Places I have lived and traveled.
Video links open on YouTube. Gallery links open on SmugMug.
Browse by year
1979
1980
1981
1982
1985
1988
December
1992
1994
1998
1999
June
July
2001
2002
- Milan
- Mussoorie-Landour
- NYC
- Rome
From a trip I made with my father and Ruth in autumn, 2002. I think all tourists should be required to carry red umbrellas in the rain – makes for great pictures against the gray stone of the Colosseum.
June
July
2003
July
November
December
2004
- Bellagio
- Bergamo
- Delhi — Hauz Khas, Jantr Mantr and other sites
Hauz Khas is a quiet green spot in the madness which is Delhi, with tourist appeal and historical significance. These photos are from my 2004 visit. Note that the gallery now includes Jantr Mantr and other sites in Delhi.
ps There are some nice boutique shops and at least one great restaurant nearby.
- Ferrari Museum & Tuscany
- San Pellegrino
- Train in Italy
April
May
July
August
September
October
- Train Ride in India
Shot from the open door of the train, somewhere between Roorkee and Haridwar (I think), en route from Delhi to Dehra Dun.
- Making Rumali Roti
November
December
2005
- Las Vegas
- Mumbai
- trip with Ross
- Heavy Snowfall in Lecco
This footage was shot around 11 am; eight hours later, snow keeps falling – we ended up with about 55 cm.
As one newscaster put it: “Leaving aside 1985, this is the biggest snowfall Italy has seen in a century.” Um, and why do you get to leave out 1985?
- Christmas in Lecco, Italy
January
February
March
- What the hell am I doing here?
I’m very sensitive to Vietnam stories. Here’s why. I filmed this in March, 2005.
April
June
- Car in Lake Como
- A Close Shave
The road we live on (in Lecco, Italy) is very narrow, especially when a bus and a truck are trying to use it at the same time!
- The Mail Coach Arrives in Bellagio
- kayak
- Horse-drawn carriage arriving at Bellagio
- Lecco Piazza Stazione
- Lecco street scene
- Fountain
July
- International Marching Show Bands – Italy
- Monsoon Rain
- The Blue Devils in Lecco
- Driving in Delhi at Night
- Old Delhi Railway Station Early Morning
- The Blue Devils in Lecco, Italy
August
- Amber Fort, Jaipur
- Elephant Ride, Amber Fort. Jaipur
- Tibetan Prayer Wheels
Filmed at the Tibetan Homes Foundation. Tibetan Buddhism seems to traditionally favor mechanically-aided prayer. Each of these wheels has a core wrapped with paper inscribed thousands of times with om mani padme hum (“the jewel is in the lotus”). Spinning the wheel sends the prayers up to heaven.
- JantrMantr
- English Words in Devnagiri (Hindi) Script
Few shop signs in Jaipur are written in the Roman alphabet, even when they contain English words – all the words are transliterated into Hindi. This is not a rare phenomenon in India, but I’ve never seen it on this scale anywhere else. I amused myself filming a few and pronouncing the words as written. English subtitles provided for those who can’t understand (or hear, given the background noise) my accent.
- Jaipur Transportation
Various forms of transportation in Jaipur. Missing: horse tonga (carriage), horse cart, donkey cart, human-pulled cart.
- Carpet Weaving in Jaipur
- Evening Songs at the Samode Haveli
After arriving in Delhi at 11 pm and getting up again for a 6 am train, when we arrived at the Samode Haveli hotel at mid-day, we were ready for a nap. We spent the afternoon resting. Later, we sat out by the pool and absorbed the sights and sounds of the evening.
- Indian Hand Block Printing
- How to Tie a Turban
- Teej Festival Parade
October
- Varenna, Lake Como, Italy
- A Travelling Show of Italian Classic I Promessi Sposi
This year’s Corteo Manzoniano featured many of the same actors and costumes as last year, but added a new twist, winding through the streets of Lecco at night, by torchlight.
In this video: Renzo and Lucia, lanzechenecchi, Cardinale Federigo Borromeo, i Promessi Sposi, Lecco, torchlight parade, horses
Sadly, the longer version planned for the next afternoon was rained out. But the evening was a success – they’ll be doing it again next year, and I may be able to get better footage then.
November
December
- Receding Snow Line in the Swiss/Italian Alps
- Melting Glaciers in the Swiss Alps
I’ve seen this view many times (and it’s always astounding), but never captured it on film before.
Unfortunately, it demonstrates unusual dryness and lack of snow in the Alps for this time of year. Global warming? Climate cancer? Whatever you want to call it, it ain’t good.
- alps
- Christmas in Lecco: a holiday greeting video
What does the parasailer have to do with it? There were three of them, dressed in Santa costumes (we think). Sorry for the shaky camera work – I was filming them from across the lake.
- Italian Christmas Carols
- On the Road in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas
2006
January
- Sticky, Chewy Ribs
Julia’s grandmother’s recipe for Chinese barbecued ribs, AKA “Sticky Chewy Ribs,” as demonstrated by Julia in her gorgeous new kitchen, presided over by the ghost of Spanky.
Including the amazing KitchenAid mixer, custom-airbrushed with red hot chili peppers!
February
- Italian Food in Video: RistoExpo, Erba
Ristorexpo, Erba: salumi, cheeses, coffee, fast food, slow food, cookies, cakes, chocolate, wine, grappa, liqueur… some of the things that make life worth living in Italy! Salame d’asino is made from donkey. The blue gelato shown at the end is “Smurf” flavor. No, they don’t make it from actual Smurfs.
- Bird Flu Arrives in Italy
March
April
- Gaudi’s Casa Battlo
- Parc Guell
- Good Friday en route to Barcelona
- Barcelona Scenes
- La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
June
September
October
December
2007
- Colorado Misc
- Colorado and New Mexico
- Colorado Misc
- eTourCamp Lugano
- Mumbai Christmas
- Cow Parade, Milan
- Folcloristico
- Lake Como Natural Scenery
- Lecco Fireworks
- Lecco Misc
- Lecco Swans
- Walking Up a Mountain
January
February
March
April
July
- Symposium Quattro Stagioni dinner and Cartoceto
In 2007, I won a deluxe dinner at one of Italy’s finest restaurants, and published several pages about it. Here is the full gallery of photos from that evening.
After the long, amazing dinner at the Symposium Quattro Stagioni, Susan and I stayed through a long, hot night at a B&B in Cartoceto. The next day was stunningly hot, but we dragged ourselves around a nearly deserted town for a few hours, and took a lot of pictures.
August
September
October
December
2008
January
- CA
- Torino – Enrico and I spent a weekend in Torino in January (in unusually warm weather, lucky us!).
March
- Santa Maria del Tiglio, Gravedona
While visiting friends on the other side of Lake Como, we stopped by the lakeside town of Gravedona and visited the cemetery and the medieval church of St. Maria del Tiglio (St. Mary of the Linden Tree).
Family vaults are kept over generations and centuries, and are well maintained. This is possible in a culture where families simply don’t move around much. When families have moved away from their roots, people will sometimes travel on November 1st (Ognissanti – All Saints’) to spruce up their family graves elsewhere in Italy. Religious organizations hang around the cemeteries that day to sell pre-printed tags that you can hang on your family vault to show you’ve been there (in case your dead ancestors didn’t notice?), and florists – who tend to cluster around cemeteries – do a booming business as well.
April
- Colorado
- New Mexico
- Owls at Sun’s Broomfield Campus
Today the owls are sitting on a window ledge outside an office in BRM05. Apparently they aspire to careers in engineering. Or else, as a colleague said, they’re keeping an eye on the mouse…
May
July
August
September
October
- Minnesota
- Why I’m Volunteering for Obama
Oct 2008: I asked campaign volunteers in Westminster, Colorado, why they are dedicating so much time to getting Barack Obama elected. Here are their answers.
November
- Leaving St Barth’s
It’s an exciting ride in a small commuter plane from St. Barth’s to St. Maarten – though not as exciting as the ride TO St. Barth’s…
- Music in the Lizard Lounge
Homemade music in St Barth’s featuring Jeet Singh and Louis Bertignac.
- Chelsea Bluegrass
On our way to St. Barth’s, Ross and I stayed overnight with my classmate Sarah and her husband Dave, who met playing music. They treated us to a mini bluegrass concert in their Chelsea home
December
2009
February
March
May
- Doors Open Denver
During Enrico’s visit in May, we went to Doors Open Denver, an opportunity to see inside some interesting buildings that otherwise aren’t open to the public.
June
- New Zealand
My first and last stops in New Zealand were in Auckland, where I stayed with Mark and Annie (Mark is Woodstock class of ’78, both have been on staff), though we barely knew each other – we may have met during one of my visits to the school, and Annie and I worked together (at a distance) on the Woodstock history, but none of us remembers too clearly.
At any rate, Mark picked me up at the airport upon my arrival from Brazil (via Buenos Aires) and remarked: “Whenever I come to the international terminal, it’s to pick up someone I don’t know.” Woodstockers are like that.
The statue of a woman on the rock in the water commemorates a local legend for which the town is named. “Whakatane” means (roughly) “does the work of a man” – she single-handedly saved a big war canoe from slipping out to sea. Or something.
- Chicago
- Hurry Up!
Yesterday we were in Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil, for a student conference on OpenSolaris. We had some time in the afternoon to sight-see (then were working again from 6-10 pm), including a walk to the cathedral.
Along the way we were highly amused by this animated crossing signal, which Jogo told us was manufactured, along with some other experimental traffic control systems, in a nearby town.
The soundtrack was provided by a car cruising the neighborhood with a loudspeaker on top, advertising something.
- O Teatro Mágico
The night of June 25th, Bruno took Teresa, Lynn, and me to see O Teatro Magico, a cross between a band and Cirque du Soleil. They were one of many groups in town for FISL because they release their music under a creative commons license. There was plenty going on. Our toes kept tapping and our bodies swaying, although we’d already been on our feet most of the day working the Sun booth (my legs were very, very sore the next day).
July
- Brisbane Birdsong
- Water Feature in a Park in Brisbane, Australia
- Jambezi
- Oystercatchers on the Beach at Opotiki
- Queensland University Duck Pond
August
- Arches National Monument
- Bryce Canyon
- Capitol Reef
- Colorado River Gorge
- Devil’s Garden, Escalante
- Dillon, Vail, Aspen
- Grand Canyon
- Monument Valley
- Petrified Forest, Escalante
- Ross-Griffin Visit to CO
- Zion National Park
September
October
November
December
2010
March
- Mumbai
- Mehndi
While in Mumbai, as is my wont, I had mehndi done. I’ve taken photos to show how the color changes over time, and will keep adding more.
Typically it’s very orange when first applied, deepens to a dark rust in the first 24 hours (the darker your skin, the darker it gets), then begins to fade. How long it last depends on how often you wash your hands, especially with soap.
April
May
June
September
October
November
2011
February
May
June
July
- California Street Cable Car, San Francisco
I hadn’t been on the cable cars in more than 20 years, but the California Street line happened to be my most efficient route between two points yesterday. So I learned that you’re allowed to hang off the side, as long as you stand on the runner board and don’t block people getting on and off. Makes for a hair-raising view, but – whee!
August
September
October
- Mt Hermon
- Alwar
- Delhi
- Delhi to Mumbai
- Delhi to Mussoorie
- enroute to Agra, Fatehpur Sikri
- enroute, Mumbai
- Humayun’s Tomb – Some of the inspiration and techniques used in the Taj Mahal came from here. Late afternoon/evening is a great time to photograph in north India; when the sun is high, instead, the light is very flat and harsh. Morning and evening are also good for videoing birds and other wildlife.
- Jantr Mantr
- Kesroli
- Landour Bazaar
- Mussoorie misc
- Red Fort Agra
- Rokeby
- SF to Dubai
- Taj Mahal
- Project Bandaloop
- Twilight at Humayun’s Tomb
- Late-Night Prayers in Dubai Airport
- Parrots at Humayun’s Tomb
- Cheeky Crows
More urban wildlife in India. These were bathing in a puddle on a lawn at Humayun’s tomb in Delhi.
- Morning at Fairy Glen
- The Road to Hanson Field
This was what the drive looked like on our way down (way, way down) to Woodstock School’s Hanson Field for an alumni cricket match.
- The Road from Oakville
- Evening at Kesroli Hill Fort
- Road Construction on the Way to Dehra Dun Airport
- Morning at Kesroli Hill Fort
- Birdsong and Bougainvillea
At the Hill Fort – Kesroli.
- Scooter Taxi Ride to Alwar
- Diwali Market in Alwar
- Diwali Diya
- View from the Hill Fort, Kesroli
- Back from Alwar
During the scooter taxi ride back to the Hill Fort. Along the way, our driver stopped a few times to hail friends (had stopped on the way in to pick up his wife and small daughter, both gaudy in festival finery). One of these friends asked curiously where we had come from and where we were going. They don’t get many tourists in Alwar.
- Chittering Chipmunk
November
- New Orleans Street Performers
- New Orleans Parade
- Tricky Britches
- New Orleans Street Performance
- Coco Robicheaux, Dave and Tom
- Jackson Square
- Bourbon Street
- The Great Glass Elevator
- Katrina Tour: 9th Ward
- Katrina Tour: The New Projects
- Katrina Tour: Celia’s Story – the Aftermath
- Katrina Tour: Xes
- Katrina Tour: The Effects on Communities
- Katrina Tour: Corruption
- Katrina Tour: Don’t Bring Your Kids Here
Had a post-Katrina tour of New Orleans with my cousin Celia. Here she explains why many dispossessed New Orleanians with children will not be returning.
- Katrina Tour: Effects on the Middle Class
- Katrina: What Happened in the Hospitals
December
- California Street Cable Car Ride
This is a more or less continuous view of a ride on the California Street cable car, from Hyde Street to Sansome, taken in December 2011.
Note the auto that passes around 1:30 – looks about the same vintage as the cable car!
2012
April
June
July
September
October
November
2013
- Australia
- Nov 30: arrived Sydney, drove to Woodberry – Backyard Wildlife
- Dec 3-4: Sydney – First Days in Australia
- Dec 5: en route to Brisbane – Australian Beaches
- Dec 6-7: Brisbane
- Dec 8: en route, night in Kempsey
- Dec 9-16: apartment in Newcastle – In and Around Newcastle, NSW
- Dec 17: Jenolan Caves – Wildlife at Jenolan Caves, Jenolan Caves
- Dec 18-20: Sydney
- Dec 21-24: Newcastle
- Dec 25: depart
- LA for SCaLE
- Oakland
- Rockridge
- San Francisco
- SF Asian Art Museum
- Hang gliding off Strzelecki Lookout, Newcastle
April
June
July
October
November
December
- Wildlife at Jenolan Caves, NSW
- First Days in Australia
- Australian Creatures
We visited an alpaca farm, then a petting zoo with koalas, kangaroos, a cassowary, wallabies, and emus – in addition to the more usual petting zoo denizens.
- Brisbane and Back, Beaches Along the Way
Australia is blessed with stunning beaches. All of these shown were easily accessible by car (plus, sometimes, a very short walk). Some had lifeguards, some did not. Many were empty or nearly so, except for us.
- Backyard Wildlife in Australia
- In & Around Newcastle, NSW
Perhaps my favorite part of this Australia trip was the week we rented an apartment overlooking Newcastle Beach. Going to sleep and waking up to the sound of waves every day, taking walks and exploring tide pools along beautiful beaches, cooking for myself (eating out was a problem, more on that later) – it was all glorious. I need a month of just that, every year.
- Dudley Beach, NSW
- Jenolan Caves – Orient Cave
- Coal to Newcastle – and Beyond
- Christmas in Sydney
2014
February
May
June
September
November
December
2015
January
- Rain in Cairns and Port Douglas
- Uluru from the Air
- Rain at Yulara
We expected heat in Australia’s Red Desert, and we got it – but we also got rain. In fact, the area has had record amounts of rainfall in the last four years, and was looking far greener than we expected. There was a brief, intense rainstorm the afternoon of January 1st, with rain on the tin roof reminding me powerfully of the Indian monsoons. Video cannot convey the smell of rain on red dirt, which is nothing at all like a monsoon rain in the Himalayas!
- Watching Cricket in Sydney
February
October
November
December
2016
April
June
August
September
November
2017
January
April
May
June
July
September
October
November
2018
January
March
April
July
August
September
October
November
2019
February
March
May
August
September
2021
February
June
2022
April
Japan:
- Evening waves dimming to night.
- Airshow Arrivals
- Calm blue-green water
- Cronulla balcony views: sunrise over small ocean pool
June
- Blue sky white clouds on the horizon mid-sized waves
- Afternoon into night with a full moon
- Sunrise into morning low waves and a few surfers
- Head on view: very blue water, white waves, and lots of foam
- Early to mid morning on a calm day at low tide
- Calm sunrise into morning no humans to be seen
- Multiple angles of a calm day with light clouds
July
- Sydney storm, as seen from Cronulla
- Head-on waves on a gray, drizzly day
- Sunrise with white capped waves
- Sunrise into early day mostly calm
- Rainy blue-gray day with white water
- Evening rainbow into night
November
December
2023
- Singapore: Asian Civilizations Museum
- Singapore: Botanic Garden
- Singapore: Buddha Tooth Temple
- Singapore: Cooking Class
- Singapore: Food
- Singapore: Gardens by the Bay
- Singapore: Mandai
- Singapore: SREcon
- Singapore: Street Scenes
- Singapore: WS GTG
- Paddle boarding off Cronulla beach
- Cronulla Waves
- Sydney Noël Market and Light Trail
- McMahon’s Point to Circular Quay by Ferry at Night
- Riders on the Storm
January
December
2024
February
July
September
2025
January
June
December
