Changing the lights on a cross in Mandalay, Burma. I took this picture while leading a tour years ago in Burma. When I look at this image, I wonder what conversations brought them to do this risky job. What would lead these 2 to risk their lives to change the lights on a cross high above the ground, on an old structure, without safety gear, in bare feet? Was it the priest that asked them to do it? Was it a […]
Near Elephant Island, Antarctica Here’s a short video of a tour around an iceberg that I shot off Elephant Island in Antarctica several years back. This location was made famous as Shackleton’s emergency camp after their ship, Endurance, was shipwrecked in 1916. The story of their expedition is one of the greatest stories of polar survival. Part of the crew was marooned at this location for four and a half months. Frank Hurley’s photographs of this expedition are spectacular. On the […]
Years ago, I photographed these performers at a festival. I had forgotten about them until I went rummaging through my archives. These are images that should be seen, not sitting in an archived file. It was an intense show to witness. Somehow it’s almost as intense to look at the images all these years later. As I watched their show, I wondered, wow, what if this goes wrong with the chainsaws? There’d be a lot of traumatized audience members. Didn’t […]
The sees of yoga was planted in my life back in the 90s. Like most disciplines, you keep growing and learning as you practice. Yoga is like this to me. When I would practice with a new teacher, or a new style, I would often come away thinking, wow, this is yoga. That happened over and over again, humbling me with each new yoga chapter I found myself in. Originally, I practiced Ashtanga yoga as promoted by Patabi Jois. This […]
Dig the Mossi King’s yellow shoes—what a hipster. The King himself is a pretty important fellow—he has over 6 million subjects. I shot some portraits of him as well; it was the obligatory thing to do. But what really intrigued me were the attendants who sat at his feet. Every time the king would say something, the three minions (the other two are sitting next to the man wearing purple) would snap their fingers like exclamation marks at the end of […]
In 2010, I became an official member of the Ghana Ski Team and off we went to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. This photo essay covers the journey of Kwame Nhrukamah Acheampongong (aka The Snow Leopard). This series of images covers the time from his local training at Mount Washington on Vancouver Island to the Olympic locations of Vancouver and Whistler.
Autumn nature meditations The autumn is one of my favourite times to walk and meditate with my camera. As nature prepares for its big sleep and the sounds of the forest quieten, the scenes can be exquisite. Fall photography is filled with endings but rather than depressing, I’m inspired to know that this part of a cycle and that the trees and the plants will endure and burst forth again. The cycles of nature are sublime. I’ve been a Canon […]
A Balinese funeral, especially one of a hero, is a spectacle to witness. The man who died was a member of the Indonesian resistance who fought the Dutch from re-occupying the country after the Japanese occupation ended at the end of World War II. The images show people gathering for the event, the funeral itself, the procession to the cremation grounds and the cremation itself.
Geshe YongDong, Tibetan Bon Lama I have had the amazing opportunity to get to know and to study with Geshe YongDong, a Bon Buddhist Lama who runs the Bon centre, Sherab Chamma Ling. GesheLa was born in Tibet and like so many of his time, he fled Tibet to northern India where he lived and studied in exile. Eventually, he made his way to Canada where he founded Sherab Chamma Ling, the only Bon Buddhist Centre in Canada. You can […]
Recycler’s Market, Addis Ababa I took this picture in a recycling centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The center is unique in that people live in the recycling area surrounded by heaps of scrap metal and parts. And amazingly, it is recycled, or upcycled into new products that are pounded out by hand and anvil. This young man was asking for alms whilst he embarks on a youthful Muslim pilgrimage. Eyes can be magnetic, and the gentleness and humility in […]
I love ice. I love its form. Its hardness that belies its fragility. And I love the lines and the hues of blue. And the way my dualistic brain works, I immediately think of its opposite. Do any of you think like that? I seem hardwired that way. So, really, today I got thinking today about ice by first thinking about heat waves. I live in BC, Canada where we were in the midst of a heat wave that broke all […]
Ethiopia is diverse in landscapes and cultures. From the countryside and cultures of the arid Omo Valley to the Simien Plateau, the rooftop of Africa, Ethiopia is spectacularly different from region to region. It’s painful to see it in the news once again as internal strife threatens to tear the country apart. Ethiopia is dear to my heart so with the rollout of my new website, I decided to feature this amazing country in a gallery of portraits.
Portrait of a Mursi Tribe at War, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Leopard Seal, Master of the Southern Ocean Here’s a short video of a Leopard Seal that I filmed several years ago. These seals are number 2 in the top predator rank; their only natural predator in the Southern Ocean is the much larger Orca. They are “true seals” and do not have external ears. Instead, they have an opening on the side of their head that connects to the ear canal. Their muscular bodies, massive head and jaws make them […]
Portrait of a Tibetan Lama, Geshe YongDong Geshe YongDong is the spiritual director and main teacher of Sherab Chamma Ling, a Tibetan Bon Buddhist Centre located in the Comox Valley. I took this portrait for CV Collective magazine. There are 5 lineages in Tibetan Buddhism, Bon being one of them. Bon is the oldest of all the spiritual traditions in Tibet; Bon, a shamanic spiritual tradition, was the main spiritual tradition of Tibet before the arrival of Indian Buddhism in Tibet. […]
Gelada Baboon, northern Ethiopia This shot of a gelada baboon was published in Audubon Magazine as part of a story on the geladas’ vocalizations and its resemblance to human speech. Years ago while I was guiding in northern Ethiopia, I had the chance to go into the Simien Mountains in the Ethiopian Highlands. Also known as the Roof of Africa, per sq. km. it’s the highest chunk of land on the continent. I took this shot at about 3000 meters […]
As if being close to the equator isn’t warm enough, this guy works at a forge all day. The beads of sweat tell the story. Mali’s average life-expectancy is 53; poverty mercilessly grinds people down. The Recycler’s Market is on the outskirts of Bamako, the capital of Mali. Here, metal waste is recycled into useful products from car parts to cooking utensils. It’s amazing what resourceful people can do with so little. And it’s also amazing just how hard they […]
Portrait at the Botanical Gardens in Kandy As I wandered through the green expanse of Kandy’s Botanical Garden, I came across this lovely couple out for a shoot with their hired Sri Lankan wedding photographer. I asked if I could take their picture. They obliged and everyone, including their photographer, seemed happy with the request; their photographer took a picture of me taking a picture of them. My guess is that I am now in their wedding album. The observer […]
I took this shot at Long Beach in Canada’s premier west coast park, Pacific Rim National Park. As you can see from the beach, you can walk for miles. You can also do handstands. I love this shot for its balance, if you’ll pardon the pun. And she held the handstand for quite some time.
