At the Abbesses metro station in Paris, on the long journey up the spiral stairs to where a carousal awaits you, the walls have literally been covered completely with graffiti. I’ve always liked the art of graffiti, when it’s tasteful and not on an object or structure that is artistic in and of itself. The funny thing about this piece is that it almost entirely consists of words, not pictures as some graffiti art is. But combined they create a rainbow collage. No one name or word is really decipherable. Oddly, the hand rail has been spared.

Underneath the streets of Paris like literally millions of skeletons of Parisians from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the bodies were brought to the catacombs after their original cemeteries were becoming overcrowded. Very few Parisians were buried directly into the catacombs. After waiting (yes) 3 hours in line just to enter, the walk underground took about 45 minutes. After a while you become completely desensitized to the dozens of walls of bones stacked 5, 6 or 7 feet high. It was quite an amazing operation. Here’s just one wall.

The lighting and the color really caught my eye in this photograph, and also the irony behind it all. Knossos Palace, the ancient complex where King Minos and other Minoan kings ruled, survived buried under the ground until the ruins were discovered and dug up in the early 20^th century. The archaeologist took his own liberties with the ruins by painting them all different colors, including restoring some frescoes (some of which truly were stretches of the imagination). So, really, these pillars and walls probably didn’t look as they do in the photo. What intrigued me most, however, was the staircase that tourists couldn’t follow. Where did it lead?

The island of Spinalonga has a rich history – from medieval forts to modern leper colony, now it lies empty save the tourists arriving from Plaka and Elounda daily. On a whim on the island of Crete we decided to explore the island. It turned out that we would never forget the experience as it ended in us getting drenched to our underwear. Cretan weather, they say. At the top of the central hill I stumbled upon this fallen tree – savagely beaten by years of wind and rain. The wall peered over the steep hill below that led to the path around the island. I didn’t even like this photograph at first, but after I spent some time with it, I realized there’s a quiet beauty in the different textures: dry grass, rough wall, smooth tree. And then a splash of modernity in the light fixture on the ground.

The island of Spinalonga has a rich history – from medieval forts to modern leper colony, now it lies empty save the tourists arriving from Plaka and Elounda daily. On a whim on the island of Crete we decided to explore the island. It turned out that we would never forget the experience as it ended in us getting drenched to our underwear. Cretan weather, they say. These flags sat on the top of the central hill, being whipped in the fierce winds (which I would imagine can be much more harsh). While I’m not exactly sure of their purpose, my guess is that they warned possible island adventurers to steer clear for death and leprosy awaited them on the island if they set foot on it. They also might be part of an art installation.

The island of Spinalonga has a rich history – from medieval forts to modern leper colony, now it lies empty save the tourists arriving from Plaka and Elounda daily. On a whim on the island of Crete we decided to explore the island. It turned out that we would never forget the experience as it ended in us getting drenched to our underwear. Cretan weather, they say. This purple flower sat in one small bunch on the walk up the central hill – there was a bug on one of them that I tried to catch on film, but a good photograph escaped me, much like the butterfly in Athens.

Finally we had reached the beach of our dreams. After climbing over boulders, through trash and down a cliff to get to separate beaches that were all disappointing, we found the town of Perissa on the eastern side of Santorini. This beach sat quaintly along a road. Each restaurant had its own set of umbrellas, chairs and planks to carry you to and from the beach. We ordered Mythos beers and lounged for hours until the clouds drove us in to eat. Oh, and we had to catch our next ferry.

Red Beach is not that easy to reach. After walking up a light trail, you’re faced with a view of the beach far below. Then you curve up and around and then down a steep-ish and unstable path through the gravel and boulders. A misstep that led to a fall could end in tragedy. And even the beach itself isn’t that great. It’s very rocky. But, it is red. Also along the cliff that separates the beach from the rest of the island were a series of doors – doors that at first I thought might be living quarters, but then I changed my mind and decided they were boat lockers. Either way, very interesting and unique.

Santorini really is as beautiful as the postcards show. The whitewash homes, hotels and churches provide a stark contrast to the islands extremely rugged terrain – most rocks and short grasses. The beaches of Santorini were largely rocky and rough and sometimes even hard to actually get to. Especially on this side of the island, the cliffs prevented any beach access. The islands in the back are the other side of the island – well, before the volcano exploded and separated the two. Underneath the water sits a huge caldera where the volcano imploded. Sometimes the most beautiful of places are also the most dangerous.

It was an epic climb from the Greek Parliament building through posh restaurants and cute streets before we reached the cement trail that took us all the way up to the top of the hill – just in time for sunset. I booked it the fastest of the three, past cacti and beautiful views. We found this view at the top as the sun started to set and reflect off these bare trees and the Acropolis which you can see in the background. The clouds were gorgeous.

It was an epic climb from the Greek Parliament building through posh restaurants and cute streets before we reached the cement trail that took us all the way up to the top of the hill – just in time for sunset. I booked it the fastest of the three, past cacti and beautiful views. At the top were a small number of tourists (two of which were VERY large and sweating profusely), but even the three of us were winded and we took a breather. There was also a restaurant. I didn’t refer to the three travelers as the trinity – instead, I meant the bell tower, the flag pole and the olive tree. I’m sure you can fashion your own symbolism out of those.

The best preserved Greek temple of its kind sits in Athens in a beautiful grounds that we had to rush through because we wanted to get to the market before 3 pm when we thought it closed but it didn’t so we didn’t have to rush through after all. Anyway, it was literally gorgeous. The temple sat up on a hill nestled amid trees and bushes and flowers and tourists. I had some fun getting this shot (I tried to get a butterfly in it right before it flew away). Also, sitting right behind me was a tortoise in the grass.

One of the best sights I saw in Athens was the Panathenic Olympic Stadium near the Temple of Zeus. For a small entry fee, you can pick up an audio guide and spend over an hour exploring the stadium, which was used in Ancient Greece and then restored for the modern Olympic games. Each year they still hold Olympic events on the grounds, and there’s a portion of the tour where you can see old torches and many posters from past Olympic events. It was a beautiful structure with a breathtaking view of all the main Athens sights when you climb (up these very stairs) to the top.

From the bottom of the sea a ship was dug up and in it were many artifacts, one of which is hailed as the world’s first computer. But many of the others were near intact sculptures – typical Greek gods and such. But the unique thing about these statues is that they have been corroded by so many years under water. Some were unrecognizable. Others were almost completely intact. The water damage was creeping up this statue and it looks like it was saved just in time. The exhibit in which the statues were displayed was an art piece in and of itself, with the rich lighting.

The Parthenon (Temple to Athena) was definitely a sight to see. It was just as magnificent as I expected it – except for the fact that it was under construction. Which, I guess it has to be renovated some time. But of all times, when I am there? Oh well. I thought I would document it, and then I decided that I really liked showing the dichotomy of ancient and new, stone and metal, authentic and fake. If there were no construction materials it would be beautiful, but now it’s interesting.

One of the most eye opening aspects of Bosnia & Herzegovina was the culture different than what I am used to. The city of Sarajevo is essentially 50% Muslim, so there were dozens of mosques dotting the landscape. This mosque sat right in the old town part of Sarajevo, along with a couple others. They are such beautiful structures, although I’m sure when Muslims visit London or Paris they think the same about cathedrals. The tower’s purpose is to serve as a direct vector to the heavens. I have also noticed that American mosques often don’t have such an obvious structure – my theory is so that they aren’t targeted.

In the old town part of Sarajevo there are specific streets depending on the type of wares being sold. Ceramics Street, Textiles Street and this is Copper Street, where Bosnians shape objects out of copper, a lot of which comes from smelted down bullets and shells from the Bosnian War.  Unlike in Croatia, we learned that the Bosnians are nice to their cats, and so they would let this cat and others roam in popular areas. Of course I like the sun’s effect in this photograph, but also the composition.

The city of Sarajevo, whose four year siege in the ‘90s by the Serbs is the longest in European modern history, was left partially in ruins with tens of thousands dead. A lot of Muslims died. This is a Muslim headstone in the shape of an obelisk. We were quite hesitant to even enter the graveyard, but once a cop did so and then when we were followed by a group of German tourists, we felt much more comfortable. Graveyard + sunset = beautiful.

The city of Sarajevo, whose four year siege in the ‘90s by the Serbs is the longest in European modern history, was left partially in ruins with tens of thousands dead. A lot of Muslims died. This is a Muslim graveyard with a reflecting pool and a sliver of the beautiful Sarajevo landscape. We were quite hesitant to even enter the graveyard, but once a cop did so and then when we were followed by a group of German tourists, we felt much more comfortable. Graveyard + sunset = beautiful.

Somewhere in southwestern Bosnia & Herzegovina, our bus made a stop on the side of the road at a restaurant – clearly a popular spot since the restaurant was packed with teens and families and their corresponding buses and automobiles. Literally, the greater landscape of this part of Bosnia was breathtaking – verdant rising hills and a cyan snake river. It took our breath away. Exploring around the restaurant we happened upon a pair of cats. One fled right away. The other, well, posed this challenge.

Laundry is always photogenic. This set more so I think because of the picture’s namesake: the stripes and the dots. The conflicting patterns of the first articles of clothing are in sharp contrast not only with each other, but also with the speckled wall. It’s funny too how the red skirt is next to, not in front of, the bright red window shutters. That would have made the photograph entirely uninteresting, I believe. We stumbled upon this while exploring and getting lost in the streets of Dubrovnik. At first I was very worried that Dubrovnik would be too touristy for it to feel real, but once we left the beaten path we could just as easily have been back in Šibenik, a town that is less touristy.

The roofs of Dubrovnik are absolutely gorgeous. This photograph shows the newer rich tiles in sharp contrast with the old, brown tiles – seemingly which used to be red. The destination city must be slowly replacing them as they wear out or funds become available. This view comes from the city walls – a really nice stroll that takes the visitor around the city, often hugging the coast. The other amazing thing about Dubrovnik is that it’s clear that people truly live there – many were going about their daily lives as we snapped photographs with our mouths wide open.

The roofs of Dubrovnik are absolutely gorgeous. This rich red and orange covers the landscape, both new tiles (like this one) and the older rotting tiles that are slowly being replaced with age. Dubrovnik is truly a tourist town, packed daily with arriving cruise ships that are gone by dinner time. The odd question for this photo is why did they replace the roof with different colored tiles, some orange and some red?

This picture would actually be a perfect balance of composition, color and other qualities. I  love the empty space in the middle and how the wall and (bee-filled) tree frame the yard in the background. But you take a second look and by some freak of nature I somehow caught the house’s owner as she walked by. She wasn’t exactly happy to have four Americans hovering right outside her property. I remember seeing her and freaking out and trying to disappear before she saw us. She kind of looks like the type of neighbor you wouldn’t want to live next to.

Cats are not liked in Šibenik. Not only did we witness a young boy kicking a soccer ball at a cat while we were there, but one of the guys we met told us that it’s not uncommon to have people throw rocks at cats or do other horrible things. This cat seemed to have learned that safety can be found in places humans don’t want to go: by the dumpster. In fact, this cat’s partner and litter were living in a box right behind the dumpster. Like the couch and the yard waste, this cat has been thrown out with the trash.

One of the many scooters and motorbikes sitting on the streets of Šibenik, the composition of this photo came out the best. Paired with the door and the flowers on the wall, it was truly picturesque. We explored these cobble stone streets back and forth, getting lost at times, but ultimately arriving at our destination of the castle on the hill. The streets were largely quiet. We really only stumbled on other tourists, getting lost just as we were.

After my traveling buddies and I had finished dinner at a wonderful restaurant where we got a free plate of cooked and uncooked anchovies, we erupted onto the seaside stroll to this beautiful image. We got to work, all with our cameras. Most of the boats had docked, like this one, but there was one that was slowly cruising through the water, slicing the otherwise calm waters. The land in the background are Croatian islands. I can’t imagine enjoying sunsets such as this one on a daily basis.

A lot was being constructed  and developed in Krka National Park – tourist attractions really, such as exhibits and spaces for demonstrations. This building is a shop. I loved the way that color and shadows work in this photograph, and the many angles, both conventional and odd. The tree acting as a dome on top is also interesting.

The title of this painting describes it all. My sisters and I explored the waters (which were, of course, cold) all the way to the rock in the center of the falls (I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to actually reach the rock, though). There were moments when I literally couldn’t believe that I was in that place…it felt like a movie. A photograph obviously doesn’t capture it, but at least I tried.

It was amazing! There we were, strolling through one of the most beautiful places in the world, and all around us were falling “seed flakes.” So many that they were piling up at tree trunks. I got creative with a couple of shots…a probably looked a little strange bending down in the dirt.

It was amazing! There we were, strolling through one of the most beautiful places in the world, and all around us were falling “seed flakes.” So many that they were piling up at tree trunks. I got creative with a couple of shots…a probably looked a little strange bending down in the dirt.

On a walk through Krka National Park, there are many sights to ponder upon, the natural waterfalls most of all. The boardwalk features mere seconds of a man made waterfall – the one pictured. I found a glorious juxtaposition in these layers of perfectly still water as it pours over the cement barrier.

This statue, standing (or should I say struggling) right behind the main entrance, really caught my eye. The years have installed such contrast in her robes and movement. One of her breasts has broken her robe, also. An odd pose for a grave, don’t you think?

As part of an agreement fashioned in 1996, Croatia offered a parcel of land in Mirogoj cemetery for the use of German war graves for fallen soldiers. The land now stands almost as much a piece of art as it does a memorial. But one can also sense the discomfort: German war graves in one of their WW2 allies. I guess any soldier’s sacrifice is something worth remembering. Even if it is in the back of the cemetery.

Most of the graves in Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb were plain slates of gray and black, once you walked far in enough to get past the fortunate dead. The cemetery was built in the late 1800s…despite its grandeur reminiscent of  generations before, this grave, newly laid with rotting plant matter, reminded me that families still use it. Candles were still lit throughout. Lone grandmothers wandered.

One of the gems in Mirogoj cemetery is a beautiful domed structure, most likely a tomb, chapel or mausoleum, colored cyan and banana. At each of the four corners of its plot sit small braziers, each holding a set of plastic flowers. I’m sure on the dreary days they bring some much-needed color, but today the building and surrounding foliage provided the scene. A priest circled around it, mumbling something to himself. It was all so quiet…

While Zagreb is an amazing city in and of itself, in the northern part of it lies a cemetery called Mirogoj. We spent hours wandering around it, but truly just walking into it would have satisfied my appetite to “get away” from the hustle and bustle of the city. Such a beauty, especially through some of the nooks and crannies.

Right outside the Parisian catacombs sits a souvenir shop – it’s unclear whether or not the catacombs runs the store or if its independent. It’s full of kitsch: skeleton key chains, t-shirts, absinthe. This juxtaposition struck me because the skull postcard sits right next to a pipe, not rusted, but chipping. The pipe used to be painted red underneath (who knows how long ago in a city like Paris), but with years of wear and tear, the beige paint has slowly peeled, revealing a shape oddly resembling a skull.

Almost 7 years after I first found myself at the Eiffel Tower, I had returned. It was fairly surreal, but also pretty regular. The Eiffel Tower doesn’t quite hold the romance for me that it holds for most – not entirely sure why. Which is why I love this photograph: it shows a side of the tower that most people don’t notice. Pure industry. Abstraction. Just iron.

It doesn’t snow that often in Seattle, Wash. I would say at least once a year, sometimes more. We made it all the way to 2012 without any snow in the last months of 2011, but this MLK weekend it dumped snow. I went on a walk near my house through the Madison Park and Madison Valley neighborhoods. It’s an area in which I love to run in…past the large mansions of old wealth, enormous trees towering over you, and the newer Japanese-style houses or Swiss cottages. While walking I was listening to Bon Iver, whom I highly recommend. These purple berries stood out vibrant against the white snow, black roads, and thick, gray sky. My destination was a lookout park that, on a clear day, gives one a vantage of Bellevue, Hwy 520 and Lake Washington. All I could see this day was the western shores of the lake and molecular snowflakes blanketing my vision.

I found this image so funny! Here’s a bike with no wheels right next to a bright sign with a big smile and the word “utopia.” Also, this is Victoria, which my friends and I consider a utopia! It was a nice morning after a yummy breakfast and a long, dance-filled night.

I have been wanting to go to Joshua Tree National Park for as long as I can remember. My family went on what was supposed to be a short trip. It turned into much more than that, including an hour-long hike through the 115 degree Mojave Desert. Along the hike we ran into mountain goats, a verdant lake and even Native American petroglyphs. And, surprise, some dead trees.

I have been wanting to go to Joshua Tree National Park for as long as I can remember. The valleys you can see from Keys View in the park were barely visible through the haze. Palm Springs was blurred out. My family and I had climbed (in our car) to one of the highest points only to find hundreds of bees surrounding our car! And this lonely, verdant bush stood out quite a bit.

I have been wanting to go to Joshua Tree National Park for as long as I can remember. And I found that, even in the high Mojave Desert, such vibrant color can be found in the most unlikely of places. This reddish desert mistletoe is a parasitic plant…seems to have sucked the life out of its host. My family and I stumbled upon it on our first jaunt out of the car into the 115 degree heat. The contrast between the mistletoe and the Joshua Tree in the background brings the photo to life. The parasite almost seems to be reaching out to the vibrant tree for more sustenance.

I have been wanting to go to Joshua Tree National Park for as long as I can remember. As we drove up to the park and entered, the trees became taller and taller. The taller they became, the more beautiful. When we finally got out of the car and strode through a span of the Mojave Desert in 115 degree heat, I was awestruck. I think this photograph captures the experience well. The colors, the epic blue sky and the harsh, sharp feel of the Joshua tree bark are things I will never forget.

My siblings will remember the hike to “Big” Bertha Peak as one of the most strenuous in their lives. I, on the other hand, am used to more difficult hikes and I got the chance to take some pictures on the way up. I took this one where my entire entourage of siblings needed a break. I rested my hand on the boulder and realized the beautiful pattern of lichen that was growing on the rock. Snap! It reminded me of my other lichen experience in Alaska. The bright red is a sharp contrast to the green lichens of Alaska forests.

On a hike near Big Bear my family and I were truckin’ along, and then, quite suddenly, we turned into a wide meadow filled to the brim with these strange plants. My siblings and I stepped into the muddy field with the sun in our eyes. As we peered into more and more of the plants, we found more and more ladybugs. Big Bear is a beautiful area, and the hikes around the area are largely unforgettable. Especially the gun sight trail, which this meadow can be found near.

Right behind me while I was taking this photograph were 12 to 15 bald eagles flying around, perched on buildings and logs and even fishing. There’s even one in the sky. These unique traps were sitting in a vacant lot between warehouses and the water. I must say the sky was incredibly brilliant that day walking through the neighborhoods of Prince Rupert. Which is a good thing since there isn’t a lot to do in the town except for walk around.

Driving to a piece of the Chilkoot trail and looking out over this landscape was probably one of the most peaceful I had been on my entire cruise through Alaska. A light rain started to fall. My friend spotted two black and white figures in the distance: two bald eagles, one perched on a fallen tree, another lying in the grass. This entire valley used to be a boom town named Dyea. The railroad was built closer to Skagway, so that city won out and Dyea slowly crumbled into a few foundations.

Outside of the Alaskan city of Skagway (the only Alaskan town accessible by road that I visited on my 7 day cruise through the Inside Passage), Bob, our crazy mountain man guide, took us on a journey along the Chilkoot Trail near the ruins of the boom town Dyea. The highlight of the trip for him? A question one of us asked about lichen. And his pointing out the lichens never, ever stopped! So we got many chances to take pictures of the lichen, and I’m happy that one of them came out. He also told us about his bear fat pie. Yum?

I wasn’t the only cruise ship passenger taking photographs of the beautiful sunsets on our Alaskan cruise. I found these two cruisers – the young man on the right is from Britain, the woman I am not sure about – in a pose that could tell an entire story. Two young people meet taking pictures of a gorgeous sunset on a cruise through Alaska and start talking. Sounds pretty romantic to me. I often take pictures of tourists. Tourists are such an interesting group of people, mostly because they are almost always out of place and also either incredibly goofy or incredibly deep in thought. These two are the latter.

The Alaskan sunsets from the cruise I took through the inside passage from Vancouver, BC to Skagway and back were nothing less than spectacular, especially the ones dotted with Orca whale water spouts and dorsal fins. This particular photograph was taken as my friends and I were running around the ship, probably a little bit tipsy, and pointing out the whales in the distance. Such a beautiful experience. It felt so freeing to be sailing the waters surrounded by such a sunset.

Cruising (literally) through the fjord toward Sawyer Glacier (we, unfortunately, never reached it due to the icebergs like this one), the far-reaching mountains tops and deeply beautiful waters stretched a narrow course. From the back of our cruise ship, I watched the icebergs pass (some the ship even hit!). They became larger and larger the closer we got to the glacier. In the bay that we turned around in there were so many. I had never seen mountain sides so slick, carved by millenia of glaciers. This picture captures the environment well.

Beyond this pair of boats is Mendenhall Glacier. And beyond that, the ice fields of southeast Alaska. I love this picture. A group of kayakers plopped these boats down for a matter of seconds before re-entering the picture. I pulled out my camera and took the picture, thinking nothing of it. But there’s a stark contrast of the blues and greys with the fiery orange of the boats.

The rocks in the lake fed by the beautiful Mendenhall Glacier have been shaped over centuries by the ebb and flow of ice fields. Just outside the town of Juneau, we rode our bikes to the edge of this lake following a pair of strange, yet knowledgeable guides. It is probably the first time I had ever seen such ice just floating in a lake like that. Such a beautiful, serene place. I could have explored the area for hours. We only were able to spend a few minutes, however, before we journeyed further around the lake.

Running off the Mendenhall Glacier lies an icy lake. We rode our bikes through residential streets and park trails to reach this viewpoint. Mist rose off the lake as we caught our breath and snacked on granola bars. The tiny icebergs were like none I had ever seen. In fact, this was the first time I had ever seen an iceberg at all, only frozen lakes or ponds in Seattle or Colorado. The serenity the landscape provided was only jarred by our colorful guides on the tour. But those weirdos would take a novel to fill.

Walking along the water docks, passing totem poles and the famous “Creek Street” in Ketchikan, one can only imagine what this gold mining town used to be like. Accessible only by boat, Ketchikan lies on an island with no bridges (although the “bridge to nowhere” would have connected it to its airport on another island). I arrived via cruise ship (a cheesy way to travel, but possibly the easiest way). I love this photograph because it really captures the harshness of life on the edge in Alaska and the connection the “city” holds to water. At only 7,500 people, it’s the 5th largest in the state…which doesn’t say a lot about the state’s population at all. The sky in this part of the country proved beautiful during my entire trip.

This totem pole, probably a bear, stands on top of a tall hill in the coastal city of Ketchikan. I reached the town via cruise ship (which was a pretty amazing experience!), and, as we explored throughout, we began to head up the Married Man’s Trail. One can only guess what happened on that trail, which just happened to lead off of Creek Street, the brothel district that popped up on stilts above the water. This Tlingit (pronounced “Klinkit”) totem pole is one of many that we saw in Alaska – all very beautiful and unique.

Every year, the tulip festival draws thousands of people to northwestern Washington. I went this past April, however, I did not get to see any tulips – we went a bit too early. Instead, we explored this daffodil field. It’s a pretty picture: acres of flowers under the typical Pacific sky, ominous and wet, just like the ground. These acres of flowers sprout along the road, spotted with “Do Not Trespass” signs. Naturally, of course, I trespassed.

Being close to the American South, the city of Branson is teeming with classic riverboats that remind me of a Louisiana bayou.  The font in this photograph is also very reminiscent of that same feeling.  I also love how the juxtaposition of the three sets of food available for eating increases in intensity.  First, you got the classic steak & chicken, then the catfish & salmon, and THEN the (not so exotic) shrimp with the oh-so-exotic Alligator.  At least exotic for me.  Craziness, I tell you.  Also interesting that I accidentally cut off the rest of Alligator, but I think that captures my reaction to it: “Shrimp and Alliga–whaaaat?”

My sister really wanted to fly a kite.  After about 45 minutes of trying to figure out how to put it together correctly so that it would actually fly, we launched it and boy did it soar beyond anything we expected.  All day we were watching other kites fly really high, and I know that it crossed my mind more than once that our kite could never get so high.  Well, I was wrong.  That is my sister in the picture.

Along Hwy 101 (which runs straight through many small towns on the Oregon coast) in Depoe Bay were many little shops filled with Made in China trinkets and whale watching booths selling tickets to one hour cruises with no guarantee.  Some of the shops were filled with artsy things, some of them stupid joke things, and then some were cute businesses that sold their passion.  I would imagine that Jordy has a big sweet tooth.

Over an hour wait in line and a hundred narrow steps will get you to the top of Yaquina Head lighthouse, where five more steps let you peer up by the light.  The nature of the reflection is pretty fascinating.  Even though the light is super bright at night looking from outside the lighthouse, the actual bulb isn’t very powerful or bright.  It’s the way that the light refracts/reflects through the brassy contraption that encircles the light.

I don’t normally do black and white photography, not because I don’t like it–I love it–but I feel that it’s overused and it makes every picture needlessly dramatic.  Well, I made an exception for this one.  I loved the composition of the lighthouse, but it needed a little more.  I love this photograph the way it is now because there’s something about a lighthouse on the edge of a cliff–especially one as old as this lighthouse, which dates back to the 1800s–that represents a hope, the edge of civilization, and also a longing for those lost at sea.  The weather is often stormy (although it wasn’t that day) and portentous of things to come.

These petrified tree stumps lay along the shoreline at Neskowin beach, just north of Lincoln City in Oregon.  The somewhat creepy formations dot the shore between the mainland cliff and then a huge ‘island’ rock that bridges the sandy beach and the ocean.  These stumps have become oases for life, with snails, krill and barnacles patiently waiting until the tide comes back in.

The sea lions at Newport are too funny to watch.  They fight all day long about getting up into the warm pile of bodies in the cage that’s in the top of this picture, pushing other sea lions off or pushing their way in and flopping down so hard that the other lions can’t move and so they all give up and go back to sleeping.  Some of the sea lions had couple off, included this pair.  The lighter and smaller one rubbed his head up and down the other one’s body for an hour.  So cute.

Cliffs plummeted to the ocean ten feet of lawn from the backdoor of my condo on the Oregon coast, and the sunsets were breathtaking.  The Pacific ocean delivered crash after crash of whitecapped wave while the clouds slowly encircled the setting sun.  So gorgeous.

Yum!  Enough said.  I took this picture at the resort my friends and I stayed at.  We prepared a gourmet dinner followed by a gourmet dessert and drink — lots and lots of strawberries!

On the shores near Fisgard lighthouse, after trekking a mile or more along a road jampacked with cars, my friends and I stumbled on quite the sight.  It was Fleet Week in Victoria, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian navy, and warships from many countries (including Australia, the United States, France and Japan) anchored in the waters off the coast.  The entire horizon was populated with the massive aircraft carriers and stalking navy ships.  It felt like a warzone…I had never seen anything like it before.  I imagine it would be what a blockade would look like.  Ironically, we were there to get tan and play in the water, which we did, as the ships slowly lumbered around.

The Juan de Fuca Straight, the major inlet into the Puget Sound of Washington and the strip of water separating the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island proved to be a gorgeous ride.  Previously I had seen porpoises streaming along the water, and this adventure featured a literal line of clouds that, about halfway across the straight, stopped and opened up into beautiful sunshine as we barreled towards Victoria.  These ropes lay on the deck in front, drying in the bright sun after pulling up the docking loop.  The ship docks by roping that loop around a thick pole on the wharf.  The color of the ropes come after many nights spent sitting in the salt water of the straight.

The ruins of a military bunker outside of Port Townsend are both spooky and interesting.  The former glory of our military and its prevalence live on in these ruins–Fort Worden was once a base protecting the Puget Sound from the Russians or Japanese or whomever might find their way into the harbors.  It’s over a hundred years old now.  These rings are left over from huge gun turrets (the rings were part of a pulley system to turn the guns–pulled by mules!).  There are many old bunkers that descend into pitch black hallways that a person can barely fit through.  I went exploring here with a couple of great friends, and I’m thankful they didn’t leave me in those dark hallways!

An adventure with two of my friends took me to the top of Squak Mountain.  Unfortunately–and surprisingly–there were no lookouts or beautiful views (too many trees, I guess), but there were the ruins of a building or house.  All that was left of the structure was the chimney column, standing alone on a cement foundation in a clearing.  The park had placed a bench for weary hikers off to the side, but my friends and I rested on the fireplace ledge.  I circled around the chimney and found that the entire house used to be covered in this bright red brick which, by now, was crumbling.  The stratification of layers–rock, wood, and brick, wouldn’t have been evident if the house was still standing.  But it is the fact that it’s not standing that makes the juxtaposition so visible.

These benches sat over a marshy ground, covered in mud and pools of acrid brown water.  The stagnant water underneath the benches was in sharp contrast to the beautiful blue Lake Sammamish only a 20 yards from where the benches lay, piled next to each other, hibernating for the winter.

Looking out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, my friends and I set the timer on the camera and I  quickly ran to join them.  The sunset, undeniably, makes this photograph.  But, I have really enjoyed looking at our three poses independent of my knowledge of the actual persons.  Each pose says something different about the person, and while it’s difficult for me to separate the person and their silouette, perhaps you can do so?

That’s me on the right.

The sculpture garden in Minneapolis has one piece that intrigued me most of all–the bridge that spans the highway below, connecting the garden with a park on the other side.  Along the railings of the bridge there is a poem written.  While the poem was far too abstract for me to explicate in one sitting/walking, this line resonated with me more than the others.

For me, it represents how humans can relate anything to anything…how we can say love is like a beach or life is like a beach or even how a toaster oven is like a beach (I could do it, believe me).

It is so much like a beach, after all.

I was so excited to be driving along the bank of the Mississippi river in St. Paul that my friend and I pulled over so we could do some exploring (I ran around taking pictures and she just sort of followed me along).  It was such a beautiful night, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a large American river before…it was so amazing just to be looking at it.

A block or two from the Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington is a open-air “musuem” of different cars from the late 1800s and early 1900s that were used to ship different products and such across the countryside.  The brillant color of this rusty car really inspired me.  The perspective, colors, and brillant sky behind the cars makes for a beautiful picture.  It’s hard to imagine how long these trains have been sitting there, and how much longer they will remain there, unsued and rusting away.  Maybe another hundred years.

A block or two from the Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington is a open-air “musuem” of different cars from the late 1800s and early 1900s that were used to ship different products and such across the countryside.  This particular tanker really caught my eye because of the branding on the side.  It’s half a reminder of how epic some of the companies we deal with on a regular basis–like Shell Gas–but also how the way in which we record images has completely changed.  For instance, billboards are fleeting representations of companies’ branding, but the internet has completely changed the way we remember and archive images.  Sometimes they just disappear.

A bit west of the town of Snoqualmie in Washington state is a waterfall that is over 250 feet tall.  One a day trip that was supposed to take us to Snoqualmie Pass, I took a detour with some friends when we saw the road sign for Snoqualmie Falls.  We weren’t really sure what we were getting ourselves into, but after getting some directions from a grocery store in town, we found our way to the falls to find a super-packed parking lot full of tourists.  Having read the Wikipedia page for Snoqualmie Falls, I have found out that it’s one of the most visited tourist spots in Washington (1.5 million a year!).  Anyway, we climbed down to the river bed (farther than allowed) and hung out at the foot of the falls.  I took this picture along the Snoqualmie River a bit down from the falls.

A 3 mile trek from my house brought me and some friends to the sculpture park on the edge of Belltown in Seattle, Washington.  The park stretches along the Puget Sound and the Seattle Center.  People were tanning all about, enjoying the beautiful and modern sculptures adorning the walkways and hills.

I particularly liked this sculpture.  I love it because it’s almost hard to tell when the mirrors end and begin, what are plants and what are just reflections.  It was a bright sunny Seattle day, and  I didn’t last too long in the intense sun.  But you can’t really tell that by looking at the picture…just enjoy the cool blue sky, also reflected in the sculpture.

At Volunteer Park in Seattle there is the Volunteer Park Conservatory with a stunning collection of flowers, cacti, bromelids and everything in between (including those cool carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and venus fly traps!).  While I don’t know the name of this flower, I don’t really think that it matters.  The color in this photograph is amazing, as is the composition.  I love the lonely red flower sitting amid a collection of those beautiful red and green leaves (I am pretty sure that they belong to different plants).  I highly reccommend a quick visit to the conservatory for any Seattle-tourist/resident.

At Volunteer Park in Seattle there is the Volunteer Park Conservatory with a stunning collection of flowers, cacti, bromelids and everything in between (including those cool carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and venus fly traps!).  While I don’t know the name of this flower, I don’t really think that it matters.  This picture is stunning.  Not only is the subject interesting, unnique, but I love the lighting in it.  The shadow and detail came out really well.  I highly reccommend a quick visit to the conservatory for any Seattle-tourist/resident.

At Volunteer Park in Seattle there is the Volunteer Park Conservatory with a stunning collection of flowers, cacti, bromelids and everything in between (including those cool carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and venus fly traps!).  This picture, while not particularly unique or beautiful, I still find very interesting.  The subject is cool — it’s more interesting to know that this thing is about the size of an ottoman.  And the colors are stark.  I do like the composition with the spines and everything.  The shadow and detail came out really well.  I highly reccommend a quick visit to the conservatory for any Seattle-tourist/resident.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  We hiked into the Hayden Valley and got pretty close and personal with a group of bison.  They walked right past us on their way to the water hole, and were there on our way back just chilling.  To be honest, I was a bit worried because of all the hype about them “goring” people to death, but they were completely docile and didn’t bother us a bit.  They’re powerful looking animals, but seem to have the temperament of cows.  I love the light of this picture, and the clouds are EPIC.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  At the Mud Volcano area we encountered this geothermal feature: the Dragon’s Cauldron.  I am pretty sure that you can see why they call it that.  I loved this feature becaue it was very unique not to be able to see the source of the steam rising out of the cave.  I like the subject more than anything else in this photograph, but the colors are also pretty neat, as is the perspective.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  We checked the Mud Volcano region one day.  We knew that there were bison in the area because not only were they sitting by the road, but there were a number of signs warning us about them.  We walked up the path around the geothermal features and finally came to the Churning Cauldron where a couple of bison had decided to set  up camp.  I couldn’t fathom why they wanted to sit by the cauldron: it was hot, smelly, loud, and incredibly steamy.  Nevertheless, they apparently liked it.  I had to take these pictures quickly because the environment was unbearable.  But, no pain no gain, eh?

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  We went exploring through the Lamar Valley until the sun began to set, and then we realized that because  one of the roads was going to close due to construction we had to get going, so we rushed from the valley to Mammoth.  Along the way we decided to make a super quick stop to the Mammoth Springs.  We got out of the car just as the clouds cleared on the horizon and the sun began to make its final descent.  Mammoth Springs is SUCH a bizarre place.  The land was barren and covered in red, green, and orange thermophiles.  The trees there twist and turn upward and are so smooth.  Essentially, this beautiful scene was completely surreal, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful events I have ever witnessed.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  We went exploring through the Lamar Valley until the sun began to set, and then we realized that because  one of the roads was going to close due to construction we had to get going, so we rushed from the valley to Mammoth.  Along the way we decided to make a super quick stop to the Mammoth Springs.  We got out of the car just as the clouds cleared on the horizon and the sun began to make its final descent.  Mammoth Springs is SUCH a bizarre place.  The land was barren and covered in red, green, and orange thermophiles.  The trees there twist and turn upward and are so smooth.  Essentially, this beautiful scene was completely surreal, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful events I have ever witnessed.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  We ventured into the Lamar Valley in the northeast section of the park and to our bewilderment we soon found ourselves in the middle of a herd of American Bison.  The sun was beginning to set and from behind the overcast sky the sun cast down on the bison herd.  My favorite part about this picture is the color of the bison’s hair and its stance.  Soon after this the herds decided to invade the street and we were stuck there for a little while.  Beautiful animals.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  Artist’s Point offers a beautiful view of the Lower Falls, one of the most beautiful water falls in the world.  And, I think that you can see why.  Of course, a ton of people have taken pictures of these falls, but I really like the sky in this one as well as the way that the sun shines through the leaves.  It’s also pretty cool how the background almost looks like a painting.  My mom spent a lot of time looking for osprey nests, so see if you can spot any!

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  Along the trail to fairy falls we found a friend: an elk!  On the way to the falls we encountered it in the area above.  On the way back, however, we got a lot closer to it because it was only a few feet from the trail.  I love this photograph because not only is the animal gorgeous and it fits in so well within the picture, but I am somewhat intrigued by the power lines in the background.  It’s kind of silly, but for me it represents the human effect that we’ve had on these animals’ lives.  I also really like this photograph because the tree branches look a lot like the elk’s antlers.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  This photograph was taken at the midway geyser basin and features a stretch of land that has been killed by geothermal activity.  The amazing colors ae created by thermophiles, heat-loving creatures that live in the extreme environments.  As you can see, these features seem to poison the land and the trees in the photograph died and fell and are now rotting in the pools.  I love the beautiful color of the steam rising from the pool yards away.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  This photograph was taken at the midway geyser basin and features a massive pool of boiling water heated by geothermal features underground.  The beautiful colors are created by thermophiles, heat-loving organisms that thrive in the hot environment.  I love this photograph for its magnificent colors!  The reds and oranges and yellows and pinks and blues and greens of the pool juxtaposed with the trees and the bright sky creates such an amazing and surreal environment.  Such a unique place.  I never thought that I would have seen this at a national park.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  This photograph was taken at the lower geyser basin and features a few beautiful hydrothermal features like the one above.  The colors of red and yellow are thermophiles, small heat-loving organisms that live in the extreme boiling water of the features.  The water is so blue because few other organisms can actually survive in the water.  This picture is perfect because of the beautiful sky and the amazing colors of the pool and its surroundings.  I also really like the perspective of the picture.

My family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  This photograph was taken at the midway geyser basin (I believe) and features a stretch of land that has been killed by geothermal activity.  The barren landscape is markedly different than the semi-lush patch of green in the background.  I messed with the contrast on this photograph a little bit to make it a little more dramatic, but it has honestly doesn’t look dramatically different from the original.  It was amazing to see such a bare patch of white land in Yellowstone.  It looked more like a salt lake or desert than a national park.

One of the reasons that I love Washington beaches is because they are full of these smooth pebbles that are so nice to lie down on and are quite often incredibly beautiful.  The year before when I went with my family to Discovery Bay I even collected a large number of the little gems.  I like this photograph because it has so much variations: different colors and shapes and types and textures.

Some friends and I went to Cama Beach for a few days.  We ran along the beaches, hiked a little in the forests, and basically just hung out by making s’mores and eating hot dogs.  We were pretty worried about the weather, but it held together despite being pretty overcast the whole time.  I like the blurry action in this shot along with the background and the very subtle ways that the sunset features itself in the water.  The rock that the little wave is crashing over adds a lot to the photograph and I think it’s even what created the wave in the first place.  This photo is just so serene.

I want to dedicate this photograph to Bill Brady, my uncle who passed away days before it was taken.

This past year I went to the capitol of Washington state (Olympia) to help lobby for improved AIDS prevention legislation.  Actually, it was more like an effort to save what funding people living with HIV and AIDS have due to the massive budget crisis.  It was an eye-opening experience for me.  I met with legislators (luckily the legislators I met with were all quite supportive), met a range of community members like people who were living on the street with AIDS and got their act together and are now living healthy, productive lives, and I got to know a side of colleagues and friends that I had never seen before.  I think that this picture sums up the day pretty well, and it’s a powerful testament to the fact that this fight is far from over.

After Proposition 8 passed in California, every major city held a rally to protest its passing and to show support for gay equality and marriage rights for everyone.  I attended the one in Seattle, and I found the experience to be incredibly eye-opening and moving.  Yelling and screaming with thousands of other Washingtonians to support a cause that I believe in was an experience that I had never had before.  Many of the signs were noteworthy and interesting.  I thought this one was particularly weird because I can’t really make sense of it at all.  However, it does make for a nice picture, especially with the brillantly colored trees in the background.

On a family vacation to Discovery Bay, we went to the Pacific Ocean at a little town on the coast called La Push.  We did a good deal of exploring that day.  One feature that I found to be incredibly photogenic was this little line of logs sticking out of the water.  I was never quite sure what exactly they were used for back in the day–a dock, perhaps, or some kind of control for boats.  At any rate, I really like the lines in this photograph with the shore, the pegs, the coast in the background, and the unique shape of the island.  I also really like the color of the rocks and the wood.  Pretty neat.

Last summer I went to Discovery Bay with my family, and we made a venture to the Pacific Ocean along the peninsula.  One town we stopped in sat right on the ocean and has a driftwood sea barrier that you could walk out all the way on until you reached a little lighthouse thing.  My siblings and I all made the loooong trek down the driftwood wall and along the way I spotted this little jewel of green poking out.  I was amazed that a plant could actuallybe thriving amid the driftwood because it didn’t seem like there was anything for it to grow from.  I like the composition of this photograph and how the driftwood separates the top half and the bottom half.

At the resort my family was staying at this little critter crawled up to our deck and asked for some food.  We thought that he might be a bit rabid since he was out during the day, and of course I cautioned my family about giving him food, but they didn’t listen and fed him anyway.  So he stood there for awhile and posed for us.  Pretty cute guy, eh?

I had just gotten off an overnight train from Sicily and was dead tired and going a little crazy.  I decided to walk through Rome one last time, and I got off at the Colosseo stop and walked from the Colosseum all the way to my apartment past the Cipro station.  Right outside the Colosseum I saw this chalked into the ground.  Normally I wouldn’t put up pictures of just a chalk drawing, but I think that the situation was unique.  It was just the early morning and this drawing was there, without any artist.  Not to mention, it’s beautiful.

An impromptu trip to Sicily all by myself was my last major trip in Italy.  The train ride south was the most beautiful train ride I’ve ever taken, and Sicily itself was absolutely gorgeous.  Just like much of Italy, the houses looked like the picture above with the little porches and flowers and the color of the walls.  Although, I don’t think all houses hav lemon trees on their roofs.  I just find this picture very interesting because of its color and the different plants.  And the grafitti.

In the museums in Berlin (I honestly cannot remember which museum this picture was taken in), there are a ton of ancient treasures.  I often take close-ups of paintings and sculptures just so that I can remember them later on, but I loved this sculpture so much and the lighting was so perfect that I got a little bit creative.  I like this photograph because it seems so real!  Like, taking a picture of someone who kind of wants to be photographed but is pretending to not want to be, or is actually a little bit timid.  I love finding a bit of humanity in cold marble.  I think that the warm lighting helps for this one.

While I was visiting my friend Maddy in Berlin, we were sitting and waiting at the bus stop when I noticed this apple in the middle of the road.  It was so out of place and awkard that I had to take a picture of it.  I like this picture because it reminds me of how little things that we do can affect other people in interesting ways.  Someone dropped or threw this apple into the street (it’s even weirder because it hasn’t been eaten at all) and when i saw it it affected me in a weird way.  The apple was just sitting there as the cars zoomed past and people completely disregarded it.  Maybe it’s stupid, haha, but I thought about it a lot.

This is a photograph of the Berlin Holocaust Memorial.  I was visiting my friend Maddy in Berlin for a week and she took me to this memorial.  As you can see, it’s a pretty crazy place.  It’s designed with hundreds of these gray rectangular bricks that stick out of the ground at a variety of heights.  Walking through them you start out much taller than them, but then they gradually get taller and the ground graually slopes downward until you’re lost in a maze of them.  They also provide for a unique photograph.

The Vatican Museums were incredibly overwhelming.  I wandered around them for hours.  This particular wing I found really neat, mostly because it was very empty and had very unqie lighting.  I found the alcoves containing the statues to be dramatic and the whole atmosphere was exactly what I would expect of a museum housing some of the most important and ancient artifacts in the world.  Great experience, and a must-see for every visitor to the Vatican.

The amazing thing about Rome is that no matter how much time you spend exploring the city and its ruins and landmarks, there are always more and more amazing things to see!  One such place was the Jewish quarter of Rome.  Right next to the area were a number of ruins, but I thought that the most beautiful part of it was the architcture.  Sometimes it’s difficult to believe that people still live in buildings that look like the one above.

I love the color of this photograph and the fact that the street lamp is attached right to these peoples’ homes.

Ah, the island of Capri, vacation spot of the stars! Walking through the beautiful, quaint streets past D&G and Louis Vatton shops, I realized how much money I don’t have. Each shop and restaurant featured photographs of the celebrities who had visited. Funny. Anyway, just cause we’re not stars doesn’t mean that we can’t get a “personal” boat tour around the island!

The waters of Capri are such a beautiful shade of blue, as you can see. The clouds were gorgeous that day, and the smooth waters provided ample opportunities for picture-taking. I really like the composition of this shot.

Ah, the island of Capri, vacation spot of the stars! Walking through the beautiful, quaint streets past D&G and Louis Vatton shops, I realized how much money I don’t have. Each shop and restaurant featured photographs of the celebrities who had visited. Funny. Anyway, just cause we’re not stars doesn’t mean that we can’t get a “personal” boat tour around the island!

The waters of Capri are such a beautiful shade of blue, as you can see. The clouds were gorgeous that day, and the smooth waters provided ample opportunities for picture-taking. I really like the composition of this shot.

Okay, so when I stayed in Nerano, I stayed in a 500-year-old tower. Yep, that’s right, a tower. Centuries old. And what did the inside look like? A modern hotel room. We were convinced that the tower was haunted (or, moreso, we just wanted it to be), but the views of the water from the tower were amazing.

This picture is essentially what we woke to in the morning. A stretching Mediterranean before us with the sun rising. And flowers. I loved the gauze-y curtains. This picture just brings me back.

In a park in this little Transylvanian town in Romania I found these dilapidated chess boards. Oddly enough, the rest of the park was in pretty good condition, but I guess the people just aren’t that fond of chess. Anyway, I like this picture mostly for its subject, and the cool graffiti on the chess board. It makes you wonder why they would keep the rest of the park in good condition and just leave these rotting chess boards in the corner. I also think that the arrangement and condition of the seats are pretty unique. Romania was quite the experience overall, and read more about go here.

Right near our hostel sat this lonely automobile.  I am not sure what the little car was used for (I think the Nettuno is another hostel in the area and it seems like it is owned by them).  But it was just so cute parked in the corner under the trees.  Seemed to have been completely forgotten about, or maybe it just wasn’t the right season for its use.  I love the colors of the car–the green, red, white, and yellow.  It almost seems like a useless vehicle because it can’t really hold any people and the back isn’t big enough to hold a lot of gear.  At any rate, makes for a cool photograph.

Sitting on the beach in Nerano (either a town south of Sorrento or a district of Sorrento, I never could figure out), this kid rode his bike down the wharf and spent an hour or so just riding back and forth doing bike tricks and wheelies and such.  We started off tanning on the beach, but eventually, as you can see, the sky got quite a bit overcast.  I like this photograph, although my camera eventually got something on the lens that appeared whenever I zoomed in all the way, and you can see the dots right there.

On my second venture to the Naples region I went to Sorrento, a beautiful little tourist trap sitting on the Bay of Naples.  From Piazza Tasso this view stretches before you.  The cliff drops to a walkway that leads to the ocean.  Many buildings–houses, cafes, even a nightclub–sit precariously on the cliffside.  In this picture you can even see someone’s yard.  It’s amazing to me that these cliffs, virtually man-made by the looks of them, can actually hold all of these buildings.

I like the colors in this picture a lot, especially the purple flowers and the variety of reds of the house in the back.  And all of this overlooks the sea!  Amazing.

There’s something godly about this picture.  The light, the marble, the brillant architecture.  Of course, it also depicts the corruption of the church and the opulence in which they live,  but that’s another story.  I like this picture because the men in the background (probably guards, I believe) are so uninterested in such a magnificent building.  They probably see the building every day.  And the epic statue appears to be calling forth the light that’s shining from above.  St. Pietro was pretty amazing.

I skipped class one day (and the only day) to visit the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.  Just like Ostia Antica, and every time I visited the Forum, I went nuts.  I loved running around, taking pictures, exploring every nook and cranny, and attempting to imagine what life must have been like thousands of years ago.  In my explorations I found these pillars lying aside in the grassy field.

As I always do among the ruins of cities and such, I contemplated the craziness of standing there.  I really like the color of this photograph, and the framing with the pillars.

I skipped class one day (and the only day) to visit th Colosseum and Palatine Hill.  Just like Ostia Antica, and every time I visited the Forum, I went nuts.  I loved running around, taking pictures, exploring every nook and cranny, and attempting to imagine what life must have been like thousands of years ago.  In my explorations I found this artifact closet behind bars and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

This closet full of pieces of pots or pieces of pillars and walls and all kinds of things was completely disregarded.  Dusty and dirty and unkempt.  Seems like they are overwhelmed with pieces to study.

The Colosseum.  Obviously, one of the most photographed landmarks in the world, and one of the most recognizable, can’t offer the most unique of photographs.  I think the clouds and the perspective really make this picture.  This photograph was taken on the top of Palatine Hill one day when I skipped class to go to both the Colosseum and the hill (I love being able to say that).  As I did at Ostia Antica, and whenever I visited the Forum, I went nuts on Capitoline Hill taking photographs and enjoying the views.  Honestly, I found the Colosseum a little bit anticlimactic.  Not this picture though.

Pompeii, like Ostia Antica, is an ancient ruined city stuck in time.  Mt Vesuvius erupted thousands of years ago and covered the city.  Unlike Ostia Antica, Pompeii is filled with hundreds of tourists, and I am still surprised that I got enough time to actually take this picture inside one of the buildings.

I like this photograph because, save the stupid ropes and poles, the beautiful beam of light coming through the ceiling on to the wall paints for me a picture of what this place must have been like before Vesuvius erupted.  The room must have been much more colorful.  Can’t you see yourself bathing in that bowl?

Off the coast of Naples lies an island called Ischia.  My friends and I booked a beautiful hotel room overlooking the entire port.  We bathed in warm Carribean waters (and some hot springs), drank wine to the sunset, and lived it up for a couple of days.  On the way back to Naples, we encountered this gorgeous sunset (similar to the other sunsets) from the ferry.

I love this photograph because I remember the moment so vividly, and I think it captures a bit of those feelings.  The loud, churning water coming from behind the ferry.  The sunset so bright it almost hurt your eyes and was still quite warm.  Plus, it’s just a gorgeous picture.

Jaime and I walked to the top of a mountain in Sintra (after walking to the top of another to reach the Moorish castle) to find the Palace of Pena, a 19th century palace built in the European Romantic style.  But, in laymen terms, I would say that it’s an absolutely crazy place.  The statues of ghoulish creatures, intricate tiles, and beautiful arches all overlook the Moorish castle and the town of Sintra.

I like this photograph for its color.  Much of the palace was still brillantly colored, and it gives a taste of many of the architectural designs of the place.  I also just like the perspective of this photo.

The Moorish people built a castle in Sintra hundreds of years ago, and its ruins still overlook the little town.  We climbed the mountain that it sits on (it was A LOT higher than either of us anticipated, and we had to run back down in order to catch our train back to Lisbon).  I like this picture a lot because of its perspective of the wall, the flag, and the view.  I think it captures a little of what we were feeling that day standing on top of the castle on top of the mountain that we had climbed.  It was so windy and so scary.  And pretty precarious.

On a walk through a tiny park in the Portuguese town of Sintra, I encountered this little shed full of plants and garden tools and such.  I went photograph-crazy in there.  It was so quaint and quiet and seemingly uncared for that each picture was loaded with meaning.  This photograph, for me, represents a lot.  The pot, empty and lonely, has been waiting for who knows how long to fulfill its purpose.  But it just hangs there, day in and day out.

The day I took this photograph a protest/rally of sorts was taking place.  I never could determine exactly what the rally was about (we heard rumors about it being international women’s day, but the crowds were definitely angry and definitely protesting something), but there was this one puppy sitting up against the wall behaving itself and watching the rally.  I felt so bad for it because it looked a bit overwhelmed, and its garb definitely signaled that it belonged to someone.

I think I like this picture so much because of the subject-poor little pup watching the parade.

This is another of my all-time favorite photographs.  It is hanging on my wall at home.  Jaime and I were done exploring the town and shopping (I remember buying some underwear, haha), and we were waiting at the station to take the train back to Lisbon when I got a little bit creative.

First, I love the light and the very light coloration.  It really captured the feeling of the train station.  I also like the complications of the photograph–the wires, the cobblestone, the lady in the background.  So many things can tell a story in this photograph.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love pigeons.  I think that they are beautiful birds!  They’re so interesting and communicative and, especially in the spring, very entertaining to watch.  I have tons of photographs of pigeons, but I think that this is my favorite.  I think one reason is that this picture lets you paint your own colors on the birds.  These could be doves or robins or some more beautiful bird.  I also like the intricacies of the tree they’re roosting on.

But, no matter what you say, I still like the colors of pigeons.  Their cool metallic necks get me every time!

My travel buddy Jaime and I arrived in Lisbon and made a little day trip to the beach-town of Cascais in search of the beach so that we could tan and sun.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find a good beach.  We did, however, explore the beautiful town and its cliffs.  I love the redness of the earth here, and I especially love it against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean.  The curviture of the earth is also evident in the picture.

This picturesque lake (often swarming with turtles) lies in the middle of the Villa Borghese, a large park in Rome near Piazza de Popolo.  The man in the boat was offering boat rides for tourists, and I cannot imagine what it must have been like to accompany him alone into the lake (which was quite small).  However, getting that close to the Temple of Athena (I think?) must have been pretty coool.

I like this photograph because of the odd silouette framing the top of it.  The leaves are almost completely black and they contrast sharply with the bright temple, boat, and water.  Kind of cool.

Now, I want to preface this one by saying that I am featured in the photograph.  However, I composed this picture.  I essentially spelled out everything that I wanted in the picture, and it came out just as I had envisioned it.  So I am going to consider that my hands were on the actual camera.  I love this photograph.

Partially, the color, silouettes, and composition are amazing.  But I think that my favorite part about it is simply the epic scale of it.  Those huge columns and my small body.  Such a great memory, and it makes for a great photo.

My friend Jaime and I climbed the cliffs of Arthur’s Seat as the sun was setting over this gorgeous Scottish city.  This runner ran up the hill past us (for some reason we climbed up the muddy vertical part in which Jaime lost her wallet) and was almost out of sight by the time we got to the tip of it.

I like the colors of this picture and the concept of it.  Arthur’s Seat, from her, seems so rural and wild.  Yet it’s in the middle of this populous city!  The colors of the runner’s outfit juxtaposed with the sun-drenched grasses provides a beautiful landscape and I think it really captures the ideas well.

My experience in Lecce was extremely odd for a number of reasons.  One of them was the weather.  We went to the south of Italy in hopes of getting to the beaches, warm sun, and an alternative for the rainy weather back in Rome.  Well, it snowed.  That’s right.  In the middle of the overcast day it began to snow, and we couldn’t have been more flabbergasted.

This photograph was taken after the snow subsided and we took refuge in a cafe.  We were on our way back to the hostel when this brillant sun (finally) came out, and the color of this photograph warms me to this day.  It was SOOO cold.  Anyway, those are some of my friends that I travelled with to Lecce.

Walking into the square, my friends and I discovered that we had just missed a wedding on the steps of a familiar church.  Rice littered the steps and the cobblestone.  This basket of rice and flowers was standing at the church door.  I picked out a little bit and threw it at my friends.  Chaos ensued with a rice fight!  Eventually it settled, we took some group pictures on the steps, and I took this of the basket.

I think this photograph is pretty amazing.  I like the loaded images of rice and flowers in a basket.  Weddings immediately come to mind, along with customs and traditions.  While this custom is pretty recognizable to me, other people visiting from other cultures may not have known how to translate the abandoned scene.  I also really like the color.

I don’t think I have ever had a more amazing experience than going to Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome.  The ancient city now lies miles from the ocean due to the receding water-line.  The ruins are absolutely phenomenal.  I went to the ruins alone that day, and spent hours running around from statues to frescoes, through houses and amphiteatres.  I was one of very few people there, so I had pretty much free reign on the place.

I had my iPod with me and listened to music.  At one point, as the sun began to set, I literally ran around the ruins with my video camera, going in and out of houses and around columns and attempting to capture some part of the beauty of the ruined city.  More than anything, I began to contemplate the weight that an entire ancient city used to stand there–people lived there!!!   Crazy.  Anyway, I love this photograph because I believe it captures some of thee sentiments described above, with the shadows and all.

The Forum was probably my favorite place in Rome.  They began to charge while I was there, but before they did, I went often and spent a lot of time there, musing about the ruins, the great orators and politicians, the amazing acts.  I also contemplated my own place in the world, and all the studying I have done, yet I still know so little about the Roman empire.  I loved the Forum, and went nuts every time I visited it.

This photograph is special to me not only because of its color, but mostly because of perspective.  Taken from a secluded part of a museum overlooking the Forum, it gives a unique glance of the tourists and the expanse of the Forum.  I especially like the column of the Temple of Saturn.

This photograph is a product of a crazy amount of picture taking, and pushing, and shoving.  Piazza San Marco was crazy during the costume contest, and the fabulous Carnivale celebrators were out in full.  Tourists were everywhere trying to get that one money shot, but there were so many people and so many people to take pictures of that I am still surprised I got this beautifully detailed shot.

While I wish the costume had been a bit more colorful, there’s something venerable and classic about this person’s costume.  I love the eyes—it’s in fact the most interesting thing about the photo.  Who is this person behind the mask?!

This photograph won Most Artistic in a photography contest and is published online here.

Canals, canals, canals everywhere!  Venice is known for its canals, and I made numerous attempts to capture them accurately at least once.  Well I did—once.  This photograph is by far the best picture of the canals.  Thank goodness that I love this picture (it’s hanging on my wall at home).

First and foremost, I love the color in this picture.  The brick reds mesh well with the greens of the waterways.  Too bad those gondola rides are so damn expensive, or you might be getting some very different views of Venice.

There is something distinctly creepy about masks.  The way they hide your face, veiling something that, sometimes, you don’t want to be seen or recognized.  While I spent an entire semester studying Gothic literature and the importance of masks (Cask of Amontillado, anyone?), I also know that they are central to Carnivale and all of the customs that go along with that.

This photograph was taken outside of a street bazaar in which masks, costumes, and Venetian treats were being sold.  I like this photograph because it takes a somewhat unique look at masks: can masks themselves be masked?  And what does that mean?

The mask shops of Venice are unforgettable.  While, yes, there are only a certain number of mask patterns and you can pretty much find the same ones for the same price at every shop, the cool thing is that every shop is still local.  The person selling you the mask is usually the same person who actually made it.  And, the masks are still beautiful, especially in the rows and rows of patterns and colors and shapes.  Even in this small selection, you can see the many differences between each type.  There’s just something about Venice and masks.

Every classic Italian photo collection needs some laundry hanging out to dry.  This is mine.  I’m beginning to realize that it’s not my favorite photograph, but I like the color of the wall, and I think that the graffiti says a little something about the city of Venice, which has been called the “most beautiful city built by man.”  Even Venice has its graffiti.

I met Brazilian and Ventian students while I was there and crashed at their place.  They honestly weren’t very crazy about the city and their apartment was in horrible shape–cramped and small.  Nothing like what I was used to back in the states.  Talking to them I discovered that there was a lot of anti-American sentiments in regard to the military and our base-building near Venice.  I don’t really know what this all has to do with laundry…maybe dirty laundary?  There ya go.

Carnivale was in the air all around Italy and I couldn’t have been more excited.  I had just come from a celebration in the beach town of Viareggio and I was back in Florence.  The little kids in Viareggio were all dressed up (as well as many of the adults), yet this kid in the big city was the only one that I can remember.  I love this photograph because the little boy (I am assuming) not only looks a little lost, but his worn costume adds to that atmosphere (I ensured that he was with a family before I moved on.  I can’t remember if he was with the man pictured or not).

I really should try to get these people’s faces sometime.

While the Tower of Pisa is by far the only special thing in this tourist-trap of a town, I am glad that I went nonetheless because I got the opportunity to see this grandfather teaching his grandson how to ride a bike.  This picture was taken on the fly (and had to be cropped to edit out some unimportant details), but I think the end product came out pretty well.

Italian culture is amazing in many ways.  I love how the older man is wearing his best shoes while teaching the toddler to ride–one can only imagine that the bike’s wheels will tread over the shined shoes.  It’s also interesting to imagine how long this bike has been in their family.  I love the color of the building behind, and it really creates the setting of Pisa: decrepit in parts, but quintessentially Italian.  And toursity.

This is one of my best photographs (or at least my favorite) of the entire Italy group.  At the top in Piazza de Michelangelo, the sun began to descend over the city and the ensuing sunset offered a ton of great pictures.  This is the best of that group.  I like the framing and color of this painting a lot.  The brillant colors of the sunset contrast with the dark silouette of the recognizable statue.  And the way that this copy of the David frames the entire photograph truly completes the amazingness of it.

While every visitor to Florence probably has a picture similar to this, I couldn’t help including it in this collection.  Yet, this photograph is also fairly unique.  With the Duomo in the background, it is a classic vantage of this old Italian city.  However, the framing brings something else to the table.  Walking up to the Piazza de Michelangelo, the large slanting steps brought this view of the city.  The shade offered by the trees and the crawling vines make this photograph complete.  The dark green foreground contrasts nicely with the classic red of the city below.

I love this photograph.  The sky was brillant that day at St. Peter’s, and this being one of my first days in Rome, I was in awe at the venerable ring of statues looking down at me.  Walking out from under the giant columns, and looking down at the Roman cobblestone, I couldn’t have felt more out-of-place in such an important place.  Throughout the months I would discover more and more of Vatican City, but I think this day was a good introduction.

The hill towns of Italy are picturesque in their own way.  The towns literally crowd around the top of hills and their streets wind up and down between buildings and on the cliffs overlooking the houses below them.  This particular house jutted out of the hill with a backyard that dropped off onto the houses below it.  I love the color of the house, and it’s hard to imagine someone actually living in it because it looked like it was decades old.  A house in such a precarious position, however, comes with a magnificent view, a view that would be even more brillant were it not overcast and rainy.

Overlooking this house my friends and I also got the chance to meet an Italian man who was fascinated by us.  We talked about the weather a little, and he complemented the girls I was with on their beauty.

Nothing can prepare anyone for first seeing the Pantheon temple in Rome.  Walking around the corner of any side street, the beautiful ancient building towered above me.  I was overwhelmed.  We walked in and the ceiling arching above us looked like a painting.  My steps echoed in the marble circular chamber and I couldn’t stop looking up.

One thing I love about this photograph is that it also looks just like a painting.

This is a Cape Lookout photograph of a different caliber.  I am not one to take macro pictures of plants–usually–but this mushroom’s color was to stunning to pass up.  It was along the Cape Lookout trail and I spotted it on the return trip.  Kneeling down as my friends kept walking, I took numerous photographs to get the right angle and the right focus of the mushroom.  I love the detail of it, with the white spots and small pieces of debris: pieces of dirt, a blade of grass, a wood chip.

The mushroom looks so sturdy, and it amazes me that something so beautiful (and probably so poisonous) emerges from under the dead leaves.

I know this photograph looks a lot like the previous one, but I love this photograph just as much.  The different levels of surf and the beautiful trees framing it is too much for me not to include in this collection.  My friends and I walked the Cape Lookout trail.  It was along a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and every now and then through the space between the trees we got this glimpse.  Gorgeous.

When we got to the end of the trail we scanned the horizons and the crashing waves below for whales or seals.  Didn’t see any

After camping on the beach, my friends and I woke up and went on the hike along Cape Lookout.  Walking along the trail a little hungover, we soon were awarded with some amazing views of the Pacific ocean.  I was stunned at the light fog sifting through the forests and the colors of the surf coming in.

When we got to the end of the trail we scanned the horizons and the crashing waves below for whales or seals.  Didn’t see any

The cloud-covered sun offered some beautiful scenes that day walking along the Pacific coast in Oregon.  I really like this photograph for a few reasons.  I love how it almost can’t be distinguished how far away or small the rocks are.  The sizes of the rocks are a bit difficult to discern with the pool of water, the stretches in the sand, the sun-streak.  It’s also just so simple.  Sometimes a simply beautiful photograph is necessary.  I also like how the one big rock contrasts to the rest of the smaller rocks.

This picture was my desktop for a very long time.

I didn’t expect any other weather camping on the shores of the Pacific on the Oregon Coast in the middle of October.  Walking under the overcast sky (which led to a storm later that night), I found many beautiful scenes along the beach.

I like this picture for a few reasons.  First, the slightly different colors of the rocks contrasts nicely with the fairly bland background.  Also, they frame the photograph pretty well.  And, just so you know, I wasn’t the one who stacked these rocks.  I found them this way.

On a road trip to Oregon, I stopped at a friend’s house to crash for the night.  I am always amazed at the beauty of the place that I live, so I was amazed at how beautiful my friend’s grounds were.  She owns this shed with the most unique roof tiles, which perfectly meshes with the deep greens of the hills and valleys around.

She also had a dog that we ran around with for a while in this field, and a white cat which cautiously explored the brush and fences on her property.  I like this photograph a lot because of the framing the tree and shed provides for the valley.  And, of course, the colors.

My best friend and I decided to make a day of it and go exploring to the Golden Gate Bridge before I said good-bye for the summer.  I took this picture while standing (obviously) on the Golden Gate in SF.  While there are some flaws with it, I’ve decided that I really like the flaws: the blurry background and her blurry face.  I think it gives it character and really puts the focus on what’s reflected in the glasses.  Plus, The reflection in the glasses is definitely pretty neat.  And I also love the color of her glasses.

Hiking the trails of Indian Valley was a favorite pastime of mine in the summer of 2007.  I biked to the college campus, hid my bike among the brush and trees, and then ran up the hills and through the trails of the beautiful Marin countryside.  It was my lackluster effort to get in shape, but I decided that it was so beautiful that one day I just ran around and took pictures of the views of Novato, the rest of Marin, and the San Francisco Bay.

Only once did I ever meet anyone else up on those trails.

Beautiful Bass Lake, near Yosemite National Park, was a vacationing spot for my family one summer.  We went boating, explored the shores, and went to Yosemite a couple of times.  I loved walking the shores of Bass Lake.  There were so many interesting animals and features.  This was one of the most interesting.  The subject is pretty unique, and I like the angle and the background.  Although, I wish that the lighting had been a bit better that day.  This picture was taken when the sun was pretty low in the sky.

I took this photograph sitting on the edge of the barnacle-covered cement wharf in Dun Laoghaire—a town north of Dublin.  My friend Sarah and I sat there for hours watching the boats come into Dublin Bay.  Fishing boats, cargo ships, yachts.  It was our last day in the country, and I don’t think it could have been any better than stretching out in that resort town under the beautiful clouds.

I like this photograph not for its irregular or good composition, but instead for its plain composition.  The boat, normally, might be off to one of the corners of the picture.  I like this one because the boat awkwardly sits in the middle of the sea.

I rode my bike through the steep canyon of Killarney National Park—over the stone bridges, past the mountain streams and the grazing sheep—to find this horse at the very bottom.  The entire canyon was so beautiful, yet so colorless.  Stumbling upon this horse was the best picture to represent my entire canyon experience.

There’s another picture with me posing with the horse…and there’s one of my friend running away as the horse gets annoyed and swings its bottom at her.

This is one of my “subject” photographs in the sense that what makes it special is the subject.  This magnificent cloud, set against a classic overcast Irish landscape, seemed too surreal to not take a photograph.  I was strolling through a cow pasture as it began to rain, and the cloud’s presence shocked my friend and I.  It almost seemed like some sort of alien ship and the clouds opened up just so it could descend.  Another interesting feature in the sky is that the clouds’ layers are drifting apart.

Killarney National Park has a few major mountain lakes (all of which I biked around or up to) surrounded by forest or mountain passes.  I especially like this photograph because of the different horizontal lines—the shore, the water, the plants in the water, and the other shores across the way.  The framing is also particularly neat.  The trees and branches pour in from both sides, giving the feeling (as it really was) that this is a fleeting window through to the water and the mountains on the other side.

Killarney National Park will stand out in my mind as the most amazing experience I ever had in Ireland.  A friend and I spent one weekend at the park biking around, and it was epic.  Of course, the park is beautifully strewn with the classic three leaf clovers, and I finally decided to take a picture of the plant.  It came out pretty well.

I must have been thinking in similar compositions on my trip to Howth because this photograph is composed quite similarly to the last one with the slanted barbed wire fence with the horizontal “landscape” in the background.  I wish this photograph had some hidden meaning similar to “Belfast Sunset,” because I believe that barbed wire can be loaded with meaning, but this time I am not so sure.  I also love the color of this photograph.

I took this picture on the back trails behind the town of Howth.  They wind along the sharp cliffs to a lighthouse that overlooks Dublin Bay where the ships come in.  There must have been some small road access to the area because also overlooking the bay were several expansive mansions.

I explored the quaint town of Howth and its backtrails all day.  The resort town lies north of Dublin, and some of the trails even overlook Dublin Bay and the cargo ships that come into port.  The beautiful part of Howth is that the sea stretches out from it, and brilliant clouds were out that day in full.

I love this picture for a lot of reasons.  It covers ever bit of Howth that I liked: the marina, the docks, the sea, and the cliffs.  I am often a supporter of blank space in photographs.  Sometimes blank spaces can say more than the spaces that are full.  However, I love this picture because of the way it deals with the blank space.  In other words, I am not always sure if there is any blank space because the clouds and the cliffs could just as easily stand alone.

Nestled in the Connemara region of County Galway sits Kylemore Abbey, a former estate that has been recently converted to a religious house.  As I drove along the road approaching the abbey, the structure appears out of nowhere and seems to be out of some sort of film or dream.

I like this photograph not only because of its subject and its colors, but the way that the abbey frames it with the back of the abbey against the mountain just like its back is against the edge of the photo.  But, it’s also just a really cool subject.

Connemara is a region of County Galway that lies north of the city of Galway.  The region is quite unlike the rest of Ireland with its rugged terrain—it often looks more like California than Ireland with its rolling mountains and lack of green grassy fields.

I love this photograph in particular because of its color and its composition.  The brilliance of the greens and browns are accentuated by the presence of water in its pools and puddles.  The various horizontal or diagonal cuts through the photograph provide an interesting vantage on the landscape.

The Burren is a breathtaking expanse of land almost completely composed of miniature crags.  Huge blocks of limestone puzzle-piece their way across the land.  Some of the notable features of the Burren are these ancient tombs that dot the land.  These structures are left over from the Neolithic age of Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher have been, for a long time, a major tourist draw for Ireland.  And for a good reason.  The cliffs stretch on and plummet to the Pacific Ocean below.  Like almost every other tourist, I went past the “Do Not Cross” sign and kept walking along the path that hugged the cliffs.  I’ll admit I was a bit scared, but only since I might fall in because I’d be distracted by the grandeur of the place.

I crawled up to the edge and had a look down to the crashing waves.  It was one of the cliffs in the photograph that I scaled.

The Tower of London has many amazing riches and weapons.  Elizabeth I, and the story surrounding her, has always fascinated me the most, and when I saw these two images right next to each other, I tried so hard to capture some of her power.  However, i think I captured much more than that.  While the foregrounded bust of her is looking directly into the camera, boldly and with a sense of prestige, the painting behind her shows a very different Elizabeth I.  In the painting she is deep in thought, troubled even.  She also seems innocent and overwhelmed.  With her arms open, she is ready for an embrace (from who, one can only speculate).

It’s almost as if she was modelling for me.

This statue of an angel overlooks the expansive lawns and gardens of the Powerscourt Estates.  I ventured throughout the estates with its lakes and towers and, perhaps more memorable was a jaunt that I took through a gated-off graveyard.  I took a lot of pictures, but none of them quite came out as I had hoped they would.

This part of the gardens was particularly magnificient because the lawn was courted by a number of angelic statues and reproductions of famous ones, such as the Laocoon and His Sons statue (the real one of which I would see later on in Rome).

The River Liffey, winding its way through the city of Dublin, has here left behind a trail of green residue indicating how much the river’s level has fallen.  I found this shot to be especially interesting with Four Courts in the background and the different greens present with the patina of the dome and the progression from light green to dark green in the bridge’s support pillar.

This day I was walking along the river coming from a museum, I believe, and the colors struck me so that I had to take a picture of it.  At this point, the water level could also be a metaphor for the decreasing flow of investment that would begin to plague Ireland less than a year later as the world economy faltered.  This river isn’t flowing.

A major highlight of the epic journey to the Carrowkeel tombs as we explored the rural streets and paths was the sheep pasture.  We had to scale the fence into a expansive bog that, once the fog had cleared, we realized climbed to a large hill, on top of which the tombs were.  The sheep watched us cautiously, but rarely actually moved.  We could get within a few feet of them before they slowly walked out of the way.

Interestingly enough, we never actually made it to the tombs, and it wasn’t until my second trip to Ireland that I would make it up there.

An epic journey took me from the town of Sligo to a village called Castlebaldwin.  We reached the village—containing at the time one gas station and a shut-down tourism office—early in the morning and were determined to set out for the Carrowkeel tombs.  To reach them we had to walk through cow and sheep pastures.  To these cows we were quite the excitement.  They mooed and followed us along the fence as we walked until they couldn’t go any farther.

I really like this photograph because of its composition.  I wish that the sky was a bit brighter or bluer.  Nevertheless, this cow really epitomizes the rural settings in which we found ourselves.

Derry (also known as “Londonderry” by the Loyalists) was the site of much turmoil during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.  One place in the city in particular—the Bogside—saw a great deal of violence.  In its wake, activists have since replaced the violence with murals depicting the struggle.  Derry still deals with a lot of tension dating back to the Troubles, and the police stations in the city are like fortresses, with high barbed-wired walls and security camera towers dotted throughout.

The Battle of the Bogside was one of the most important events at the beginning of the Troubles, and being able to walk down through the streets and alleys where people fought for freedom was incredibly moving.

This photograph won Honorable Mention in a photography contest

On the northern coast of the island, my friends and I decided to take a walk from our B&B.  We explored the shore just as the sun began to set, and watched the surfers in the ice-cold water.  They had to wear full wet-suits as they weaved up and down the crashing waves.

It was probably one of the most beautiful sun sets I have ever witnessed.

These hexagonal basalt columns jut into the sea on the northern coast in County Antrim.  I stepped across them, climbing to the highest column untouched by the crashing waves.

Legend has it that Finn McCool, an Irish giant, built a bridge to Scotland to face his Scottish equivalent.  Finn finished the bridge and lied down to rest.  When the Scottish giant came looking for him, Finn’s wife put a blanket over her husband to make him look like a baby.  When the Scottish giant saw how big who he thought was Finn’s son, he turned around and ran back to Scotland, destroying the bridge behind him.

Many attempts at catching a beautiful picture of the waves finally came through for me.  Standing on the amazing basalt columns jutting out of the sea as they slowly went under the high tide, I struggled to keep my footing and one my friends even fell on the more slippery columns.

Legend has it that Finn McCool, an Irish giant, built a bridge to Scotland to face his Scottish equivalent.  Finn finished the bridge and lied down to rest.  When the Scottish giant came looking for him, Finn’s wife put a blanket over her husband to make him look like a baby.  When the Scottish giant saw how big who he thought was Finn’s son, he turned around and ran back to Scotland, destroying the bridge behind him.

This photograph is one that defines my Northern Ireland experience.  Taken along the River Lagan, to me this picture symbolizes the turmoil of Northern Ireland.  The setting sun, beyond the barbed wire fence, represents this sense of hope beyond a tumultuous and dangerous barrier.  Even now, after the fighting has (for the most part) settled, there are still so many barriers keeping Northern Ireland-and especially Belfast-from healing.  But there is hope on the other side, as long as the sun doesn’t set completely.

This photograph displays the historical turmoil that engulfed Northern Ireland for over three decades.  These murals were painted on the side of buildings during the fighting, and this particular one is for the Loyalist’s Ulster Freedom Fighters paramilitary group.  Walking around these areas where violence erupted multiple times taught me how lucky I am to have missed our own revolutionary war.  It’s brother against brother in Northern Ireland.  I can’t imagine.

I have always adored this photograph.  The stunning shape of the ruins of the Rock of Cashel intrigued me, and the silhouette against the setting sun proved to be a magnificent composition.  The piece on the left used to be a giant Celtic cross, the top of which has since fallen and lies between the base and the wall surrounding the entire hill on which the ruins sit.

The Rock of Cashel was full of ravens.  The huge black birds, who oddly enough frequented almost every cemetery or monastic ruin that I visited, swarmed around this particular place.  At one point, a loud noise startled them, and hundreds of them took flight and circled the Rock again and again until they settled back down.

I love this picture because it shows the grandiose wall of the monastery, shadowed by its own structure, and one of the birds.

The Rock of Cashel, a set of monastic ruins, sit on top of a hill overlooking the entire valley.  This set of ruins, a much smaller monastery, lie in that valley, and through a small window in the wall of the Rock of Cashel, I took this photograph.

I love this picture because it’s so typical of Ireland.  Beautiful green fields, sheep, and ruins of a monastery.  We actually walked all the way out to those ruins (through the very muddy grass) to find some graffiti and beer cans.  More memorable, however, was how free we were to wander about the ruins.  We were completely alone and could do whatever we wanted to.  Gorgeous.

Now, this photograph was taken on the magnificent grounds of Kilkenny Castle.  The front lawn stretched forever and the sky was so beautiful.  This picture—one that I still haven’t quite made up my mind about—is gorgeous because of the gigantic clouds that were out that day.  And, because the grounds were so flat, they stretched on as far as the eye could see.  I attempted to capture their size with this photo, especially in relation to the ground.

Kilkenny Castle rose out of the dense fog that morning as I explored the streets of the city with the same name.  I like this photograph not only because of its somewhat ominous structure in the background, but also because the bridge, with its red-tipped light posts, and the passerby completely negate the castle’s potential ominous nature.

This was the view from my house in Dublin.  Every night, when the sun would set, St. Mary’s’ dome could be seen silhouetted against the orange sky.  This is just one of the many pictures that I actually have of the dome.

I am always reminded of Lord of the Rings when I see this photograph.  The clearing in the forest and the moss-covered rocks, almost too many and too beautiful to seem real, compelled me to snap the shot.

I have always adored this photograph.  Something about the composition of the bare branches with the fully green trees in the background.  I also like the lake and the different wave patterns.  The group of trees seems so lonely between the gray sky and lake and the bare mountain and branches.

The gardens of Glenveagh Estate are in complete decay during the winter and early spring.  Overgrown, mossy, and often dead, they hardly resemble what they probably used to be.

This picture isn’t liked by many of my peers, partially because it’s “creepy.”  I happen to love it for that same reason.  There’s something brooding about the little angle with the hole in its arm and its downward gaze.  Some sense of being forgotten and left behind.

Glenveagh National Park stretches around a beautiful lake.  A mansion sits on the edge of the lake, surrounded by gardens.  The mansion’s docks jut into the lake, nestled amid rolling mountains.  It would be raining within a few minutes of when this picture was taken.

The funny thing about this donkey is that not only was it standing a few feet from a four or five foot drop, but it was also on the outside of a fence right up against the road.  Donkeys, sheesh.

Charles Fort now lies in ruins on the Kinsale coast.  It used to protect the bay from invaders, but now is visited only by tourists and birds.  There are many ghost stories that have come out of the fort, and some brave souls will actually camp there overnight to catch sight of a woman wearing a white dress.  She is the ghost of a woman who was engaged to a sailor when she hanged herself.

Fort Charles offers magnificent views of the bay down below.  This point is where all of the canons were aimed at–it’s the only point of access and because it’s so narrow it’s very easy to defend.  Kinsale is also famous for these sailboats.

This tree sat out past the Blarney Castle grounds.  It was in a field all alone, and I had to put my hands through a gate in order to actually take the picture.

I love the branches on the tree.  If they were green and full of leaves I do not think that the picture would be nearly as powerful.

I love this photograph.  Part of my love for it is the sheer randomness.  In fact, it seems more like it’s fate that I took the picture at that exact moment so that I could clearly make out the heart.  It doesn’t even matter to me what the other words are.  The title of this picture took me a long time to decide on, but I wrote it back in 2007 after I returned from Ireland, and I have always imagined that I’d write a story to accompany it.

I also love the washed-out look of it.  It has the feeling that someone is running from something.  There’s something missing.  It reminds me a lot of the film Minority Report.

I am really interested to hear what people think about this photograph, and any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

At the top of Bray Head sits a massive cross.  Ireland is a majority Catholic country, and it didn’t surprise me one bit to find the cross up there.  I was surprised, however, to find it covered in graffiti.  Goes to show that even the most religious countries have their dissidents.

Beautiful view of Dublin Bay from the top of Bray Head, a gorgeous mountain overlooking the town with the same name.  It juts right out of the town.  The sky looks like rolling hills or folds of sort, culminating in that orange cream horizon.

In our adventure across the islands that day we found a set of massive rock walls–clearly once part of a fortress or tower of sorts–and we climbed on top of the circular walls.  This is Renee, running in the early dusk, on top of one of the walls.

The fierce wind blew at us as we scaled the cliff.  At the top, beyond an ancient rock wall and a gate, a flat meadow sprawled before us to the cliffside–a sheer drop into the Atlantic Ocean.  A fort used to stand here, guarding against the invading English and Spanish.

I climbed all the way to the edge, got on my stomach, and stared down into the beautiful crashing waves, barely able to hear my own voice because of the loud wind and waves.

Right after we got off of the ferry, I saw this boat.  Looked like the low-tide caught up to it.

We caught the only ferry leaving for the Aran Islands that day because the weather was going to turn sour.  The small boat rocketed up and down the massive waves as we went against them.  No ferry experience has been quite like it ever since.  We all hurt afterwards.

I love this picture because not only does it show how Dublin is developing with the cranes and building in the background, but also because it’s fascinating to be juxtaposed with this other side of Dublin.  This other side is older–not ancient–but older nonetheless, and rooted in this sense of rebellion and decay.  Ireland, for so many decades, was a country in decay.  Only recently have they become prosperous.  It’s perhaps more interesting to know that most of that garden is actually pretty barren.

I got a lot of compliments with this photograph.  I really like the unique shape of the street lamp and the randomness of some of the trees.  Also, it’s a very typical Dublin sky.

I always remember this photograph as my first bog ever.  I had never seen a bog until I stumbled upon this one in the ruins of Glendalough, a beautiful valley containing a monastary.  Moments after this it began to pour and the winds were extraordinarily high.

Unfortunately, it is also pretty blurry.  I still like it though.

My dad, sister, and brother were a bit braver than I was when they ventured out onto the frozen lake.  Wrapped up in their jackets, they braved the beautiful lake.  One of my favorite parts of this picture is the shape their bodies make, especially in the shadows.

For the last eight or nine years, my family has gone to Camp Taylor quite often.  Every visit, my siblings and I reconstruct the rock bridge across this one part in the stream so that we can get to one place I like to call “The Rock.”  The Rock features prominently in my young adulthood, and it’s a place that I draw a lot of inspiration from.

I was a professional toilet paperer in high school, and I definitely put my skills to good use.  This photo was taken on a day when I tped a house in broad daylight, even getting into the backwyard.  I snapped this photo and thought it was especially cool–beautiful, maybe?

I once tped over ten houses in one night in two counties (with some help, of course).

My artistic side came out pretty early.  Unfortunately, I didn’t compose the shot a bit better, but the idea came out pretty effectively.

With some free time in Cordoba, I wandered around the small, beautiful streets passing through alleys and into dead-ends with small fountains.  This view was too priceless to pass up.

I know how cliche these pictures are, but I couldn’t help it.  The sky is beautiful considering that it thunderstormed the night before, and it’s amazing to see how “Lighthouse” from four years before compares to this picture.  They’re both composed similarly.

This photo isn’t very special, aside from the blur of people across the bottom of the picture.  It reminds me how many people have taken pictures of the same places over and over, and how similar all of our photographs must be.  What makes this picture unique is the people, however, and their expressions and movements.

The clouds were on the verge of releasing a torrent of rain, and my friends and I were running towards the Arc de Triomphe.  I snapped this photo on our way up to it.  By the time we got to the top and took in the vast city, lightning began to strike across the city, and the rain caught us on the top of the Arc.

We ran inside and back down, only to face the masses of people running around in the streets to gain cover.  The flame of the fallen soldier, always lit underneath the Arc, was wavering in the wind and rain.  We found cover in a metro station, but, like the awesome Californians we are, decided to run back out into the rain chanting our state’s name to get where we needed to go.

This is Luis.  We built a house for Luis’ family.  Every morning he would get up early to put on his best clothes and greet us as we arrived to start that day’s building.  He was also always the last person to say good-bye.  I know that this photograph isn’t the best quality (it was scanned onto the computer, for starters), and I took it a long time ago, but there’s something about it–about Luis’ gaze at us as we pulled away for the last time and something about the curves and conditions of his neighborhood.  I think that I like it because it is so candid and so honest.  He just stood there smiling.  I’ll never forget those moments.

Mount St. Helens is a lifeless forest.  Miles and miles of barren trees dot the hillsides.  This picture came out especially interesting when it was printed because it appeared more purple than gray.

In high school I went on a number of Mexico service trips where we went to Mexico and built houses for low-income Mexican families.  In 2004 our campsite was on a plateau that had a sharp cliff dropout overlooking the valley below.  As can be expected, much of this region is pretty desolate in terms of vegetation and such, and the photograph makes that pretty obvious.  Most of this land is undeveloped and unmaintained.  I like this picture a lot because of the formation of my three friends and their positions.  I like that they are in height order, and I think that the composition of this photograph details quite a bit my blossoming photograph skills.

Okay, so this picture isn’t particularly amazing, and like many of my early photographs, I scanned this one into the computer, so the quality is even poorer.  I am putting this one up because I think it also indicates a bit of how I learned to take pictures and my style.  The composition is fairly nice, with the foreground and the background.  The color has faded a bit, but overall I think it’s pretty good.  My family took a vacation down to the Grand Canyon in the summer of 2001.  I was pretty young (I honestly only remember snippets of it), but the place was gorgeous, and I definitely remember being overwhelmed by its beauty.

When my family went to Kauai in the summer of 2001, I snapped this photograph with a really crappy point and shoot.  It’s horrible quality, but I like to think that a lot of my later photography harks back to it.

My family was walking through a parking lot and I literally turned around for a second.  We were walking on our way to a luau all dressed up in our Hawaiian shirts and short shorts.  I was fifteen.

The lighthouse sat at the top of this beautiful cliff.  I chased a photogenic goose halfway around the lighthouse to get a picture of it and then I looked up and realized that the lighthouse would make a much better picture, especially because it wasn’t moving.  It was a very windy day.