Category Archives: UNESCO World Heritage

Beautiful Photography of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Wrought Iron Window in an Ancient Brick Wall, Venice, Italy

Posted on December 28th, 2015 by

Mundane Beauty in Venice

Here is the thing about Venice, Italy…even the most ordinary scenes take on some of the magic that is all around this city of the sea. Just take a look at this wrought iron window lodged in a brick wall in one of the many narrow walkways throughout the city. The bricks are interestingly worn down by time and touch. The iron is abused by the salt air. There is a beauty in the etching of time and sea and this is a part of the wonder of Venice.

Wrought Iron Window in an Ancient Brick Wall, Venice, Italy
Wrought Iron Window in an Ancient Brick Wall, Venice, Italy

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/8
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 25 January, 2014
  • Focal length: 16mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Location: 45° 26.4187′ 0″ N 12° 19.4135′ 0″ E
  • Shutter speed: 1s
  • Title: Wrought Iron Windown in an Ancient Brick Wall, Venice, Italy

Machu Picchu from Afar

Posted on October 8th, 2015 by

A 40 Year Journey

This year marks my 40th of life…and oh what a journey its been so far. When Pamela asked where I wanted to go for my 40th birthday, I answered immediately…Machu Picchu. There was none of my normal indecision. I have always wanted to visit this mystical forgotten city in the clouds. The Inca must have found some great spiritual vortex to build so far into the mountains. I expected to find something in the ruins. I am always searching for it, but the odd thing was…it wasn’t there. Not in the way I thought at least.

Getting to Machu Picchu itself is also a journey. In the end multiple planes, hotels, cars, buses and trains. This trip also marked my stepping foot on six continents in one calendar year (I am only missing Antarctica). I don’t know what the next 40 years will bring. As Bono, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, but the one thing I have learned in my now 40 years…the JOURNEY is worth it!

Machu Picchu from Afar
Machu Picchu from Afar

Photo Technical Info

Chinese Dog Carving at Lingyin Temple

Posted on October 5th, 2015 by

My Love of Random Sculptures

A quick photo today from my favorite part of Hangzhou…Lingyin temple. It’s probably an obvious photo for me to take at this point, but I just love the little details around Chinese gardens, monasteries and the like. The craftsmanship at the Lingyin area is exquisite and this little dog is no exception.

Chinese Dog Carving at Lingyin Temple
Chinese Dog Carving at Lingyin Temple

Photo Technical Info

Orchid on the Climb Up Machu Picchu Mountain

Posted on October 1st, 2015 by

Altitude

I didn’t do fantastic in the altitude of Peru. I have tested the limits and I think I am good to 10,000 feet. After that I need to start talking with my doctor! Short stents at altitude aren’t going to bother most people, but the time we spent in Cusco (over 11,000 feet) made me ill. It was much like having the flu, without any of the normal fever. I don’t know how these orchids do it, but they are part of the beauty of hiking Montaña (Machu Picchu Mountain).

Orchid on the Climb Up Machu Picchu Mountain
Orchid on the Climb Up Machu Picchu Mountain

Photo Technical Info

Gondolier at Sunset, Venice Italy

Posted on August 20th, 2015 by

Dark Shadows

I recently talked about the feeling of a photo, and trying to capture how a place felt. I don’t say things like this often, but today’s photo might well be one of the best I have ever done. I am not speaking of the technical aspects of composition or even timing. This is how Venice FELT to me this last winter. Dark shadows, muted, cold. I long to go back. I can’t begin imagine the place in the summer. Winter in Venice seemed to fit me perfectly. Hopefully I can visit again this January or February, wandering, a bit lost in the icy cold air, with a copy or Watermark in hand. Feeling the city that is not separate from the sea.

Gondolier at Sunset, Venice Italy
Gondolier at Sunset, Venice Italy

Photo Technical Info

Man in a Hat, Venice Before the Tourists

Posted on July 20th, 2015 by

Up Early

I took the earliest train I could find into Venice that morning. As I stepped off the train station steps, I felt the undulation of Venice. The city wasn’t awake yet, the sun with just coming up and Italians get a later start to the day. Crossing my first bridge, I luckily had my camera up because the man with the red bag came walking down by himself, destined for work no doubt. I caught this singular frame of his day, but one was all I needed to recall my first moments in Venice.

Man in a Hat, Venice Before the Tourists
Man in a Hat, Venice Before the Tourists

Photo Technical Info

Rustic Arbor in The Queen’s Hamlet, Versailles, France

Posted on May 7th, 2015 by

Old Arbor in Fall

This arbor is located in The Queen’s Hamlet in a far off corner of the Palace of Versailles. A place of extreme indulgence, an escape of Marie Antoinette. The small space on the vast expanse that is the Palace of Versailles quickly became my favorite area and one of my favorite historic sites we visited in France. It seems silly really, that a queen would dream for the “Providential Life“, but then her dreams weren’t based in reality, but rather a farcical version wholly indicative of the excess of Versailles. It was fall when we visited and the arbor vines were almost completely dormant for winter, but no doubt, they will be resurgent in the spring.

Rustic Arbor in The Queen’s Hamlet, Versailles, France
Rustic Arbor in The Queen’s Hamlet, Versailles, France

Photo Technical Info

Sepia Night on a Pier at St Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy

Posted on March 19th, 2015 by

Night in Venice

Venice is a city of many sides, but the setting of the sun turns the city of Venice into another other-worldly place. It is almost a magical transformation. Sunset seems to linger, bidding those that do not wish to see the cities darker side, go home…return to your hotel. Once the night takes hold, it becomes deathly quiet. The narrow walkways and close buildings bring a sense of extreme claustrophobia. Every path is a darkened alley holding the unknown. By day you are surrounded by visages of death…masks of the plague. These are gone by night, but their specter haunts you … as do the dead from that time still buried beneath the cobblestone streets. I didn’t stay long in the evening, but what I did see, told me it would make the best of photo projects.

Sepia Night on a Pier at St Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy
Sepia Night on a Pier at St Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/4
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 25 January, 2014
  • Focal length: 16mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Location: 45° 26.0117′ 0″ N 12° 20.4957′ 0″ E
  • Shutter speed: 6s
  • Title: Sepia Night on a Pier at St Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

The Tower of London Baboons

Posted on March 9th, 2015 by

Royal Zoo

At one time in England’s history, the Tower of London doubled as the Royal Menagerie. Court can be a truly dull affair, so one king brought in animals, another used them as specials having various creatures unnaturally fight to the death. Oh the cruelty of the bored. What I loved most about tower…ok…that was the jewels, so what I loved second best about tower was the wonderfully wire animal sculptures. Since real animals cant just roam around, someone did a WONDERFUL job of creating these wire-frame residents of the tower.

The Tower of London Baboons
The Tower of London Baboons

Photo Technical Info

Temple of Heaven Tile Details

Posted on February 26th, 2015 by

Construction Materials

The Temple of Heaven is a massive site…one that can easily take a day of your time. It is also one of the preordained visits you have to make on your first visit to Beijing (though I have yet to visit The Great Wall…sacrilege, I know). Personally I enjoyed the Forbidden City more, but the Temple of Heaven honestly is like no historic site I have ever visited before. Today’s photo is one of the small exquisite details. I have so many more to share…

Temple of Heaven Tile Details
Temple of Heaven Tile Details

Photo Technical Info