The Traveling Photographer

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Compost

2010-02-28T10:48:00.011-07:00

Things have been pretty quiet at The Traveling Photographer lately. Thanks to the current state of the economy, there's just not much travel going on. The thought of trying to get a large amount of professional camera gear through European customs after recent events is also rather discouraging. Here at The Traveling Photographer, we have quite a different take on the term "pants on fire".

We've decided to use this time to give some thought on the direction of this work and the best way to distribute and encourage the use of these photographs. Here's a few things that we're doing:

HubisPhoto.com is gone. Thanks to everyone for pointing out the broken link. The new site is WaltHubis.com, where we will have a merchant site soon for purchasing big prints of these photographs (those of you who have visited the world headquarters of The Traveling Photographer at the Matoobis chalet know what we're talking about).

All of the photography that was on the HubisPhoto site is now available for anyone to use at Flickr. All of that photography - and much more - is available for commercial or personal use for free. We've tried to use the least restrictive licensing method possible, and pictures are beginning to show up in some very interesting places.

There will be a few new Squidoo lenses for Markgräflerland Dreams (Badenweiler and the joys of the Black Forest) and another having to do with German schnapps. We're working on these now (especially the schnapps research).

Planning some photo trips - this year we plan to be in San Francisco, Texas, Italy, and Germany. We're also looking at good opportunities locally.

We're taking some time to take a new approach to this work and make it more meaningful and useful for our readers. Stay tuned....

Texas Hill Country

2009-11-06T10:56:00.001-07:00

South Dakota

2009-10-16T19:32:00.001-06:00

Toadstool Park

2009-10-02T10:11:00.000-06:00

Carhenge

2009-09-22T08:08:00.000-06:00

Sandhills

2009-09-16T08:28:00.001-06:00

Ogallala

2009-09-11T08:46:00.000-06:00

East of Eaton

2009-07-29T09:55:00.001-06:00

Skies

2009-07-17T08:34:00.001-06:00

Northern Wyoming

2008-09-04T07:31:00.003-06:00

I visited Dubois, Wyoming a few years ago, but it has taken this long to figure out what to write about this experience. There is a real dichotomy about this place that is difficult to capture in words. This is where photography can take the place of words and present those differences in a way that speaks beyond words to unveil the more subtle nuances of the situation. The photo above is a traditional sweat lodge in Ethete, Wyoming.

There is an active arts and educational community in the lands of the northern Arapaho near Fort Washakie and Ethete. There is also special effort to develop new ways of teaching the Arapaho language. The photo above was taken in Arapahoe, Wyoming.

This is the land of ranchers, but even here, the arts are an important part of daily life.

Colorado

2008-08-25T08:19:00.002-06:00

Sometimes travel can be limited to only a few miles, but the results can still be satisfying. Studying the familiar from a new view point or in some new light, can provide the same experience as seeing something completely new for the first time. The thrill of discovery in the common - even mundane - that surrounds us is elusive, but worth the effort. Some describe a fierce discipline of paying attention to the world around us, not only for the better photograph or the better poem, but for the better life. That, after all, is the wellspring of all our creative endeavors.

Freiburg im Breisgau

2008-06-30T02:28:00.005-06:00

I was in Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany for a relaxed weekend between Nice and Berlin. This has always been one of my favorite cities in all of Europe. It's a university town that is dominated by the 14th century Gothic cathedral in the center of the city. Evenings were warm and long, and best enjoyed at one of the many restaurants that surround the church courtyard.

Every day of the week (except Sunday) there is a large market that occurs in the area surrounding the cathedral. This is a great place to photograph and eat well all at the same time. Our favorite here is Hotel Oberkirch for both accommodations and for the outstanding restaurant.

Nice

2008-06-25T05:29:00.003-06:00

I'm in Nice, France for a few days. It's hot here with the usual crowds of tourists from all over the world - I'm not sure how I manage to be in southern Europe during the hottest and most crowded season. The people are friendly and the food is good, especially the bouillabaisse and other Provençal specialties.

And then there’s the fundamental issue around photographing people: do I ask before I shoot them? I tend to think yes, but then the results seem posed. Otherwise, I might get a good shot, but I might upset my subject and miss the chance for a more extended interaction.

Northern New Mexico

2008-06-24T08:27:00.001-06:00

We drove though the Chama valley of Northern New Mexico and then through Abiquiu on a brilliant June day. We followed the high road from Taos to Santa Fe, stopping along the way at a variety of small towns including Chimayo and Truchas. This area is always astonishing in the graphic difference in wealth between the Santa Fe area and the small mountain towns.

London

2008-06-24T06:37:00.000-06:00

We visited London for a week in April. It was springtime here and the gardens were in full bloom. London, as always, is an expensive place to visit and the weakness of the dollar made the situation even worse. Nevertheless, London remians a great place to visit thanks to the ease of getting around this huge city and the many cultural and historical sights.

The food in London was outstanding. The most notable meal we had was at St. John near the Smithfield market. We decided to vist here after seeing Anthony Bourdain's show that visited this restaurant.

Belgium

2007-09-20T15:51:00.001-06:00

The cool weather rain of the western part of Belgium came as a real relief from the heat and humidity of Rome. The beaches were cool and breezy and the city centers had a relaxed and orderly intensity.

Rome (Again)

2007-09-18T12:07:00.001-06:00

Once you get away from the big tourist attractions and get into the small side streets, Rome becomes an entirely different experience. The back streets have a life and vibrancy that reveals the true heart of the place.

Rome

2007-06-26T06:35:00.001-06:00

I am in Rome all of this week for some security related work. It's hot here, the humidity is high, and everything is crowded. The good news is that the heat seems to slow everything down - including the huge tour groups - so it's not too bad to get around.

These are some of the most photographed monuments known to man. Virtually every one of the thousands of people here has a camera of some sort, even if it's a cell phone. As a computer storage designer, it's a wonderful sight. As a photographer, it's a bit confusing. There were a lot of flashes going off that had no chance of illuminating these large spaces (at least one flash went off every second), but no one checked the result on the displays. For many, it seems that it's really more about the act of photographing rather than the result.

This also leaves me questioning the wisdom of lugging a Nikon D2x and assorted F2.8 lenses around. As a traveling photographer, it is getting more difficult to justify the weight of this system. At the same time, it provides the resolution that most publications want to see. I'm anxiously awaiting the replacement for the Olympus E-1.

Memphis

2007-03-12T08:37:00.000-06:00

It's about time!

San Antonio Missions

2007-02-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

The San Antonio Mission Trail is spread out over town for nine miles. The trail includes the Alamo which is right in the centeer of town and a wildly popular tourist stop. More interesting are the five Spanish missions that make up the San Antonio Missions Historical Park.

These are all working churches and great examples of early Spanish architecture. There were few people at most of these missions on a sunny Monday, with the exception of the visitor's center at Mission San Jose. This is the only mission that has a parking lot big enough for the big tour busses.

Padre Island National Seashore

2007-02-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

We visited San Padre Island National Seashore in south Texas over the weekend. There were just a few people on the natural beach area, but an abundance of wildlife and sunshine.

Oil drilling platforms are visible off in the distance and there is oil and gas exploration at the park. The visitor's center warns about the tar that washes up onto the beach from all of the oil production in the area and about the dangers of medical and chemical debris that ends up on shore as a result of the prevailing currents. While there's a mile or two of natural beach, the vast majority of the shoreline is open to four wheel drive vehicles. In fact, the beaches are designated Texas public highways.

Colorado Springs

2006-07-20T12:23:00.000-06:00

Colorado Springs won a "Best Large City" award in a recent CNN/Money Magazine article. Fort Collins, Colorado, also won the "Best Place to Live" award. Based on my experiences in both of these communites, these are great places to live if you're white, upper middle-class, and Christian. Others may find these cities not so appealling.

San Jose

2006-05-12T16:38:00.000-06:00

I was in San Jose, California for the past week. The weather was spectacular - cool and breezy with lots of sunshine. San Jose seems like a town in decline, or a place just beyond its peak. There where many empty store fronts, and the restaurants were simply unremarkable. At all of the establishments I visited, there were problems with service, and the food was adequate, but not much more. I tried to stick with upper-mid range places, and avoid the really high-end and expensive venues, but overall, I left feeling just a bit disappointed.

Washington DC

2006-04-14T09:39:00.000-06:00

We were in Washington DC at the height of the the cherry blossom bloom this past week. While the fragrant blossoms were spectacular, so were the number of people that squeezed into the walkway surrounding the tidal basin. This is peak season in the capital district; the roads were grid locked most of the weekend and the monuments were overwhelmed by school groups swarming from endless lines of tour busses. We found the best time to visit the monuments was very, very early in the morning.

This was our first visit to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It's a meandering collection of granite and water features with some of Roosevelt's most memorable statements engraved into the stone. We were both surprised at what a moving experience this turned out to be for us. Among the many school children and tourists, there were a few other couples who obviously found the monument equally moving. FDR was a great leader who knew well the cost of war and was horrified by the prospect, but was nevertheless burdened with the task at hand. At once we recognized that greatness is possible, yet how rare it is in our current leaders and lawmakers.

DC may have just eclipsed Sante Fe as our premier food destination. We had three outstanding meals: CityZen (Chef Eric Ziebold of the French Laundry), Cafe Atlantico (The tasting bar is clearly the way to go here), and Zaytinya (great food, although sometimes the service suffered a bit). All set new standards for creative preparation and presentation of the very best ingredients prepared perfectly.