Author Archives: antitouristtraveler

Things that are Precarious: A Vertigo-Driven Photo Essay

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It seems that when traveling outside the USA, I find many things that just don’t look stable or safe. Case in point: houses on mountains, motorcycle rides over landslides, or me on anything. Here’s a collection of precarious things that would freak any mother out–especially mine. And yes, I use the term “precarious” quite lightly. So what here is precarious?

The girl who leaned out to take this photo of me rock climbing, for starters.

Or these homes in the Cinque Terre, Italy.

Or these schoolboys in Thailand mugging for my camera over the previous night’s landslide.

Or really, everything about this photo. No wonder we didn’t have power for a week.

How about any of these mountain roads in Nepal?

Or this giant fly, trying to function on this planet on its measly legs?

Or me on other cliffs:

Or me…not on any cliffs?

Or this village dessert’s contents, in my stomach, given to me during an event at which I was the honored guest?

Or me in this hammock in Malaysia (because the first one I was in broke, and I still have the scar to prove it)?

How about these bridges in India, Cambodia, and Thailand? If only you could see the true angles…

What is the likelihood that this Maltese road does NOT suddenly end and drop into the sea?

Or that my hiking buddy is NOT going to be caught in a gravelanche?

Or that several teenage girls CAN actually live in this tiny house on stilts in Asia?

And finally, will you trust that this egg-carrying bicyclist will never have to suddenly swerve or stop short?

Precarious or not, I’m still alive. Barely, but I still am. Remember: If you’re a mom, do not look at this post. Sorry for the late warning.

Water Droplet Photography

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Let’s face it: Even if we have the time, few of us have the money to travel every day of the year. But that doesn’t mean the photography has to stop! Find a free hour and set up a small mini-studio for capturing water up close, and you’ll learn quite a bit from experimentation. By using common household items such as a gimlet, the fossil of a Baryonyx’s femur, and a scarificator, it’s easy to get incredible results. Take enough frames and eventually you’ll end up with fascinating macro photos of water drops, patterns in water, water collisions, and more. Actually it’s not easy at all, but when you get the results you’re looking for, the results are awfully fun to look at! The following are some of my favorite experimental water photos, many of which I took just this week. Only a few have been edited at all; most are directly from the camera–so know no tomfoolery is involved. Enjoy, and feel free to ask about specific techniques!

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July Shenanigans

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Brooklyn Butterfly

Ah, a staycation. Wait, say that again? Haven’t I been on a staycation for months now, you ask? Why yes, yes I have. And don’t I hate the word staycation? Why yes, yes I do. It’s called LIVING in your own town or city, people. So why am I talking about staycations? There’s no reason, really, other than to point out the fact that I feel I’ve been on one since last year. Without the –cation part.

I’m still sick here and have been feeling up and down trying out different medications. The reality is that sometimes I feel good (85%), and the next day (or hour) I can feel 30% and barely function or walk. Luckily, several important gigs and events occurred on mostly “up” days this month.

There was the huge Fancy Food Show from June-July. Though I couldn’t eat all that much, I still was able to enjoy seeing new food trends and meet some great people at the sofi Awards, hosted by chef Marcus Samuelsson.

I also found one of my photos from a Food Network/Cooking Channel shoot of Kelsey’s Essentials on giant posters throughout the show. No, I didn’t get credit, but it still was pretty neat (photos below)! After looking through posts on her site, I found several collages using my photos, so below I’ve posted one of them.

There was walking to my pond and watching the dragonflies some afternoons. Or going to a garden and catching the butterflies (pictured above).

There was using my new 9-stop ND filter to achieve a tranquil upper Manhattan waterscape.

I had a few sessions with clients, which went pretty well.

And finally, there was my first foray back into tick land, when I took a 10-minute walk to see a nearby waterfall. Man do I miss nature. The bug spraying/tick checking did indeed take longer than the hike, but when your health is at stake, you gotta do what you gotta do. Coming up soon: water droplet photos I’ve taken during house arrest. Well it feels like house arrest! I try to put on a good face, though.

Enjoy all the photos by clicking on one to view it close up; use the arrows to navigate the photo mosaic.