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  • As the largest religious structure ever built and proprietor of some of the world’s most magnificent stone carvings, Angkor Wat is considered by many to be one of the greatest architectural achievements in human history. Divided into the three main levels of the Hindu cosmos, it features an 800 meter long gallery of magnificent bas-reliefs depicting epic stories from Hindu mythology, four stone block swimming pools and five central towers. These towers depict the peaks of Mount Meru, home of the gods and the center of the Hindu universe. At over 180 feet high, they can not only be seen from the town of Siem Reap six kilometers away, they can also be seen all over the country as the main symbol on the Cambodian flag.<br />
The Wat is the crowning achievement of the Khmer civilization which, in it’s prime, ruled over most of Southeast Asia. It was commissioned by and built for the god-king, Suryavarman II who was worshipped as an incarnation of the protector god Vishnu. The only temple in the Khmer empire facing West into the setting sun, a symbol of death in Hinduism, it is an accepted belief that it was built as a mausoleum for Suryavarman II. The fact that it took 50,000 artist and laborers nearly 40 years to complete is a testament to the Khmers power, wealth and devotion.<br />
To make this photograph showing all five towers, I walked off of the main causeway and joined the cattle that still graze in the fields contained within Angkor’s vast complex. Taken just before sunset, it illustrates why we photographers refer to this time of day as “golden hour”. Taken at any other time of the day, the wat wouldn’t have this beautiful golden color of the sunset, but rather it’s natural stone-grey color.
    AngkorWatAtGoldenHour.tif
  • A couple takes in one of the wonders of the world
    CanyonForTwo.tif
  • During it's heyday 11 centuries ago, the city of Angkor was at the center of the Khmer civilization. The Khmers were not only a powerful empire, they were also one of history's most creative and artistic. They created hundreds of buildings and temples that are as magnificent as they are massive. After the empire fell to the Siamese in 1431 the city was left to be devoured by the dense jungle of Northern Cambodia. It wasn't until the French explorer Henri Mouhot wrote about his discovery of the fabled "lost city of Angkor" in the 1860's that the modern world was introduced to one of humanity's greatest architectural achievements.<br />
This former Buddhist temple, Ta Prohm is one of the most popular sites at Angkor because unlike it's famous neighbors Angkor Wat and The Bayon, Ta Prohm was left exactly as it was found, so you get a real sense of what it must have been like to rediscover this majestic city. Most experts believe that these voracious trees that have overtaken the site are the very thing holding it together and if archaeologist were to remove them, Ta Prohm would simply crumble.
    TaPhromDoorway.tif
  • The Grand Canyon; Earth's most spectacular example of what happens when you combine the perfect combination of geology, erosion and a whole lot of time. As magnificent as the canyon is, it can be a "grand" challenge for photographers to capture images that provide scale and depth to a wonder filled with superlatives. Of course, we will never be able to to re-create the awe that one is overcome with when standing on the rim and gazing into the vastness of this world wonder but the joy of photographing the canyon is to try and capture a semblance of it's beauty and grandeur on a two dimensional medium. There are different techniques you can use to achieve to this aim and in this photograph I combined two of them. First of all, it is necessary to place something of interest in the foreground to give the image depth. Secondly, I sometimes like to use something in the foreground of the photo that acts as a sort of natural border to create a "frame within the frame". This will draw the viewers eye through the photo from the foreground to the background. Thus, you can not only have a striking image framed beautifully and naturally but you can also achieve a sense of depth at the same time..This all came to mind instantaneously when I came across this dead tree while hiking into the canyon via the South Kaibab Trail. It caught my eye because it's lack of foliage not only lends itself perfectly to the afore mentioned techniques but it's apparent age also makes it the perfect companion to the the canyon and the theme of this photo, time.
    Time.tif
  • 20140725-SouthAfrica-KrugerNationalP...tif
  • This section of The Great Wall of China has been incredibly well maintained and is also less crowded with tourists than the Badaling section which is closer to Beijing.
    TheGreatWallAtMutianyu.tif
  • One of the many doors inside the Forbidden City that has been refurbished and freshly painted.
    Refurbished Door Inside The Forbidde...tif
  • Buddha Statue Near Mae Hong Son, Thailand
    PaintedBuddhaNearMaeHongSongThailand.tif
  • The colorful pagodas of Wat Pho
    PagodasAtWatPho.tif
  • This section of The Great Wall of China has been incredibly well maintained and is also less crowded with tourists than the Badaling section which is closer to Beijing.
    TheGreatWallAtMutianyu(Verticle).tif
  • TheEmpressSittingRoom.tif
  • Temple of the Dawn at dawn!
    WatArunAtDusk.tif
  • The famous crown of Our Lady of Guadalupe church in historical Puerto Vallarta.
    LaCaronaDeLaIglesia.tif
  • TheChairmanAndAPupil.tif
  • TheThroneRoom.tif
  • WeatheredDoorInTheForbiddenCity.tif
  • A Forbidden City Fire Hydrant.tif
  • Forbidden City; Beijing, China
    Antique Door (verticle).tif
  • Artistic Angle.tif
  • Locked Doors in The Forbidden City.tif
  • Hlltribe Women selling their wares in the capital
    NotFromAroundHere.tif
  • GateOfHeavenlyPeaceAtDusk.tif
  • SecretComposition.tif
  • The incomparable beauty of Koh Phi Phi
    KhoPhiPhiDon.tif
  • Ancient Chinese Doors; The Forbidden...tif
  • The largest Buddha statue in Thailand!
    ReclingBuddhaOfWatPho.tif
  • Phuket Sunset.tif
  • The amazing view from one guard tower to the next at the Mutianyu section of the wall.
    StandingGuardInMutianyu.tif
  • ThroughTheCracks.tif
  • SlippedThroughTheCracks.tif
  • ProtectorGodAtTheGateOfHeavenlyPeace.tif
  • A traditional thoroughfare and market in Thailand
    DamnoenSaduakFloatingMarket.tif
  • Best known of Lalibela’s rock hewn churches, Church of St. George is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has often been called the Eighth Wonder of the World. I feel like there’s probably 100 “Eighth Wonders of the World” but this church definitely qualifies. It was carved downward through the hard volcanic tuff before chiseling out the inside. It’s such a mind-numbing feat, the locals claim all eleven of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches were carved by angels at night while the real workers were sleeping. Whether people 800-years-ago carved out this church with rudimentary tools or they had the power to summon angels to do the work, either way it’s a miraculous achievement.
    20141009-Ethiopia-Lalibela-123.tif
  • Mikael Cemetery is just outside of town on an adjacent hillside and below the Christian church of the same name. Ironically, unlike the ancient town it serves, the cemetery has no walls or gates. Therefore, you can expect locals to be not only paying their respects, but also grazing their cattle. <br />
On the hillside in the background you can the ancient walled city of Harar, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2006.
    20141002-Ethiopia-Harar-36.jpg
  • Perhaps no other local illustrates the rugged American Southwest better than Monument Valley. This must be exactly how the famous Hollywood director John Ford felt when he first discovered this magical landscape in the mid-thirties, and is the reason why he chose to shoot several of his blockbuster westerns here including, Stagecoach in 1939 and How The West Was Won in 1962. Although it still receives relatively few tourists compared to other parks in the region such as Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona or Zion and Bryce canyons in Utah, most people still find it familiar. This is no doubt due to the countless advertising campaigns that have featured the monuments as the backdrop for marketing their rugged image. Toyota trucks and even the United States Marine Corps have used the scenery, but nobody seems to spend more time here than the Marlboro Man. Yes, that fictional cowboy the Marlboro Man is the reason why most people in the world have seen pictures of Monument Valley, whether they realize it or not. In fact, I have noticed billboards in Kathmandu and posters in Tokyo featuring Monument Valley's vistas and always point out to people, "Hey,that's where I'm from". Actually, the only people that can really claim to be "from" Monument Valley are the people of the Navajo Nation as Monument Valley sits entirely inside the borders of the Navajo Indian Reservation, the largest such reservation in the United States. For centuries the Navajo have been ranching and farming this land and consider many of the monuments to be sacred..Just South of the border with Utah, these are probably the most famous monuments in the valley and together they are known as The Mittens. No matter how many times you go to Monument Valley, they never cease to inspire awe with their shear size and perfectly eroded shapes of a left and right mitten. I chose this composition because I felt the beautifully striated boulders in the foreground not only lead the viewers eyes nicely into the phot
    WarmMittens.tif
  • Best known of Lalibela’s rock hewn churches, Church of St. George is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has often been called the Eighth Wonder of the World. I feel like there’s probably 100 “Eighth Wonders of the World” but this church definitely qualifies. It was carved downward through the hard volcanic tuff before chiseling out the inside. It’s such a mind-numbing feat, the locals claim all eleven of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches were carved by angels at night while the real workers were sleeping. Whether people 800-years-ago carved out this church with rudimentary tools or they had the power to summon angels to do the work, either way it’s a miraculous achievement.
    20141009-Ethiopia-Lalibela-119.tif
  • Odds are, if someone asked you to name the top five most famous beaches in the world, two names near the top of the list would be Copacabana and Ipanema. Justifiably so. After all, Copacabana is credited as being the birthplace of the bikini and Ipanema, well, who can’t at least hum the chorus to the Jobim/Morais masterpiece, “The Girl From Ipanema" that single-handedly put Bossa Nova on the world map of musical genres? What’s really amazing is that both of these beaches are in the same city! Indeed, this could only occur in the hedonistic beach culture of Rio de Janeiro.<br />
With an estimated population near ten million people, Rio has most of the things that go along with a city of that size anywhere in in the world, i.e. traffic, etc. However, two things that really set Rio apart from any other urban metropolis are it’s stunning geographic beauty and the “Cariocas" (Residents of Rio) belief that leisure time at the beach is a birthright. Wanting to illustrate this uniqueness I headed down to Arpoador, which is the rocky outcropping that separatesIpanema and Copacabana. This turned out to be a good choice because not only did it afford me this beautiful view looking all the way down Ipanema Beach to it’s spectacular mountainous end, it also had plenty of locals engaging in their favorite seaside activities. Whether it was working out to maintain their “body beautiful”, surfing or in the case of these four men, fishing right off the rocks into the ocean. Facing West in the late afternoon gave me the opportunity to silhouette the men, thus turning them into the representative “everyman” and the perfect composition to illustrate the lifestyle of this unique mega-city.
    FishingWithAViewOfIpanema.tif
  • Best known of Lalibela’s rock hewn churches, Church of St. George is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has often been called the Eighth Wonder of the World. I feel like there’s probably 100 “Eighth Wonders of the World” but this church definitely qualifies. It was carved downward through the hard volcanic tuff before chiseling out the inside. It’s such a mind-numbing feat, the locals claim all eleven of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches were carved by angels at night while the real workers were sleeping. Whether people 800-years-ago carved out this church with rudimentary tools or they had the power to summon angels to do the work, either way it’s a miraculous achievement.
    20141009-Ethiopia-Lalibela-61.tif
  • One of Shanghai's world famous acrobats jumps through a hoop several feet off of the ground.
    JumpingThroughHoopsLiterally.tif
  • A boatman peers out from his world on the Huangpu River.
    FamilyLifeOnABoat.tif
  • A giant black labrador lays in the doorway watching the world pass by as he waits for his master to return.
    20140407-UAEAbuDhabiLiwaMoreebSandDu...tif
  • Built in 537 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, Aya Sofya is a marvel of both architecture and engineering. It is said to have changed the history of architecture, primarily due to it’s grand dome. It is 32 meters in diameter and 56 meters above the floor. It tops what was the largest church in christianity and even the largest indoor space in the world for over 1,000 years!
    20141212-Turkey-Istanbul-683.tif
  • One thing that never ceases to amaze me when I am working in the developing world is people’s propensity for making due with what they have by finding multiple uses for simple, everyday objects. This girl in the ancient walled city of Harar, Ethiopia whimsically and I must say beautifully illustrated that for me with her use of an old pot lid as a hat.
    20140930-Ethiopia-Harar-113.tif
  • I can vividly remember as a child seeing a photo similar to this in an elementary school geography book and thinking, someday I must see this in person. It is one of my earliest memories of experiencing wanderlust, a diagnosis that would become a driving force throughout my life. Only later as an adult did I come to find out that this is also the birthplace of Bossa Nova, the bikini, and of course, the world’s largest party. It is also home to over seven million Cariocas, as the locals call themselves, a colorful mix of some of the most beautiful people in the world all packed into the most beautiful urban setting on the planet, Rio de Janeiro.<br />
The geography and people of Rio have created a unique urban sprawl, whereby some of the wealthiest people in Brazil live next to or even beneath some of the poorest. The poor have taken to illegally building favelas or shanty towns on any available space that clings to or straddles Rio’s magnificent mountains. The irony of course, is that it’s the people of the favelas that have the most magnificent views of their Cidade Maravilhosa or Marvelous City. Constantly watching over this marvelous city and all who inhabit it is the enormous statue ofCristo Redentor, Christ the Redeemer. Perched on the tip ofCorcovado, or Hunchback mountain at 2,329 feet above the city, it can be seen from just about anywhere and offers a breathtaking view from it’s base.<br />
Even though this image is on postcards all over the city, I wanted to fulfill my childhood vision to see it and photograph it for myself. After experiencing a week of Carnaval and a month in Rio I hadn’t had the opportunity to get my photo on a clear day. Miraculously, on my last morning in Rio I woke up to this heavenly, clear, blue sky. Risking missing my flight, I raced to the helicopter pad and fulfilled my vision.
    ChristTheRedeemerWatchingOverRio.tif
  • A woman wears her finest traditional dress to enjoy the parade. Why is it that around the world, it's always only the women who carry-on a cultures traditional dress?
    20140407-UAEAbuDhabiLiwaMoreebSandDu...tif
  • The ceiling inside the Blue Mosque looks like the world's largest kaleidoscope.
    20141212-Turkey-Istanbul-786.tif
  • The world famous Shanghai acrobats contort themselves into unbelievable shapes.
    AcrobatsContorted.tif
  • “The gelada, sometimes called a ‘bleeding heart baboon’, is a species of Old World monkey found only in the Ethiopian Highlands, living at elevations of 1,800–4,400 m above sea level.” -Wikepidia<br />
Apparently they like to keep a 300mm lens distance away from humans.
    20141006-Ethiopia-SimienMountains-49.tif
  • This is an example of an image that I planned for extensively. Having been to this location months prior, I vowed to come back at the perfect time to get this magical shot. That perfect time only occurs around noon in the summertime when a crack in the narrow walls above cast this perfect beam of sunshine on the sandy ground. A tripod and a carefully timed exposure helped capture, what I consider the world's most beautiful and natural sundial.
    BeamMeUp.tif