Images of different subjects, some of which are to present a fun visual understanding of a subject and some are to enlighten the viewer. These are all random images in no special order either by country or subject. Also, due to the fact that there will be a lot of general photographs, this will require additional post pages. There could also be a link which is in green and it is an active link to a web site for more information about the image. Just click the link and another browser window will open.
Need fuel for the
motorbike, no problem, just stop by one of the many street side petrol vendors
and fill up. Just do not mistake the liquid in the old Johnny Walker Whiskey
bottles for a good alcohol buzz. Photo: Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Ecuador translates to "Republic of the Equator" and thus the
equator passes through the outskirts of
Quito.
Years ago the French sent a scientific team to chart the equator and using the
most precise instruments at that time, they determined a location in which the
equator line passed through the area of Quito. The French, being a very proud
nation and proud of their scientific achievement decided to build a
monument to themselves proclaiming their
brilliance. Photo: Quito, Ecuador
However, the French were not correct. Years later with the advent
of GPS and other newer technologies, the equator line was again triangulated
and this was given a name, Inti-Nan. At the Inti-Nan site there are some
interesting
demonstrations that show the rotation effects of the
earth. They also show the effects of being on the exact equator line where
there are no rotational effects. One such demonstration is the ability to
balance a raw egg on the head of a nail. Each visitor is able to attempt this
yet very few are able to accomplish the balancing act. The photo you see is the
result of my 2 attempts. Since I was successful, I was awarded a
certificate of achievement.
In a side note, thousands of years earlier, the native Indians of
the region had a sacred ritual site which could be seen from the Inti-Nan
location. This was in fact within 1000 meter away across the valley on the
nearby hills. These ancient indigenous people were able to understand, map and
mark the equator within such a close accuracy with only celestial observations,
not technology. Photo: Inti-Nan, Quito, Ecuador
The 7-11
corporation has locations around the world and I believe, outside of the
United States,
Thailand may have more stores than any other country. There are always fakes in this world and this is
not exclusive to counterfeit watches. Looking at the image, can you tell which
is the "real" 7-11 store? Give up, first, this image was not taken in
Thailand,
it was taken in a country where as far as I know there are absolutely no 7-11
franchise stores. Neither of these two stores are the real thing, both fakes,
counterfeit. Photo:
Bagan, Myanmar
The sport of sail
boarding is one that is enjoyed in many regions of the world. Watching these
riders out on the water is very enjoyable but the real fun is when the rider
starts to "stunt" with the board. This image is not unique except
that it is the location where it is taking place. A country where in the past
it was safe, full of tourist, and people from around the world came. Photo:
Dahab,
Egypt
-
Red Sea
Back lighting is
one technique that I will use to produce the effect that I want for a
photograph. This fountain is a very famous one and has been photographed in
almost every light condition from full sun to night lighting. I wanted a
different image and decided to use back lighting and the resulting image is
exactly what I wanted. However, be careful with back lighting because unless
you are aware of the outcome of the photo you may not like the results. Photo:
Archibald Fountain,
Hyde Park, Sydney
Australia
In this time of
the news in the
United
States and how their political system seems
to be in crisis, I now present my homage to their President, Mr. Obama. This
photo was taken of an artist who would draw your caricature while you waited.
It was also taken in 2011. Of course the man to the left is the artist and
yes, that is his true skin coloration, he was a happy man though. When I saw
the caricature of Obama, I just had to stop, it was the smile full of teeth
that did it for me. Maybe this caricature will improve his image around the
world. Photo:
Krakow, Poland
When looking for that
special sovereign for your friends or loved one, you might just like one of
these puppets. Of course we have Elvis, not sure who is next to him, then MJ,
Putin and Obama. Two observations of this image, one is the clothing for
everyone is the same except Elvis & MJ, the other observation is the fact
that Mr. Obama is not a WHITE person. Photo: Prague,
Czech Republic
This is a good friend of
mine. His name is Kiros Hadgu. I met up with him one time when he was street performing.
This image is for real, Kiros is known as "
TheWorld's Most Flexible Man". In the image he has passed his body through a standard sized
tennis racket, his leg is also inside the racket and his right shoulder is dislocated with his arm bent
around his neck, holding the front of the racket. He must dislocate his shoulder
to manipulate his right arm. There are YouTube vids of him if you Google his
name. Photo:
Warsaw, Poland
This man was entertaining
the crowd and for his final part of the act, he takes a live frog and ever so
slowly puts the frog in his mouth then swallows the frog. Afterward he drinks a
liquid from a glass and I was hoping that this would make him throw up the frog
for the spectators. I guess he went home and disposed of the frog the old
fashioned way. Photo:
Arequipa,
Peru
The city of
Chongqing is built upon
hills and requires a lot of energy to walk about the old center when visiting.
This image was originally posted on another web site titled "Chinese
Moving Company". In
Chongqing
you will find mostly men but some women standing around the shopping centers
and other places of business waiting for the customer to have their purchase
transported. These people all have a 1 meter length of bamboo with rope on both
ends. This image of course self explanatory, this man has his cargo secured by
the ropes and he is making the delivery. Photo:
Chongqing, China
In one of my
favorite cities of Eastern Europe you will
find many bronze statues in the old city district. This image is composed to
show the original bronze statue or figure of a man climbing out of a sewer
hole. The bottom half of this image shows one of the local street entertainers
who is portraying this same scene and he is doing it within about 20 meters
from the bronze figure that the city designed. Photo: Bratislava, Slovakia
This image was
part of a larger mural painted on the side of a building. At first it seemed a
bit uninteresting but after looking more closely, I discovered subtle, hidden
messages within the mural and here is what I see. First this is puppet, second
if you will look closely at the symbol on the center of the helmet you will
notice the old Soviet "sickle" which refers back to the Soviet rule
but instead of the hammer, there are two parallel bars which are insignia for
the Euro currency. Finally, the shoulder patch on the left has the US dollar
currency symbol. I believe the message of the mural is that these people feel
they are the financial puppets of both the Eurozone and
United States
and their armies. Photo:
Warsaw,
Poland
When we think of Buddhists we normally envision a man, however, in the order of Buddhism women are also a part of the system as Nuns though for the most part it is only the men that you will normally see. According to the doctrine of their belief systems, a person of the Monastery is allowed only a few possessions. The country in which this image has, by my belief, the highest per capita population of monks than any other country, I could be incorrect. Photo: Hsipaw, Burma
If you clicked
the link in the other photo you might have read that the monks are only
permitted a small amount of
material possessions. I always enjoy traveling around watching the monks as
seen in the two side by side images. I must assume that the monk on the left
needed the cash from the ATM machine so he could help his fellow monk on the
right purchase a nice digital camera for a bit of tourism. Photos: Northern
District, Thailand
Every culture has its own unique dish, very specific to a country or region. Cuy (guinea pig), pronounced Kwee in English language, is one such delicacy that is found in the fabric of the Andean culture of South America. Depending on the region, it is prepared in a variety of ways. The locals where this image was taken enjoy their Cuy grilled over hot coals. Photo: Banos, Ecuador
In Ecuador it is possible to take the Rio Napo, which is fed by the high Andean mountain streams then flows east to join with the Amazon River. Starting at the oil city of Coca you can go down river to the border with Peru and continue to the Peruvian city of Iquitos or you can divert and go into Brazil. This image is of the water taxi which takes you from Coca to the small border
village of
Roco Furente on the frontier before you cross over to
Peru. See
Map. The boat is powered by two outboard engines; there is a navigator in the front for guiding the man on the engines at the rear. The boat is about 10-15 meters long, makes one stop during its 10-14 hour run for a rest and food break. It is a hard journey and passes through the pristine lowland rain forest and passes through the
Yasuni National Park. Click
here to read the article on this journey.
Unfortunately the Yasuni National Park is now in danger from oil and gas exploration. A number of years ago the Ecuadorian government proposed a
plan by which they would set aside a very large portion of the Yasuni and not extract oil from this restricted area. The idea was for world governments and organizations to pay the Ecuadorians a large sum of money and the government would forbid any exploration for oil. This plan was highly endorsed by environmentalist around the world, however, it failed and now the government has decided to allow drilling. Photo: Rio Napo river, between Coca and Roco Furente.
There is one country in SE Asia which is now the new hot place to go visit. It has been closed for many years but has recently opened up so the tourists are now flocking there. They even have a promotional video on the television which shows beautiful images to entice the tourist to come. Unfortunately the video does not show the reality of the country and this image is an example of how the roads are repaired. The two women have a can of asphalt (tarmac) and are placing it in the many holes in the road surface. Photo: Bagan, Burma (Myanmar)
Many years ago a US company developed a device which in their very secretive advertisements claimed it would change the way we traveled in the world. When the device was finally introduced it was called the Segway and for some it was a major disappointment for others a unique device. However, it seems that the Segway did not change the world and now the places you will find these machines are with some tourist riding them either alone or on a group tour, mostly in Europe and you may see them in an airport. Photo: Prague, Czech Republic
Here we have the staple of many snackers, the humble cracker. When was the last time you looked at that simple cracker before you popped it into your mouth? For me it was during a bus ride in Argentina. For some unknown reason I held up my cracker into the light and found "artwork" embedded into the cracker itself. So, next time, before you munch on that innocent looking cracker, see if some artistic baker did not put a little bit of art into your food.
Are you looking for that perfect holiday ham, well you should phone this guy and he will deliver, farm fresh porkers right to your door, garnish included. Photo: Cambodia
In one city which was built upon steep hills there is a market where the locals do their daily shopping for items including shoes, clothing, fresh foul, frogs and a lot more. Here we can see a customers order being prepared by the market vendor. Poor frog, losing its head, skin and innards. However, it must be extremely tasty for the buyer. Photo: Old Market, Chongqing, China.
Pork knuckles are a favorite treat for some cultures, however, it must be properly prepared. This man in the image was walking around with a propane cylinder and flaming torch head and as the customers waited, he would give the pork knuckle a good roasting for that perfect golden, dark brownish-black outer crust with a bit of extra flavor. Notice that the pork knuckle is resting on some sort of metal object which I was able to identify as the safety guard for a floor fan. Photo: Old Market, Chongqing, China
An example of back light is shown here. The location of this image is in the mountains and to get here a very early departure and 2 hour ride in a mini van is required to arrive before the sun comes up and over the surrounding mountains. When taking a photo like this, there is a very limited time horizon, the light conditions do not last very long so you must be ready and in position knowing what you are wanting your photograph to look like. This was taken just as the sun broke over the mountains and was lighting the ground vegetation. Photo:
Tatio Geyser, Atacama Region, Chile
I always enjoy word play and signage around the world. This image had both of what I like all in one shot. Of course the word play is in the name which happens to be a Chinese restaurant. The other part of the image shows the signage for a sex club next door. I always wondered, did you eat before or after going to the sex club/ Photo: Czech Republic
Going around the world you see a lot of enterprising people find some ways of making money. I have seen vendors selling elephant, camel, donkey, horse, and other animal rides to the tourists but this was my very fist time to see a vendor selling the opportunity for a ride or photo on a Yak. Photo: Sichuan Province, Bus rest stop, somewhere between Chengdu and Songpan, China.
There is an art form which originated in Asia and has spread around the world. It is based on anime and comic heroes and is called costume play or
Cosplay. This image was taken in 2010 outside a large shopping center complex where the participants numbered in the hundreds and there were as many photographers as those involved in the Cosplay. The range of costumes was from the very simple to elaborate and many of these individuals were posing for the cameras. Photo: Bangkok, Thailand
This is an image of a door on a train. If you know the language then you can read what the sign actually means, however, the English translation you see is not exactly what is behind the door. This form of language translation is known as "Chinglish" and has been a subject of much humor through out the years as images of these translations are next to the actual object or sign. So, what is behind this door, it is the toilet. Photo: Train in China, circa 2009
This innocent image of shoes is a lot more than what they appear, they are a shrine and memorial to the Jews who were slaughtered in this city during WWII. In an effort to rid the city of the Jewish population, the Germans decided to round up the local Jewish population, take them to the river bank and shoot them then discard their dead bodies into the river. Then it occurred to some officer that this was using too many bullets. They decided to tie or handcuff each person to the other, shoot alternating people, killing them, then they would throw the entire group into the river. This would pull those still alive along with the dead bodies under the waters to drown. These shoes are made of bronze I believe and can be located on the eastern bank of the river but you must either ask a tour guide or locate them yourself because this area is not very well know, nor is the history behind the shoes. The locals will come and place a lighted candle in the shoes. Photo: Pest side of Budapest, Hungary
Every "Guy" needs a cool backpack while walking about the city. This one tells a lot about the person that has one of these so they can impress the "mates". Photo: Vilnius.
