First Snow, Silent Moon – Aspen Valley, Colorado *wallpaper 11-03-11
While watching the snow come down in a flurry out my window yesterday, I became aware that it is time for winter’s imminent coming, and my inevitable going. November is usually the month I start planning to make my escape to somewhere (anywhere) other than here where flip-flops come with frostbite unless you’ve got some serious clothing.
But what I do like about winter; the quiet nights when the snow has just fallen and muffles the sound of the city – like a blanket over the world. And the air is crisp, the sky seems brighter and clearer so when the moon silently rises you hardly notice it until it makes the snow glow. These are the few times I am glad to be in winter and the scenery doesn’t get any better. But after that I’ll be making my escape to Mexico!
November 2nd, 2011 – --> DOWNLOAD First Snow, Silent Moon - Aspen Valley, CO (1920x1080px) (79)
The Announcer – Paris, France *wallpaper 10-13-11
October 20th, 2011 – DOWNLOAD --> The Announcer - Paris, France (1440x900px) (76)
History lesson-
The Tuileries Garden is a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris. Created as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was first opened to the public in 1667, and became a public park after the French Revolution. In the 19th and 20th century, it was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, and relaxed.
On 23 May 1871, during the suppression of the Paris Commune, twelve men set the Tuileries on fire at 7 p.m., using petroleum, liquid tar, and turpentine. The fire lasted for forty-eight hours and entirely consumed the palace. The Commune was the result of an uprising in Paris after France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War and it was chiefly caused by the disaster in the war and the growing discontent among French workers. The worker discontent came from the first worker uprisings, the Canut Revolts, in Lyon and Paris in the 1830s (a Canut was a silk worker, often working on looms) that revolted against a group of around 1400 bankers and manufacturers who controlled and financed the manufacture and commercialization of the goods and were profiting off the reduced salaries of the silk workers while the economy went south. The manufacturers claimed the fixed rate was a block to freedom of enterprise. They rejected the salary claims of the canuts, which they considered to be exorbitant. This attitude infuriated the working class, and tensions neared the breaking point and the Tuileries Palace, which had become a symbol of the former royal and imperial regimes, came burning down. In bringing into light the events of the day, this may be a good lesson in history repeating itself.
See the gardens, museum and arc on my GOOGLE MAP
More posts from Paris – Linchpin of History
The Shadow of Venus – Sydney, Australia *wallpaper 9-22-11
In the same theme from last weeks popular wallpaper I went with another museum image but this time from the other side of the globe. The statue of Venus posing in a rounded corner inside Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales. Its pretty simple and elegant. I love the color contrast and how the marble looks incredibly smooth and fluent. Especially the draped cloth she is holding that looks like real silk – pretty remarkable talent! I could use a statue like this to hold my clean towels in my bathroom, but for now I guess, my desktop background will do.
September 22th, 2011 – DOWNLOAD --> The Shadow of Venus - Sydney, Australia (1440x900px) (77)
Dragon Jade – Brisitish Museum, London *wallpaper 9-15-11
Download the September 8th, 2011 *wallpaper – DOWNLOAD --> Dragon Jade - Brisitish Museum, London (1440x900px) (78)
I’ll just come out and say it – I love everything about museums. Preserving history, educating about past, present, and future of scientific ideas, and raising awareness about important cultural topics and problems – museums do a lot for the community, plus it’s one of the best ways to learn about a new place next to chatting up the locals. Wondering around a new gallery or some undiscored back corner you thought you had seen before tough to beat on a lazy Saturday morning (unless you’re spending it on a beach in Australia….of course. BUT Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane have amazing museums too!)
Here’s a list of my three favorite museums in London: (even their websites are amazing)
- The British Museum | The Natural History Museum | – The V&A
The single greatest thing I loved about London (and for the rest of Europe) is that their museums are incredibly beautiful, world class, and mostly FREE! They are so massive, that you can’t possibly have the time or brain capacity to see it all in a single trip….so the lazy Saturday morning wondering will last for weeks on end!
US Pro Cycling Challenge – Aug 22-29th – Colorado, USA
128 of the best cyclists in the world descended on Colorado Springs, Colorado to kick off the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The six-day event began with a prologue and includes four stages and a time-trial, spread out over 600-miles of the Rocky Mountains and the highest altitude course ever.
I was fortunate to tag along not on the media side, but on the sponsor side for Nissan. It was an amazing experience from traveling through one of the most beautiful parts of the country (Rocky Mountains and small mountain towns like Steamboat Springs and Crested Butte) seeing some of the most unbelievable athletes in the world, and witnessing the cycling fever grow exponentially in the US.
Below are the few shots I got while on break from working in the sponsor village for Nissan.
- Finish line moments before the riders came in – Breckenridge, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Exhausted riders exit through the crowds at the end of the race – Steamboat, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- US fans backing their home grown hero – Denver, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Elia Viviani of Team Liquigas-Cannondale celebrates after crossing the finish line of Stage 4 – Steamboat, CO – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Team members of Skil-Shimano regroup after finishing Stage 1 – Crested Butte Mountain, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Sergio Hernandez of USA rests after a grueling uphill finish at Stage 1 – Crested Butte Mountain, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- A rider warms up with a towel, after a chilly finish in the rain on Stage 2 – Aspen, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Riders circle the downtown district of Denver for the last leg of the final stage – Denver, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Levi Leipheimer gets a kiss from the podium girls after his win – Denver, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
- Levi Leipheimer touts the yellow jersey after being crowned the overall winner of the inaugural race – Denver, Co – US Pro Cycling Challenge
Saluting the Stars – Annapurna Nepal *wallpaper 8-24-11
August 26th, 2011 – Saluting the Stars - Annapurna Nepal (1440x900px) (107)
Driving around the Colorado mountains this past week for the US Pro Cycling Challenge got me in the high altitude mindset and thoughts came to mind from my trip to the Annapurna Conservation Area in North-Central Nepal. Although, a stunning image from the Rockies would have been nice, the high altitudes I am remembering are of the 28,000 ft. range of Nepal, not the 14,000 ft range in Colorado. So this week I would like to pay homage to all the starry skies above the mountains of the world….and also the incredible athletes who compete on them.
Room to Grow – Cordoba, Spain *wallpaper 8-11-11
August 11th, 2011 – DOWNLOAD -> Room to Grow - Cordoba, Spain (1440x900px) (99)
The Ride of Life
The Schwinn (on loan) ready for the 100 mile long haul. If they rode it that far in the 80's- surely one can do it again.
So turning the big 30 is supposed to be a big deal right? At least to some. Sure it’s a milestone, more or less having reached a little under half the average human lifespan. Some try to understate it and cover it up, like a chair strategically placed over a stain in the carpet – and hope no one notices. But why hide – life is too short.
I don’t really remember my birthday last year. Do you? I don’t really remember the one before that one either, now that I’m thinking about it. In fact, I dont really remember many of my birthdays for the same reason you probably don’t either. They all seem to get muddled into one theme – hang out with friends/family, go out to eat, have a few drinks, go to bed….wake up the next day and hey, look at that, it’s not your birthday anymore! How boring! I wanted to do something I will truly remember.
Something that’s as hard as it is rewarding.
So tomorrow at dawn, Wednesday, June 29th, the day before my birthday, I will give myself a present of pain/reward that I will never forget. I will ride my loaned 16 speed 80′s Schwinn as far as it will take me and attempt a century ride – 100 miles in a single day. Coveted in the biking world, and feared by everyone else. Will I make it? Maybe. (I hope so) It’s highly likely I wont! Innumerable excuses: heat, hydration, fatigue, equipment, flat tires, etc etc. But, in this 30th year of life, I’d be an old man to say I’m not willing to try.
Out the front door, 100 miles down the road. But the destination, is somewhere inside.
Stay tuned.
—————————————————-
UPDATE: Friday, July 1st 2011
A very long, hot, and demanding day! …and a day to remember for sure. From the 6 a.m departure from my door step and all the way to my final destination around 3:30 p.m., at long last my 9 1/2 hour journey ended with a simple celebratory smile to myself. It was DONE! Although not as physically hard as I imagined, the mental stamina to sit on my bike for that long was a struggle. In the end, one of the hottest days of the summer (95 degrees+ on the road) the heat was what almost did me in! A throbbing head and red-hot sunburns, my body was starting to show signs of heat stroke. Luckily, the hottest part of the day was during the last leg of the ride (the last 20 miles) no shade, no wind…but I could SEE the water towers! Even if I had to walk the last part, I was going to make it, there was no stopping at that point. Truly an epic personal achievement for me as I look into the future with hope and optimism – who KNOWS what this next year will bring.
Thanks everyone for the encouragement …and also my girlfriend for making me homemade cupcakes to greet me with at the finish 
Early start - mile 1
Bathroom break - mile 49
Finish line - mile 100
Ready for a shower & some AC!
Getting Nangi on the map
Originally posted on The Himalayan Gap blog on 6/18/2011
A few weeks ago we commissioned Google to add the Himanchal Higher Secondary School as an official location on their maps. The quality and detail of aerial images of the rural areas is pretty stunning as you can see almost every house, building, rock and chicken coop! We’re not assuming to know how in the world Google does it, but none the less it’s pretty cool! Click on the link at the bottom and navigate the map where you can zoom in to see the school (blue buildings) and dorms spread out just north of the soccer field, housing 100 11-12th year students every year. Zoom in further and you can actually see the Lokta Paper Project in action, drying the white sheets in the sun! (just right of the first blue building) The round building just north of there is the volunteer housing where we cooked, talked late into the night around the stove, and listened to the local rat Bizcocho, rummage through the kitchen looking for food. We have very fond memories of this village and would someday love to make the trip back to this place. But for now, looking at a picture taken from far far above will have to suffice.
Zoom out to gain perspective… of the wide gaps Mahabir has crossed to connect his village to the rest of the world. The village’s Internet connection makes its way from a relay station to relay station, all the way from the city of Pokhara.
Google maps link -> http://goo.gl/maps/F1q1
Moti the Grower
This is Moti – a retired Gurkha Soldier in the British Army and Nangi resident. He works in the Tree Farm and Nursery in the Nangi valley where he spends most of his mornings caring for young saplings used to replant many of the local forests that have succumb to deforestation throughout the years. He also nurtures many plants useful for medicine – as he carries a large ‘Handbook of Medicinal Plants of Nepal’ book with him in his backpack just in case. Moti also works as the leader of the village’s fish farm project just a few minutes stroll down the valley from the nursery. There, he spends his afternoons soaking up warm sun, caring for the fish until they reach maturity and sells them for the much needed protein rural Nepalese residents lack. Fish are considered a delicacy as they run scarce in the thousands of streams flowing down from the Himalaya. The best part? Moti donates his time to the projects and all proceeds go back to the Himanchal Education Foundation supporting the school, tele-medicine center, and other income generating projects. Sounds like the ultimate retirement life right? You could say not only does Moti have a green thumb, it smells like fish too.
Take only pictures; leave only footprints.
Illuminated by the rising moon, the peaks of Dhaulagiri (center left, in the cloudy background) and Annapurna I & II (left) tower over the Khopra guest houses & yak breeding farm. - Khopra Danda Camp, Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal – March 10th 2011 -
Starlit Himalayas
Day 3 of our 6 day trek from Nangi (elv. 2240m) into the Annapurna Conservation Area and back. We hiked atop the summit of Khopra Ridge (3660m) and were held to an incredible view among two of the highest peaks of rock in the world – Dhaulagiri Peak and the Annapurna 1 Peaks (#7 and #10 respectively). An experience, that if you have the opportunity to see in person, you will not soon ever forget. Sitting at 26,545ft the Annapurna 1 range (pictured) was so close you could hear the jet stream rushing down through the caverns and up over the peaks – you couldn’t help but think that is too is on its way to catch its breath in a lower elevation. From my position here it was all clear, calm, and recently dusted with a snowstorm (that we previously hiked through to reach the top). The background of the starlit sky was a worthy backdrop, to a truly incredible and once in a lifetime scene.
Millaa Millaa Falls
Along the Waterfall Circuit in the rain forests of northern Queensland, Australia, the Millaa Millaa Falls is one of the most picturesque. The unusually heavy December rainfall gave the falls some extra force – as you can see by the debris in the water.
Top 10 Websites We Find Most Useful As We Travel
Guest blog post by Chele Norrie who is an amazing writer and has a blog, check her out at - www.chelenorrie.com
We travel to explore what we can, on a minimal budget, so we can keep traveling. We travel to enhance our worldly perspectives, meet new people, make new friends, taste new foods, smell new smells, and dip into unique cultures. We travel to push our comfort levels, test our limits and visit places that majority of the world will never see. We are not traveling to break the bank and we know that we are not able to see everything. With that being said, resources and tools are more important than ever and we’d like to share our top 10 websites we find most useful as we travel.
10. Twitter, a quick way to share our adventures, stories and photos with people all around the world. Also, a great way to find helpful information on certain destinations and monitoring cheap flight deals.
9. Facebook, how could we not? I must admit, I’ve deactivated my Facebook account in the past because it tends to act as a substitute for real, face-to-face social interaction. But now that we’re traveling, away from all our friends and families, Facebook acts as a life source. It is the best way, second to Skype, for us to share, communicate and keep in touch with our loved ones. Facebook is also a great way to network with fellow travelers and a great way to keep in touch with the ones you’ve met on the road.
8. Couchsurfing.org is a direct way of emerging yourself into a foreign place. The organization allows you to set up a profile and, view and contact profiles of others all around the world. It is more than a free place to stay; it’s a way of getting to know a place on a more intimate level—socializing directly with locals. We have not stayed with a Couchsurfer yet on this trip but we have met up with several friendly Couchsurfers for coffee and drinks and received valuable insight on where to go and what to do.
7. Travel Blogs. There are hundreds of them. And, they are extremely helpful–full of raw and truly experienced content by like-minded travelers. We have our favorites but we’re always searching for more. Random travel blogs have assisted us in specific requests such as how to get from a certain International airport to a hostel, or directions for riding a motorbike up north in Bali to the volcano and crater lake.
6. Google Maps is spot-on in America… in other countries, such as Bali… not so much. Although, Google Maps is a very helpful in giving you an idea of where you are and how to get around. In remote places, names of business are usually found a few streets over from what Google Maps says and when Google says, yes there is a road to get there but you’re there and staring directly at a field, well, the decision is yours. Downloading maps and uploading them to our iPods has proved very useful when exploring new ground. If internet access if available, using the Google Maps apps is very useful on your iPod or iPhone, as well.
5. Hostelbookers.com has been our favorite booking site for accommodation. There is no service or booking fee. It’s simple, it contains several backpacker reviews on each and every hostel and accurate prices. Booking is easy and confirmation emails are sent to you right away, with more than enough information on the hostel you’re about to stay at. We often look for a hostel that has a solid rating, free breakfast, free WIFI, relevant location for what we want to do, secure bag storage if need be and of course a cheap dorm room rate, which we have found are generally cheaper than the rates offered at the front desk.
4. XE.com/ucc/ is an online and accurate Universal Currency Converter. As you travel, you will find that every country has a different currency. Surprisingly, I’ve read inquiries/comments on travel blogs that ask if it’s okay that they use their American dollars in Malaysia since they will only be there for a few days…No. Each country has its own currency. Would we accept Indonesian Rupiahs in America? No. Also, if you think you can get away with just using your Visa or Mastercard (which is accepted practically everywhere around the world) – think again. We’ve run into plenty of situations where our hostel only accepted cash. Be aware of transaction fees and service fees when using your credit card abroad. I personally, only have a 1% fee when using my credit card. Currency can get very confusing, take your time when exchanging money and be aware of the exchange rate. I don’t know how many times we second guessed ourselves in Bali as we easily confused the 10000 dollar rupee (=$1USD) with the 100000 rupee (=$10USD) because commas are not used on their currency.
3. Google Docs. Money on the road can get complicated. If you’re a budget traveler like us then tracking when, where and how much of your money is leaving your account is essential. Logging into your bank account is a great way of staying aware of international service fees and ATM fees. We keep track our expenses with a very detailed excel spreadsheet stored in Google Docs. Both of us can access it online and it’s stored online—perfect for a computer-less traveler, too.
2. Lonely Planet is just, well, great. The people who write the books are adventurous, witty and some, downright crazy. You can find some serious sarcasm if you read closely and although we appreciate all the info LP has to offer, we are aware that many great places are not found in LP and prices listed generally change. For light-weight or multiple country travelers, a better option than buying the bulky books is to download PDF chapters through LP’s website, upload them to your iPod and store them in iBooks. Once you decide where you’re going you can hit the classroom by visiting other useful websites such as wwwand Qwiki. These two resources provide accurate tidbits, such as what time of year to go, what you should expect to pay, how to respectfully dress, where the best budget restaurants are and what they’re serving.
1. AirAsia.com, Kayak.com, Grabaseat.co.nz, Tigerairways.com and other low-budget airline sites for last-minute deals, and/or monitoring the cost of specific flights we want to board in the future. We’ve looked into trains and buses but as we are mainly Island hopping at the moment, airfare is most useful. With cheap airfare, companies like AirAsia.com have opened up several destination options (some we didn’t know exist) at very affordable prices. Their motto doesn’t lie, Now everyone can fly. For example, we’ve book flights for under $25USD each and have found flights for even cheaper, as low as $7USD.
There are several websites we did not list, such as Travel.state.gov for country specific information on visa requirements, Amazon for the Kindle App (eBooks), writers, travelers, and photographers we follow; we still listen to our favorite NPR podcasts and we’re always surfing the web for inspiration and motivation from sites like Creativity-Online, Vimeo, and The Cool Hunter. Amazon web services are also the most useful for backing up documents, photos and video.
-C
Summer in the Southern City
- Sydney, NSW 2010 -
Beach goers in the 1920's - some things never change, nor need to be
Two of the national icons of Australia with a human element for scale (yes, they're big)
Past, Present, and Future in viewon the steps of the Art Gallery of New South Wales / Giant fruit bats called Flying Foxes snooze in the afternoon away in the ever present summer sun in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens
Beauty in form on display in Sydney's Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Himalayan Gap
Chele and Michael - hitting the Himalayas soon.
This last week has been pretty busy week. Along with the usual work stuff I have been busy getting the word out for a new project I am excited to introduce. It’s a collaborative book/documentary with freelance writer Chelé Norrie (www.humanitarianwriter.com) to tell the story of Mahabir Pun – a selfless man working to bring education and healthcare to isolated and impoverished people in the mountain regions of Nepal by using the connectivity and portability of wireless internet networks. ’The Himalayan Gap project refers to the education, economic, and healthcare gap the occurs in rural areas of the world and cycle of poverty it perpetuates. Mahabir crossed the Gap by leaving his family and be one of the first people in his village to come to the U.S. to get an education. After he received his master’s degree he returned to his home village and got to work.
We are privileged to be able to travel to Nepal this spring to gather valuable information, stories, photos and video of the work he and his team are doing. This week our project has been featured in the local media (www.kearneyhub.com and www.nebraska.tv) Look below for a the video…
Because of the large amount of time and travel that’s needed for a project of this kind (airfare, lodging, food, equipment) -we are accepting donations via paypal on our site here . We truly feel this system of technology can help millions of people around the world who are living in the poverty gap and we are taking it upon our selves to do what we can to contribute to a better world!
Be sure to subscribe to our email upadtes as our project progresses at www.thehimalayangap.com
Namaste!
Fun with locals.
Volcanoes in Iceland? We got that B-Roll! English countryside? We got that too!
NASA's image of the plume of ash and steam rising from the Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano reached five to six kilometers (17,000 to 20,000 feet)
So tomorrow myself and my videographing partner Ismael will be headed on our trip to Leicester, England to shoot a wedding in the lovely English country side. Along the way, we will be stopping for a few days in both New York City and Reykjavik, Iceland for some time off (at least out of the office) and time to explore some interesting people and landscapes.
Of course we will be carrying along all of our equipment for some Icelandic volcano footage as well as some NYC broll shots for a project we’re currently working on. This reminds me of the very best broll commercial of all time – from a company called We Got That BRoll. I just hope that saying doesn’t become the theme of the trip!
So hopefully we can get out and meet some cool people and see some great sights – and our flights dont get disrupted by
@theashcloud haha! Check back soon for updates, photos, and hopefully some totally rad broll!
La Eiffel Touer de Paris
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most photographed objects in history. (http://www.paris-live.com/) Not a single local, tourist, or pigeon has been to that great city and NOT witnessed that great structure. So when I approached this this gorgeous (arguably), unbelievably massive (not arguable) structure with a considerable amount of self induced pressure. Like the same kind of pressure an athlete feels when they need to play good game every night or a smart person needs to ace every test – you just want to do something great with what you’ve got! I took 100′s of images of the tower in the few short times I was in it’s presence. I’m not sure if these images are what I would call a ‘success’ in the matter of showing a different perspective, but I do like each one individually and they take me back to a time this summer that was especially fun for me.
Lone Man and the Tower
So I was a little nervous to be honest. This thing is huge – and its reputation precedes itself (to pretty much every living human on earth) So naturally I wanted to go LARGE. *notice the elevator about half way up*
Eiffel Tower en Large
In the last hours of the night just before the tower’s lights turn off – they dance! Every 15 min. it erupts with light resembling a giant metal christmas tree that can be seen all over the city. We went up to the second level to take in the night views of the city and witnessed this phenom while on it….it was crazy! To look up the side all the way to the top while thousands of lights sparkling in the night sky was pretty sweet (I mean totally rad!)
Tower Lit UP
In the end I guess it was a success. This wasn’t for a magazine or client – only for me – and now that I can share these images and share a gimps of what my perspective of the Eiffel Tower is like (at this point in my photography infancy) I just wish I could PAINT it! haha
Eiffel At The End Of The Night
Back to Bonnaroo!
I am super excited that I got the phone call to return back to Manchester, TN in the sweltering heat, dust, chaos of 80,000 ‘
people’ that is Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival!
Bonnaroo is one of the premier musical events of the summer and consistently draws in the large crowds, it’s one of the most popular too.
Last year I was lucky enough to meet the producers of the event from Third Wave Productions at a restaurant in Chicago a week before I left for London…and as fate would have it, getting kicked out of the UK (because of visa ‘issues’) was a BIG blessing in disguise. I returned with a gig as an assistant for the festival and eventually got the chance to shoot the bands live on stage for Third Wave. It was an amazing experience and I’m stoked I get the opportunity to shoot there again! (check out my Metalica shot on their homepage as well as the crowd shot in the FUSE.tv at Bonnaroo link- www.thirwaveproductions.com)
Almost every band in the line-up I havent seen live yet so I’m envisioning a very good time.
Also check out my portfolio from Bonnaroo ’08! www.mikenyff.com/photo/assignment/bonnaroo08/
Congo, Africa!
I’m excited to announce that I will be joining GlobalFingerprints and the EFCA for a two week trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo this July to help promote their Touchglobal Organization. GlobalFingerprints is the EFCA’s (EFree Churches of America) child sponsorship program for orphans of HIV/AIDS and other tragic circumstances. This trip is what is called a ‘vision trip’ and is basically a recon mission into the many different needs the area has and what the EFCA can put thier resources into use (not only working with orphans, but widows, building adequate housing and schools, and fresh water drilling.)
All the info I know at the moment is that the trip is tentavely scheduled for the 27th of July – the 7th of August. We will be in the northern territory of Congo near the Congo River. Make sure to check back in the upcoming weeks as I’ll post more info as I get it!
In the meantime, check out this video from GlobalFingerprints….