"Pura Taman Ayur" - Bali, Indonesia -- (June 20th, 2010)
Bali: One of the most wonderful vacation spots in the world! I'm revisiting this topic because I was just interviewed on the amateur traveler podcast about travel to Bali! You can download and listen here:
Amateur Traveler Episode 237 - Travel to Bali in Indonesia
or stream it right now:
(photo taken in May 2008)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Meenakshi Temple at Dusk" - Madurai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA -- (June 13th, 2010)
I re-discovered this gem while combing through my older images to put together a gallery show of my "images of faith and devotion"! (photo taken in July 2006)
Camera & Film: Canon Digital Rebel XT - Digital jpeg
"Oh, Henry" - Riverdale, Bronx, NY -- (June 6th, 2010)
The focus of my visit to photograph 2 week old Henry was to create an evocative, adorable, perhaps humorous image of him to be used on the birth announcement. His parents already had two boxes of "Oh Henry" bars that an aunt had sent them, and we decided to make a photo shoot of Henry surrounded by his eponymous candy bar! (photo taken in May 2010)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Memories On Memorial Day" - Long Island, NY -- (May 31st, 2010)
Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island National Seashore. (photo taken in May 2010)
Camera & Film: Canon Powershot S90 - Digital jpeg
"Family" - Riverdale, Bronx, NY -- (May 23rd, 2010)
A few days ago I had the lovely opportunity to photograph the newest member of a family! Henry is only 2 weeks old; a challenge to photograph, but I was captivated by the fresh breath of life in a newborn soul! After 250 photographs, this one is my favorite. (photo taken in May 2010)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"No Omelettes" - Jougla Point, Antarctica -- (May 16th, 2010)
Back in December, in Antarctica, everywhere we went there were penguins nesting, and if a photographer waited with some patience, they would stretch and crow! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Businessman at the City Winery" - Manhattan, NY -- (May 9th, 2010)
Last week I had the pleasure of photographing a corporate event in the lovely "City Winery" in downtown Manhattan. I wanted to take this opportunity to remind people that I also do corporate events, bar-mitzvahs, and portraiture! (photo taken in May 2010)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital jpeg
"All Alone" - Antarctica -- (April 25th, 2010)
I waited the whole week in antarctica to find a solo penguin on an iceberg, then finally on my second-to-last day found one! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Suspension" - NY Aquarium, Brooklyn -- (April 18th, 2010)
The natural world is beautiful in all its forms. This is really just a snapshot taken in the aquarium, but I like it! (photo taken in April 2010)
Camera & Film: Canon Powershot S90 - Digital jpeg
"Remains of Whaling" - Jougla Point, Antarctica -- (April 10th, 2010)
The history of the world is one of extracting resources. The first explorers in Antarctica were chasing tail - hunting the seemingly limitless supply of whales which had valuable blubber (used for heating and lighting oil). Just like other oil obsessions, whaling caused environmental degradation; just when whales were hunted near extinction, petroleum production eclipsed whale oil as a source of energy. Still, eerie mortal remains of the hunt can be found on pretty much every island that had an easy anchorage for ships in the Antarctic Peninsula. (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Mina At Sunset on La Rambla" - Montevideo, Uruguay -- (April 3rd, 2010)
A lot of my friends who haven't met her yet asked for a photo of Mina this week. So, here is a sunset portrait I took as we walked alog the seashore "La Rambla" in Uruguay's Capital, Montevideo! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Lost King Penguin" - Aitcho Island, Antarctica -- (March 28th, 2010)
It's a scientific fact: some penguins have faulty GPS systems. This adult king penguin is waiting for a mate that will most likely never arrive. His ancestral breeding island is somewhere else, this island has a different species breeding there, but he showed up and is standing there for the whole mating season! Theories to explain "Lost penguins" include that this allows for chances to create new breeding areas, and that its just a fluke in natural selection.
I chose this image also because for years I was a lonely penguin. But last year I met the love of my life, and this week I proposed with a stuffed penguin and a ring, and she said yes!!! Now we are a happy couple embarking on life's journey together! (photo taken in December 2009, inset taken March 2010)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Peace Prayer" - Tawang, Arunachal, India -- (March 21st, 2010)
Sunrise, shining through a window, iluminates a young monk praying. Tawang is a nook of land, a hidden valley in the himalayas, claimed by China, part of India, and culturally part of Bhutan and Tibet. It is currently peaceful there, but they are surrounded by geopolitical forces that threaten their idyllic monastic lifestyle. Tawang is home to the second largest monastic & buddhist coommunity in the world (after Lhasa, Tibet). This is an image from my new "Images of Faith and Devotion" collection. (photo taken in September 2007)
Camera & Film: Canon Canon Digital Rebel XT 350 - Digital RAW
"I Believe I Can Fly" - Antarctica -- (March 14th, 2010)
... I believe I can touch the sky... (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
Good looking isn't he or she? I think I've showcased each of the penguin species I saw on my travels to Antarctica now... (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Burmese People: A Review" - Myanmar -- (February 28th, 2010)
This week I am officially launching my 'travel slideshows' website section - with two new galleries: Burmese People and Burmese Buddhism! Please click these links or go via my front page and click on the travel slideshows later on! The monk on the left is posing inside the famous, unique, oval windows of the Shwe Yaunghwe Monastery, and the woman is across the street, in a tributary of Inle Lake, gathering algae in her boat to feed home-raised pigs. (photos taken in August 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Napoleon leads his troops" - Yalour Island, Antarctica. -- (February 21st, 2010)
Adelie Penguins are the cutest ones who slip and slide all over the snow more than other species and have adorable black faces - they are the epitome of our "idea" of Antarctic penguins! We only got to observe them in this, our southernmost stop on the cruise. This photo really tells the story of how they tend to cluster and play follow-the-leader in an adorable fashion. I also recommend this cute 40 second video I shot of an Adelie belly sliding! (photo & video taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Partners" - Buenos Aires, Argentina. -- (February 14th, 2010)
Happy Valentine's Day! This photo showcases the finale of a tango dance routine at "Esquina Carlos Gardel" a professional tango show in Buenos Aires. I snapped a hundred well-illuminated photographs of dancers, but the most evocative image appeared as the main stage lights went out. (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
When we arrived at Port Lockroy we were informed that a pair of chicks had been spotted the previous day! We watched patiently, hoping the parent would move and let us see them. Amazing, one parent came and replaced the other and began regurgitating food to feed their baby chicks! It was amazing. You can see both babies in this photo. (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"A Kiss" - Jougla Point, Antarctica. -- (January 31st, 2010)
Mating displays between Blue-Eyed-Shags - a member of the cormorant family. The moral is: "Its never too cold for a kiss!" Which is especially relevant as it has been below freezing in New York for a few days in a row with blistering cold winds. (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Holy Iceberg" - Cuverville Island, Antarctica. -- (January 24th, 2010)
When conditions and time permitted, our tour included zodiac (inflatable outboard motorboats) cruises. On our second day in Antarctica, we encountered this beautiful iceberg that had been weathered into a window. Thinking of my portals collection, (http://doors.samoppenheim.com/) I begged the driver to bring us closer and he did! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Cold and Lonely" - Deception Island, Antarctica. -- (January 17th, 2010)
It is not uncommon to find a solitary penguin far from his species' usual breeding locations. Scientists debate whether it is because they are young and confused or because the species benefits from some 'explorers' and if more show up on the same beach, it allows for expansion of home territory. Here we found one chinstrap, huddled up, half asleep (eyes opening and closing), as he or she waited for a mate that would not show up this breeding season. Behind you can see the ruins of the whaler's huge cauldrons used to heat whale bones and flesh to retrieve all the fat oils. Deception Island is also an archaeological site and museum to the history of the early 20th century whaling industry! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
"Mine!" - Cuverville Island, Antarctica. -- (January 10th, 2010)
Gentoo Penguins are notorious for an obsession with pebbles. When they see one it is like shoes to a fashion diva! They collect them in piles and build little nests pebble by pebble. The penguins will take them from the beaches and from each other, even stealing pebbles from nests despite squawking neighbors' protests and even bites! Males and females have each been observed trading pebbles for sex: "Hey baby, I got a spare pebble" may be the Gentoo pickup line of choice. (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
Over the course of a week we landed at 12 different sites, and saw so many wonderful scenes, icebergs, landscapes, and wildlife! Here's my favorite shot from the very first day, first landing: at Half Moon Island in the South Shetlands, a series of volcanic Islands just north of the curving arm of the Antarctic peninsular mainland. These are Gentoo Penguins. Its a few degrees above freezing and snowing - much warmer than today in New York City! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
Last week on a cruise to Antarctica we had only two sunny landings. At Cuverville Island, just off the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula we hiked up a hill. I created this panorama from 12 photographs stitched together in photoshop! (photo taken in December 2009)
Camera & Film: Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
