The Journey

“People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.”

~St. Augustine

“If you wish to travel far and fast travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.”

 ~ Cesare Pavese

“What does it mean to pre-board?

Do you get on before you get on?”

~ George Carlin

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

~Martin Buber

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.”

~ Susan Heller

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”

~ Anais Nin

“Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.”

~Minor White

I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.”

~ Joseph Campbell

OM

Spontaneously, OM came through me.

My voice was cracking, it didn’t sound pretty and I felt out of breath. As I sounded MMMMMM my chest was vibrating inside and out.

It was a chilly November day, on a solitary island in Croatia.  Almost everything had closed  for the winter.  Getting off the boat in Sipan, the sky was bright blue and the leaves had turned a golden brown and orange hue. Small, weather-beaten boats were tied up along the banks. The stone aged buildings with their faded terra-cotta tiled roofs sat desolate, signalling the end of tourism time.

The day became a walking meditation. I followed a small brown sign with arrows that read CHURCH and MONASTERY pointing up a quiet, winding road. Rhythmically walking I noticed the lush vegetation all around. Meadows with giant pine, cypress and palm trees stretching out on my left. To my right the sun illuminated the green, red and sandstone shades of the sprawling coastal mountains. Turning off the road I climbed up a crud, stone path to a tiny church on the hill.

And sat quietly continuing my “I” meditation.

Time seemed insignificant. I had a sense of something familiar around me. I felt completely alone yet not lonely. There were no thoughts about someone hearing me or if other people were around. Sun beams burst through the cloud covered mountains on the west, as the sun was falling below the horizon.  Perched on a jagged rock in front of the church my breath was winded as the crisp air filled my lungs and the vibration rang through me.

AAA—UUU—MMMMMM began in my body as deep down as it could reach and my mouth changed shape slightly as it rose up through my chest. As my lips were closing the vibration was moving along with the sound and …MMMMMM was buzzing in harmony with everything around. The mountain range, the olive groves and the trees seemed brighter and more vivid. The wind was whistling softly with me as the sun was going down. I felt the mountain range would wrap itself around me like a warm winter shawl. Feeling a presence and vibration of HOME more than of OM. As if I had come home.

I can’t remember how many times we all riffed in harmony. The wind, the birds, the leaves on the trees still playing their evening song as I made my way down.  Back to the battered boats on the shore and the old convenience store. I sat quietly again, hearing the soft murmurings of the crystal clear waves washing up on the shore.  Waxing and waning fluidly and whispering to me of secrets they could share that I would adore. Listening momentarily from inside myself, I felt there was nothing more to explore.

Dubrovnik Old Town [Hipstamatic]

Black and white photos of Dubrovnik Old Town have that Medieval feeling of history and the passing of time.

I thought Orlando’s Statue was a multipurpose monument. It’s a symbol of the freedom of the Dubrovnik Republic. Back in the Middle Ages it was a central meeting point and the center for public events. Just to make the Medieval Knight completely functional, his forearm measures exactly 51.1 cm. People buying textiles used it to measure and make sure they weren’t getting ripped off.

Gustare; Taste, Enjoy, Relish

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Protector; Protettore

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, Rome, Italy

Courage; Coraggio

Piazza del Popolo, Rome

The Path of the Gods and Beyond on the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast such has spectacular scenery and views that even the LAZIEST of walkers will push themselves for a day.

Starting from Positano, before even warming up, we climbed at least 1600 steps, drenched in sweat and taking them 2 at a time sometimes.

The reward was 1) some of the most amazing scenery of my life 2) I’m now a “badass”. The hike up the killer staircase took us from Positano to Montepertuso.

Then, what some consider the authentic, “Sentiero degli Dei” – The Path of the Gods from Montepertuso to Nocelle.

From Nocelle we descended another staircase of over 1000 steps to get down to Praiano.

Crazy? Perhaps…and ecstatic with some fantastic photos. Favourite quote of the day, (from my 20 year old nephew) ” You kept up with us AND you got great photos??”

BADASS

Bruges, Belgium and Harry Potter

Being in the medieval town of Bruges reminded me of England and the feeling of the Harry Potter novels. The sky would get dark and there would be different cobblestone streets with all these nooks and crannies to explore. It had that magical quality so I took my camera and tried to capture the feeling.

Some of these I used a point and shoot for low light at night and others I played with the F5.6 and F8 in the aperture setting just to see how clear I could be with detail. Especially at the train station. The train station is in Antwerp and one of the most beautiful in Europe. I got lucky with the light and was leaving at just the right time of day. I hardly did any editing in Lightroom because the natural light was so beautiful.  I hope I did it justice without a tripod.

 

Connecting at Photokina 2012

I’m building my courage around listening to my inner voice more and more and allowing it to guide me to the next place. This time, when I was in Berlin last week, (I went with the family from Italy to Berlin and we said goodbye there) it kept telling me to go to Cologne. Thinking back, I had never even seen Cologne on a map or thought about going there. As I started to look for a hotel most places I tried were booked. So I asked someone at my hotel in Berlin to call for me and help me book in German.  That was how I found out about Photokina.

Photokina is the biggest photography and digital imaging trade show in Europe. It happens in Cologne every two years and draws thousands of people. It was happening during the dates I was trying to go.

I managed to find a hotel that wasn’t triple the price and quickly booked a train ticket. When people in Berlin asked me  why I was going to Cologne I had to tell them I really didn’t know, I was just following that little voice. When I mentioned Photokina to a few photographers and graphic designers they all knew about it and had been. So I bought a ticket on-line for all 5 days and began to settle into that familiar feeling of, “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”

Arriving in Cologne I started feeling really afraid of this decision. What I read on-line started making me feel tense and silly about going. I worried about everything at the show being German. I read the last one had over 1, 251 exhibitors from over 45 countries in the photography and imaging industries. I began to criticize myself for buying a ticket for all 5 days and paying however much I paid for the hotel. That’s when I decided to pull back on the self- judgment, shame and fear and I made a conscious decision to tell myself, “Ok, I’m here to connect and meet some interesting people. I love this stuff.”

After Mark & Ann left Berlin I went through a week of feeling really alone. In reality I wasn’t alone. I met new people every day and had fun. It was deeper; it was about feeling connected to people, about needing hugs and wanting to be with close friends who could really make me laugh. I was longing for some emotional support and cuddles.

I say this because when I arrived in Cologne the sheer size of the trade show felt overwhelming. I felt small and alone. I had to curb the doubting voices in my head that were telling me this was crazy, I’m not even a real photographer, who am I kidding and why on earth would I spend this money? (I’ve noticed that spending too much money is a theme with this loud, doubting voice I have. At these pivotal moments the fear of wasting my money always comes up)

The first two days I walked around the trade show partly in awe of the size and partly dismissing the doubting voices in my head. It was like Macworld on steroids. There were over 180,000 visitors from 165 countries. The exhibition hall had about 11 different sections with rooms on 2 floors. New camera lines were being introduced, companies had huge rooms filled with camera and graphics equipment to test and play with. They had entertainment set up and areas to photograph. Presenters were giving talks on various stages every hour on everything from building a business to how the new Fuji X-Pro 1 has revolutionized their work. I walked through a gallery of portraits that evoked the feeling of looking into someone’s eyes and seeing their soul. I wandered aimlessly through a maze of camera and video gear, lightening gear and galleries of vibrant, eclectic images from all over the world.

Sony Exhibition Rooms

Sony Exhibition Rooms

Most of the talks and workshops were in German but there were some presenters who spoke English and are “big names in photography” like Michael Grecco.  (Got milk? was one of his) His philosophy and work gave me real perspective and value.

He reminded me that feeling like a photographer is about being a visual storyteller. It’s about connecting with people and the camera and the equipment are just the tools to tell the story. That’s what I love most about photography. For his personal work he takes an assistant, one light, a camera and walks along Venice Beach looking for interesting, unusual people to take portraits of. He wanders the streets from Vegas to LA and captures people in their own environment.  Lords knows on Venice beach you can find plenty of funky people to photograph. You need to be so confident and competent with your technical ability that it’s like second nature, you don’t think about it anymore and the camera is not in the way of connecting with people. The photographs and images that stir us the most are the ones that evoke the essence of a person or situation. The photographer has connected us to something or someone who touches us deeply. I realized instead of asking myself, “how do I take this picture?” I need to ask myself, “what feeling am I trying to evoke with this picture. “

The other message was that you have to be willing to fail. Failure is a key ingredient in the creative process. I need to get better at this. Cultivating a healthy relationship with failure is essential because it’s part of how creativity and innovation is born.

So after two days I started meeting some crazy Germans, as well Belgian, Dutch and Americans.  Vendors were having parties in the exhibition halls after the fair ended and lord knows, Germans love to drink beer. After a few beers it became pretty easy to connect and talk about photography. I met a really talented guy, Tim Kemple who works with The North Face, among other things. He is part of a new company called F-stop that had a booth at the show selling fantastic adventure style camera bags. They were serving sangria one night after the fair and he talked to me for a while. He offered to look at my blog and give me some feedback.

Guys from the F-Stop Team – The Sangria Night

Sangria Night

What shifted for me is that I started to say confidently, “Yes, I’m a photographer. I have a blog.” It’s funny what a few inspirational talks mixed with German beer and sangria will do for your confidence. After the second night of partying (the sangria night) I had the worst hangover I’ve had in years. I also had a lot of business cards in my wallet and I gave out all of mine. So I realized this morning, as I was nursing my cracking head ache and sending out emails with silly party photos to people, that we are really here to connect. When I hear and follow that inner voice I’m connecting with myself. That will always lead me to the experiences where I am wholeheartedly connecting with others. This time I felt myself grow when I started out feeling small and alone and ended up feeling courageous and connected. It was then I remembered that feeling connected is a key to life.

Another Fun German

Learning iPhoto for the iPad

Developing Film

Developing Film

Sony Exhibition Rooms

Flying Camera equipment for aerial shots

Fujifilm XF1 Retro Compact Camera

New Fujifilm Instax Mini 8

Photojournalist talking about his work on the Leica Stage

Foto Community Party

Entrance to Photokina

Wandering the Ligurian Coast

Ann and I spent two days wandering through different fishing villages. One day we hired a driver to take us to Camogli and then caught a boat to San Fructtuoso, had lunch, stopped for ice cream and caught another boat to Portofino. From Portofino we walked back to Santa Margherita. The coast is lined with fishing villages, some are sleepy, some are touristy and some are warm and lovely. Rapallo was our surprise. It’s a village next Santa Margherita with a really pretty walk to get there. My friends Mike and Natalie got engaged on that walk. Mike picked a beautiful way to propose, it’s really stunning.

Those walks are some of my favourite memories of the trip because Ann and I talked, reconnected and ate some fantastic gelato! Spending time with her also means visiting multiple bakeries, so I learned to photograph instead of eating. A great way to spend  quality time together.

These photos are a mix of Camogli, San Fruttuso, Portofino and Rapallo.

Portofino

Portofino

San Fruttuoso

Rapallo

Frigidarium in Rapallo

Camogli

San Fruttuoso