Fluid Fragility

Ghost Ship 2 Puerto Ayora Harbor, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. January 2006 Las Encantadas, or the Enchanted Isles, is what the Galapagos islands were called for many years. Here, a tall ship, in port for the night, filled with happy tourists poses as a haunted ship, while the power was out in town. The mast head lights become carosel horses or Sea horses, if you will, tieing the magic of the place to the moment.

Ghost Ship 1 Puerto Ayora Harbor, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. January 2006 Las Encantadas, or the Enchanted Isles as they were known for centuries cast many spells on the people lucky enough to walk her shores. Here, thanks to a power outage in town, the curtain of time seems pulled aside and the ghost ships of pirates and whalers seem to stare back from the harbor. The reality is merely a tourist ship, but the feeling of mystery and adventure are the same.

Monet's Water Caiman Piuval, Pantanal, Brazil. September 2003 Moved by the stunning grean of the lily pads, the alligator-like Caiman, and the piranhas beneath the glassy water, it seemed as though Monet himself sat beside me.

Beneath The Berg Paulette Island, Antarctic Penninsula, December 2004 A small iceberg, or Bergy Bit, had grounded on the shore of Paulette Island. What else was there to do but climb under it with camera in hand?! Note: This photo moved as far as the semi-finals in the British Natural History Museum/Shell Wildlife photography competition for 2007 in the catagory "creative visions of nature".

Petrel Seas Brown Bluff, Antarctic Penninsula, December 2004 The seas were high enough that this Petrel had a tough time getting out of the water. It was about 10pm and sunset was about 2 hours off. The light was pink, the water blue, the Petrel . . . black and white.

Essence of Penguin 1 Adele Penguins, Brown Bluff, Antarctic Penninsula, December 2004 We had been photographing Penguins for 10 days. I was frustrated because, though i had lovely pictures of penguins, i had none that really showed how they move, how they feel or how one feels when one is with them. These 3 images are my favorite of more than 100 shot in the hopes of capturing that elusive "essence of penguin".

Essence of Penguin 2 Adele Penguin, Brown Bluff, Antarctic Penninsula, December 2004 We had been photographing Penguins for 10 days. I was frustrated because, though i had lovely pictures of penguins, i had none that really showed how they move, how they feel or how one feels when one is with them. These 3 images are my favorite of more than 100 shot in the hopes of capturing that elusive "essence of penguin"

Essence of Penguin 3 Brown Bluff, Antarctic Penninsula, December 2004 We had been photographing Penguins for 10 days. I was frustrated because, though i had lovely pictures of penguins, i had none that really showed how they move, how they feel or how one feels when one is with them. These 3 images are my favorite of more than 100 shot in the hopes of capturing that elusive "essence of penguin"

Moai's Landing (Easter Island or Rapa Nui) Nominee for the 2009 Photography Master's Cup Abstract/Amateur Catagory http://www.worldphotographicarts.com/photoshow/colorawards/3rd_gala/presentation/nominations.php?x=a&cid=28 Rapa Nui, Chile, December 18th 2004 Easter Island at Dawn. Having heard all the stories about aliens landing on Easter Island, while watching the sunrise there i was inspired to provide photographic "proof" of their landing! This was taken the morning of the wedding of 2 dear friends. A wedding i hated to miss, a morning i wanted to remember.

Algae Bloom 1 Isla Isabela, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, May 2005 Las Encantadas are indeed enchanting and on this occasion, enchanted! A red algae bloom in a lagoon on Isabela Island (on the path to the tortoise breeding center if you're familiar with the island) provided these two images. The color was mesmerizing as i'd never seen water that color before. Nor have i since. Please note, these images are about 1/2 a stop under exposed to saturate the color, but that is all. The algae did the rest!

Algae Bloom 2 Isla Isabela, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, May 2005 Las Encantadas are indeed enchanting and on this occasion, enchanted! A red algae bloom in a lagoon on Isabela Island (on the path to the tortoise breeding center if you're familiar with the island) provided these two images. The color was mesmerizing as i'd never seen water that color before. Nor have i since. Please note, these images are about 1/2 a stop under exposed to saturate the color, but that is all. The algae did the rest!

Fluidity 1 Svalbard, Norway, June 2005 As the sun rose a bit higher through the arctic summer sky, the light changed, though the water itself remained glassy calm. The most beautiful patterns appeared behind the bow wake. As with all (hopefully) good art, the deeper the study of the subject, the more interest and depth the artist finds. I found myself fascinated by these patterns and took nearly 200 photos of them trying to capture all the nuances of the color, texture and time.

Fluidity 2 Svalbard, Norway, June 2005 As the sun rose a bit higher through the arctic summer sky, the light changed, though the water itself remained glassy calm. The most beautiful patterns appeared behind the bow wake. As with all (hopefully) good art, the deeper the study of the subject, the more interest and depth the artist finds. I found myself fascinated by these patterns and took nearly 200 photos of them trying to capture all the nuances of the color, texture and time.

Fluidity 3 Svalbard, Norway, June 2005 As the sun rose a bit higher through the arctic summer sky, the light changed, though the water itself remained glassy calm. The most beautiful patterns appeared behind the bow wake. As with all (hopefully) good art, the deeper the study of the subject, the more interest and depth the artist finds. I found myself fascinated by these patterns and took nearly 200 photos of them trying to capture all the nuances of the color, texture and time.

Fluidity 4 Svalbard, Norway, June 2005 As the sun rose a bit higher through the arctic summer sky, the light changed, though the water itself remained glassy calm. The most beautiful patterns appeared behind the bow wake. As with all (hopefully) good art, the deeper the study of the subject, the more interest and depth the artist finds. I found myself fascinated by these patterns and took nearly 200 photos of them trying to capture all the nuances of the color, texture and time.

Fluidity 5 Svalbard, Norway, June 2005 As the sun rose a bit higher through the arctic summer sky, the light changed, though the water itself remained glassy calm. The most beautiful patterns appeared behind the bow wake. As with all (hopefully) good art, the deeper the study of the subject, the more interest and depth the artist finds. I found myself fascinated by these patterns and took nearly 200 photos of them trying to capture all the nuances of the color, texture and time.

Fluidity 6 Svalbard, Norway, June 2005 As the sun rose a bit higher through the arctic summer sky, the light changed, though the water itself remained glassy calm. The most beautiful patterns appeared behind the bow wake. As with all (hopefully) good art, the deeper the study of the subject, the more interest and depth the artist finds. I found myself fascinated by these patterns and took nearly 200 photos of them trying to capture all the nuances of the color, texture and time.

Elysium Ironbottom Sound, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, September 2006 After a morning diving the wreck of a WWII Japanese cargo ship, the water surrounding that infamous island proved to be a fertile ground for the imagination. An odd place to find heaven i'll admit, but it was just so beautiful. An amazing place to paint with the camera.

Happy Feet 1 Ambryin Island, Vanuatu, September 2006 After a traditional ROM dance, the people of Ambryn decided to show us a dance rarely seen by outsiders. It was the dance of circumcision. The people dancing are NOT the ones about to be circumcised (which is why they're happy!). Those poor fellows had nails tied in their hair.

Happy Feet 2 Ambryin Island, Vanuatu, September 2006 After a traditional ROM dance, the people of Ambryn decided to show us a dance rarely seen by outsiders. It was the dance of circumcision. The people dancing are NOT the ones about to be circumcised (which is why they're happy!). Those poor fellows had nails tied in their hair.

Belly Feathers King Penguin, South Georgia Island, South Atlantic Ocean, November 2004 A friend had asked me to bring him home a Penguin feather. That's illegal, so i took this photo especially for him! Note: This photo moved as far as the semi-finals in the British Natural History Museum/Shell Wildlife photography competition for 2007 in the catagory "creative visions of nature".

Dreams Wash In An icy, flat calm ocean. An overcast day on the water off Svalbard, Norway. Our ship making only the slowest bow wake as we cut through the artic seas. Only a handful of people on a mostly empty deck. Such a peaceful morning demanded an equally peaceful photograph. Moments later the light changed, the wind picked up, and the dream that had washed in on those metallic seas was over.