...and he will crush your head.

Serpent of San Diego.

Jewels in the rough

Patriotism

It's a Starbucks nation. JR gets patriotic.

A Day at the Zoo with Friends

From Top:

- Father and son, bonding

- Polar bear or not, this kid entertains himself

- San Diego never looked so like a rain forest

- There's no brawl like a monkey brawl; these two size each other up

- The flora is as stunning as the fauna

and, breathe...

Just a nice place to spend an evening

A yard well-lived

Don't you want to meet whoever lives here?

Like 23-year-olds to a trendy bar...

...pelicans from far and wide flock here for the evening.

Shell Beach, CA

SURPRISE!

Tomsky Sawyer

Aspiring Photographer, Ukraine

Vanya and Igor

Bonding; Ukraine, 2004

The Road Home

View of Pokhara, Nepal; 2003

Joann and I had finished our small roles in setting up the server for our Himalayan network. Pokhara, the city we were working in, wraps around a comparatively small mountain called Sarangkot and Robin told us it was a nice hike. So we took the last part of the day and hoofed it up the trail to the summit. Always looking for adventure we listened as our 'guide,' in very broken English, outlined a return path going down the back side of the mountain. With little idea of where we were to go we set off down the stone path. This was taken about 2/3 of the way down, when we had finally found the right trail.

A Soft Landing

Polination; Ukraine

It's tough to be constantly surrounded by people who speak a language that you don't understand, especially when those people are teenagers, and especially when you are stranded with them in the middle of a Ukrainian forest. I grabbed my camera and took a little break from camp. This was taken in a nearby field.

International Bonding

Kid's camp; Kiev, Ukraine

I'll be honest, I didn't know how Geoff would do with the kids. He seemed rather bland and severe during planning meetings for the trips, but then he does crunch numbers for a living. When we got to the camp, though, and when he began to put heart and body, in their mortal entirety, into his contact with those kids I was both repentant and humbled. Obviously his efforts were appreciated by more than just myself.

Romanian Sunrise

Chapel, under construction, at sunrise.

I wasn't allowed to take my camera into the Romanian orphanage where my life was changed, nor did I want to leave Romania without some photgraphic memories, so I pried myself from my thin foam mattress before dawn and took a stroll through town. I was continually stared at, kicked out of a trucking yard, and generally quite tired when I got this shot. It still doesn't look as beautiful to me as I think it might be.

Bashful Comedian

Tom, killing 'em in Zhytomyr, Ukraine

Nastya was ecstatic. Americans who eat salow? We were international anomolies, cultural savants; in short we were invited to lunch at her mother's apartment the following Sunday. Her mom welcomed us with a meal full of salow - it was in the salad, in the potatoes, it was the main course. Salow, in case you're wondering, is pig fat. But Tom and I are never ones to refuse hospitality. Tom, a theater major, and generally one of the most entertaining people I know, kept the room in stitches.

Flight's a breeze

Updraft surfing, 2005

An evening spent shooting the sunset at the beach was salted with gliders and nude volleyball. I only took pictures of the gliders.

Cliffs of Insanity...

...or Torrey Pines, however you fancy it.

J.R. and I were headed to we knew not where, to do we knew not what. A sign by the side of the road read "Gliderport." Now we were headed there to do we knew not what. The sun was down, but there was enough light to enjoy the remarkable view from the cliffs of Torrey Pines. A few days later we came back to shoot the sunset.

Play, no matter what

Water fight, Mexican orphanage; 2005

Let's call him Sam, this quiet little boy. He lives in an orphanage on the Baja Penninsula. On this particular day he decided to squirt me with his leaky, orka shaped squirtgun. He would fill an old yoghurt container with water, fill his weapon and come after me. Finally his attention was diverted for a long enough moment for me to get off a quick shot. I'm just glad that he was having that sort of fun that all kids should have.

From the Roots

Fragile strength, 2005

It stretched my imagination and abilities to look for fitting photo subjects around my house, but I didn't just want to rewind the roll. This one make me happy I didn't.

Black and White

Baptism; outside of Zhytomyr, Ukraine

In Ukraine baptisms are afforded special ceremony to compliment their eternal significance. I was lucky enough to witness two, playing a small but special role in the first. This was the second.

Uh, you've got a, you know... on your head

The Pigeon Guy; Kiev, Ukraine

If ever you come across a similar man, with an old, weathered face stretched into an easy smile, clothed in monochrome canvas garb and surrounded by birds, I hope you speak his language, because I bet he has a lot to say.

A Dash of Colour

Kitchen; 2005

I have to be honest. I didn't even mean to take this one. But the shutter snapped, and as it turns out I like it.

Age Before Beauty

Jamul; 2005

There was thunder in the distance, and I hoped for rain. After a long, hot and troublesome summer I wanted that feeling of sovereign cleansing. My backpack loaded with forty lbs. for training, I climbed to the top of a nearby hill. I never did get my rain, but the hike itself served the purpose. This is near the top of the hill.

Harvest Sun

Waning and Reaching; 2005

J.R. and I had planned on taking some shots around El Cajon. But as evening settled in the sky did anything but settle. Rather it began to shoot colors hundreds of miles across the sky. Pinks and oranges. J.R. was late getting to my house. "We've gotta go quick" were my first words to him. "I know," he answered. We sped to the top of Mount Helix, heedless of my low-gas light, just in time for the most brilliant sunset in recent memory.

Opposites attract

Royalty meets Happiness in the Himalayas

At 12,5oo feet in the Sierra Nevada the soil turns to stone. Trees you left 1,000 feet below, but now even weeds cannot suck enough water from the ground to live. So imagine my suprise when we were greeted to the 15,000 foot mark in the Himalayas by a chorus of yellow and purple flowers.

Child Labour

...but he doesn't seem to mind.

Bounce in his step

Youth, meet astrojump. You two will have plenty to talk about.

A day in the mountains...

Josh in the Cuyamacas; 2005

Cliffs, Ocean, Sunset

Only in California; Torrey Pines, CA

Yaks and Pepper Tea

My friends, huddling next to a yak shed at 15,000ft.

Anyone for tea?

Ukrainian camp kitchen; 2004

Water Buffalo Heart...

...it's what's for dinner.

Now Leaving Here...

Mark looks down on another world; Nepal; 2003

The Rocket and the Rock

Technology meets nature; Nangi Village, Nepal; 2003

Two Towers

Castle, Budapest, Hungary; 2004

Onward; Upward

The road to thin air; Annapurna South, Nepal; 2003

Of gods and mountains

The Hinduism of Nepal; 2003

(note: look for more Nepal images soon. I'll be there in October.)

Love in the time of Revolution

Young but happy parents; Ukraine; 2004

...with real whirpool action

The baths of Hungary; Budapest (pronounced: BOO-da-pesht); 2004

Patient Giants

Santee Boulders; CA; 2005

The Homeward Track

Romania and Back; 2004