Andes Mountains, Santiago
This photo was tough to get. We had spent several days in Santiago by this point and each day had been smoggier than the last. Until the day before this picture was taken when there were torrential rains in Santiago and incredible snows in the Andes. In fact the road up to the ski resort that overlooks Santiago was closed due to heavy snow.
Anyway, we woke up the next morning to spectacularly clear skies. In Santiago it was as though the Andes were looming over your head, So even though we had already been up to the top of his hill via the funicular earlier in our trip, we quickly decided to go back up and see if we could get some great pictures of the Andes. We were rewarded with this picture and many more. But even here you can see the smog building over Santiago again — it was one of the most disappointing things about an otherwise beautifully situated place.
Sunset on the Arabian Sea, Mumbai
The most incredible thing about Mumbai was the heat. It defines this place in a very real way even though it’s not visible like rain or snow, and I felt that this picture conveys that feeling.
When we were in Mumbai, we stayed at The Oberoi hotel which is located right on Marine Drive overlooking the Arabian Sea. The Oberoi was one of the hotels that was targeted in the 2008 terrorist attacks that killed 164 people including 32 at The Oberoi. The hotel was closed and completely renovated after the attacks and even today you are required to go through a magnetometer and have your bags screens as you enter the hotel.
This picture was taken from our room at The Oberoi and is of the beach where the terrorists landed to begin their assault. As you can see the sun is setting over the Arabian Sea — it disappeared into the fog and steam and smog of Mumbai long before it actually set.
Walking the Bamboo Forest, Kyoto
The Bamboo Forest in the foothills to the west of Kyoto is amazing! To think that bamboo is really a grass and then to crane your neck to see the top of it makes you feel like an ant in a lawn. If you’re ever in Kyoto, don’t miss this.
As far as the picture is concerned, this was a trick. In reality the Bamboo Forest is mobbed by people every day, rain or shine. So in order to get this photo we had to wait until there were a minimum number of people in the shot and the through the magic of post-photo processing on an iPhone I was able to rub those people out.
Under the Faith Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Istanbul
Istanbul is such a dramatic place. The water, the hills, the mosques, and the people all make it an ideal vacation spot.
We were lucky enough to take a day trip on a ferry up the Bosporus to the mouth of the Black Sea. On the way we passed beneath two incredible high and large suspension bridges that carry traffic between the European and Asian sides of the Bosporus.
I love this picture because it conveys the strong connection that you have with the water when you’re in Istanbul (it’s inescapable) and the setting sun provided the perfect light to take this picture.
Wedding at Yoros Castle, Istanbul
On a hill overlooking the Black Sea stands a castle that dates from the 13thcentury, called Yoros Castle. Today it castle is in ruins, but makes for a very picturesque locale for wedding photographers and day trippers from Istanbul. It is reachable by ferry from the Golden Horn and is a perfect lunch spot if you go.
On the day we were there a couple was taking their wedding photos around the castle. I caught them walking from one picture location to another and love the contrast between their modern wedding dress and the ancient castle.
Great Court at the British Museum, London
When you enter the British Museum through the doors on Great Russell Street you are enveloped in the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court which was enclosed in 2000 and is the largest covered square in Europe. It is a truly fantastic piece of architecture with the expansive feeling of light and space and is a wonderful addition to the Museum.
This picture is the taken from the classic vantage point to show off the glass roof and the Reading Room.
Morning at The Churchill, London
On our 2013 Around The World trip we had fallen into a routine where we had a rough sketch of the things we wanted to do in a place and then that morning we would choose our activities and formulate an itinerary based on the weather.
This picture is of Jeff looking over the day’s possibilities and is one of my favorite pictures because it reminds me so strongly of that trip.
Grilled Fish at Nishiki Market, Kyoto
These little fish were so beautifully displayed on a tray in a vendor’s stall in the Nishiki Market in Kyoto that it caught my eye as we were walking by.
It was a great opportunity to try out the DSLR features of my Sony camera, so I put it to work. I still don’t understand how they were able to cook the fish in such a way that they would stand up on the tray like this.
Crawford Market, Mumbai
The afternoon heat in Mumbai is quite oppressive and at the Crawford Market it seemed like the time to sit around under a fan and try to stay cool. It appeared as though all the vendors were just overcome by the heat and several were lying on the backs or lounging about, including this one.
I thought that this picture conveyed that sense of heat quite well — the vendor is clearly tired of dealing with it.
Suite 2K on Cathay
Oh how we love Cathay Pacific! This picture is from our Chicago-Hong Kong flight and gives you a sense of the space afforded you in one of their First Class Suites. The seat itself is three feet wide and it folds out to a bed that is seven feet long.
To be sitting in a seat such as this on an airplane while sipping Krug is the absolute height of luxury and exactly why we go through the effort to travel the way we do.
Doha Airport Bus, Doha
That day we had left our hotel in Mumbai at 1am in order to make a 4:45am departure on Qatar Airways from Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport (which, by the way is mass chaos in the middle of the night). Our schedule took us to Doha, Qatar by 6am where we sat and waited until 1:30pm for our flight to Istanbul. So by the time it was time to board our flight to Istanbul we were exhausted and ready to go!
At the Doha Airport they shuttle you out to the aircraft, and since we were departing from the Premium Class terminal we were boarded onto the bus first and Jeff took his seat right behind the driver. It was a great photo op as you could tell he was ready to go!
Wishes on the Water, Istanbul
On one of our days in Istanbul we took the ferry across the Bosporus from the European side to the Asian side. We had spent several days on the European side and had wanted to shop but were put off by the hawkers that were doing their best to annoy all the tourists. We had heard that the Asian side was much quieter and so we planned a day over there.
After boarding one of the myriad of ferries that crisscross the Bosporus, we settled into our upper deck seats so we could take in the views. Immediately after sitting down three Turkish women settled in next to us with the cups of tea and began furiously writing notes that they then threw into the Bosporus like coins into a fountain.
This woman was very focused on writing down her wishes and so I was able to surreptitiously snap a photo of her activities. It was such a beautiful day that day as we crossed the Bosporus.
Jewels at The Victoria & Albert, London
Inside the gorgeous Victoria & Albert Museum is one of the most comprehensive displays of jewelry in the world. It’s a surprise when you come upon it because the lighting in the rooms is dark and so as you approach them you wonder what in the world is inside. Then as you turn the corner you’re presented with thousands of pieces of jewelry.
While there was lots to look at, this particular piece was my favorite because it looked like it was levitating inside the case and the jewels that encrust the headband were twinkling in the lighting.
Gold Leaf Wall, Kanazawa
Gold leaf is a big, big thing in Kanazawa. It supplies nearly all of the gold leaf in Japan. So it was fitting that this wall inside a kaiseki restaurant in Kanazawa was decorated with gold leaf.
I love the simplicity of this photo as it conveys the design ethos of Japan perfectly. Simple and gorgeous.
Great Lawn, Greenwich
There are few things as English as great lawns and this lawn looks about as English as it can get. We took a day trip to Greenwich when we were in London and even in November the grass remained green.
While it’s just grass and trees, this setting just seemed so English as we walked to the Observatory that it just begged to have its’ photo taken.
Hagia Sofia, Istanbul
The minute you step into the Hagia Sofia you’re in awe of the place. Built in the 6th century it has been a mosque, a church, a mosque, and now a museum. With soaring arches and domes, it remained the world’s largest cathedral for over 1,000 years until 1520. It is quite possibly one of the most stunning buildings you’ll ever see in your life and is so amazing that you may want to go see other things in Istanbul before the Hagia Sofia because they will pale in comparison.
I chose this picture because it provides some insight into the age of the walls as well as one of the wonderful iron candelabras that hang throughout the building.
Sunset, Istanbul
Our stay in Istanbul was tremendous. The weather was perfect every day (no really, it was), and we managed to select an amazing hotel in Beyoglu called the Witt Suites. At this hotel we booked the Penthouse Suite which gave us a wrap-around terrace with a full on view of the Golden Horn and most of the old city. If you’re going to be in Istanbul, I can’t say enough about getting a room with a view.
Every night the sun would set and every night we were treated to a spectacle such as this. It was so beautiful that we always tried to return to our terrace to see the sunset (although not always successful). It just made the stay in Istanbul that much better.
Here is a link to the Witt Istanbul web site where you can see more about this lovely boutique hotel:
http://www.wittistanbul.com/penthouse/
Woman Selling Vegetables, Mumbai
I didn’t see the piercing stare in this woman’s eyes until later that day when I was reviewing my photos. While it looks like I pointed the camera right at her, I was actually about 50 feet away and had zoomed into her from a distance.
In the absence of context you’d think this woman was a beggar, but in reality she was one of many vendors selling fruits and vegetables on the street in the Girgaon neighborhood of Mumbai. Her crouch, the scarf, her defiant look, and her position relative to her cow make this a very compelling photo.
Texting Man, Mumbai
India was a very photogenic place. I think mainly because there were so many contrasts: Old and new, rich and poor, intense sun and welcoming shade. It seemed as though at every corner you found opportunities to take photos.
This photo is of a man perched on a curb in a park texting his little heart out. Beyond him in the background is the sky burial ground for the Parsi people of Mumbai. They leave their dead exposed on a grate for the vultures to pick their bones clean. Once done the bones fall into a common grave called the Tower of Silence. So the contrast of this man texting in his very nice outfit right next to the Parsi burial ground was too good to pass up.
If you’d like to read more about the Parsi and the Tower of Silence, follow this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Silence
Galata Bridge Simit Seller, Istanbul
The Galata Bridge in Istanbul connects the old city to Beyoglu across the Golden Horn. It is an historic bridge location, with the first one being built in the 6th century. The current version of the bridge was rebuilt in the 1990s, and is the fifth bridge to be built here.
It is the heart of Istanbul’s fishing culture and is always bustling with people, cars, trams, seagulls, and boats. We took a walk across the bridge one day and along the way I saw this wonderfully determined simit seller.
Simits are sometimes called Turkish bagels and they are sold everywhere out of carts and baskets for less than 50 cents. This gentleman had his simit supply perched on his head as he walked behind the fisherman and sold his wares. Simits are delicious, by the way.
Samurai Jeff, Kyoto
Inside the Todai-ji Temple near Kyoto is a 50 foot tall immense wooden Buddha. This is fitting because the current Todai-ji Temple, built in 1709, was the world’s largest wooden building until 1998. The original Todai-ji, destroyed by fire, was built in the 8th century and was 30% larger. Over 2.6 million people were involved in building Todai-ji. Can you imagine?
Behind the giant Buddha are giant statues of samurai warriors and next to these are various samurai statue heads that are more human in scale, each making fierce faces to scare their enemies. I couldn’t resist having Jeff pose between two of them and making a fierce face too.
Mount Fuji, Tokyo
We played footsie with Fuji the whole time we were in Japan. While in Tokyo we could sort of make out the famous mountain from our hotel room until a sweeping cool front came through and blew out all the smog. At that point we had a stunning view of Fuji, albeit from 50 miles away. As you know, Mt. Fuji is nearly perfectly shaped and is an icon of Japan. The Japanese consider Fuji to be one of three holy mountains in Japan.
Then as we left Tokyo, our westbound train skirted the mountain range that contains Fuji and we got a little bit closer. But on our final day in Japan, we were on a shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo and passed right by Fuji. I took many pictures as we passed it, not all of which turned out since we were traveling at 200mph, but this one made it and shows Fuji in all its’ glory.
Portobello Road, London
On our last day in London, the last day of our 2013 Around The World trip, we crammed in one more activity. That was to go shopping on Portobello Road in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood.
It was an especially lovely morning (we had generally amazing weather during our entire trip) and the November light fell beautifully on these barrels of olives. A perfect end to a perfect trip!
Shinto Prayer, Tokyo
At every Shinto temple there is a prayer board onto which a worshipper may pay a small fee to buy a prayer board, write down their prayer, and then hang it on the board.
I like this picture because it gives you a good close-up of the prayer board but also shows you just how many prayers have been added.
Sitting Swami, Mumbai
In the chaos of Mumbai you see the most interesting sights. In this picture is a gentleman quietly sitting on a post outside a crazy busy “Fashion Street” on Mahatma Gandhi Road in the Fort neighborhood of Mumbai.
He just looked so calm and colorful in the middle of all the chaos that it made for a great picture.
Mr. Nagazawa, Kanazawa
In Kanazawa we had stopped and sat on a bench to marvel at the Kenrokuen Gardens. Next to us was this kind looking gentleman who struck up a conversation in excellent English with us. He was most interested in hearing why we were in Kanazawa (it is off the beaten path…) and where we came from.
We had about a five minute conversation with him after which I asked if I could take his picture, to which he agreed. It was a wonderful moment on this trip.
The Scream, Santiago
One day in Santiago we had decided to join a bus tour to the Underraga Winery south of the city. It was supposed to be a half day trip (although it turned into a 9 hour ordeal because of the weather). Each bus tour came with a tour guide who provided commentary during the trip. This particular tour guide clearly used to work as a carnival barker because she only knew one sound level – EXTRA LOUD. So loud, in fact, that it hurt.
And what we didn’t know was that the bus would be filled with Brazilian tourists. So not only was she screaming in Spanish and English, she was also screaming in Portuguese. It was so bad that at one point Jeff had to cover his ears. This is when I knew I had a photo op.
Perfect Maguro, Kanazawa
Yum. We enjoyed a three hour sushi feast in Kanazawa provided by one of the Top 100 sushi chefs in Japan.
One of the courses was this beautiful piece of maguro (tuna) that when he set it down in front of me I saw it’s reflection in the gorgeous marble counter and knew I had to snap a photo. By the way, it was delicious!
Kiev In Chicago, Chicago
This is the view from our kitchen in Chicago taken on a cold winter morning in early 2014. We are lucky enough to have a direct view of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in our neighborhood (and also the Willis Tower in the background).
It is the most unique view that we’ve ever seen from an apartment in Chicago so we’re thrilled that we have it. With the snow and cold in this picture it really does look like Kiev.
Shinto Wedding, Tokyo
Sundays in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo are a popular time and place to conduct a Shinto wedding. We happened to be in Yoyogi Park on a Sunday and were fortunate to see several weddings as they happened. These were wonderful ceremonies – the bride and groom are led around the grounds of a temple inside the park underneath a giant umbrella while drummers solemnly drum out a cadence that they walk to with the wedding party and all the guests.
I loved this picture because it captured the bride and groom as they happily walked around the grounds during their ceremony.
Witt Terrace, Istanbul
What a gorgeous terrace we had with our room at the Witt Suites Istanbul. The hotel delivered breakfast to our room each morning and then set it up outside on our terrace where we sat and ooohed and ahhhed over our view as we ate our breakfast.
I love this picture because it really captured our morning ritual in Istanbul.
Woman Selling Fruit, Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s markets are really lively and fun. This particular market was a fruit and vegetable market and at one of the stands I found this woman. I loved the look on her face as I took this picture.
What is she thinking about?
Miss Information, Tokyo
There is so much to love about Tokyo but the thing that stood out was the people. They are so incredibly polite and warm and surprisingly funny! We had tramped all over Tokyo for three days and wound up at the Tokyo Tower to get a view of central Tokyo. At the entrance there was an information booth and there she stood looking oh-so-interested but just the tiniest bit naughty.
Snapped her picture immediately!
Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Cambodia
You may not want to go here or maybe it’s not high on your list, but you should rethink that. It’s every bit as amazing as everyone says it is, including the effort you put into getting up and out of your hotel at 5am in order to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat.
We were lucky to be there at the winter solstice and witness this incredible event. Go, you’ll be glad you did.
Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi
This was a revelation. The most common way to drink coffee in Vietnam is drip-brewed with sweetened condensed milk. It produces a rich, sweet, creamy coffee that will not be ignored.
It is so delicious that we are still drinking it months after our trip. Every few weeks I make the trip to the Vietnamese market in Uptown and buy our supply. Vietnamese coffee beans are not dried with chemicals and so don’t have a bitter taste to them. We don’t have it with sweetened condensed milk (except for maybe special occasions), but enjoy the brewed coffee each morning.
Indiana Jones Temple of Doom, Cambodia
The temples near Siem Reap are better known as Angkor Wat, but in reality there are hundreds of temples across 127 square miles with only one actually named Angkor Wat.
This temple is actually called Ta Prohm and both the Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom as Lara Croft Tomb Raider were filmed here.
It was utterly amazing that as a tourist you’re allowed to get this close to 1000 year old temples in the middle of the Cambodian jungle. It seemed incredible standing there and the beauty of the temple as outstanding. It was better than you’d imagine.
Banteay Srei, Cambodia
Another famous temple in the area is known as the Pink Sandstone temple. The temple itself is made of pink sandstone and the dirt surrounding the temple is all pink sandstone as well. In fact you cannot avoid getting pink sandstone all over your shoes and pants (no shorts allowed!), but wow is it worth it.
It’s impossible to comprehend it when you’re standing there in the Cambodian heat — even now I can’t believe that we were actually there.
Room 7, Park Hyatt Siem Reap, Cambodia
We arrived in Siem Reap after sundown and our itinerary only allowed us 22 hours to see the temples of Angkor Wat. We had booked a suite at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap which has been receiving rave reviews since it opened a few years ago.
When we checked in were given a further upgrade to a pool suite, which was truly amazing and it came in very handy the next day after climbing around the temples in the incredible Cambodian heat.
We started our day at sunrise at Angkor Wat and by noon we were completely exhausted. There is a lot of climbing and stairs at the temples and even in “winter” the daytime heat is unbearable. I’m pretty sure I felt my shirt catch fire. It could have been the hottest we’ve ever been.
After we completed seeing the four temples we wanted to see, we had our driver return us to the hotel where we IMMEDIATELY got into the pool. I’m pretty sure I heard the water hiss when we got in.
The payoff was this fantastic picture of Jeffrey cooling off in our pool.
Porter, Dubai
Dubai is an insane place. It’s like Las Vegas without the casinos. A lot of money sloshing around and retail temples where you can spent it all.
Outside the Louis Vuitton store at the Dubai Mall stands this fellow waiting to assist customers with their packages. Must have been a slow day.
Angkor Wat Monks, Cambodia
Monks still worship at Angkor Wat and they were everywhere as tourists as well.
We caught these two scampering down the stairs from one of the wings of Angkor Wat in their bright orange robes.
Tram Friend, Hong Kong
The trams that traverse Hong Kong are a terrific way to see the city and are really fun too! This was our second time riding the trams and we spent an afternoon doing it.
At one point, in the tram ahead of us, a little boy noticed we were taking pictures and was thrilled to be in them. So he gave us a big smile and a peace sign.