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

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.

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)."