Vacation in Puerto Rico, feat. special guest: Hurricane Irene

Last month I went to Puerto Rico with a couple of close friends. Hurricane Irene decided to tag along. Aside from the nasty weather, difficult driving conditions, closure of the national parks, and dearth of electricity and hot water, it was a wonderful vacation. Here are some snaps from San Juan on the eve before the major storm hit.

Travel Photography: Sanski Most, Bosnia, by night

Travel Photography: People of Sanski Most, Bosnia

Here are some pictures of people I saw and met in Sanski Most, a town in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's friendly and lively and full of beauty and good humor mixed with grief and lingering frustration from the recent war. Beautiful and complicated, full of photojournalistic fodder. I hope to go back someday. I'm jealous of my host, who works as sort of a cultural ambassador there. I recently contributed photos for him to use in a website promoting tourism and cultural opportunities in the region. It seemed like a good excuse to share some of them here, all shot during my visit in August.

You might also be interested in this photo post from our hike to a waterfall near Sanski Most.

Greasewood Flat, Scottsdale, Arizona

Some images from Greasewood Flat and Reata Pass, a bar and restaurant nestled in an old stagecoach stop in Scottsdale, Arizona. It's a lovely local gem with no frills-- just great atmosphere, live music, good beers and spicy chili. We hear the place is for sale, but I hope it ain't so.

Summer Nights

"Will you please pull over on this two-lane rural highway in Croatia so I can take a picture of some people making full-body shadow puppets on the side of a church?"
"Okay."

"And will you hang out just a minute longer while I also photograph this woman selling fruit by the side of the road?"
"Sure."

Everyone should have friends and travel companions who are as supportive and accommodating as mine from last summer. Thanks again, ladies.

Kotor, Montenegro (Travel Photography)

Here are some scenes from Kotor, a lovely little town in Montenegro on the Bay of Kotor.

Mirogoj Cemetery, Zagreb, Croatia

We spent a cloudy summer day wandering in Mirogoj Cemetery, on the outskirts of Zagreb, Croatia. Our guidebook called it one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Europe. We decided to make a detour since the weather wasn't cooperating with our original plan (mostly beach-basting). We were struck by its beauty, by the ornateness and variety of the grave-sites there, and also by the variety of religion and ethnicity of those buried there.

Kumkapi, Fatih, Istanbul (2)

Istanbul nostalgia drags on... Here are three more. Most of these were shot for a 24-hour deadline assignment during Foundry Photo Workshop, where we had to document a day in the life of a neighborhood.

This happened a stone's throw from Kumkapi, so I'm throwing it in the mix. This guy was riding his horse down down a heavily-trafficked six-lane street.

Kumkapi, Fatih, Istanbul (1)

I've been feeling nostalgic for Istanbul lately, and especially the neighborhood where I was based during my time there. Kumkapi is a neighborhood in Istanbul's Fatih district that borders the Marmara. It's relatively conservative, populated with lots of Armenians and Kurds. There are also many international refugees since the Foreigner's Detention Center is located there.

What stood out to me the most after a month in Istanbul is that, no matter what time it is or where in the city you are, there is always something happening (and someone trying to sell you something). I walked past a barber shop after midnight on a Wednesday night once, and saw a customer getting a haircut. Nobody I was with found this strange.

I spent a while trying to capture the busy energy of the neighborhood, the texture and the beauty. Here are 3 I liked. More to come...