New World Monkey

I had just finished swimming (at Playa Escondida in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, if I remember correctly) and was heading back to my towel when I saw a small tribe of capuchin monkeys going through a neighboring backpack. They found some nice clothes and, startled by my sexy, wet physique bolted for the heights. I grabbed my camera and chased this monkey through the trees along the beach until, fortunately for me, she got bored and decided to pose and get it over with. (Olympus C770UZ, f/3.2, 1/125, ISO 100)

The Jefferson Memorial

Here is a quick pic I took of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial while I was in Washington, D.C., USA on a business trip. It sounds so grown up when I say that. I'm not young anymore but I'm certainly not mature either as my many acquaintances can attest. heh heh. Either way, this picture was taken September 18, 2007, right after leaving the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. "The museum is dedicated to documenting, studying, and interpreting the history of the Holocaust." It is one of the most horrible and scarring things I have ever seen. I recommend it to everyone. We can NOT deny it. We can NOT hide it. We must not avoid it. We must learn from its every disgusting truth, and we must NEVER let it happen again. This peaceful picture reminds me of how lucky I am to have the freedom to have taken it. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/9, 1/400, ISO 100)

Daisies in B&W

It's late, and I just got back from a magnificent showing of Phantom of the Opera at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. So, because I'm still on a high from that, you get another of my favorite desktops. I had previously seen Phantom performed in New York City but once just isn't enough! Like then, I'm in a daze humming and singing (poorly) but I love it so I'd like to thank the cast and crew for an extremely wonderful evening! This picture was taken in Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada on June 27, 2004, a bright, sunny day. I was testing the Black and White feature of the camera and, in my opinion, it turned out quite well. (Olympus C770UZ, f/5.6, 1/800, ISO 64)

Western Brook Pond Fjord

This picture was taken August 22, 2006 right after getting off the boat on the right from a tour of Western Brook Pond in Newfoundland, Canada. The 'pond' (actually a huge lake/fjord) is located in Gros Morne National Park and an amazing site for many reasons but mostly because fjords are really cool (and fun to say!) How can you not be seriously impressed by the towering cliffs and an immense lake in a glacially-cloven valley? Once aboard the boat you travel back between the cliffs in the background and tour the 16 km 'pond' (with a depth of 165m) . The earth showing both it's beauty through waterfalls and its terrible, crushing wrath with evidence of landslides. Fun! The lake itself is only accessible via walking trail and, I believe, even the boats were assembled on-site. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/10, 1/250, ISO 100)

Gros Morne Mountain

Gros Morne National Park, along the west coast of Newfoundland, in Canada, contains approximately 4.3 moose per square kilometer of which, during a week long stay, I saw only the butt-end of one and discovered the hint of a second in the distance of a picture I accidentally took as I fell off a rock. A roadside sign hinted at the mutitudinousness nature of their population by showing a vehicle-accident-involving-moose count, which incremented by 1 or 2 each day we passed. Although the moose were camera shy this trip the landscapes were not. This shot of Gros Morne Mountain (for which the park was named) was taken August 23, 2006 during a very good weather week. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/13, 1/250, ISO 100)

After the rains

Taken December 5, 2007, this little fellow, about the length of my hand from fingertip to palm (not including tail), was just hanging out on a branch in the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico after a deluge. Hiking through the rain forest drenched to the core from the repeated downpours can be a poor place for cameras but if, by chance, the sun comes out as it did in this case, you will be happy you brought it. The most striking thing about this picture, to me, is the deep blue of his eye. I don't know why I had never considered that they could have blue eyes but my ignorance faded from shock to delight upon closer inspection of the picture. Sadly, the eye might not be very easily seen because of the resolution of the upload. My apologies if that is the case. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 400, UV Filter)

Edit: By request, here is a zoom in:

Sunset in Esperanza

Vieques is a gorgeous island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. This picture was taken December 6, 2007 on the beach across from Trade Winds Guest House and Restaurant, in Esperanza, just before we went swimming on a night tour of a Bioluminecent Bay. The bio bay was such an incredible experience, it can't be adequately described and I didn't even attempt to photograph it. Sorry. Vieques Island is a most wonderful place and I hope to return there someday to spend more time exploring... just try to steer conversations well clear of U.S. politics unless you've got some time. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/6.3, 1/80, ISO 100)

Statue outside St. Paul's

Taken facing away from St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England on October 18, 2005 this picture quickly became one of my favorite desktop backgrounds. The cathedral itself is a beautiful and sobering place filled with people shuffled around in quiet reverence, and over 200 tombs and memorials including that of John Donne (a favorite poet of mine), Florence Nightingale, Sir Winston Churchill, and Lord Horatio Nelson, a famous British admiral whose victory at The Battle of Trafalgar would celebrate its 200 year anniversary in 3 days time on Oct 21st. We stayed in the cathedral for a sermon (how could we not?) and climbed the entire way up to the Golden Gallery (530 stairs!) for a wonderful view of the city. Olympus C770UZ, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 64.

Tarantula in the street!

I captured this picture while absently walking along a dirt road in a cloud forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica on April 9, 2005, on our way to the famed Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde. Having just blurted out "Tarantula in the street!" as the only indication for my actions, I bolted for the surprisingly fast (and upon arrival surprisingly huge) spider. Crawling around a ditch in the dirt on my belly to get this shot I realized just how creepy these things really are and how the wee spiders we have back in Atlantic Canada (of which I used to have a much stronger aversion) are of no comparison. Looking back, this was also around the time I developed the particular habit of dumping my shoes out before putting them on in the morning. Something about scorpians and tarantulas needing a place to sleep at night, I think. Once again my Olympus C770UZ came in handy. f/3.2, 1/100, ISO 64.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle

This picture was taken October 19, 2005 on a trip to London Zoo in Regent's Park, England. The lions looked quite serene in the sun and I, being a big fan of lazing around, had to get a shot so I pushed the few lion snacks (read: children) in the area aside to get the right angle. Both fortunately (for me) and unfortunately (for the lions) the picture had to be taken through a glass window. I used my old point and shoot Olympus C770UZ, at f/3.2, 1/30.