as a piece of the glacier the size of Walmart fell to the the river just behind this scene. I must admit it that it scared the absolute hell out of me and I ran back up the rocks in fear and to see if I could get a shot. Maybe next time.........

Greenland Muskox

I just returned from Greenland today. Very strange to come from the vast peace of the ice cap to the 90 degree weather and frenetic pace of life here in the states. Greenland is not all frozen waste land. On the edges near the sea during summer It can reach over 60 degrees. It is lush, green and full of life. This is a wild Muskox. The local guides have named Peter. I found him on the way to the Russell Glacier just out side of Kangerlussuaq. I asked my guide just how much they had to pay him to appear at the right time to photograph him. "nothing he said, we just have to change his batteries now and then".

Is Greenland melting?

I shot this in Greenland during the winter and am thrilled to be going back there tomorrow during the summer. The weather looks good, around 50 degrees . A far cry from the 10 below temps I endured to get this shot. I was captivated by the people of this amazing country and am somewhat scared to see just how fast the Glaciers are melting. I'll try to post my thoughts while I am there

Warped Tour mud girl fighter

Red Bull

I shot this Vietnam era fighter jet from the comfort of the Red Bull corporate Lear jet over the rolling hills of western Mass.

The boy with a leaky boot, Wallingford Vermont

Erected to the memory of Arnold Hill by his children. April 3rd 1898

Matagalpa, Nicaragua

Ecuador. Group sex in the amazon jungle

Chitzen itza Mexico

Aloha Steam Train

Salvation in a can

This is Andres Castro. He has worked for the Salvation Army for over 13 years. I found him inside a metal container packing up donations at the Northampton recycling center on Saturday

Valparaiso Chile

Good by Johnny Memphis

Wrsi disk Jockey and music coordinator Johnny Memphis, broadcast his last live show from the Sierra Grill in Northampton Ma. after 21 years on the air. After the party, John went over to the station to receive a surprise gift of a life time parking space complete with his own star. We will miss you Johnny.

Patagonia Cowboy

Moneda Palace Santiago Chile

Holy Smokes we will miss you

This is Lou Ekus a few months back when he was at his best. Lou and his wife and son ran the valleys best barbecue restaurant, Holy Smokes. Last week it went up in flames. I stopped by to see them as they had lunch out side of what was left of the old church that was once their pride and joy. It was a sad scene and a great loss for them and all of us that have been left with a rib habit that just can not be satisfied anywhere else. The only positive thing that has come out of this said Lou was all of the community support that has come their way since the fire. We will miss you Lou. I know I speak for all the Valley when I say....build it again, and we will come running.

Valentina the flying Korean

My friends Joe and Elena came over the studio today for a family portrait. Their daughter, Valentina, had a little excess energy so we let her jump it out.

No Tip, Flows dinner,Florence MA.

Marina Chatzipetrou, a delightful waitress at the land Mark, Florence Dinner, received this little love note from a customer yesterday. It reads "Not Sociable, no personality, sorry we showed up, no tip. " How lovely she said as she laughed, next time I will Juggle when I go to the table".

The eyes have it

John Allen,King of the Undieworld

Copenhagen Canals

Hotel 27 Copenhagen

Twisted Torso restaurnt, Malmo Sweden

I shot this at the Twisted Torso restaurant in Sweden last week. It was an educated grab shot. I placed the camera on my table , zone focused and framed the shot from what I have learned my lens covers. I did not know them. They are real people, they don't look it , but they are.

Tivoli Garden Copenhagen

Scandinavian blondes have more fun

Jessica Jonsson from the Malmo tourisim board insisted it was a myth that most woman were blond in the Oresund region of Denmark and Sweden. Maybe she was right , but it sure seemed to me that they dominated the landscape. Special thanks to her and her colleague, Emelie Klein, pictured above, for a fantastic time.

Copenhagen street life and the best hotdog in the world

Copenhagen street life is vibrant. Outdoor cafes and bars, music and dance performers and an incredibly diverse flow of people from all over the world. They love their beer in Denmark and in my humble opinion have developed the best hot dog in the world to accompany it. For 20 Krone, (4$usd) they are long of, the highest quality and snap when you bite into them. The bun is soft on the inside like a Fenway frank, but a little more crusty. Topped with Ketchup, dark mustard, and pickles, the secret ingredient is roasted, crunchy onion bits that I thought were bacon bits at first. Really, really good. Many people get them with the bun on the side, or just eat the dog alone. It is not uncommon to see a dignified grandmother eagerly chowing down an extra large one.

Absolut Ice Bar Copenhagen

I just got back from Copenhagen yesterday, and I am already Itching to go back. It was a great trip to country that really has its act together. I'll be posting images for the next week from the places we visited in Denmark and in Sweden. This is our crew whooping it up at the ICEBAR in the super hip new Hotel 27. After donning insulated ponchos, you enter the made of ice room to drink nearly frozen vodka from perfectly clear ice glasses. Denmark was unusually warm for this time of year and it was a relief to cool down. Starting from the left is: Jenny Bloc from Stone magazine, Max Hartshorne from Gonomad.com, Our amazing and wonderful guide Heather Nissen from Visit Denmark , and my old friend Jesper Kunuk from Air Greenland. Inside the bar is a giant Bottle of Absolut Vodka made of ice, and inside that is Lisa Oyama from Odyssey Couler magazine.

Greetings fom Copenhagen

Just arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark today with Max. This is a beautiful city. Bicycles rule the road. Cars will stop but the bikes won't. Maybe it's all the strong coffee that all the beautiful blond people are drinking. It's nine thirty pm, and outside it's bright as a New England late afternoon. I need sleep. Good bye!

Martin Espada, City of Glass

Martin Espada is one of our nations great poets. We are lucky to have him as a resident of the "Happy Valley". I was honored to photograph him recently up at my studio. To reach his home page follow this link. Here is a poem by him, from his new book, The republic of Poetry.

For Pablo Neruda and Matilde Urrutia
La Chascona, Santiago de Chile

City Of Glass.
The poet’s house was a city of glass:
cranberry glass, milk glass, carnival glass,
red and green goblets row after row,
black luster of wine in bottles,
ships in bottles, zoo of bottles,
rooster, horse, monkey, fish,
heartbeat of clocks tapping against crystal,
windows illuminated by the white Andes,
observatory of glass over Santiago.

When the poet died,
they brought his coffin to the city of glass.
There was no door: the door was a thousand daggers,
beyond the door an ancient world in ruins,
glass now arrowheads, axes, pottery shards, dust.
There were no windows: fingers of air
reached for glass like a missing lover’s face.
There was no zoo: the bottles were half-moons
and quarter-moons, horse and monkey
eviscerated with every clock, with every lamp.
Bootprints spun in a lunatic tango across the floor.

The poet’s widow said, We will not sweep the glass.
His wake is here. Reporters, photographers,
intellectuals, ambassadors stepped across the glass
cracking like a frozen lake, and soldiers too,
who sacked the city of glass,
returned to speak for their general,
three days of official mourning
announced at the end of the third day.

In Chile, a river of glass bubbled, cooled,
hardened, and rose in sheets, only to crash and rise again.
One day, years later, the soldiers wheeled around
to find themselves in a city of glass.
Their rifles turned to carnival glass;
bullets dissolved, glittering, in their hands.
From the poet’s zoo they heard monkeys cry;
from the poet’s observatory they heard
poem after poem like a call to prayer.
The general’s tongue burned with slivers
invisible to the eye. The general’s tongue
was the color of cranberry glass.

Kids: why die for oil,car,nuke kings, greed and profit?

"One way that the US Congress can stop the war in Iraq is to pass a “Truth For the Troops Act,” which would require military recruiters to stop lying to American kids who want to serve their country rather than the president’s “ruined legacy,” the vice-president’s stock options, and the salaries of war-industry CEOs." I just posted this image along with an article by Howard Friel on Common dreams. Follow this Link to read Howard's insightful thoughts.

Preview magazine, June

This is the cover of Preview Mass magazine that I did this month for a review of the Restaurant Di Paolo in turners falls Mass. Below is the creator and owner of this amazing place, Denise Di Paolo. For a look at more of my work in this months issue, follow this link.

Still sexy after all these years. The Young at Heart Chorus

This is Dora, A member of the Young at Heart Chorus. She is over eighty and hot, really hot. "At an age when most people are either dead or living out their last days in retirement homes, these men and women are up on stage singing their hearts out about the big taboos surrounding old age: about love and sex, loss of youth, loneliness and death. In their mouths, familiar lyrics take on whole new meanings". Not only do they perform locally in Western Mass, they also travel the world and are the subject of an award winning documentary. For a clip of the film on Chanel 4 in England and links to their web site, check out this link

The beauty all around us, Royalston Ma.

Andrew Card Booed at Umass

Andrew Card, the former chief of staff at the Bush white house, received an honorary degree at the University of Massachusetts graduate commencement this past Friday. A large protest was held by the public out side the Mullins Center and during the commencement, faculty and students Booed card as he took the stage drowning out the proceedings while holding up signs that said "war criminal" and " "Honor Grads Dis-Card". It was a beautiful thing.

Chesterwood, Stockbridge MA

I shot this up at the Chesterwood Estate and Museum in Stockbridge Ma. A really nice place with beautiful gardens and sculpture

Santiago, Chile

I took this image at an outside photo show in a park in Santiago Chile. Now and then, I watch as a photo develops before my eyes. All the elements seem to come into place in slow motion as I anticipate what I think and hope will happen.

Mama Iquana's and the tequila throwdown

This goes out to the crew at Mama Iguana's in Northampton MA. Fabulous food and a bar stocked with over 90 tequila's is a recipe for a great time. It's hard to stop. Thank God I live in a small town where your friends look out for you. Special thanks to Rob Murphy for getting my sorry ass home safe.

Max Harshorne and the joy of travel

This is Max Hartshorne, owner and editor of Gonomad.com sucking down a cup of Matte, a stimulant tea, in Patagonia Chile. Max and I traveled the length of Chile together and are off again in few weeks to Denmark. Most of our trips at Gonomad are taken alone or with small groups of journalists from other publications. I am thrilled when we get the chance to travel together. Max is a veteran of the road and we push each other to really get to the heart of a place and to try new things. He did not need too much prodding to try the Matte; in fact, he was talking about it before we even got on the plane.........for purely professional reasons of course.

Andrew Card protest, UMass Amherst

Hundreds of students and faculty protested today at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst today over the planned presentation of an honorary degree to former white house chief of staff Andrew Card at the Graduate Commencement 2007. According to the protesters, "Card was instrumental in crafting the set of lies that Bush used to to justify the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, we don't want a liar and a criminal to be honored by our university"

Placenia Hotel,Belize

This is the Palm Terrace at the Placencia Hotel in Belize. Of all the fabulous meals I had on this trip, this was my favorite. The new executive chef , Antonella, fresh from Italy, made us whole Red Snappers fresh from the sea that flowed underneath our feet.

Jungle canopy zip line,Belize

Lorraine Herrera from travelbelize.org, comes in for a landing along the jungle canopy zip line tour at Jaguar Paw in Belize.

Belize city

Swimming with whale sharks in Belize

These are images of the amazing Melecia Banks, from the Belize tourism board, and yours truly on the day we swam the giant whale sharks off the coast of Placencia, Belize last week. Its hard to tell from this picture , but this is one big fish. This one was about 25 feet long and they reach up to 50 feet in size. Its hard to describe what bobbing around in open ocean with something the size of a bus is like.

Placencia,Belize

This is Franklin, an eighty year old man I photographed last week in Placencia. For me, he is the face of Belize. A witness to the changes and development of this sleepy coastal town into a major tourist destination, he was sitting on the back of a truck in front of home and seemed to take it all in with a sense of stoic amusement.

Jamaica

Costa Rica

Nanny Vonnegut / Scott Prior

I ran into Kurt Vonnegut's daughter Nanny the other night at Northampton's new hot spot Mama Iguanas. She lives in town and her father was much loved in the area. There was a constant flow of people offering their condolences. It is sad the Kurt has passed, but his was a life well lived. I shot this portrait of her and her husband Scott Prior a few months back for the Interview page of Preview Magazine.

Flood evacuations in florence MA

A resident of Florence MA tries to wade through the flood waters to his home on Meadow Street after being evacuated due to The Heavy storm that has soaked this area for the past three days. This farm house is directly behind the old Pro-brush building where I have my studio. Over a hundred of us were evacuated yesterday as the water from the Mill River started flooding the basement.

Idaho Immigrant workers

These are Immigrant workers sorting onions at a processing plant just out side of Boise Idaho. Here is a link my new story on Idaho at Gonomad.com

Tikal, Guatemala

To see more images of Guatemala follow this link

St. Kitts

Monkeys roam the island of St. Kitts swinging from the trees of the rain forest and hanging out at Turtle beach pictured above. Here is a link to my new story on this Caribbean paradise,Life is Good

Dominican Republic

Big Bad Bollocks, How To Grow A Hangover

The only way I know to absolutely prevent a hangover is not going to a Big Bad Bollocks show in Northampton, at the Iron Horse on St. Patrick's Day. If you do, you are going to have a blast, and it is going to hurt in the morning.

AN EVENING WITHOUT – GIVING VOICE TO THE EXCLUDED

This is a group portrait I shot last night. Some of this country's best known writers and an actor read from the works of writers and activists who had, at one time or another, been barred from or pushed out of the United States because of their views or perceived associations.

Participating in this event honoring the First Amendment will be:
Charles Coe, author of the volume of poetry Picnic on the Moon;
Martín Espada, author of 8 books of poetry including the recent Republic of Poetry;
Cathi Hanauer, author of My Sister's Bones, Sweet Ruin and editor of The Bitch in the House;
Daniel Jones, author of After Lucy and editor of The Bastard on the Couch;
Elinor Lipman, author of 8 novels, most recently My Latest Grievance;
Roland Merullo, author of 6 books including Revere Beach Boulevard and Golfing with God;
Lesléa Newman, author of 50 books including Jailbait and Heather has Two Mommies;
Floyd Patterson II, musician and actor in one-man play about the life of Paul Robeson;
Pat Schneider, author of 9 books including Writing Alone & With Others and Another River;
Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of 5 novels among them Lily of the Valley and 2 memoirs;
Barry Werth, author of 31 Days, The Scarlet Professor, Billion-Dollar Molecule and Damages;
Jane Yolen, author of over 280 children's books, works of fantasy and science fiction.

Jesus Deceives

Just another little visual tid bit from down on the islands. I found this on a wall of a shop that not only offered strong religious commentary, they had the sweetest cheesecake I have ever had.

Cindy Sheehan calls for impeachment

Cindy Sheehan, who became an anti- war activist after her son Casey was killed in the Iraq war, spoke at the First Church in Northampton, Mass last night to a full house. Her message was simple and clear. “ When the Bush crime family killed my son, they killed the wrong person, I am only one person, but I will see that they are all held accountable for what they did”. Sheehan called on the crowd to join with her in demanding the impeachment of president Bush. “ This is our country,” she said” It is up to us to save it”

St. Kitts

So... I am always pleased when I find someone with as sick of a sense of humor as I have. While walking through a park in St. Kitts, one of the lovely representatives from the Island who was showing us around, added her hands to this shot I was taking of these Aids awareness card board cut outs that were scattered around in an area frequented at night by young lovers. This was one funny woman, who's name I shall not reveal for her own protection. Although she was a gracious and fine person I did not believe her for a second when she told me that she had never been in this park before....

St. Kitts Posing Goat

Another shot from Wednesday in St. Kitts. Goats roam the island freely, returning to their owners at night after a day of foraging.

St. Kitts

Travel is an amazing thing. I shot the top image yesterday on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean; of the beautiful Marriott Resort and Royal beach Casino that I had the pleasure of staying in. Above are children getting out of school at the base of the Mt. Liamuiga volcano that I had climbed the day before. Waking up with palm trees swaying in the 80-degree breeze was a sharp contrast to sitting in a dead car freezing to death at 2;00 am this morning in the long-term parking lot at JFK Air Port in New York. Just when I was about abandon my car and grab a flight back to the island, the courtesy van appeared in front of my car to offer me a free jump. I did not get his name, but that guy saved my butt, and renewed my faith in New York.

Portugal

Patagonia,Chile

I found this potato in a field in Idaho and knew it would come in handy. It's a teaser for my new story on Boise coming up soon at Gonomad.com I send this out to my friend Kathy Brown from Twin falls Idaho. Click on the image for a larger view.

The Year Of The Pig

It is the Chinese New year and Clara, the owner of the Great Wall restaurant in Florence Massachusetts did it up right. She had a big crowd for these dancers today. Last night she invited her family and a few lucky friends for a feast. This is the year of the pig, and she not only stuffed us with Lobster, Peking duck and squid, she roasted two whole pigs. I traveled to Taiwan last year and her food is as authentic as you can get in the USA. Happy New Year!

Valley Advocate cover: 2/15/07

This is today’s cover of the Valley Advocate. I shot it over the weekend at The Elevens, a music club in beautiful downtown Northampton. The singer at the mike is Tim Minor. Check out the link to the Advocate to read the entire story.

Sululik, Air Greenland's in flight magazine#2

This is the final page of the photo spread I did for Sululik, Air Greenland’s in flight magazine. Click on the photo to view at full size

Sululik. Air Greenland's in flight magazine

This is a photo spread I did for Air Greenland’s in flight magazine, Sululik. I traveled there recently with Max Hartshorne, commander and chief of Gonomad. com. We are having our first major snow storm of the season here in Massachusetts. I finally can use those expensive boots that I had bought for the trip. Check out the next posting for the final page of the spread. If you click on an image, you can view it at full size.