Recently in Caribbean Category

I think it is the random nature of the place and it's effect on the not-so-random things we build to sail upon it.  It is magical.

My 1997 photo that I took and titled "High over Los Roques" (left) was just chosen for publication in JPG MAGAZINE Issue 14.  The caption along with the image reads as follows:

Sometimes great travel experiences just require taking a chance. So I paid a small fee and strapped myself into an ultra light aircraft (hang glider with a motor) pinned against the back of the pilot. In a heart beat we were in the 25 knot trade winds trying to make some headway against them before turning for a quick spin around the island downwind and finally landing (best part of plan). We spiraled down toward the foot of the runway racing over the village and beach below us. I traced the whole path with my camera, freezing in part the life and livelihood of the island residents. I was so excited when I landed, I did it again the next day. Gran Roque, Los Roques, Venezeula. 1997

Here I am strapped in the contraption that enabled the photo and experience. (right)

Christmas has past, and News Years is upon us.  So I have been reflecting some on the past year's images.  A few from the Caribbean (right) had never been touched before [night time shot with my little Canon SD800, Gustavia, St. Barthélemy, FWI].  Several more can be found here in this gallery.  The most interesting perhaps is a Flash VR of five images taken in 1984 of Baie St. Jean, St. Barthélemy.  Taken a decade before Apple Computer invented QTVR.  CLICK HERE, it is a window into the past, everything but the pecan pie at Chez Francine on the beach.  In 2008 I'll go back and make an update.  Happy New Year.

... page 14-15. I received my copy of the book yesterday, featuring one of my images from last December.  "Morning Beckons" of the rainbow over Baie St. Jean, St. Barthélemy, French West Indies.  It was an inspirational moment for me and I am happy others felt the same way.

I knew this beach and the moment were special. I had never seen sand or water like this, and save for the fisherman, I was alone. He was quietly bringing in his catch in the early afternoon sun. An epiphany in travel happens rarely, but when I find that essential part of nature that I seek, it stops me in my tracks. I breathe slowly, wiggle my toes, soak it all in, and take a photograph. I am on full mental record. It is the essence of why I travel. This was such a place. I have not been back for decades, but I know the a world of people followed me to this place. Negril, Jamaica, 1972.