Katrina Panos

by Erik Olsen on

Folks here might be tired of me lauding panoramic photographs….but I can’t help it. I love them. They convey such an
interesting, holistic perspective of things. They are always very unusual. For example (and sorry for the self promo)
look at this pano I shot at the Ganges River last year in
India. This is one of my favorites. Isn’t it a cool look at life on the river so different from a standard photo?
(comments and criticism welcome…well, comments, anyway ;-))

Now take a look at the stuff that
the Washington Post just put up from Hurricane Katrina. There are some good ones here, and they cover the whole
region that was affected. Personally, some of them are badly overexposed, but maybe that’s being nit-picky. Anyway, you
probably haven’t seen anything like these before.

Photo of the Day: (9/15/05)

by Erik Olsen on

Traveler/photographer extraordinaire Jon Rawls continues to amaze
with his uploaded Flickr photos. We’ve got to Rawls’ work a couple of times here, and we’ll probably keep doing so, as
long as he posts cool pics like this one.

Shot at night with a long exposure in front of what looks like the Coliseum in Rome, but is labled London…so I’m not
sure where it is…the photo, entitled
time stands still conveys an elegant mixture of modern and ancient with cars whizzing past the historic
structure at night. Great shot.

Annapolis in Autumn

by Kelly Amabile on

Home of the US Naval Academy, the city of
Annapolis is a short ride from downtown Baltimore or DC, and a good bet
almost any time of year. On my last visit, we dined at the Sly Fox Pub after an
afternoon of shopping. The pub has a nice outdoor patio (with occasional live acoustic music), which I’m sure will
remain open through early fall. This
Washington Post
article praises the Sly Fox patio too, and tells us more about this historic tavern. There is also the famous
Rams Head Tavern for good eats and great live
music.

If you’re making the drive to Annapolis, it’s definitely worth it to head over the
Bay Bridge
before or after spending time in the state capitol. The Chesapeake Bay is gorgeous, and riding over the bridge is a
thrill for me each and every time. In the fall, you’ll get a great view of the autumn colors on the trees of the
Eastern Shore. There are numerous scenic drives and attractions to see once you’re there.

This USA Today piece has
a collection of links for a variety of locations to explore in the greater Annapolis and Bay area. One hint, I’d advise
steering clear of the four remaining Navy
home football game
days, as it can get a bit crowded downtown. Unless, of course, you’ve got tickets to a game :-)

Lascaux on Your Lap

by Erik Olsen on

The French caves of Lascaux was discovered by happenstance in 1940 by four French boys who stumbled upon it while exploring the area. They have since become one of the most treasured and studied anthropological artifacts in human history. For good reason. The caves radiant wall paintings offer a breath-taking and revealing view of what life as a human was like 18,000 years ago. Not to mention they show what incredible artistic talent our forebears possessed.

I confess, I’ve always wanted to visit Lascaux, even if I’ve sometimes wondered whether the caves were the equivalent of prehistoric funny pages (a sort of Far Side for Australopithecus). But while I have no immediate flight plans to France, I did see that a new book is out about the caves by Norbert Aujoulat, the research director of the caves for the last 10 years. Called Lascaux: Movement, Space and Time, the book contains 226 full color photos, maps and illustrations of the cave’s proto-artistic wonders.

Fun and Evolution in the Galapagos

by Erik Olsen on

Since we touched on the subject of evolution yesterday in our post about the right-wing
embrace of the film March of the Penguins, we thought we’d post an article about the place that, in a way, gave birth
to the theory of evolution: the Galapagos.
This piece comes from
the in-flight magazine of Continental airlines (funny we don’t post a lot from the in-flight magazines, and yet many of
them have excellent articles…we might have to fix that). It’s not a deep-thinking piece. No revelations about the
origin of species here. But it is a nicely written travel feature about what it’s like to travel to these distant, and
ecologically bountiful islands off Ecuador.

Visitors to the Galapagos get to wander only a select part of the islands…visitation is highly restrictive due to the
fragile ecosystem…but there are animals aplenty, including Blue-Footed Boobies, iguanas and Giant tortoises. Visitors
also get to check out the Charles Darwin Research Station, where
top-notch research is being conducted following up on Darwin’s extensive observations on the islands.

Along these lines, I should mention that one of the best books I’ve ever read is
Beak of the Finch
by Jonathan Weiner. It won the Pulitzer, and is a must read for anyone planning a trip to the islands.

Related link: Right Wing Penguins