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146 galleries

Wineries Around Lake Chelan around chelan · 11 photos·2012 Lake Chelan, while not necessarily on everyone's wine tour through eastern Washington, has nonetheless some spectacular wines to sample.
LIGO around chelan · 16 photos·2011 I have always wanted to tour some of the world's cutting-edge research centers and LIGO is certainly one of them. LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) has two (2) major facilities; one in Louisiana and another in Hanford, Washington. LIGO is trying to detect the very fluctuations of space-time caused by interactions such as two stars orbiting each other. Yes; you read that correctly. Fluctuations in space and time. It is really too hard to fathom how gorgeous physics can be some times and LIGO is one of Botticelli's Venus. Read more here.
Lake Chelan Rodeo around chelan · 17 photos·2015 A bit north of town past the hospital is the Lake Chelan Rodeo.
Lake Chelan, Washington around chelan · 27 photos·2012–2022
Hiking near Chelan around chelan · 11 photos·2015
Chelan Auto Show around chelan · 11 photos·2018
Central Washington around chelan · 7 photos·2021–2024
Shilshole Marina around seattle · 5 photos·2010 I spent an hour at the marina on Shilshole bay just south of Golden Garden Park. Given that people were barbecuing up food at the park nearby I somewhat regretted going there without my own picnic basket. Next time!
Seattle Sounds FC vs LA Galaxy FC around seattle · 4 photos·2010 May 8, 2010 Seattle Sounders FC vs Los Angeles Galaxy Final score: 0 to 4 If football is like golf then we rocked.
Experience Music Project around seattle · 4 photos·2010 Experience Music Project lies in the shadow of Seattle's Space Needle. It here is can come up close and personal to one's vision of what Jimi Hendrix's guitar had melted and forged itself into a mecca to music.
On the Water around seattle · 7 photos·2010 After the football game I went down to the pier where I went out on the sailboat Obsession for a 90 minute cruise.
Pioneer Square Totem Pole around seattle · 3 photos·2010 Even though the weather has been less than cooperative the last couple of days, the sun did come out a bit in the late morning and early afternoon. Taking pictures of Pike Place Market is a bit of tourist's safe gambit: everyone does it. Nevertheless, the red neon signs against a blue sky and white clouds is hard to pass up. Totem poles in Seattle are an interesting thing. None of the native Americans actually built them in this area. The one in Pioneer Square was actually "stolen" by some Americans who mistakenly took it as abandoned when in fact the tribe was out on an extended hunt. And in good ol' American style decided not to return after learning of their error. It has been less than two-hundred years that totem pole construction was introduced to the Seattle region vis-a-vis the then proprietor of the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. A European who made a proposition to the local native Americans that if they could reproduce the totem poles in pictures he gave them that he and they could profit from it. And they did just that. Nowadays people come to Seattle identifying these monoliths with the area when in fact they belong rightfully to native Americans much further north well into what is now known as Canada. But hey, like the politically correct of today when has the truth really ever mattered?
Pike Place Market around seattle · 20 photos·2010–2012 While Seattle's Space Needle is more uniquely identifiable to outsiders, Pike Place Market is the real epicenter to downtown Seattle for tourists and Seattle-ites alike.
Walking About around seattle · 21 photos·2010–2011 Like many cities, Seattle is a town of neighborhoods. And like all things, the best way to discover a thing is to experience a thing.
Cafes around seattle · 13 photos·2010–2012 It may very well be that I have traded the hoppy fermentation of beer, bier and bierre for its caffeinated sibling, but never have I been happier than I am in cafes drinking my quad-shot Americano, listening to whatever music the barista decided to DJ out and generally soaking up hours of simple seeping in my chair till the 8:44 PM Metro bus #73 pulls up to take me home quite un-inebriated.
Out Like Pluto around seattle · 6 photos·2010 Out Like Pluto, a band peopled by three co-workers from Amazon and one Amazonian who is as smoking as her voice. Once known as The Cuddle Party, they re-named and came back out as Out Like Pluto. They played at the Comet Tavern (yeah, even dive bars in Seattle have their own web-sites) in Capital Hill on Sunday, October 3, 2010.
INSCAPE around seattle · 8 photos·2010 Seattle's former INS (Immigrations & Naturalization Services) building, built in 1931, is situated just south of Uwajimaya in the International District. Some months ago is re-opened to artists and non-profit organizations as means of helping to develop a loose federation of like-minded folks to come together to support art. On the weekend of October 16 and 17th it celebrated its re-christening, opening it doors to everyone to come and explore the space and artists currently residing therein.
Downtown Seattle around seattle · 34 photos·2010–2012 Seattle's downtown is primarily a place of businesses; it sadly lacks much of a soul beyond the simple 9-to-5- grind of commerce. While there have been attempts to bring high-density living to the area it has yet to take strong root, albeit some might argue it is accelerating. Seattle nevertheless remains a city of neighborhoods.
Piers around seattle · 16 photos·2011–2012 The piers of Seattle are a great place to head whe the sun is out both in terms of people watching and catching a glimpse of both Mount Rainier to the south and Olympic Mountains to the west. And when the sun is not out then there is always the Seattle Aquarium to keep one occupied. Depending on my mood I will typically start at Pike Place Market and make down to the piers before ending up in Pioneer Square. Read more here.
Third Place Books around seattle · 18 photos·2011 Third Place Books lives up to its name; it as much a place away from home as it is a business. When I moved to Seattle back in 1998, it is was my first experience with community-centric capitalism and to this day is still one of my favorite places to spend a free evening browsing books, chatting with friends, getting a bite to eat and listening to local bands. Over the course of these past twelve years, I have made a few good friends and thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy as much the wonderful people who cohabitate this place as I do picking up another book to read.
University of Washington around seattle · 24 photos·2011–2012
Rat City Rollergirls around seattle · 6 photos·2011 How can you not love a bunch of women who put their hearts, their souls and their elbows (metaphorically speaking) into their sport. If you ever want to see a sport played with everything we like to think is great about a sport then I highly encourage you get yourself down to Key Area to see Rat City Rollergirls even if they did not allow me bring in my camera.
Seattle Center around seattle · 18 photos·2011
Ballard Locks around seattle · 31 photos·2011–2013
KenmoreAir around seattle · 32 photos·2011–2012 Read more here.
Fremont around seattle · 60 photos·2011–2012 Read more here.
Autumn Equinox around seattle · 8 photos·2011
Theo Chocolate around seattle · 6 photos·2011
I-90 Bridge around seattle · 2 photos·2012
Flower House around seattle · 7 photos·2012 On my way to and from Lake Forest Park's Third Place Books there is a little home nestled in among a garden overflowing with flowers, many of which are native to this area. It is hard to describe how nearly every inch of yard is dedicated to growing things and the air is truly abuzz with apian floriculture.
Sammamish River Trail around seattle · 9 photos·2012
Seattle Asian Art Museum around seattle · 7 photos·2012
Lake View Cemetary around seattle · 6 photos·2012
Bellevue Botanical Garden around seattle · 18 photos·2010–2012 This is a little gem of a place in Bellevue just south of Main Street on the east-side of 405. It is in many ways a ridiculous volunteer's garden given it includes computer kiosks to help you identify flowers. Nevertheless, it is a good place to bring a new camera to go through my workflow. Here are some of the less embarrassing results. It is going to take a little bit of time before I feel fully comfortable with the new equipment; much to learn! :)
Woodland Park Zoo around seattle · 32 photos·2010–2015 Today was not a particularly bright day with a lot of overcast clouds. Nevertheless, I thought I might try a few pictures at the zoo. I was only able to salvage a few of them.
Greenlake around seattle · 31 photos·2010–2013 Greenlake is just one of those idyllic places one can go within Seattle to find the perfect stroll, enjoy watching kids run through the wading pool or grab a coffee and walk around the 5K perimeter with a best friend.
Gas Works Park around seattle · 14 photos·2010–2012 Seattle's Gas Works Park is sadly a place many tourists miss but should not. It is one of the best places to watch both the Sun come and go down over our city. Here you will find picnicers, wedding parties, parties and generally every manner of flying lawn entertainment from footballs to frisbees to kites.
Volunteer Park around seattle · 35 photos·2010–2012 Volunteer Park is located north of Capital Hill and was once a major water resevior for the city. It now is the home to Seattle's Asian Art Museum, Seattle Conservatory and hosts Greenstage's Shakespeare in the Park during the summer months.
Discovery Park around seattle · 28 photos·2011–2012
Golden Gardens around seattle · 4 photos·2012
Washington Arboretum Japanese Garden around seattle · 8 photos·2012
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival around seattle · 10 photos·2010 Every Spring Skagit valley situated north of Seattle along I-5 is painted in the many hues and colors of tulips and daffodils.
Mount Rainier around seattle · 24 photos·2010–2011 Mount Rainier is but one of many volcanos along the Pacific coast that starts far north into Canada extending south in Oregon. I saw this nearly every morning of the seven years as a part of daily commute; never did I get tired of seeing the gods paint in water-colors a sleeping giant over my horizon.
Kingston, WA around seattle · 35 photos·2010–2011 We finally had a bit more sun today in the Pacific Northwest. I took the opportunity to spend the afternoon in Kingston, WA. I had originally planned on driving through the Olympic Peninsula today; but, I ultimately decided against this when I passed 1+ hour car-line on the way to the ferries. I instead walked onto the ferry from Edmonds, WA. Once in Kingston I enjoyed their local farmers' market before taking walking along the public shoreline extending north from the pier. I eventually found myself a place in the shade and promptly feel asleep. When I was not thoroughly enjoy the sound of the waves on the shore a few feet from my feet I used the chance to take some photographs. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I did taking them. There is actually too much sun to be useful for many of these shots. I really need a lens hood and polarizing filter; however, the camera I use (Canon S5 IS) really is at its limits in these situations.
Whidbey Island around seattle · 39 photos·2011–2012 Read more here. See more photographs taken by friend and fellow photographer, Casey Muldoon.
Edmonds, WA around seattle · 12 photos·2010–2012 Edmonds, WA is a just a hop and skip away from my home. It is one of those great get-away spots just north of Seattle with all the charm that one comes to expect when exploring the Pacific Northwest. One of the great advantages of Edmonds is the access to the ferries. Whether I am just walking on for a day cruise to Kingston, WA and back, or taking on my car for a day or weekend trip into the heart of the Olympic Peninsula it is a great place to begin one's adventures.
Olympic Peninsula around seattle · 69 photos·2011–2012
Ferries around seattle · 48 photos·2011
Camano Island around seattle · 8 photos·2011
Lake Serene around seattle · 34 photos·2011 Read more here.
Yakima Valley around seattle · 12 photos·2011
Mason Lake around seattle · 7 photos·2011 And now for something completely different.
Bainbridge Island around seattle · 12 photos·2011 Read more here.
US2 around seattle · 13 photos·2011–2013 Read more here.
Cascade Mountains around seattle · 2 photos·2012
2020 Neowise Comet astronomy · 7 photos·2020 Neowise was visibile in the north-eastern sky in the early morning of July 10, 2020 around 3-3:30a pacific time.
Anderson Mesa Station astronomy · 18 photos·2012 On the second day of my tour of Lowell Observatory, I visited their professional facilities out on Anderson Mesa. This area includes a number of facilities including the 72" Perkins, 42" Hall, and Naval Observatory Interferometer (NOI). I also spent the night up on the mesa taking photographs of the night-sky. Unfortunately, due to fires and high winds the sky was not as dark as I would have liked, it was nevertheless unobstructed by urban-center light pollution and yielded some excellent viewing.
Discovery Channel Telescope astronomy · 10 photos·2012 As a part of my tour of Lowell Observatory, I visited the Discovery Channel Telescope out near the Happy Jack Ranger station. It is up around 7700-feet elevation with unobstructed views all-around. The telescope itself is 4.3-meters in diameter utilizing an alt-az mount, both weighing in at some 140-tons. They have already taken first light, although these were more of engineering than scientific value to verify that all systems are nominal. There is even an eyepiece holder at the back of the scope—what I wouldn't do to use it to view Orion's nebula or Whirlpool galaxy using it.
Fireworks astronomy · 5 photos·2013
Galaxies astronomy · 2 photos·2020
Johnson Space Center astronomy · 63 photos·2012 Read more on my reflections of visiting Johnson Space Center after NASA Social graciously asking me to participate in a cross-site day of celebration of 50 Years of NASA and the upcoming landing of Mars Science Laboratory
LIGO astronomy · 7 photos·2011
Lowell Observatory astronomy · 34 photos·2012–2020 I visited Lowell Observatory for a second-time from May 21 to 23, 2012 on a paid tour of their facilities. Lowell's campus in Flagstaff, Arizona is of historical significance as being the home of where Pluto was discovered back in 1930. Today it is home to some 80 persons dedicated to a variety of programs including astronomy research and educational outreach. It is really hard to describe the elation and sheer giddiness I get when I am around this kind of intersection of engineering and science. It is not mere hyperbole when I write that I tear up when in proximity this kind of history and scientific inquiry; it is truly inspiring and deeply humbling. Check out Anderson Mesa Station and Discovery Channel Telescope for pictures from the second and third-days, respectively.
Mauna Kea astronomy · 16 photos·2011
May 20 2012 Annular Solar Eclipse astronomy · 9 photos·2012 I watched the May 20, 2012 annular solar eclipse from just outside Zion National Park. I just happened to be in the area as a part of a three-day tour of Lowell Observatory.
Milky Way astronomy · 2 photos·2020
Night Sky astronomy · 37 photos·2010–2023
Seattle film · 23 photos·2012 I really do heart Seattle something fierce. The longer I live here (14 years as of 2012) the more I come to truly appreciate how much this area has in natural beauty and culture. I never tire of photographing this region, and I know have many more years and decades before I might consider my contribution to capturing the beauty of this year near done. If you are more persuaded by color then check out the galleries here. There are some "artistic" black-and-white but pretty much everything in those galleries are shot using DSLR (digital) cameras.
Arizona film · 10 photos·2012
Texas film · 5 photos·2012
Washington film · 3 photos·2012
California film · 5 photos·2012
Sydney travel · 8 photos·2010 Australia is an immense continent on the other wisde of the world. It is a combination of both the familiar and strange. Sydney is in all ways as cosmopolitan to other cities thousands and thousands of miles away. I was fortunate enough to stay near the Sydney Opera House where I enjoyed my morning coffee and toasted, buttered banana bread until the sun came up over the city.
Athens travel · 31 photos·2010 Greece, birthplace of Western civilization. Greece which introduced in more full-form more than anywhere else the idea of Democracy and Rational thought, where Man not God determined Law. As much as Greece has influenced Western civilization since antiquity, this succession is not a clean, uninterrupted reign to modernity. Even Athens, as a city, is a new phenomenon younger still than even New York city. What we know as Athens grew up and over the very bones of a city that stretches back right the mists of written history. The soul of the city is not so much found in the heritage of its buildings, nor even its co-location with its ancestral city that bears the same name. Athens lives in its cafe and boulevards, in the people who come to sit under the shade of the Greek Apollo and find cool solace through shared conversation and the clink of ceramic cups heavy with the grinds of coffee. Read more here.
Ring of Kerry travel · 16 photos·2014
Cliffs of Moher travel · 7 photos·2014
Loop Head travel · 10 photos·2014
Kilkenny travel · 15 photos·2014
Inistioge travel · 11 photos·2014
Graiguenamanagh travel · 3 photos·2014
Dublin travel · 3 photos·2014
Dingle travel · 31 photos·2014
Cashel travel · 12 photos·2014
Bru Na Boinne travel · 4 photos·2014
Aran Islands travel · 16 photos·2014
Roma travel · 33 photos·2010 Rome. The capital of Italy for the past 140 years. Arguably the epicenter of much of what we now attribute to Western-style governments. Our forefathers of the United States of America even saw our country as the natural continuation of the Roman Republic (and I suspect some commentators, especially from the Old World, would argue of the Roman Empire). It is a city that sits squarely on its haunches, nestled upon the newly restored marble bones of the Palatine mixed with the still pollution eroded, pock-marked face of the old Colosseum; a majority of it disassembled by the generations that followed the collapse of the Empire in the 4th century AD to get at what was then a nearly impossible to duplicate resource: forged iron. I have been to Rome twice thus far. Once with my then fiancé on our four-week honeymoon some three years ago back at the start of January, 2008. And once again in early November of 2010 for half-day between my arrival from the United States and my train ride down to Trani, Italy to visit friends. I must admit that I have thus far enjoyed Rome more on my second visit than my first. The trick may lay in the simple fact that anything more than a few days in Rome is too much of a good thing. It is, after-all, a large metropolitan area with all that comes with this distinction. Past a visit to the ancient capital, the Vatican, and other cultural destinations it soon becomes just another city of people, vehicles and buildings. I suspect after the first few days it requires some few months to really get past the cultural exterior to discover the heart of Rome. And I would not argue I have discovered this deeper, more authentic Rome. I have been but mere tourist with a tourist's typical proclivities. Time can only tell if I ever have such an opportunity. Regardless, Rome is a city worth the effort to see and explore. Read more here.
Trani travel · 23 photos·2010 Trani is a seaport city situated along the Adriatic Sea in the region known as both Apulia and Puglia. It is a small city that is easily accessible by foot. At its heart is a city made of marble; marble being one of the major exports of this area. As my friend Dave quips, "if can be made of marble it is made from marble in this city." I first visited here in November of 2010 after sight-seeing in Rome for half-a-day. Read more here.
Matera travel · 21 photos·2010 Matera is hard to capture in photos. It truly is a city of stone; a place of rock. So much of it is just the enormity and collision of stone, rock, light and shadow all at once under that clear blue Puglia azure sky; I fear that it comes across as washed out or drab in my photographs. And more still, it is hard to imagine what it might be to have lived here or even live here now — it defies comprehension for a modern person to be so totally immersed in a place that, while warmed by the present warm human bodies, still echoes back to a time long, long past into the very antiquity of human memory. Read more here.
Castel Del Monte travel · 9 photos·2010 Read more here.
Torre Sansanello travel · 11 photos·2010 Read more here.
Reggia de Caserta travel · 25 photos·2010 Read more here.
Pompeii travel · 31 photos·2010 Pompeii is legendary for the city obliterated in the early mornings of 79 BC by an erupting Mount Vesuvius. While many of us have seen the plaster-casts of people trapped under four-meters of ash on television or in photograph, it is another thing to experience the city first-hand. Even under an overcast sky replete with rain cannot dampen the enthusiasm I felt to explore on foot this ancient sanctuary for lives lost but a life preserved by generations of archeologists. Read more here.
Napoli travel · 12 photos·2010 Napoli, if described by Tolstoy, might be "It is a city you love. It is a city you hate." Napoli is the heart of southern Italy, a place that brings together the intensity of its people into a metropolis worthy of them. Read more here.
Firenze travel · 35 photos·2010 Firenze (Florence) is considered the birth place of the Renaissance. Like all of history some liberties are likely taken with assigning the start of any movement, intellectual or otherwise. But nevertheless, Firenze certainly is jam-packed with art, architecture and culture that is so identifiable that you are sometimes surprised to be reminded you are in Italy, not your own country. Firenze is a very refined city catering to the casual tourist. It is easily accessible to everyone and is maintained with a rigor that maybe only Disney can outshine, but not by much. The city center is so much refined that at times you can lament for the everyday Firenze citizen who seemingly has little in the way of eatery that much be disguised by its lack of signage. In terms of my photography, the light of Firenze is so enthralling that I decided to explore HDRI for the first time. You can see all these photographs here. Read more here and here.
Siena travel · 12 photos·2010 Read more here.
Parents Visit in 1993 travel · 19 photos·2011 While I was living in Kanazawa, Japan as an exchange student from 1992 to 1993 both my parents came to visit for two-weeks. I arrived in Kanazawa weighing at some 300 pounds. I left Japan around the weight I now weigh which is some 120 pounds lighter than 300. In the months that elapsed from my arrival and my parents' my clothes got progressively larger and larger on me. Even at my slimmed down weight I was still large as a Japanese, and I could not find, nor frankly afford, new jeans or pants. I mention all this to help explain why you see me in these shots in some pretty ill-fitting clothes. I should also note I was never much of a snappy dresser and spending most of my days in a school uniform did little to remedy this deficiency.
35mm Negatives travel · 242 photos·2011
金沢市尾山神社 travel · 6 photos·2010 I visited Oyama (Mountain Tail) Shrine on my last day in Kanazawa. Visited this shrine weekly, if not daily, when I lived in Japan from 1992-1993. Situated in the middle of downtown Kanazawa and just outside of Kenrokuen and Kanazawa Castle, it is a small and secluded area; perfect for stepping out of the noise and bustle of daily life.
金沢城 travel · 4 photos·2010 Kanazawa Castle has been reborn since I last lived in Kanazawa back in 1995-96. In 1992 it still housed a part of Kanazawa University and was basically gutted of most of its glory. In 1995 it was closed and its future somewhat uncertain. In 2010 you can feel some of its history and past glory.
京都御所 travel · 14 photos·2010 Kyoto's Royal Palace is a place to behold. I was fortunate enough to stay right outside one of the entrances allowing me a spectacular amount of ready access to roam the grounds.
京都円山公園 travel · 5 photos·2010 Maruyama Park in Kyoto is argubly the legendary epicenter of cherry blossom viewing in this legendary city. My own experience was slightly marred by the garbage left from the night before's revelers; nevertheless, it is a park filled with a staggering variety of cherry blossoms. It is well-worth the effort to overlook the cramped stalls and remains of beer cans to see.
伊勢神宮 travel · 3 photos·2010 Ise Shrine is to some "The Shrine" in Japan. It is argubly the center of all that is traditional Japanese.
京都高台寺 travel · 9 photos·2010 Koudai Temple is one those understated gems of Kyoto. From the exterior it looks much like any other of the hundreds of historical sites found within the city; however, upon entry you discover some quite the contrary the norm. It is maintained in a manner that transports you back to a different day, it does not have the feel of being frozen in time but a living breathing organism still thriving amongst the crunch of tour bus tires on gravel and tourists jabbering away just outside its doors.
金沢兼六園 travel · 7 photos·2010 Kanazawa's Kenrokuen is one of three gardens in Japan that are considered to be the best examples of traditional Japanese garden aesethics. The other two are 偕楽園 (kai-raku-en) and 後楽園 (kou-raku-en). Kenroku refers to the six attributes that define a garden at its aeshetic perfection, or: spaciousness 宏大 (kou-dai); tranquility or seclusion 幽邃 (yuu-sui); artificiality 人力 (jin-ryoku); antiquity 蒼古 (sou-ko); water springs 水泉 (sui-sen); and, panoramas 眺望 (chou-bou). Some of the best gardens open a few or even many of these attributes, but rarely does a garden achieve all six; and yet, Kenroku-en does just this. I spent nearly every week within Kanazawa both years that I lived in the city. There are even early morning and late evening sojourns within the garden while it was closed to sit on a bench and watch the city slumber. As arrogant and self-appropriating as it is, I came to view it as my garden while I lived in Kanazawa. And to this day I still from time to time will be reminded on it with a sound or a smell or a sight. I do not think I will ever tire of these memories.
名古屋城 travel · 10 photos·2010 Nagoya Castle is a great example of history kept alive and beautiful. It is a gorgeous site to walk through both the external walls and moats and the interior of the castle. Amazingly it is some stories to the top and everyone walked the stairs up and down. More amazing is the number of couples in their 60s and 70s making the trek
京都鴨川公園 travel · 5 photos·2010 Kyoto's Kamogawa Park is situated in the eastern half of the old city running north to south. Along the park are pedestrian areas with cherry blossoms all along the way. It is a great place to go sit next to the river, eating a bit while watching kids and parents interact.
京都清水寺 travel · 8 photos·2010 Kyoto's Seisui Temple is an obvious point of interest to any tourist visiting the city for its lush grounds, striking architecture and sheer size. It is hard to fathom how much more emposing this site must have been in the centuries before this age when such places would have dwarfed even modest-sized villages.
京都知恩院 travel · 8 photos·2010 Kyoto's Chion Temple is connected to Hounen who founded the Pure Land Sect. The site, considered a national treasure, was under major rennovation when I visited in April of 2010.
名古屋山崎川 travel · 6 photos·2010 Nagoya's Yamasaki River is considered one of the top 100 places in Japan to view cherry blossoms. It boasts over 600 trees planted along the river. Given the hip, modern neighborhoods surrounding the area we walked it was a place of great appeal.
名古屋徳川園 travel · 9 photos·2010 Nagoya's Tokugawa Garden is definitely worth a visit for those looking to combine a great historical musuem along with an excellent garden. I particularly enjoyed just sitting watching the children feed the koi (carp).
Dubai travel · 25 photos·2010 Dubai: city defying nature; city defying description; city defying itself. Dubai is maybe unlike nearly any other city in the world, or even I daresay the world's history. It is both a city with a history grown organic through time and peoples and a city wrought within the forges of modern industry and capital expense beyond measure. Dubai occurred when there is an almost fearless ferocity to creating a new life order for a country coupled with, without exaggeration, trillions of dollars. If we were start from scratch every time to send Man to the Moon, we could do this on the order of ten times before getting into the league (but not eclipsing) the monies spent on building Dubai up and out of the sand dunes it is has displaced. Read more here.
Napa Valley travel · 8 photos·2010 A visit with friends who live in Napa Valley.
Golden Gate Bridge travel · 8 photos·2010 Unbeknownst to me I visit San Francisco iconic bridge on an uncharacteristically sunny day. I have been told I may have one of the few pictures of its shadow in existence. Seriously.
Butchart Garden, Victoria BC travel · 6 photos·2010 A visit to Victoria on Vancouver Island is not complete without also a visit to Butchart Garden. I visited in late August of 2010, arriving in Victoria on an uncharacteristically wet day. The visit to the garden was done under a continuous downfall of rain. Even in this conditions the garden inspires and astounds the visitor.
San Diego Zoo travel · 20 photos·2010 San Diego Zoo is an amazing place to visit — assuming zoos are your thing. If you have the time then ideally a few days is required to see it all giving everything its proper due. And even then I suspect you will have only scratched the surface.
Grand Canyon travel · 7 photos·2010
Idalou, Texas travel · 29 photos·2010 Idalou, Texas is located near Lubbock, Texas which is home to Texas Tech. It is a small town of approximately 3,000 people. But like anywhere in Texas it is filled with people big hats and big hearts. Read more here.
San Francisco Peninsula travel · 9 photos·2011 When I had thought of San Francisco Peninsula I once thought it filled with concrete and steel and people and pavement and rubber and all those things that come with a large metropolitan city. But it is almost effortless to discover a different country merely by hugging the coast as you leave the Presidio taking Highway 1. One moment you are in suburbia, the next you are nestled along tight curves and steep drop-offs, driving through towns with populations counted on three digits. There is a certain amount of magic to it, even surreality. Read more here.
Sonoma Valley travel · 4 photos·2011 I drove up along Highway 101 through Sonoma Valley before heading over the ridge into Calistoga in Napa Valley. Along the way I stopped in at Kunde Family Estate for a wine tasting. One of the staff very kindly gave me a tour of their caves which were dug out from the hill next to the wine tasting building. Sans a moment of unexpected claustrophobia, it was a great time. A few days later I passed back through the valley on my way back from a loop up from San Francisco along the California coast on Highway 1.
California Highway 1 travel · 20 photos·2011 Read more here.
Berkeley, California travel · 8 photos·2011 Read more here.
Niagara Falls travel · 23 photos·2011 Read more here.
Central New York travel · 17 photos·2011–2022
Skaneateles, New York travel · 36 photos·2011–2013 My parents and I moved to Skaneateles, NY back in June of 1985 where my father took a job at Welch Allyn. I lived there till summer of 1992 when after graduating from Skaneateles High School I left for a year abroad in Japan as a Rotary Exchange Student. Since that time my parents have continued to reside in the idyllic little town that is acts a picturesque eastern gateway to the Finger Lakes.
Kauai, Hawaii travel · 68 photos·2011 Read more here.
Hawaii, Hawaii travel · 44 photos·2011 Read more here.
Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff, AZ) travel · 20 photos·2012
Zion National Park travel · 9 photos·2012
Arizona travel · 19 photos·2012
Hoover Dam travel · 12 photos·2012
Houston Museum of Natural Sciences travel · 14 photos·2012
Yosemite National Park travel · 42 photos·2012
Erie Canal, New York travel · 29 photos·2013
New York City, NY travel · 9 photos·2013
Cafe Solstice Exhibit exhibits · 22 photos·2010–2011 I will be exhibiting my photographs at Cafe Solstice on University Avenue next to the University of Washington (Google Maps) during the month of February, 2011. Given the size of the space I ended up with three collections ( 1 2 3 ). Follow me on Facebook.
Collection One exhibits · 6 photos·2010
Collection Two exhibits · 10 photos·2010–2011
Collection Three exhibits · 5 photos·2010
Candidates exhibits · 24 photos·2010–2011
Seattleites exhibits · 44 photos·2010–2012 Seattleites is a Facebook site about my favorite of places: Seattle. If you heart this place as much as I do give the page a Like. And do not forget to check out Ward's Pics on Facebook and like it, too.
Ward W. Vuillemot other · 48 photos·2010–2014 Photography, sans a minor introduction by my father back in the day of film with his Canon A1, is mostly a recent phenomenon. I have discovered the use of a lens as a means to explore my environ, especially in the past year. A reserved introvert, my camera allows me to explore the external world. I am naturally inclined to focus on still photographs of landscapes and close-ups of nature. It is my way of both communing with and capturing the essence of these "things" — and yet how does one capture one perspective's within context to any given moment through a rather limited, two-dimensional projection? Nevertheless, photographs are strong elixir and concoction for photographer and viewer alike, acting as both a mnemonic key for photographer and doorway for viewers to a time and place far removed from the present now. While I use photography to explore color, I am primarily interested in composition. My introduction to composition stretches back to childhood where my sister greatly influenced my passion for self-expression through art. Incidentally, it is her own love of pencil which greatly impacted my choice of favorite mediums. That said, I have never had a strong desire to express my work in color and thus my staple mediums have remained pencil, ink (pen and brush), and to much lesser degree charcoal. Photography has allowed me to become both more comfortable and more aware of color at an intimal level. Feel free to contact me at pics@wardosworld.com. Ward's Pics on Facebook Follow Ward's Pics (@wardspics) on Twitter Ward's Words — rambling thoughts and essays
Portfolio other · 42 photos·2010–2018 Words: fundamentally, inherently, diametrically opposite to why I create photographs. Words are not sufficient to capture what needs expressing. Words are useless—even verboten—to describe through their surgical precision a reductionist dissection that renders the patient a bloody meat rotting on the table. I photograph because no amount of words will ever be enough. What I do see, or at least delude myself into believing I can see, are balances of lines and higher-order geometries, interplays of hues and saturations: a moment's harmony. A photograph that belies any presence of the subject as anything more than mere vehicle of the forms and attributes. Nevertheless, I would be disingenuous to say there are only visual aesthetics. My camera garners an intimacy, a deep and personal familiarity, that my reserved nature normally precludes. I am able to move into a moment, a place, a peoples that I will normally remain distanced from. These are all echoes of my past. And thus you are viewing them now as I took them then: as a voyeur. That all divulged, these images are pleasantries, glimpses, echoes, lines and shades of lives both mine and others.
Portfolio, Artwork other · 7 photos·2018
Dragons artwork · 6 photos·2018 All things dragons
Portraits artwork · 6 photos·2018–2021
Concept Art artwork · 12 photos·2018