The Craft Begins

Of all of the amazing things that I saw in India, I think that the jingle trucks were by far my favorite.  All over Indian highways there are these Tata trucks that each driver fully customizes to their own liking, painting them brilliant colors, adding eyes to the back and front of the truck, dangling pompoms and tassels from every available point.  They’re all totally unique, and often made even more so by their unique horns – every time I heard them they would send me into hysterics.  meepMEEPmeepMEEPmeepMEEP or boopBOOP-beeeeep-boopBOOP-beep and so on, passing you at breakneck speeds and with mere inches to spare on each side.

If you’d like to learn bit more about these amazing trucks, click here for an in-depth history.

When I was in India, there was this amazing temple that we had a chance to visit, but unfortunately I was not able to take pictures.  Thankfully, there are ones provided by the temple website that I can share here.  It was an amazing temple – incredible hand-carved details and a monumental scale.  We had to take off our shoes to visit, which I think only heightens the experience.  What’s amazing about it is that it was only built in the last 10 or so years, and isn’t some ancient artifact.  The level of craftsmanship is simply astounding; you really start to think that no one in the world values craftsman anymore, until you see this.

The above picture is a detail of the ceiling – not only do the layers go up in ascending order, but they’re all carved from just one piece of marble.  Can you imagine the patience and precision it would take in order to create something like this not just once, but many times over?  There are a dozen ceilings like this, all with their own unique design.

What’s amazing is that all of this lies in the heart of busy, congested, polluted Delhi.  The grounds alone are a fantastic respite from the hustle and bustle, and would be impressive anywhere, let alone in the middle of a chaotic cosmopolitan city.

I made a little road trip out to Arches National Park last summer and have only just now gotten around to looking at the pictures.  It was an amazing photographic opportunity – it had been raining on and off for several days so I was able to get lots of super-saturated colors and the usually blindingly bright light was more subdued.  Here are a few of my favorites.

You generally don’t think about the desert having so many different colors, but between the vegetation and all of the beautiful and strange colors caused by the unique geology of the area, there really is quite a bit of depth out there in the wastelands.

What is one of your favorite places to photograph?

I recently had the opportunity to attend an Indian wedding in…India!  It was totally last minute and I only got to spend about 9 total days over there but I had the absolute time of my life.  Indian hospitality is legendary.  They treated as as part of the family, quite truly.  There is no way to describe everything we saw and experienced in that time, but here are some of my favorite pictures, just to give you an idea.

In Cripple Creek, Colorado (a town more known for casinos and motorcycle touring) there is a fabulous old schoolhouse-turned-hotel called Carr Manor.  I was fortunate enough to stop in for a visit a year or so ago and was charmed by the entire schoolhouse itself, as well as the rooms, which are all individually appointed and share such features as original blackboards.  One of the rooms even has a built-in hot tub/bar!

If you ever happen to find yourself in Cripple Creek, I think this would be a fantastic place to stay, and if not that, at least a great place to stop in for a visit.

As if I needed another reason to love Santa Barbara.

The El Capitan Canyon Resort is my new dream vacation spot.  Yurts and tents and gourmet-camping like experience.  How could you not want to go there?

Where are you dreaming of going lately?

I had a chance to go to Berkeley a few weekends ago to see some friends, and we had a great time!  My friends usually live in Spain but they were living in the US for a bit so I’m really glad I got to see them before they went back home.  The last time I got to see them the kids were just babies – now they’re all grown up and speaking English!  Amazing.
First off, can I tell you how amazing that slide was?  It was super steep and there were bits of cardboard boxes lying around that you could slide down on.  I ended up losing my box but thankfully my jeans were plenty slick!  In this day and age where everything is wrapped in bubble wrap it’s awesome to see some old-school amusements.  Plus this slide was particularly cool because it looked like something out a Southeast Asian ruin.  In the same vein, there was this other amazing playground where you could go and run around and build, paint, or destroy anything.  No supervision, no real rules, just fun.  Some of these structures were really big – second stories, some were old boats and cars, and so on.  If some place like that had existed when I was a kid, I would have never left.

This might be a little food geeky, but yeah, I took pictures of the fresh morel mushrooms.  Sauteed in a little bit of butter and wine – astounding.  Wish Colorado had markets that were anything like the ones in California.  We went to a little farm market that made me want to move to Berkeley right that very instant.  I’ve never seen so much produce in my life.

The last one is a little impromptu family picture – these are some of my favorite people in the whole world!

I’m dreaming of a ridiculous, ostentatiously over-the-top vacation (that I’ll probably never be able to take) but if I could I would beeline for the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, India.  I love the mix of Indian and European styles.  Seriously, couldn’t you imagine yourself here?  I’d never leave.

Last year we were stationed in a small town in Arizona, home to historic Ft. Huachuca.  I’m not going to lie – that was about the only interesting thing to be found in town.  The newer parts of the post aren’t too interesting – they look just like every other military base in America.  However, the historic parts of the base are simply beautiful.  The buildings date back to the late 1800′s and just sing old Americana.  I want to to build a guest house like this, lounging on the front porch to watch the evening sunset and catch some cooler wind.

Ft. Huachuca was built to protect travellers from the Apaches that swarmed the area in the latter part of the 19th century.  It was instrumental in the eventual surrender of Geronimo, and survived the rounds of cuts to be the only active army base remaining in Arizona. It was also the home of the Buffalo Soldiers.

Mostly, I just love the stonework and the expansive patios and windows.  The architectural style reminds me of the early National Park style.

I see this reflected in homes with a sort of rustic Craftsman-style look.  However, I just want to live in one of these old buildings.  Plus it’s really pleasantly located at the base of some large mountains with running water and lots of trees.

I’ve been thinking about going to Burning Man this year.  For those of you that don’t know what it is, it’s a huge art and alternative lifestyle festival out in the middle of the desert for a week.  What amazes me is that you have to pack everything in and out, yet people still manage to create these massive, intricate and wonderful installations.

I feel like I would need to see this at least once in my life before I die (or get too old to hang out in the desert for a week without bathing).  The scale of these works is simply amazing.  And the stories that I’ve heard are so much fun.  Each camp has a project that they contribute to the whole.  For instance, one place just makes fries and ketchup for anyone who wants them.  Amazing!

Some friends of mine built a giant geodesic dome out of electrical conduit a few years ago and this year I’m contemplating sewing a custom-fit cover for it.  It would be quite the endeavor, but could end up being quite amazing.

Have you ever been to Burning Man?  Is it as amazing as it looks?

I’ve been on a bit of a Carnival kick lately (I blame lent) and I’m really interested in the costumes and masks of the Venetian Carnival.  They’re so amazingly intricate and baroque, and very over-the-top (unlike in Rio where the tradition seems to be to wear as little as possible). My favorite are the gold masks – there’s something about not being able to see a face, only a stern mask, that’s very creepy.

I tried looking up some information about where this tradition started and what it was supposed to symbolize, but it’s surprisingly hard to find information about this. From the best I can tell, the carnival is a typical lent celebration designed by the wealthy Venetians to show off their money and power.  They would then basically cruise the strip (in this instance, the Piazza San Marco) like a bunch of teenagers and try to impress each other.  The masks came about to hide the identity of the wearer so that the upper and lower classes could mingle without fear of repercussion.

Whatever the purpose, the mask has really taken on a life of its own.  There are hundreds of vendors selling cheap imitations to tourists all over Venice, but I don’t think that it makes the real thing any less special.  I’d love to be able to go and see this in person one day.  What is life without a little pageantry?

These photographs from Michael Hughes are amazing.  He takes pictures of cheap souvenirs in situ.  He’s been working on this project for over 20 years and has quite the collection to show for it.

You can buy digital files to make prints for a nominal fee at his website (as well as see more of his photography) and you can see the whole collection here.

What kind of souvenirs do you like to take home?

There’s a small ghost town in the Southern Colorado mountains that has been turned into an amazing hot springs resort/retreat.  You can rent out just a cabin or the whole town.  Can you imagine what an epic setting this would be for a destination wedding?

Find out more about Dunton Hot Springs at their website.

Has anyone actually ever been here?  I think I’m going to have to plot a road trip.

I want to live in this place forever and ever.

Luckily, it’s a real place you can visit!  Check out Treehouse Point in Washington.

via A Cup of Jo.

My favorite thing about going to Washington DC is the Air and Space Museum.  And one of my favorite exhibits there is the golden age of air travel.  The flight attendants were so glamorous, there was plenty of legroom, and everyone dressed up to fly!  Hardly recognizable today.

If you’ve never had the chance to make it to the museum yourself, you can see more pictures from this awesome era at this Life slideshow.