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Through The Tracks – San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas

 

Man Who Goes Through Turnstile Sideways Is Going to Bangkok

Confucius was a wise man.

So, I went to Bangkok last year, the place, not the action. It was a whirlwind trip but I did bring the Leica along for the ride. I took a taxi from my hotel to the Grand Palace. It wasn’t yet open for tourists but a seemingly nice guy chatted me up about his cheap (less than $2 USD) tour of all the major tourist spots in Bangkok. He would wisk me through traffic on his trusty tuk-tuk. Seemed legit.

I jumped in.

Tuk-tuk

He took me to the first spot, where the standing, sitting, and laying Buddhas were. The gardens and decor were outstanding.

I particularly enjoyed the sitting Buddha. The room was quite lush and intricate.

BUT, nothing is as good as it seems. My tuk-tuk driver took me to retail stores, in between the tourist locations and I had to go into these places, even if not buying anything, and just walk through. Tailors, jewelers, tricketeers, etc. He said if he took me to all the places, they would stamp his pass and he would get a free tank of gas. A neat little racket.

Just a heads up. Would I do it again? Probably.

Sunrise Over Punta Cana

I drug my hungover ass out of bed and trudged down to the beach with my trusty Leica to try and catch a sunrise while on vacation. It was the kind of “all-inclusive syrupy mess” hangovers. At first, I thought it was too cloudy, as it was still rather dark out. As the light started to fill the morning sky, I was happy to see just a spread of clouds, mostly in the distance. I sat on one of those massage tables on the beach and waited, still in a haze of my own. It was worth the effort! I quickly found a chair on the beach for a well deserved nap.

Where was your favorite sunrise?

The Sky Lights Up

Every year, my extended family packs up and heads to Sunset Beach, NC for vacation. Lots of food, booze, and relaxing ensues.

Within the last year or so, a brand new bridge was completed to span the Intracoastal Waterway. It replaced an old single lane swing bridge. We walked up to the top to take some pictures at sunset.

The sky lights up.

Paradise in the Middle East

I usually post a great deal of pictures per post but because I am trying to post more regularly, there will be a few posts that I have only one or two pictures.

This was taken from my hotel balcony while on a business trip in the Middle East. It is looking across the bay at Doha, Qatar in the Gulf of Oman.

This is seriously one city that I could live happily ever after in the Middle East. Absolutely beautiful with booming growth. The skyline continues to morph. If you have a chance, go and visit Qatar. It is truly a wonderful place!

Don’t Look Down!

I have to admit, I got a bit jelly-knee’d while taking this shot. When looking through the lens of the camera, you lose your sense of depth perception. This picture takes me back every time!

This is from the observatory of the Calgary Tower, in the glass floor area. We stopped there for a night before heading to the mountains in Banff.

Sunset Beaching It

We packed up the truck and took a ride east to Sunset Beach, NC to visit the family for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The weather had been unseasonably warm with the sun shining and waves crashing.

A few of my favorites from the walk on the beach.

I always love how a black and white photo can make things seem so much more powerful.

Under the pier downtown, it’s where I drew some blood! Pretty sure that’s how that Chili Peppers song went right?

Bilbao (Baggins), Spain

Pardon the cheesy joke title, but that’s all I got.

I rarely take my 5DMkii with me on my work trips and I usually regret it when I get there. Well this time, I lugged the thing along in my carry-on and toted it with me during my free time. I was fortunate enough to catch a beautiful day in Spain, which for this time of year is somewhat rare.

The architecture was truly stunning. I had been to Barcelona and Madrid before, and this had style of it’s own.

Bilbao is also home to a Guggenheim museum. It is one of five locations in the world (NYC, Venice, Berlin, and Abu Dhabi are the others).

The guard dog of the museo.

And it would be a crime for me to post a trip to Spain without a shot of the chorizo!

Shanghai Part 2

Well, I must admit, I am trying hard to stay on top of this now. It has been neglected for too long and I have lots to share. When life gets busy, my creative outlet seems to be the first thing I shut off. No longer!

I was fortunate enough to be in Shanghai at the end of the Chinese New Year, and had access to the restricted Lantern Festival. This festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the Chinese calendar, the last day of the lunisolar Chinese New Year celebration. 2012 is the year of the dragon! This makes for excellent decorations.

Before dinner one night, I wanted to catch the skyline across from the Bund as it was lit up. The shots weren’t as great as I had hoped but what can you do. I wasn’t packing my tripod on the 16 hour flight.

I love NY? Naaah, I love SH!

One of the first stops we made was to the Shanghai History Museum. It was free to enter and it was truly mind blowing. Artifacts that were 20,000+ years old on display.